Shows four young women: an illeann piper, a whistle player and two young dancers from Cork, Ireland, in the 1800s.

Session: Sunday, February 16, 2020

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To confirm: there IS a session this Sunday afternoon at the Tranzac Club (292 Brunswick Avenue, Toronto) from just after noon until 2:45 pm. Rob and Donna will not be leading the session, however, because they are attending a family gathering. A reminder that the Chris Langan weekend is the first weekend in March (March 6-8), also at the Tranzac. And that Anne’s French-Canadian jam at Amico’s is the 27th of February. Do have a lovely session, and see you all in March (if not before). Rob and Donna

Happy new year: Wishing you a happy new year banner, over top of a horseshoe.

Session: Sunday, January 19, 2020

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Happy new year to you all. We are delighted to welcome you all to the regular session this Sunday, but we would like to inform you of some changes for this weekend only. This weekend, the new, non-profit Speak Music Be Kind Canadian music festival is taking over the Tranzac. They have kindly agreed to let us hold the session anyway, but have asked us to stop by when we arrive and tell them we are playing in the session. They will give us a wristband (the festival is a paid event). Check out the line-up on their website. The Read More …

A digitised Christmas card from the Osborne Collection.

Session: Sunday, December 15

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It’s the last session of the decade, folks! Be there, or be square: Tranzac Club, just after noon until just before 3pm. It’s the last session of the decade, folks! Be there, or be square: Tranzac Club, just after noon until just before 3pm. Some upcoming things you might enjoy: Anne Lederman’s Amico’s session this Thursday (tomorrow) from 7-10 pm (RSVP to Anne, please) Trazac Seasonal Celebration (it’s a blast, there’s even a Mummers’ play!) at the Tranzac on Sunday, September 22. 7pm. By donation. All proceeds go to charity. December 28, there is a contra dance at St. Barnabas Read More …

Session: Sunday, November 17, 2019

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It seems early in the month but yes, indeed, the session is THIS Sunday! See you there, from just after noon to just before 3pm. WARNING: Santa Claus Parade will be in effect. Take evasive maneuvers. The easiest way is to arrive early, maybe grab a coffee at the Future Bakery or any other establishment on the south side of Bloor. If that window of opportunity closes, you can take the TTC to Spadina station and take the streetcar to the first stop south of Bloor, walking west to Brunswick along that street, turning north to the Tranzac. Driving is Read More …

An engraving of Summer, depicted as a young woman surrounded by fruits and other seasonal bounty.

Session: Sunday, June 16, 2019

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So, as you know, we have been having our regular session but forgetting to blog about them this year. We are still alive! Lack of blog or email notification does not mean there are no sessions! You can always trust the Tranzac calendar of events or our TOQueTrad calendar page to tell you which Sunday to come to play tunes. We are continually grateful to the Tranzac for hosting our session since the beginning of 2012. To show our appreciation, we ask for a token donation to the Tranzac Club (recommended: $3.00 or so). The sessions start just after noon Read More …

A Kate Greenaway illustrated card from circa 1900 showing children frolicking in the snow, courtesy the Osboren Collection at Toronto Public Library.

Session: Sunday, January 20, 2019

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A quick reminder that we are getting together to play some tunes this coming Sunday from noon to 2:45pm in the Main Room of the Tranzac Club as usual. Hope to see you there to play in the new year. As you may have seen in a previous post, Rob set up a YouTube channel to for tunes, of which he has published only one, Boucher de St-Ambroise. See you all soon. Rob and Donna

TOQueTrad video channel – Boucher à St-Ambroise

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I thought it would be useful to create a YouTube channel for TOQueTrad that would have tunes as they are played at our regular Toronto session. This video was created last April during one of the many power failures during the first few months in our new apartment. The tune is “Boucher à St-Ambroise” by André Brunet. You can tell the video player to playback at slower speeds if you are trying to learn the tune. You can also tell the player to play back at faster speeds if you find my tempo to be tortuously slow. Transcription: https://thesession.org/tunes/11806

Toronto Santa Claus parade, 1919: Shows a swan float and lots of lovely old cars and people in festive witnter garb.

Session: Sunday, November 18 (Santa Clause parade)

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This is a reminder about the session this Sunday. This is the session that co-incides with the annual Santa Claus parade, so be prepared to take evasive manoeuvres. Museum is the closest subway station which let out south of Bloor. Consider going to Spadina and taking the streetcar to the first stop, which is south of Bloor. Arrive early: The road is closed from 12:30, so if you make it across by noon you should be fine. This is the route from last year. Bonne chance à toutes et tous ! Hope to see you all soon. Rob and Donna