May 6th. Coronation Day!

Toronto Media Alert: On Saturday, May 6, Deputy Mayor McKelvie and the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell will plant an oak tree to mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III. Okay, though not quite my speed. But wait! At noon there will be a Fun Royal Fair on the south lawn of Queen’s Park. I like fun. Count me in!

Queen’s Park is the 170 acre park in he middle of downtown Toronto that houses the Ontario Legislative Building. It was looking quite grand on this spring day.

The balmy day made the Fun Royal Fair the destination of choice for hundreds of kids – and adults too. Queen and King Someone or Other (my moniker since they didn’t seem to have titles) wandered about the park on stilts posing for selfies. Always good to keep royalty above the common masses. Just as I worked up my nerve to push to the front of the crowd and ask for a selfie, they moved on to another space. 😢

There were food carts – inaccessible when I arrived due to lengthy line ups – dance instructors, swirly rides and bumper cars, and bean bag tossing contests. The prize for these contests, should you be so lucky, was your choice of a small Ontario or Canada flag on a stick. The line ups for these weren’t quite so long as for the food. Clicking on the small photos will results in a full-sized ones.

This dizzying looking ride made for happy riders.

And everywhere families were enjoying Queen’s Park and the lovely Toronto day.

But fun is fun for only so long, so I headed out for another Step It Up blog recommended neighbourhood walk – this time Bloor West Village and High Park.

Bloor West Village is, like Roncesvalles Village, a community with lots of small independent shops and restaurants. Throngs of people were out and about lending a real community feel to this neighbourhood.

High Park which bumps up against Bloor Street was even busier than the Royal Fun Fair. I now know why they call it High Park…

I managed to avoid the stairs, keeping to the roadways as did many other wise folks. What a beautiful park! The cherry and magnolia trees were in bloom and the tulips out in full force.

I brought this day to a close with a delicious dinner at The Keg, courtesy of my younger son. Thanks for the yummy Christmas gift Alex!