After being away for a month, I’ve got to say, Toronto is a great city. Sure, we’ll make fun of it and the rest of the country can hate us but if you came to U of T, you might as well explore this place. It’s rather upsetting to hear from graduating students who aren’t from Toronto that they have never been on the islands or they’ve never really set foot outside of campus during their 4 year residency here. In any case, here’s a list of places and things to do while you’re stuck here:

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This was submitted by a reader, Anubha Momin:

Here comes September, and with it, tuition costs, book money, and empty wallets. As students, many can feel as though their money is stretched thin, that little is left for enjoyment and pleasure. An evening at the opera? Not possible… or is it? There are lots of ways to enjoy an evening of fine art, music, or dance in Toronto, but here are some of the city’s major institutions at some very minor price points.

Art Gallery of Ontario
A stunning building in and of itself, the new Frank Gehry-fied gallery houses more than 79,000 works and hosts a changing set of exhibitions.
Cost: FREE Wednesday nights from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Website: http://www.ago.net/hours-admission

Canadian Opera Company
The largest Canadian producer of opera in the country’s largest city, the COC offers world-class performances out of the Four Seasons Performing Art Centre. The 2009/10 season includes opera classics like Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Bizet’s Carmen.
Cost: COC’s Opera for a New Age provides a limited number of tickets for most shows at $20 each for anyone under the age of 30. Book early for the best availability.
Website: http://www.coc.ca/PerformancesAndTickets/Under30/OperaforaNewAgeTickets.aspx

Justina M. Barnicke Gallery
Alright, so this may not be a “major” institution, but you don’t have to travel beyond the campus walls to indulge your inner artiste. The Barnicke Gallery is constantly changing its exhibits, and staff are always available to walk you through their collections.
Cost: FREE for all, all the time. Take note of opening night festivities, where the free entrance includes beverages, fruit, and cheese. As an added bonus, the gallery is within Hart House, which boasts its own impressive collection of art work.
Website: http://www.jmbgallery.ca/exhibitions.html

National Ballet of Canada
Headlined by Tchaikovsky’s perennial favourites, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, the National Ballet of Canada promises another stellar season of elegant, entertaining performances.
Cost: Anyone between the ages of 16 and 29 can register with DanceBreak in order to gain access to $20 tickets. DanceBreak tickets are purchasable online at midnight the day of performance.
Website: http://dancebreak.ca

Royal Ontario Museum
This fabulous attraction has been recently covered on blogUT, so I shall direct you to the post: https://blogut.ca/2009/08/02/travel-the-world-for-free.
Cost: FREE for post-secondary students on Tuesdays, half price for everyone Fridays from 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
Website: http://www.rom.on.ca/visit/tickets.php

If you have any other suggestions for enjoying Toronto’s cultural landscape, feel free to post them in the comments!

Now, how many times are you going to hear that phrase? Okay well, if you haven’t already heard, every Tuesday at the ROM is FREE — and yes I did say FREE — for post-secondary students! This is perfect for post-secondary students because first of all, it saves us about $22, and second of all, did I mention that it’s free?

Besides the obvious choice to go to the ROM for FREE, it’s a great way to compensate for not being able to travel. Personally, this summer I lacked the funds to travel anywhere around the world so I had to figure out a way to compensate for that, leading me to the ROM. Now, I know what you’re thinking, the ROM is probably the last place you want to go on your summer vacation. However, the ROM has definitely transformed itself to not only showcase history at its finest, but also to take its visitors around the world. You can go from Australia to the Philippines within a few steps, or even ancient Egypt to the Middle Ages within a few minutes. Why pass up this opportunity to travel around the world, and through history all for the price of well, free?

What: Scotia Bank Nuit Blanche
Where: All across the city
When: October 4, 2008 from 6:52 pm – sunrise
Website: Nuit Blanche.

Once again it’s almost that magical time when art permeates the entire city from the streets to the galleries, and just about anywhere you can imagine. It will be for one night only, but it will last all night long. This grand tradition of art for the people started in Paris and spread to Brussels and then through cities all over the world. Two years ago it landed in our fair city, and on October 4 from 6:52 pm ’till sunrise, the third Toronto edition will take place simultaneously, but for timezones, with Nuit Blanche in Paris and Brussels.

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