🦝 Bunnies, Covens, and Cardio

To our Jewish readers Chag Pesach Sameach! To our Christian readers, Happy Easter! To our chocolate fans, eat your dang hearts out! It’s that time of year, with painted eggs, plenty of sweets, and of course — bunnies. And in that spirit The Revue is hosting a midnight screening of a very Easter-friendly movie featuring a human-sized rabbit…Donnie Darko!

Using the magic of crowd sourcing, I’m pleased to say that with 44% of respondees agreeing, Bathurst is in fact our Easternmost border! But what surprised me was the split between the real West-heads and the Spadina-sympathetic — Ossington received 28% of the vote, jussssst ekeing out Spadina which got 27%. The fact that over a quarter of WER readers want to annex Kensington Market really shouldn’t surprise me.

This weekend’s kinda weird, event-wise, because Thursday is really like Friday, Friday is Good, Saturday is — well it’s Saturday, but Sunday…is Easter and there really isn’t much going on around the West End. So heads up, I didn’t just forget it exists.

Without further ado, shall we hop into it?

West End Updates

Grand Order of Divine Sweets Bakery suffers a break in (loses picture of cat, money)

First — an all time great bakery name. Second, take a look at the vid they shared. Recognize that guy? Because he’s the rather naughty fellow who (allegedly) broke into The Grand Order of Divine Sweets, and stole a cash register tray, the very same day the bakery hosted a community Easter Egg hunt with a $5,000 grand prize.

But that’s just not all the bakery lost. According to Sam Lapointe, co-owner of GOOD Sweets, in an interview with NOW Toronto, whoever broke in also stole a photo of a cat above a toilet, telling customers to “please flush”. You just can’t make this stuff up. But cats aside, if you’re looking to satisfy your sweet tooth, why not pop down and show this bakery a little love.

Read the full story here.

A multi-unit development is approved after initial Palmerston pushback

Here’s a fun fact about Palmerston Boulevard: it’s lit with sixty-four 100+ year old cast iron street lamps. Is it because they’re cheaper, more luminous, and easy to maintain? No! They’re the opposite of all those things in fact! And every decade, we come together as a city, pool our tax money together and pitch in the $245,000 dollars needed to maintain 64 lamps on a swanky street. Cool!

But suffice to say, Palmerston’s resident’s are picky about aesthetic concerns. And when the above-pictured multi-unit property was defeated last year, the developers got together and pitched a new (better?) design that cut the mustard of the picky Palmerstonians. One last thing to chew on — the original proposal was partly shot down because locals thought it was too big. But the new version is even larger. The key difference? The old one had 11 units. The new one — only 9. Food for thought.

In the defense of the developers and the fewer units, they claim the new proposal is “built for families, not unit counts.”

Read the full story here.

Relatively Affordable House of the Week

This Relatively Affordable House of the Week has a view that you would usually find at a Fancy House of the Week. 612-5 Lakeview Avenue is a 1 bed apartment that I think would be classified as a studio but it’s a bit 1 bed 1 den-ish IMO. It’s got a sweet balcony with a beautiful view of everyones favourite tower (ICE Condo West), AND it’s right by the Ossington stretch of Ossington.

Listed for $399k, check it out.

Events

If you have an event you’d like included in a future West End Raccoon, please submit it here.

Thursday/Friday

Collage Night at Samara Brewing @ Samara Brewing Co. - Thurs 6pm
Hey remember this one from last week? Well here's your reminder it's happening tonight! Details.

Messy Cities: Why We Can’t Plan Everything with Zahra Ebrahim @ 145 Annette St. - Thurs 7pm
Ever wonder why this (and other) big cities feel so...messy? Now's your chance to find out! Details.

The Felted Apothecary: Craft Your Own Potion Bottle with Erin Hurst @ Curiosa - Thurs 7pm
A strong contender for "Most West End of the Week" award, this is creating a potion bottle using needles and felt. Make note West End witches! Details.

Pink Moon Coven Social @ Geary Avenue Warehouse - Thurs 8pm
"Meet kindred spirits under the full moon for a night of bass, tarot, fire performances, and Aries magic." Details.

ALL REQUEST Video Dance Party - NO COVER - Thurs April 2 Easter Weekend @ Ground Control - Thurs 10pm
No Cover? Yes dance party!! Details.

a very camp menses show and tell @ Bampot Tea House - Fri 6pm
Ok, I love this. A very flexible time to share a story or presentation on...well whatever you want really! Details.

Kari-oke Night @ Steadfast Brewing - Fri 7pm
Karaoke is back at Steadfast! And Charmingly hosted by someone named Kari! Details.

Killer B Cinema Presents: The Monster and the Girl! @ See-Scape - Fri 7:30pm
Movie titles have definitely gotten more creative. Imagine they called 'Sinners' 'Vampires and a Nightclub!' Details.

Broadway Rave @ The Mod Club - Fri 8pm
Now, if you're a rube like me you may have had a few questions about the nature of a Broadway Rave. Well it turns out that title is hyper descriptive -- it literally is billed as a "musical theatre dance party.” Details.

