Six ways people kicked off the new year across the city

Gusty winds and a chilly -12 degree temperature on New Year's Eve didn't stop hundreds of brave people from fleeing to the icy shallows of Lake Ontario from the beach at Sunnyside Park.

Pardeep Singh Nagra, who has been taking the plunge every year for more than 15 years, said the tradition first attracted him as a way to raise funds for charity. Nagra is one of the top fundraisers for Dare to Dip this year, raising just about $2,000 in donations for the Boost Child and Youth Advocacy Center.

His advice to newbies?

“Just do it,” Nagra said. “The more you think about it, the more you start to freeze.”

Nagra said turnout was good this year, with many runners wearing fun costumes. A former boxer, Nagra donned boxing gloves and a belt.

Wanda Piedzinski took the plunge in her third year by wearing a unicorn costume.

“It’s so much fun,” Piedzinski said. “How can you be angry at a unicorn?”

The only problem? Getting out of the freezer suit after the dive.

“(It) was quite a feat,” she laughed.

To the east, along Exhibition Place, runners, joggers, walkers and speed walkers stretched and jumped in preparation for Toronto's first-ever New Year's five-kilometre run, dubbed the Run of Determination.

When Don Boyle, CEO of Exhibition Place, pitched the idea to local runner-turned-race director Jeff Chong last year, neither expected the turnout to top 1,200 and raise at least $50,000 on the first try. The money will go to the Children's Breakfast Club.

“I'm not a big runner. I am today,” Boyle said. “This city may be a 'cool' city because I know people who moved here and say, 'Yeah, there's 2.7 million people here,' but how do you meet people?”

Chong said that since New Year's Day is the start of a new year, the race is “about progress, not perfection, and it's about getting louder.”

Maya Jonas wanted to start the new year with a sport that would allow her to reinvent herself.

“I started running right after my breast cancer (diagnosis),” Jonas said. “I thought if Madonna could keep reinventing herself, then so could I… So I decided I wanted to become a marathon runner.”

Adrian Mariano went jogging for the first time since moving here from the Philippines two years ago.

“I just want to continue my progress and start the new year with an exhibition run,” Mariano said, hoping to finish in under half an hour. His wife Rose and son Eliakim came to support him.

At the Enercare Centre, where runners were warming up, Megan Sequeira gathered with friends from her running club in Mississauga, all dressed in overalls.

Sequeira's logic? “Why not?”

“You can be asleep, you can have a hangover, or you can have good energy, good mood, put on a onesie and have fun.”

“You will never find a Bohemian garnet this white.”

“It's from the 1860s to the 1880s. You'll be fifth in line for this.”

“It’s $30, but I can pay $25.”

“See this? This is Royal Paragon China. I have Aynsley China… 1920s to present.”

That was the chatter at Centerpoint Mall in North York on Thursday as antiques dealers and sellers, buyers, collectors and other resellers negotiated at tables crammed with items.

“Everyone is honest, and you can find buried little treasures that you would never find anywhere else,” said area resident Yolanda Papiska, pointing to one seller's English, Victorian and Georgian jewelry. “You only came here to go back in time.”

From a set of 1800s French perfume bottles and a 1920s makeup bag for $1,895 to Tupac and the 1976 Canada Olympics posters, fine china from different eras, porcelain cups from $20 to $195, antique fur coats, 1970s Tonka toy trucks, paintings, silver, furniture and even a sword – hundreds of people hunched over tables and display cases Thursday. at the Heritage Antique Market.

David Zammit, one of the co-owners of Heritage Antique Show Sales Limited, said they have been organizing the annual New Year's event since 1979, with the number of vendors reaching 65-75 each year. The market appears again almost every official holiday.

“Some of them are collectors who say, 'I have too many things,' and then become dealers. Some have (antique) shops,” Zammit said. “We have a lot of dealers from other cities: London, Ottawa, Montreal, Port Hope.”

