File photo

Jay Beckenstein and Spyro Gyra will be returning for two shows in the Toronto area.

North of the Border/What’s Happening in Toronto

The sounds of jazz resonate in the big city

By Maria Ceraulo - SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
Updated: 04/01/07 7:38 AM

 TORONTO — Spyro Gyra, the beloved jazz fusion band that started in Buffalo in the mid-1970s (think back to “Morning Dance,” the band’s earliest hit) is touring again, and the closest place currently scheduled to see the band is Toronto.

Fresh off a Grammy nomination for last year’s “Wrapped in A Dream,” the group has now recorded 22 albums. Spyro Gyra performs at 8 p.m. April 28 in the historic Danforth Music Hall. Tickets are $39.50 (CAN) and can be ordered at www.danforthmusichall.ca or by calling (416) 778-8163. The group will also be performing in Toronto’s Mississauga suburb April 27, as it accepts the George Benson Lifetime Achievement Award at the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards at Hammerson Hall in The Living Arts Centre. Show tickets are $60-$90; after-show gala party tickets are an additional $40. Both can be ordered at www.livingartscentre.ca or by calling (905) 306-6000. A special hotel rate of $99 is available on April 27 at Novotel Toronto, Mississauga Centre, around the corner from the Living Arts Centre. Call (905) 896-1000. For hotel information, visit www.novotel.com. Additional band information, including downloadable music clips, history and an interesting Q&A that reveals how the band got its name is available at www.spyrogyra.com. Films for kids

The Sprockets International Film Festival for Children celebrates its 10th anniversary with a schedule of nearly 100 films that will be shown the weekends of April 13-15 and 18-22.

The festival, a division of the renowned Toronto International Film Festival Group, will show 98 movies representing 28 countries, including 43 animated films. Last year, more than 24,000 people attended the event.

The April 13 opening night features the North American premiere of “The Reef” (also known as “Shark Bait,” featuring the voices of Freddie Prinze Jr., Rob Schneider and Fran Drescher. Kids will root for the little fish (Prinze) in the big sea in this animated underwater comedy. Tickets for the opening night film and party are $13.68 per adult, $9.43 per child, plus GST and service charges.

The festival also includes a family program for ages 3 and up and film-craft workshops. For complete film listings, showtimes and venues, educational program schedule and ticket information, visit www.sprockets.ca or call (416) 968-FILM. Festival for foodies

Pick up some new eating habits or continue the healthy cooking you now enjoy at the 15th Annual Good Food Festival and Market, April 27-29 at International Centre, 6900 Airport Road in Mississauga. Choose from more than 150 free cooking lessons, including “Whining and Dining,” which features cooking nutritiously for children. One of the many workshops offered is “How To Organize a Wine And Cheese Tasting at Home,” presented by the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

Try some of the hundreds of free food and drink samples available. To put your taste buds to work as an official taster and judge of the newest and best products in 14 categories, pick up your self-guided judging ballot at the People’s Pick booth. Learn about healthy eating from presenters such as Whole Foods Market, the world’s leading retailer of natural and organic foods, which started in 1980 in a single store in Austin, Texas.

Tickets are $12 adults, ($11 if purchased online) and free for children under 12, with an adult. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.goodfoodfestival.net. Climbing the tower

If you want to stay fit and raise money for a good cause, join the 5,000 recreational climbers expected at the 17th annual Canada Life CN Tower Climb to benefit the World Wildlife Foundation-Canada on April 28. All climbers must collect and submit a minimum of $50 in pledges/donation on or before the event day to participate.

According to organizers, it takes the average person about 40 minutes to climb the CN Tower’s 1,776 steps, a total of 144 flights. Trained medical staff will be present inside the staircase.

This is a “hands-free” event, meaning climbers are not permitted to carry anything up the stairwell, not even water bottles, which will be provided to each climber at the end of the climb. More information is available at www.wwfcentral.ca. Play ball!

Finally, it just wouldn’t be April without mentioning that baseball is back. The Toronto Blue Jays home opener is 7:15 p.m. April 9 against the Kansas City Royals in the Rogers Centre. Tickets are $9 to $63 and can be ordered at www.bluejays.mlb.com.