If saving money is on your to-do list, then the Toronto Public Library should be one of your favourite places to go in 2020. Even if borrowing books isn’t part of the plan.
Of course, nowadays you can find nearly anything on the internet, but there are still things accessible only to library-goers, including free access to thousands of books, magazines, new movies, e-learning resources, music, and e-books that you can borrow using your Toronto Library Card.
But did you know that the same card can give you free access to Toronto museums and cultural attractions, including places like the Bata Shoe Museum, ROM, and Ontario Science Centre?
Use your Toronto Public Library card to its full potential and save major money on entertainment and much more!
One of the best perks that come with the Toronto Library Card is the Museum + Arts Pass (MAP), which allows you to borrow a limited number of free passes to visit local museums, art galleries, and much more for free!
“The program’s primary goal is to broaden Torontonians’ access to the City’s cultural life by providing the opportunity to visit Toronto’s top cultural institutions,” states the website.
To get a free MAP, you need to present a valid adult Toronto Public Library card. Please note that you are only allowed to get one pass per week (each pass admits one family, or two adults and up to five children.) Learn more about the rules and restrictions on the Toronto Public Library’s website.
All 100 Toronto Public Library branches are participating in the MAP program, however passes for some venues are available only through a limited number of library branches.
Here’s a list of all participating museums:
Aga Khan Museum
Toronto’s newest cultural landmark is a great place to go with your entire family. At the museum you can explore the arts of Muslim civilizations through exhibitions, workshops, live arts performances, and more.
Bata Shoe Museum
If you’re into fashion and history, this museum is an absolute must-visit. Dedicated to the research and exhibition of the role of footwear in the social and cultural life, it showcases over 13,000 shoe-related artifacts from across the world.
Royal Ontario Museum
Canada’s largest museum of art, culture, and nature features 30 galleries including gems and minerals, Canada’s First Peoples, ancient cultures, and textiles and fashion. Even if you’ve already visited this iconic Toronto museum, there’s always something new to discover!
Black Creek Pioneer Village
Love history and nature? Then this museum is for you. Black Creek Pioneer Village offers visitors to take a trip back in time to 1860 and explore the farm and farm animals, historic houses, gardens, and more.
Gardiner Museum
Gardiner Museum is one of the most important specialty museums in the world, which focuses on ceramics. There are 4,000 objects to look at, with collections coming from the Ancient America, China and Japan.
Ontario Science Centre
The Ontario Science Centre is one of the most interactive museums in Toronto, which is dedicated to science and technology. It features Ontario’s only IMAX® Dome theatre, the Shoppers Drug Mart® OMNIMAX® Theatre, and Toronto’s only public planetarium.
Toronto Zoo
The Toronto Zoo needs no introduction. One of the largest and well-known zoos in the world, it’s home to more than 5,000 animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates from all over the world.
All eight of the Toronto History Museums
Embrace Toronto’s history with MAP and visit any of Toronto’s history museums. The pass is good for any one of the eight locations including Colborne Lodge in High Park, Gibson House Museum, Montgomery’s Inn, Spadina Museum: Historic House & Gardens, Fort York National Historic Site, Mackenzie House, Scarborough Historical Museum, and Todmorden Mills Heritage Site.
Art Gallery Of Ontario (AGO)
Another place Toronto Public Library Card MAP can get you in for free is the Art Gallery of Ontario. Located in the heart of Toronto, the AGO is a haven for art lovers of all kinds. The permanent collection features 90,000 pieces of work to browse, including works from Canadian, Inuit, European, First Nations, and Oceanic artists. As one of the largest museums in North America, it’s definitely worth a visit!
Textile Museum Of Canada
Discover textiles from around the world at the Textile Museum Of Canada. With a collection spanning over 2,000 years and 200 world regions, you can awe at fabrics, ceremonial cloths, garments, quilts, and more.
Hopefully this list will convince you to start using your library card more often or even get one if you don’t have it yet. And the best part is that it’s absolutely free! In order to be eligible for a free card, you need to live, work, go to school, or own property in the City of Toronto. Read more about how you can register for your free library card.