Waffles and a Movie Present: Tokyo Zombie @ Eyesore Cinema - Fri 8pm
"Join Waffles and a Movie as we bring in Easter Weekend 2026 with the 2005 Japanese Zombie Comedy Tokyo Zombie!" Details.

ALL CATS ARE GREY @ Swan Dive - Fri 10pm
Are they really ALL grey? Find out at this post punk, sythpop, punk rock and goth bop set! Details.

FLIPPY SPINNY - A Good Friday with All Vinyl, All Night - Soul, Funk & RnR @ The Wych - Fri 10pm
"All vinyl, all night—soul, funk, and rock ’n’ roll diggin’ straight from the crates." Details.

The Midnight Revue: DONNIE DARKO - 25th Anniversary Screening! @ Revue Cinema - Fri 11:59pm
For folks with a later bedtime than me, come celebrate a quarter century of the weird and wonderful movie about a human-sized bunny -- just in time for Easter! Details.

Saturday

Shabbat-Pesah Morning Services @ Makom - Sat 9:30am
"Join us for extra-joyous Shabbat-Passover morning services, followed by a light kiddush (snacks and socializing)!" Details.

Bloor West Village: Easter Hop & Hunt @ Bloor St. W - Sat 10am
"Join the Village-wide Easter Scavenger Hunt — visit 30+ local businesses, follow clues to spot hidden bunnies, eggs, and chicks, and solve riddles for surprises along the way!" Details.

Mount Dennis Walk @ supercoffee - Sat 10am
Unofficially we treat St. Clair as the Northern West End border, but I'm a sucker for transit and walking, so shouting out this Line 5 meetup! Details.

Beneva Spring Run-Off @ High Park - Sat 10am
Calling all cardio lovers! This running event is entering its 5th decade, and is a great way to ring in spring (and burn a few calories.) Details.

Family Storytime @ Parkdale Library - Sat 10:30am
Stories, songs and rhymes for kids 5 and under (plus parents and caregivers!) Details.

P:R at Highpark Brewery @ High Park Brewery - Sat 12pm
Remember that Spring running event you just read about above this description? This is the after party! Details.

SocialSip: Meet New People Over Coffee & Matcha (Toronto) @ The Society Clubhouse - Sat 12pm
Looking to meet some new people in an organized setting? This is for you! Bonus points if you like matcha. Details.

Spring Clean Up in South Parkdale @ 102 Tyndall Ave - Sat 1pm
"Join the South Parkdale Community Pollinator Gardeners for a community and garden clean up on Tyndall, Springhurst, Spencer, Dunn and Close to start." (Garbage bags, sharps containers, hand sanitizer and rakes provided!) Details.

DAS MORTUARY: Industrial Goth Night feat. SAPPHO.XD & KASEY RIOT @ 474 Queen St. W (back alley entrance) - Sat 10pm
Well, it's a hidden basement described as a cybergoth dungeon, hosted by a DJ that goes by DAS MORTUARY. So -- have a blast, West End goths! Details.

FROSTLINE 004 – Techno/Tech-House Rave @ Geary Avenue Warehouse - Sat 10pm
I love that two days after hosting a coven, Geary Ave Warehouse is hosting a frosty techno rave. Neat! Details.

Lose Yourself, A Y2K Music Video Dance Party! @ The Piston - Sat 10pm
Bust out those low-rise bootcut jeans and party like is 2005! Details.

Sunday/Monday (Ok, just Monday this time)

Pottery at Rainhard Brewing Co. @ Rainhard Brewing Co. - Mon 2pm
Pottery for the adults, with an Easter Egg hunt for the kiddos! And beer! Details.

🎵 Live Music Report 🎵

🎵 DIVKA (Folk) @ Drom Taberna - Thurs 7pm
🎵 Baths (Electronic) @ Lee's Palace - Thurs 7pm
🎵 Ky Anto (Acoustic) @ Rod, Gun & Barbers: Junction - Thurs 9pm
🎵 Clover County (Pop) @ Drake Underground - Fri 7pm
🎵 Glen Hansard (Irish Singer/Songwriter) @ The Great Hall Fri 8pm
🎵 Castle (Doom Metal) @ The Dance Cave - Fri 8pm
🎵 Malevolence (Hardcore) @ Hard Luck Bar Sat 7pm
🎵 Pounds of Sin (Grateful Dead Cover Band) @ Monarch Tavern - Sat 7:30pm
🎵 Dear Maryanne (Indie) @ Sneaky Dee's - Mon 6pm
🎵 mclusky (Post hardcore) @ The Mod Club - Mon 7pm

Thank you!

Thanks for reading the West End Raccoon, please enjoy our West End Pet(s) of the Week! Submit yours by responding to this email, with your preferred name/nickname/initials and neighbourhood for a chance to be featured.

As always, if you know a friend or family member who might be interested, please share the newsletter with them: www.westendraccoon.ca

Hope you folks have a fantastic weekend.

Cam Smonk & Xavier