The Great Reopening

It happened slowly, then all at once. First the patios opened, aglow with twinkly lights and crowded with wine-buzzed patrons, giddy to be out of their homes. Then there were picnics with long-lost friends. Then backyard family reunions. Soon we couldn’t walk a block without coming upon a park concert, an impromptu street party, an outdoor play. For the first time in forever, we danced, celebrated and hugged our grandparents. The memoirs below describe Toronto’s reawakening from the people who lived it. The best part? How wonderfully normal the whole thing felt. Now, with the fourth wave upon us, seems like as good a time as any to reflect on what reopening means to all of us.

The Great Reopening

Culture

“After the show, a lot of us cried happy tears”: What it’s like for a National Ballet dancer to be back onstage

"Big jetés and tours require a great deal of physical power, and it took a while to build up the strength to execute those moves again"

Culture

“The first day, we had people lined up around the block”: AGO director Stephan Jost on reopening his museum

"The Warhol show had to be hung virtually. We invented a whole new system using virtual couriers"

City News

“We set up our synagogue in the park wading pool”: This rabbi held in-person services for the first time in nine months

"I must have said, ‘It’s so great to see you!’ dozens of times—and I meant each one"

City News

“There wasn’t a dry eye the whole night”: This couple finally got married after rescheduling five times

"We made four separate guest lists because we didn’t know how many would be allowed on the day"

City News

“We haven’t sold this much high-end wine in a long, long time”: Restaurateur Charles Khabouth has reopened his night spots and rehired hundreds of people

He had to lay off 98 per cent of his 2,000-person staff at the beginning of the pandemic

City News

“It was such a thrill to hear our voices echo through the cathedral again”: This 16-year-old reunited with his choir after a year apart

"In the school’s auditorium, we sang in clear, three-sided booths built from pipes and plexiglass"

Culture

“We rehearsed through rain, heat and strong winds”: How Stratford staged A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a covered parking lot

"One particularly powerful gust sent hundreds of pages of scripts flying, and the the entire company chased after them"

City News

When we reopened our sports league, we brought back 1,250 teams, 15,000 players and even a couple of Arkells

"After teams scored, there were a lot of elbow bumps instead of high-fives"

Culture

I was hired in 2019 to lead the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. After almost three years, I’m finally making my official onstage debut

"Playing together again reminded us of who we are and what we love to do"

Memoir

“I made 8,000 candles in my apartment”: How one woman transformed her Instagram side hustle into a bricks-and-mortar store

"When we opened registration for our first candle-making class, it sold out in half an hour"

City News

“It was like a big party”: What it’s like for a hair salon owner to reopen her business

My regulars come in and say, 'We’re home at last!'

City News

“She showed them her new shoes and her big-girl backpack”: This seven-year-old reunited with her grandparents after nearly two years of separation

They threw her a llama-themed birthday party

City News

We bought a ramshackle 1970s motel in Thornbury for $1.2 million. Now it’s a boutique roadside destination

"The first night, my eyes welled up with tears. I was seeing this vision come to life"

City News

“Our director dialled into rehearsals on Zoom”: After six months of delays, this theatre producer finally opened his show

"Each audience member downloads an app and listens to the dialogue on their headphones"

City News

I transformed a parking lot rooftop into a full-service gym

"Clients have showed up with champagne and doughnuts. One even brought us a new Nespresso coffee machine"

City News

“It’s pretty magical to be here”: Scenes from Canada’s Wonderland, which is open again after almost two years

People drove in from across Ontario to hit up the Leviathan and Behemoth

Food & Drink

“It was like a first date. I had butterflies”: 20 Victoria’s Chris White on starting fresh after closing Brothers Food & Wine mid-pandemic

"We’ve just been waiting—we didn’t want our first impression to be in boxed form"

This feature package appears in the September 2021 issue of Toronto Life magazine. To subscribe for just $29.95 a year, click here.