Hugo Parent is one such Montreal-based collector and reseller who turned his attention to Scandinavian jewelry on Thursday. “They’re hard to find at a good price,” he said.

Kendra Simmons, a Port Hope antiques store owner who has run the market since its first show more than four decades ago, said there has recently been a resurgence of younger buyers who are now interested in antiques or vintage items.

“It's environmentally friendly, it's unique. Plus, most of the things people get are either pleasing to the eye or utilitarian,” Simmons said. “(Antiques) are interesting again!”

When the energetic opening line of “Ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh have do When the energetic opening line of “Oooooooooooooooh, I'm having a bad romance” sounded at O'Grady's On Church restaurant in the village of Church-Wellesley, brunch-goers began shaking their heads.

Toronto drag performer Baby Bel Bel takes on Lady Gaga's pulsating synth bass: “Rah-ra, ah-ah. Roma-, roma-ma. Gaga, ooh, la-la. You want your bad romance.” (Repeat!)

Whether it was bartenders pouring mimosas or patrons sticking their forks into the Hangover—potatoes mixed with assorted vegetables, bacon and cheese curds topped with scrambled eggs and homemade hollandaise sauce—it was hard to see lips not singing along.

Sparkles, sparkles and smiles defined the day.

Joey Philpott, a regular at O'Grady's, said not everyone can afford a hugely expensive ticket to see Lady Gaga perform in person, for example, but the drag brunch is “as glitzy, as vibrant as camp, and just as amazing.”

“If you're going to start the new year, it's best to do it with something happy,” Philpott said. “It's a group of people who want to have a good time and don't care how they smile as long as they're happy.”

Matthew Coccia, who said he was hungover but wore a badge of pride for making it out, noted that O'Grady's hosts put on a more interactive drag show, which he prefers. “Before the ‘Macarena’ remix, there was the song ‘Joyful, Joyful’ from ‘Sister Act 2,’ so everyone stood up and cheered and danced,” Coccia said.

Baby Bel Bel, dressed in a dazzling Lady Gaga superhero costume “because I'm also a cosplay fan,” noted that the art of drag sometimes involves impersonation, “which is what I love to do. I like to imitate Lady Gaga, Chappelle Rohan or Britney Spears.”

Other times it's a comedy.

Another O'Grady queen, Divine Darlene, asked a male viewer how long they had been in a flirting relationship, to which the viewer replied eight months. “Oh, it’s almost nothing,” she replied. Having received no response from him, Devine cheekily ended the sentence with: “Damn, I'm going to jail again,” before the room erupted in laughter.

Downtown it was afternoon tea with a twist at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

There were the classics: modern scones and buttermilk biscuits. But lobster pie, smoked salmon pancakes, mushroom tarts and deviled eggs were also on the menu at The Bistro Tuesday.

“It looks incredible,” said Sarah Park, arriving at her reservation with two young children. The booking includes gallery admission, Park explained, “so we have the whole day.”

“They love it,” Park said, pointing to her children. “And we can enjoy the display, see the art. Who doesn't want to spend New Year's in an art gallery?”

Sandy Hershaw made a New Year's resolution to dance more. Surrounded by dozens of swing dancers at the church on the Danforth, he got off to a good start.

“I’ve already taken lessons, but I want to keep it up,” Hershaw said, taking a break from classes. Swing Toronto dance party. “That's why I came here.”

As The Sonny Balcones began a new song, the dancers, many of whom had never met before, found partners and began shuffling, spinning and rocking each other around the dance floor.

“The swing can be learned easily,” Hershaw said. “But it’s actually something that has a rhythm and comes from the heart.”

Jessica Sitko, here for the holidays, did a little dancing before flying back to Calgary on Thursday night.

“New Year’s is usually about trying something new, right?” – said Sitko. “And we had a few hours to kill before our flight, so we thought why not.”

Sitko has only had four lessons, but he says the swinging community is very welcoming.

“People encourage you, teach you new things, and don’t get mad when you screw up.”