Many Memorable Moments at Artscape’s Wychwood
By October of 2016, it was time to celebrate the “many memorable moments” of the year. No kidding - many! There were the easy ones - Jack was turning 65, I was turning 50, and our October birthdays were three days apart. Then add on the fact we’d lived together for five years. Throw in a dog’s birthday - Bidi - also five. And then there was our elopement five months earlier. And the treatment - well, the 100 hours of chemo and the multiple rounds of radiation and the countless MRIs, CTs, and everything else - we had to celebrate the end of that, right?
So, we decided to throw a party. Ok, truthfully, Bidi decided to throw us a party. It’s not everyday you get to throw a wedding reception on your 50th so why the hell not have some fun with it and let your pup send the invite?*
Jack and I had a bit of a tussle about the guest list, I’ll be honest. Jack wanted to invite everyone who’d been important to his life, and that included a remarkably large Polish diaspora, some of whom I hadn’t met. I’m English and therefore have much weaker cultural and family ties. Instead, I was keen on inviting everyone we’d ever shared a drink or a meal or a laugh with as a couple. We winnowed the list down to our most mutually acceptable 125.
But the big question - where to throw this event? We needed something that reflected our extraordinary combination of quirky and casual, special, and definitely historic, with good parking (Jack’s requirement) and close to transit (mine). We were both very clear - this would not be at a banquet hall on Highway 7 - no, we’d attended too many of those cookie cutter affairs.
There was something about the vaulted ceilings and industrial vibe of train stations that appealed to us both. It made me think Artscape Wychwood Barns would be a good choice for us. It passed the Jack test. The rest of the planning fell easily into place: good caterer (Yorkshire Pudding); the right Polish beer and white wine from New Zealand; a quartet of some musicians from my orchestra-playing days; autumnal decorations; fall veggies, tulip bulbs, and wildflower packets for takeaways; and the best photojournalist style photographer (Sweetheart Empire).
It was the perfect lunch-time party. We each gave a speech and there was a group photo but otherwise it was informal, just like us. People just ate and drank and laughed and visited and celebrated all those memorable moments with us.
Jack summed it up best for us both by ending his speech with the words: “Well, I’m happy!”
Imagine the sadness and disappointment I felt when Artscape announced its receivership a few weeks ago. For me, it’s just the site of the only catered affair I’m likely to ever host . For others, though Wychwood, and the various other Artscape community spaces around Toronto, are affordable homes, workplaces, and spaces of artistic inspiration and celebration. Shortly after, the City of Toronto gave the news it would give Artscape a 30 day reprieve to backstop the loans and figure out a solution. Although we’ve heard nothing since, my gut says the City, with its new progressive mayor, is unlikely to let this institution die.
But why is it that the spaces set aside for arts are taken to the brink causing unnecessary stress for people who are already vulnerable? If these were sports institutions, you can be sure they would have received much faster attention. These are the questions that keep me up at night.
While I reminisce this weekend about that wonderful event seven years ago, I hope others are sharpening their pencils to find long-term sustainable solutions to maintain this important institution.
* Seven years later, and despite never using Bidi’s name to donate money, I still get fundraising mail addressed to Bidi Chandler Sikorska, the addressee on our reply card. Extraordinary. (Wasn’t she cute?)
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