This piano made of 2,900 blooms was part of an award-winning display by the City of Brampton at the 2006 Canada Blooms. This year’s show opens Wednesday in Toronto.

North of the Border/What’s Happening in Toronto

Toronto greets spring in Canada Blooms

By Maria Ceraulo - SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
Updated: 03/04/07 4:48 PM

 TORONTO — It’s March and spring is just around the corner. This is a perfect time to check out Toronto’s Canada Blooms, the largest indoor flower and garden show in Canada and one of the largest in North America. It opens Wednesday in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre’s South Building, 222 Bremner Blvd.

More than 30 unique fantasy gardens designed by Canada’s finest landscape architects will interpret this year’s “Elements” theme. The Home Depot Elemental Garden features four quadrants representing each of the four classical elements. Based on a traditional medicine wheel, the garden encourages balance and serenity to inspire the senses and soothe the soul. The Heart Healthy Garden by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario features herbs and suggests gardening tips and information for a healthier lifestyle.

There will also be more than 200 hours of seminars, workshops and demonstrations held on six stages from some of the best garden experts in North America. Humor abounds in the creative workshop titles, such as “Rock Stars: Cool Plants for Rock Gardens” and “Worm Poop Extravaganza: Organic Fertilizers Terracycle.”

The show appeals to new and returning visitors alike because the displays, gardens and exhibits change annually. For those unaware of just how big the show has become, here are a few quick facts. It takes 500 people working 24/7 for five days to transform the Metro Toronto Convention Centre into this garden-lover’s escape. In addition, about 32 dump trucks will haul enough sand to create the show’s plant beds.

General admission tickets are $18 Canadian. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. next Sunday. To order tickets or for more information,

visit www.canadablooms.com.

Rocking in Toronto

Attention all rock music fans. Toronto’s highly anticipated premiere of the international smash hit musical “We Will Rock You,” is March 14 in the Canon Theatre. A collaboration between the rock group Queen and Ben Elton has produced this highly successful show, now in its fifth year in London’s West End. It has already played to more than 5 million fans worldwide, and counting.

Some of the best names in the business are involved in the production, including Elton, an acclaimed novelist and TV scriptwriter who collaborated on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Beautiful Game”; co-producer Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca Productions; choreographer Arlene Phillips, who directed Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in two of his most flamboyant music video performances and also directed musicals such as “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever,” and production designers Mark Fisher and Willie Williams, who created set designs for Pink Floyd and U2.

The interactive Web site, www.wewillrockyou.ca, offers music, video clips and computer wallpaper images. There is also a link to purchase tickets, which range in price from $20 to $94. Additional information is available at www.mirvish.com. Ancient artifacts

“Ancient Peru Unearthed: Golden Treasures of a Lost Civilization,” opening Saturday in the Royal Ontario Museum, gives North Americans their first glimpse into the objects excavated over two decades from an undisturbed tomb.

The objects are from Batain Grande, one of the few major burial sites in Peru to be completely excavated by archaeologists.

“The Sican [civilization] were perhaps the finest masters of metallurgy in the ancient Andes,” said Dr. Justin Jennings, an associate curator at the museum. “To honor their leaders and gods, they created gold objects of astonishing beauty and technological precision.”

Take advantage of special March school break programming, free with museum admission fee, which features familyfriendly displays, demonstrations and hands-on activities, March 12-16. Admission to the show is included with paid general admission ($18) and has timed tickets. For information, visit www.rom.on.ca.