Big on Bloor!

[Catherine]

Big on Bloor is my local street festival. I am involved at a reptile centre that is in the area. We will be doing a big reptile show all day Saturday and all day Sunday. I will be taking some of my own corn snakes to show people and to let them hold them.
It is a wonderful opportunity to educate people about animals and ecology and the need for biodiversity. Reptiles have their place on this planet, but snakes in particular work at pest control and keep the rats and mice population from overwhelming  our agriculture. We should really be grateful to snakes for the way they help us.



David and Jenna will both be with me. David has done Big on Bloor before. He loved it.
I have one snake out at a time and the rest of the time they rest. I know my snakes and I can tell when they need a rest.


Iceman, the pink/white snake will be with me. He is an old pro as well. I could take Molly the orange, black and brown snake. I think she would enjoy it.
Some of my snakes are shy and I would never ask them to do a display. Some of my snakes are older and I don't like to take them out. I am a very over protective pet mum.
This is the reptile centre.
This is part of last years display.

Here I am showing off a corn snake. Corn snakes are my first love in the snake world.

That was last year. This year will be even better.
I will keep you posted and try to get more pictures.

[Catslave]

Looking forward to some pics looks like a good day out.

[Catherine]

I am packed and ready to go. I have 5 snakes packed up. I am eating some microwaved eggs(They are as bad as they sound, but they are a fast cook).
The weather looks good and I have extra clothes in case the sprinkles of rain end up being actual showers. The snakes will love the rain.
This is Sedona's first time out in public. Last year he was too small. I think he will love the public and they will love him.

Talk to you later.

[Tobi]

Well, by the time you read this, I hope it was a wonderful day and all the snakes loved it too. A sprinkle or two of rain would be refreshing....so long as it's not a downpour which goes on all day like we had here yesterday!  

I hope you all have a fantastic time, and am looking forward to your 2017 pictures!
It is nice to see the Reptile Centre, which I have heard a lot about.

PS your hair looks very nice in last year's picture with your Corn Snake.

[Catherine]

Here we are all packed and ready to go.


There is an elevator now so I could take the subway train


Waiting for the train


And here it is


Inside the train! I gathered a small crowd who wanted to see the snakes


Made to Big on Bloor


It was still early so everyone was just setting up.

This is Jenna and she had a great time

People wanted to hold her

This is David. He has done Big on Boor before and he enjoyed his day.


They are all sleeping now and I should be. We saw hundreds, maybe thousands of people. I had five snakes with me so each snake was only out being handled 1/5 of the time. That way they don't get over tired. From noon until 9pm I didn't even get to sit down for a minute. Everyone wanted to see the snakes and touch them. Many people held them. It was a wonderful chance to educate people about reptiles and animals in general.
We had a lot of other snakes out on display and various lizards.
I will get more pictures tomorrow.

[Tobi]

I'm glad you had such a really good day. It is such a good thing to be out there on Bloor with the snakes. When many people actually meet snakes, they realise how nice they are, and any old prejudices can fall away. (well...non venomous ones anyway.) There are some people who are surprised when they handle a snake and find out they are smooth but not at all slippery. That little girl seemed enchanted!
Lovely pictures! Thank you.

[Catherine]

What a day!

The sun was bright.
Our display was interesting



You can see the crowds


People loved David. He is always the favourite.


Jenna enjoyed being with me all day.


I had fun too.



It was a long two days, but we reached thousands of people. Once people get to actually see and touch a snake they are surprized by how nice they are. We had chameleons in the screen containers and bearded dragons in the glass tanks. Everyone loves them. It is the snakes that make the big impression. Even the people who said they were afraid of snakes wanted to hold a snake.

My  babies are home now and back in their home tanks. They had a good time, but now they need their rest.
So do I.   It was totally worth it.

[Tobi]

I was meaning to ask....is it just a section of Bloor Street which is closed to traffic? Or the whole street? I don't suppose you have ANY time to explore, but what other displays and events are there?

[Catherine]

Bloor Street runs for miles. They just closed of the section between two subway stops. It is probably 10 blocks long.
Each section of Bloor has its own festival is it has a community organization to run it. Lots of other Toronto streets have festivals with various themes.

Just to give you an idea of how much there is to do in Toronto, here is a list for July. (there would be many small events not on the list) You will notice that many of them are free.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&...m4H9ZzT5vQ


I should have taken more pictures, but I usually only do one walk around because I am so busy.

There were lots of performers like this doing odd and interesting things.

There were people selling crafts like these plants.
I saw hand made soaps and special t-shirts. Those people recognized me because I shopped from them at a festival in May.
There were hairdressers and food vendors. My chiropractor sets up a booth and they  do spinal scans and give festival coupons.
That is how I connected with her. There are local politicians and action groups. Local service groups and shelters have info tables set up.
Lots of food everywhere and some nice temporary food patios.
The city set up a free water truck where you could fill water bottles or drink from a fountain.
The police and paramedics were there both to help and to be part of it all.

There were lots of art displays and henna painting. There was live music every so many streets over, music of all different kinds. I saw a Chinese dragon marching down the street on Saturday.
It was all fun stuff. Being there was free. Much of the entertainment was free. It only cost anything if you actually bought something. Lots of booths were giving out free stuff.  Certainly the reptile show was free and you could come back as often as you wanted. Some festival goers joined us and showed off snakes all day or held bearded dragons for people to see.
We are one of the more popular displays.
People secretly love reptiles.