A Curious Trip in Toronto: A Day at the MilkUP Pop-UP

April 26, 2024 CanCulture Magazine

My jacket wasn’t enough in the face of Toronto’s lineup culture

By Sidra Al Jammal

This past Family Day weekend, my curiosity led me to this event located at the Bentway in Toronto called “MilkUP.” From the name, you can guess there were a lot of milk-related things at this winter pop-up. It was jam-packed with other curious individuals who also wanted to get these free goodies. For an hour-and-half wait in the cold, you get to take home some milk and dairy treats. The only condition was to post on social media and tag them @milkupontario. But was all this wait worth it?

A Noche Underground

March 31, 2024 CanCulture Magazine

A night out exploring the world of Mexican Luchadore fighting in Toronto

By Anna-Giselle Funes-Eng

The reigning champion of the night, Gringo Loco. (Anna-Giselle Funes-Eng/CanCulture)

This past November, I headed down to Lee’s Palace to check out Demand Lucha’s “Masked by Midnight” event; almost two full hours of Luchadore wrestling matches.

Demand Lucha says they’re the only place in Toronto where one can get authentic Mexican wrestling. They “fuse Mexico’s action packed, high flying, lucha libre style with a grungy, hardrock, Toronto style,” according to their website.

As a faction of Toronto’s punk scene I was previously unfamiliar with, I went in open to the idea of seeing something new. I felt people spilt beer on my shoes when they stood to cheer. My life’s dreams were realized when I met that night’s champion, the Gringo Loco.

Check out more about my head dive into the hardcore world of Toronto Lucha wrestling in the photo essay below

Female Luchas Bambi Hall and Dolce Tormenta (Anna-Giselle Funes-Eng/CanCulture)

Canada’s own Jody Threat, moments before losing to Gringo Loco. (Anna-Giselle Funes-Eng/CanCulture)

The tag team Los Medicos riled up the crowd. (Anna-Giselle Funes-Eng/CanCulture)

One man's trash is probably my treasure

January 11, 2024 CanCulture Magazine

The sentimental art of junk journaling

By Nalyn Tindall

The outside of this journal full of treasures (Sammy Kogan/CanCulture)

My tendency for “sentimental hoarding,” coupled with my lifelong habit of collecting stickers I was too afraid to use because I may regret their placement, has found the perfect outlet in the form of my junk journal: A scrapbook compiling each little piece of my days, barraged in stickers to complete the maximalist yet delightful aesthetic.

Sometimes the packaging of products, whether intentional or not, is just too cute for me to bear throwing out, and that's where my junk journal comes in. From concert tickets to bread tags, each scrap of paper helps to tell my story. How else am I supposed to remember what type of iced tea I had or reminisce about my dentist appointment? Chances are, if you give me a business card, or I have tags from my latest shopping splurge, this is exactly where they’ll end up.

Let’s take a look inside.

This is the first page I ever made. Since moving to Toronto to study, my parents have sent me cards in the mail for every holiday that passes. With that, I accumulated a large collection of envelopes, each graced with a stamp, which you can see here. The colourful envelopes and stamps, each housing their own artwork, sparked my sentimental urge to start this scrapbook

This is where stickers started to take the lead. Not only is this piece covered in them, but the primary piece of trash which makes up this piece was the packing from a set of stickers. While I love making sentimental pieces, I also just like to collage. Finding a monochromatic scheme and seeing what adorable stickers I can incorporate brings me just as much joy.

Sometimes garbage isn't pretty on its own. While holding on to my daily scraps, I’ve noticed that the world is made up of a lot of black and white trash, but when pieced together, I like to think they can make something pretty too. These mementos are a reminder of my daily purchases and transit rides, the menial moments that make up each day.

Not every piece needs to be a mass amalgamation of tiny pieces. Sometimes a nice shopping bag and some pretty packing is enough to slap some stickers on and call it a day.

Last summer, I visited Montreal and Quebec City for the first time and I couldn’t have been more glad that I started this journal. Over the course of my trip, I kept a small pouch of each of the scraps of paper I collected. Tickets, tags, labels, wrappers and receipts paint the story of my week. I’m able to look at these two pages as a reminder of each tourist attraction I visited and look back fondly on my trip.

This is just the beginning of my junk journaling journey. Beside my desk sits a container of scraps and stickers waiting to be pieced together. This practice allows me to reflect both in the process of making each collage and every time I flip through the book, not only basking in the memories but enjoying each piece of art my life has formed.

A Roomful of Surprises: What Gifts Can You Find in Your Room?

December 23, 2023 CanCulture Magazine

It's giving season. How can you give on a budget?

By Mariana Schuetze

New year, new me, right?

Before the new year comes around, I thought I'd get rid of some clutter in my room. In doing that, and with my Christmas shopping list in mind, I ended up finding some iconic things I might just give some friends in this giving season.

Tote bag

I bet all my left hand you also have at least a handful of tote bags hanging around your room right now. Slightly-loved tote bags, after some well-deserved washing, will make for a great gift to a friend or loved one. They can also be the packaging of another gift but with a little extra touch of you and extra help for the environment.

Journal

An empty journal is another classic staple in my room. I counted at least five when doing this year's decluttering. You can even fill them up with some little notes, pictures and lovely memories, making it a great, personal gift.

Friendship bracelets

Friendship bracelets are all the rage lately, and I believe they’re a really cute gift, especially when they’re made with the person in mind. This wasn't the case for these ones, to be honest; these are testers from my do-it-yourself bracelet kit, but I still love them. In a lovely case, and maybe with a handwritten note and some chocolate, this can be a perfect gift.

Two hand-made bracelets on a white background. They are both made with plastic beads. The bracelet on the left has beads with the colours: yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and green. The one on the right has the colours pink, purple and blue. — Fun fact: these two bracelets are supposed to represent the LGBTQAI+ and bisexual flags. The one on the left has similar colours to the Pride flag, and the right one is the bisexual flag (Mariana Schuetze/CanCulture)

Fun glasses

Help your friend see the beauty of a last-minute gift through sparkly-coloured glasses! These ones are from a 2022 Elton John concert. They are fun-shaped, and they light up with the push of a button. In all, a really fun gift and perfect for a costume party or for when your friend wants to put on a stadium tour performance in their room.

Blue start-shaped glasses in a white desk — These glasses also present a fun exciting packaging challenge, and the options are endless: do I wrap it up? Put it in a bag and tie it with a bow? Maybe put it in a box? (Mariana Schuetze/CanCulture)

Glee DVD

I have to admit, I had a Glee phase–some might say I'm still in it– and for some reason, I decided to ship a season four Glee DVD all the way from the United States to Brazil to be able to watch and rewatch this season (why season four, though?) anytime I wanted. I don't care about Glee that much now, and it's all available on streaming, so I think I'm ready to part ways with it.

Glee season four DVD — Season four's "Guilty Pleasure" used to be my favourite Glee episode, and after rewatching it recently, I’m starting to reconsider all my opinions — *what a random episode* (Mariana Schuetze/CanCulture)

Well, I hope after this journey through some hidden treasures in my room, I've given you some ideas on how to turn clutter into love.

Why I can’t drive; Navigating the city without a licence

December 7, 2023 CanCulture Magazine

There’s nothing like driving in the city. Because I can’t do it and don’t know how

By Christian Malong

If you're reading this, I want you to know that twice when I was running around to record, I saw a cyclist almost get hit by a car. Two pickup trucks. Both in broad daylight. Once on Kennedy Road, and once at Dundas and Mutual. So, y'know. That's pretty cool.