DynamicHalfDuo

(Editor's Note: This is a fairly long guide, so if you just want the basics, skip to the quick-notes at the end. Additional questions can be directed to my purerave account any time up around 6PM on the day of the event; www.purerave.com , "DynamicUno" )

Welcome to Toronto! If this is your first trip to Toronto or your thirty-first, you may or may not know your way around the area. Although Toronto is far too vast a metro area for me to give a complete layout, I will attempt to focus on the areas of interest to Hullaravers up for the weekend - what I call the "Raver Cube". This is a rough square bracketed by four major streets:

Bloor on the north side; Queen on the south side; Spadina on the west side; and Yonge on the east side.

It should be noted that Hullabaloo itself lies OUTSIDE of this block - but I'll get to that.

Streets in the Raver Cube are laid out on a grid pattern, which makes finding your way fairly easy once you've got the hang of which way you're facing. Remember - south is towards the lake, and the Gardiner Expressway, so long as you're within the Raver Cube.

Points of Interest: There are several points of interest within the cube, and those arriving early to Toronto should have plenty to occupy their time. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from, both fast food and traditional dining, particularly on Queen Street, also home to some of the best shopping in the world. On the corner of Queen and Yonge - the "Cube Root" so to speak - lies the Eaton Centre, an excellent four story shopping mall which is host to a great variety of stores and two food courts, including a Quizno's Subs (highly recommended ). Following Queen Street west towards Spadina you'll find a variety of sights and stores, culminating in Toronto's favourite raver shop, Numb (250 Queen Street West) and 2 The Beat (161 Spadina Ave), your number one record store and home of some of the best ravers you could hope to meet. Also on Spadina, for those on a budget, is the Backpacker's Hostel (191 Spadina) which can be reached at (416) 925 4431. Going rate for rooms for the night is 23$ Canadian - and there's a bar right in the building.

Going north on Yonge Street towards Bloor will lead you to Mick E Fynn's (45 Carlton) which is also located across from the Day's Inn, a convenient hotel traditionally populated by hullaravers in the days preceeding and following Hullabaloo. On your way there you can stop in the Dundas Square park, one of my favourite setting locations. Further up Yonge Street is an LCBO (Canadian Liquor Store) and several cybercafe's for those looking to feed their Purerave addiction. The CyberMax, on Yonge just past Wellesely, is my internet source while I'm in Toronto. Also, not too far south of Queen Street on Yonge is the Hockey Hall of Fame, for those wishing to check out what's left of the NHL (Coincidentally, the address for the Wayne Gretzky Restaurant is 99 Blue Jays Way - 2 blocks south of the skydome, just south of King Street which is itself a few blocks south of Queen street and thus just a little outside of the Raver Cube - this is possibly the best food you'll ever eat combined with a good dose of hockey history).

Greyhound Passengers: Those looking for a different way to travel should look into Greyhound, my preferred method of Toronto-ing. Tickets are generally inexpensive (especially compared with gas, parking, etc.), you can sleep on the way there (and, more importantly, on the way back), the border tends not to be a hassle, and there's NO parking hassles. The Greyhound station is located at the intersection of Bay and Dundas - that's one street up from Queen, and one street over from Yonge, so it's easy to find from the Eaton Centre (there's actually a tunnel that can get you from the Eaton Centre to the Greyhound Station without ever seeing the sky, part of the PATH system, which is a whole new section I'm not even going to cover right now ) This also puts it within a block or so of the Streetcar stop that leads right to Hulla, and about a block from the Dundas subway stop. Easy, and if you get stuck in Canada (you'd be surprised) it's a good escape route home.

Metro Transit/TTC: Everything within the Raver Cube is within fairly easy walking distance. However, considering the potential heat - and the need to save energy for a night of incredible raving - you may want to consider using the TTC. It's fast, easy, and cheap. A single ride costs 2.50 Canadian - however, tickets may be purchased at any subway stop in packs of 5 or 10 at a discount, which I recommend doing if you plan to ride often or with many people. Subway stops are clearly marked with "TTC" signs, but if all else fails know that going to the bottom floor of the Eaton Centre will lead you to one of two Subway stops in that building. The maps are fairly easy to read, but just so there's no confusion know that the subway generally follows the outlines of the Raver Cube - up and down Yonge STreet, up and down Spadina, and across Bloor. The street car is less obvious, but any street with tracks in the centre has street car service - look for poles painted with a bus symbol to recognize stops, and at most (if not all) stops, rain shelters with maps in them. Street cars and the subway (and the bus, although I'm generally baffled by the bus routes and avoid them) are all part of the same system - your subway ticket will work on street cars and busses, and your transfers will as well. What's a transfer? When you first pay your fare, there will be small red machine with a single button and a clock that gives you a ticket when you push the button (in the subways; on the streetcar the drive gives you the ticket). If you need to change from an east/west route to a north/south route, or need to change from surface to subway transport, you will present your ticket to the new vehicle in lieu of paying again. It's fairly obvious in hindsight but I was confused the first few times so feel free to ask for help, they don't mind (generally). Important note - the subway stops running around 1 AM and so do most streetcars - busses on the main streets tend to run all night, and I believe Queen Streetcar does too (though I'm not 100% sure).

