KUNG-FU FIGHTING

written, photo by Alex Brown

Sunny Sundays are meant for strolling around the city dressed in sundresses with cool shades in tow. This just past rain soaked Sunday gave me the impression that I would be staying in bed till mid-afternoon attempting to sleep off Saturday night’s wild escapades. Well, that was not to be the case as I was awoken by an early meeting call from my dear editor Tom to meet him and the crew in Kensington Market.

As most hip Torontonians know, Kensington is located in downtown Toronto and apparently it’s also where most Asian tourists flock to seek the best vintage finds while vacationing. Who knew? When I arrived on location, although drenched, it was safe to say that the stormy weather was beginning to clear. This made the Kensington vendors and myself very happy as they began to lay out their vintage goods along the sidewalk to blaring reggae tunes. As my resentment about the early morning wakeup text began to wane (I’m joking Tom) I noticed the abundance of diverse people that stood before me. Each passing block introduced new sounds, smells, and uber trendy 6 year olds, who btw, made me feel quite inadequate as far as style goes (There should really be a fashion blog solely dedicated to these kids who, lets face it, should be grateful to have cool rents that double as personal stylists…free of charge!)

Once my jealous eyes were able to re-focus, I also discovered the gnarly performers, and by that I mean bands and circus clowns alike, it was after all, the July installment of a locally organized event called “Pedestrian Sundays”. All were truly a sight for eyes and ears. My favorite in particular was the spoken word poet preaching what sounded to me like feminist jargon. I don’t know why, but every time I hear this type of art the hairs on my arm stand up, and in a good way. I couldn’t stick around long enough to hear the poet who was up next as the DSM crew was there to work and being the good assistant that I am, I had to follow suit.

When we finished shooting indoor footage for our upcoming web video, the pedestrian count outside had tripled. Uneasiness settled upon me as my senses became over stimulated all at once. I figured I needed some nourishment, which came in the form of oven-baked margarita pizza. I ain’t mad at that!

After we were all fed we checked out some of the super cool stores that are going to be covered in DSM’s August issue (lucky for you guys!) Some of my faves included Good Blood Bad Blood, an artist run shop and gallery, and Function 13, which for the record pedals stuff that you will likely not find anywhere else in the city. The endless amount of stellar books, posters and cool adult toys offered at Function 13 makes me want to give up everything I’ve worked for and spend the rest of my life being a graphic art hoarder. Seriously.

Its true that Kensington offers something for everyone and I’m not just referring to the countless vintage stores in the hood. Anything from a man on stilts performing tricks to the courageous middle aged couple doing a tango like routine in the designated “dance area”, the market is so magical, its like Neverland Ranch, except without the whole, you know, well…never mind. Words cannot express how excited I will be to return to this hood on the third Sunday of next month for yet another pedestrian Sunday. Hope you all will check it out for yourselves before summers up and don’t let the unpredictable weather and the inaccurate weathermen stop you. Thanks Tom and the rest of the gang for inviting me along, my hangover needed it!