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Attention all Raptors superfans! If you ever wanted to own a piece of not only basketball history but Toronto history, now is your chance because a Toronto museum is auctioning off Raptors players’ sneakers that they wore during the playoffs.
Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum recently opened a Raptors exhibit and once it’s over, the sneakers worn by the actual Raptors players will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Instagram/@batashoemuseum
The exhibit is completely dedicated to the sneakers worn the Raptors players during the playoff games. Even though the Raptors won the championship back in June, the celebrations have kept rolling on, despite the fact that TO is losing star players Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.
A collection of the sneakers belonging to the members of the 2018-2019 Raptors team is currently on display as of July 11 on the main floor of the museum.
Newswire reports that the sneakers on loan to the Bata Shoe Museum include those worn by players Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol, Norman Powell, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet, all during the historic 2019 NBA playoffs.
In addition to the sneakers worn by Raptors players being on display, you can even catch a glimpse of Raptors Global Ambassador and rapper, Drake’s sneakers as well.
For mega-mega Raptors fans who would love the opportunity to own a pair of these game worn-sneakers, get ready to bid! When the exhibit is over, the sneakers will be auctioned off by the museum to raise money for the MLSE Foundation. Full details on the auction have yet to be announced.
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The sneakers will remain on display until just before the beginning of the 2019/2020 NBA season. Folks can take in the sights, and the smells, of the Raptors players’ shoes until September 18, 2019.
Featured Image: Instagram/@batashoemuseum
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Hundreds of Manolo Blahnik Shoes Will Grace the Bata Shoe Museum
In just a few months’ time, you’ll find all the Manolo Blahnik shoes that your dreams are made of within the walls of Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum.
Offering another reason to get excited for spring in the city, Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes will make its final and – somewhat surprisingly – only North American stop in Toronto from May 16 to January 6, 2019. Hitting the Bata Shoe Museum after shows in Milan, Russia, Prague, and Madrid, the must-attend, world-class exhibit offers a stunning retrospective of the iconic shoe that had Carrie Bradshaw’s heart.
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Anyone who has gotten up close and personal with a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes fully understands that the footwear is a work of art in itself. It comes as no surprise, then, that the shoes as art are the underlying theme of the exhibition. Guests can expect a showcase of Blahnik’s 45 years of inventiveness and artisanship in creating elegant footwear that crosses the boundaries between fashion and art and has graced countless red carpets. Blahnik’s use of architectural and sculptural lines in his artful work transforms an everyday accessory into coveted creations of contemporary design, some 200 of which (all hand-selected) you’ll find within the walls of the Bata Shoe Museum come May.
In addition to the stunning (and totally photo-worthy) footwear, Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes will feature 80 original drawings that reflect Blahnik’s journey, inspiration, and achievements of the past four decades. It will offer insight as to how architecture, art, botany, literature, cinema, and travel have played a central role in the creation of Blahnik’s cherished designs. Highlights include rare footage of the artist at work, rare examples of Blahnik’s celebrated drawings and sketches, and the collection of Marie Antoinette shoes created for Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette.
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“I cannot believe the touring exhibition is coming to an end, but I know that it will end on the most tremendous high at the Bata Shoe Museum,” said Blahnik. “What an honour for me, to display my shoes and sketches at such an esteemed establishment dedicated to the history of footwear. And Mrs. Bata, what an extraordinary woman – I am sure my shoes will feel very much at home with her divine collection. Toronto is such a fantastic, cultural city, I am thrilled to be returning!”
Once the exhibit opens its doors, we can expect programming like exclusive tours, workshops, a film series, a screening of Blahnik’s documentary The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards, and cocktail parties attended by an assortment of well-heeled Toronto movers and shakers.
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“Manolo is fabulously visual, his mind restless and constantly curious about the world,” says Dr. Cristina Carillo de Albornoz, Guest Curator, Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes. “With each style, he tries to capture what he considers the essence of elegance, femininity, and beauty, which he had intertwined with his various cultural and emotional influences.”
Offering a consolation to the dollars you’ll probably drop on the fancy footwear after visiting the exhibit (let’s be honest), tickets are only $14. Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes opens to the public May 16.
Are you going to attend the Manolo Blahnik exhibit in Toronto? Let us know in the comments.
Featured image: Instagram/ @manoloblahnikhq
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