Converting Money: You have several options for this, some better than others. The best way is to convert the money ahead of time at your bank - they will not charge you the fees and rate hikes that a tourist money-site will. Additionally, and this is not well known, leaving your money in an American bank account and withdrawing it in a Canadian account will automatically take into account the exchange rate, and will NOT charge you additional fees (beyond the usual ATM fees) for the conversion. For those with no bank account, there are two conversion sites located inside the Eaton Centre, and several more on Yonge Street. Get there early, however - many close by 6 or 7PM. Of course, the Duty Free at your border crossing point can also exchange money, generally at a low rate (though again, not as low as the bank).

Parking: There is a parking lot located very near the Opera House, and for those driving up this may be a good place to leave the car. No matter where you choose to park, however (a hotel will generally offer discount rates on parking), I recommend leaving the car in one parking lot for the whole weekend and taking metro transit. You'll save time, money, and a LOT of stress that way. Look for parking lots with overnight rates, most of which start at 6PM and are generally quite a bit lower than daily rates.

Getting to Hulla: Of course, for all the excitement around Toronto, what we're here for is TEH RAVE - Hullabaloo, that is. Where is it and how do you get there? Chances are good you've been to at least one Hulla before this, so you've already been to the Opera House (735 Queen Street East). You could drive there (and as mentioned above, there is a small parking lot very near the venue) but you'd miss out on the Queen Streetcar ride that is one of my favourite parts of every Hulla. I generally head over around 8 or so (I like the lineup before hand ), but of course you're free to get there whenever you like. To get on the Queen Streetcar, you want to get to the corner of Yonge and Queen (right outside the Eaton Centre). The subway runs right to this stop, so if you're anywhere on Yonge, Spadina, or Bloor you can take the Subway right to this intersection. Once there, you'll get on the Queen Streetcar going EAST - this is important, because going west is going to take you very far away. Trust me on this. If you're not sure, ask the driver if you're going towards the Opera House. Once on the streetcar, sit back and enjoy the ride until you get to BROADVIEW (if you forget, again, simply ask the Streetcar driver to let you know when you're getting close to the Opera House and sit up close to the front). Get off at Broadview and you're practically there - the Opera House is less than a block away and, by this point in the night, should be fairly obvious.

RAVE!

That's a lot of reading, so here's the summary promised early on:

1)South is towards the lake
2)Streets are divided into East and West, with the intersection being Yonge Street.
3) The Opera House is 735 Queen Street East, intersection of Queen and Broadview
4) The main streets are Queen and Bloor (East/West) and Yonge and Spadina (North/South)
5) Change money at your bank or through your atm to save on fees
6) The Hostel is at 191 Spadina for cheap overnight accomodations
7) The Subway is 2.50 per ride, or 5 for 10$ - transfers connect subway, streetcar, and bus routes so you don't pay twice.
8) The Eaton Centre is the corner of Yonge and Queen - this makes a great home base.
9) The Queen Streetcar going East will take you to Hullabaloo at the BROADVIEW stop. There is also a parking lot near Queen and Broadview intersection for those that drive.
10) RAVE HARDER!


And I hope to see everyone there

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Nocturnal Commissions - Hardcore with a Smile

GlowRaver4184

lots of useful info. thnx!

drchwi

im going to have to print this out!!

triskit

Wow... Thanks!! Going to have to check out 2 The Beat when I get there.

neverlandgurl

hahaha
timmy is the bestestestest
you should write a book
"Timmybaloo's Guide to Rave"

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ka0tique

I will add that you can buy a TTC Daypass, with unlimited use 6am-6am for $7.50 (the cost of 3 rides)
Buy them at subway stations before entering the system, and you might want to buy two or three all in one go, thus preparing you for an entire weekend of city travel.

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Puisqu'ils sont vieux et fous
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basic

Great info

Keep in mind that if you get turned around in the cube, just face the CN tower and you are looking south

Oh and the LCBO is just the Ontario liquor store, not Canadian (but who's counting )

basic

Another thing to remember is that the Subway does not start running until 9am on Sunday morning.

The Queen streetcar (the one that goes by the Opera House) runs 24 hours

xRaVeRx

very nice idea tim

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DynamicHalfDuo

THanks to those who added info, I didn't know about the day passes and you can bet I'll be getting one this weekend.

See everyone there!

anabolic frolic

Warning, there might be a garbage strike going on this weekend. Toronto doesn't normally look like a dump!