Bloordale Beach

Guerilla art installation and community hub
43°39′29″N 79°26′17″W / 43.658129°N 79.437958°W / 43.658129; -79.437958

Bloordale Beach was a guerrilla art installation and an informal community hub in the west end of Toronto,[1][2] and since it was landlocked, was once described as "Toronto's only waterless beach".[3]

Bloordale Beach was located north of the Dufferin Mall between Croatia Street and Brock Crescent, on a site that previously used to be Brockton High School.[3] It covered 118,400 square-feet.[3] The beach was located on property owned by the Toronto District School Board.[3][4]

The beach closed in 2021 to make way for the new Bloor Collegiate Institute.[5]

Usage

Bloordale Beach was co-created by artist[6] Shari Kasman and an anonymous collaborator[1] in order to reclaim unused space for the public,[3] and opened 25 May 2020.[7][5]

Public facilities included a dog gymnasium (officially called the Barkour Area),[6] a "sea turtle nesting area,"[6] Bloordale Lagoon (essentially a large puddle that would form after heavy rainfall),[3] a community garden,[4] and occasional temporary art installations.[3] Bloordale Meadow was located on the neighbouring lot, and had been previously known as the field for Bloor Collegiate Institute.

Bloordale Beach was used as a community hub and a throughway to cut across the space.[6][4]

Toronto garage punk psych rock band Wine Lips recorded a their music video Live At Bloordale Beach at the beach.[8] It was also the set for an improv performance by Martin Helmut Reis that was filmed and debuted at the 2020 Improvisation Festival[9] and Martin Reis' performance art American Lifeguard.[10]

The beach finally closed on Sept 23, 2021. The lot is currently under construction to be the new location of Bloor CI.

Critical reception

Bloordale Beach was described in The Toronto Star as Toronto's "newest hot summer destination"[1] and was ranked as the 9th best beach in Toronto on Tripadvisor.[11][notes 1]

Bloordale Beach was featured in the short documentary Bloordale Beach by Beth Warrian where it was described as a vision for reclaiming public space.[12][2]

There have been 5 songs written about the beach. The beach was the subject of the 2021 song "Bloordale Beach" by garage punk-pop band Pop Plug,[13] and the 2021 song also called "Bloordale Beach" by Catjam.[14] Pete Moss also made a song called “Bloordale Beach.” There is a song called “Bloordale Beach, by Eamon McGrath. Another Bloordale Beach song is coming soon.

AUS!Funkt, Canadian art-rock band, paid homage to the beach in the video for their song "Set Yourself Free".[15]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Toronto has 11 public beaches

References

  1. ^ a b c Micallef, Shawn (2020-08-09). "Watch for sharks: Toronto's newest beach at Bloor and Dufferin has everything — except water". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  2. ^ a b Ulrich, Tania (December 14, 2021). "Thought-provoking 'Bloordale Beach' short doc opens possibilities for city building". Ryerson University. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Mok, Tanya (18 July 2020). "Bloordale Beach is Toronto's only beach without a body of water attached". www.blogto.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-19. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  4. ^ a b c DeClerq, Katherine (2021-07-16). "Organizers of community garden in Toronto west-end hope to postpone its destruction until after harvest". Toronto. Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  5. ^ a b Xavier-Carter, Breanna (2021-09-20). "Bloordale Beach in Toronto is closing and it's being replaced by a new high school". www.blogto.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-20. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  6. ^ a b c d Ariel (Oct 31, 2020). "Can a waterless beach survive the pandemic?". news.unculture.ca. Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  7. ^ Creek, Taddle (28 November 2020). "Muscled Beach - Taddle Creek". Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  8. ^ Miladinović, Djordje (2022-01-09). "Wine Lips Released Live At Bloordale Beach". Thoughts Words Action. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  9. ^ Tino (2020-06-20), Monsieur Hulot's Zoomtime, retrieved 2022-01-17
  10. ^ Tino (2021-09-05), American Lifeguard - Martin Reis, retrieved 2022-01-17
  11. ^ Collum, Tara (2021-06-13). "CAN'T WAIT TO ESCAPE 'CITY' AFTER PANDEMIC, TO GET BACK 'UP NORTH'". Muskoka Today. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  12. ^ "Bloordale Beach: A Film by Beth Warrian". Hillside Festival. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  13. ^ BLOORDALE BEACH, retrieved 2021-11-30
  14. ^ CATJAM - Bloordale Beach, retrieved 2021-11-30
  15. ^ "AUS!Funkt Want You to "Set yourself free" with the Release of their Latest Single | Cashbox Canada". cashboxcanada.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  • Tripadvisor - Bloordale Beach
  • Shari Kasman official website