Brave New Year

There’s no shortage of things to worry about out there, and the coming year is shaping up to be just as—if not more—stomach churning than the last. So take a break from catastrophizing and make 2025 your year of yes. Always wanted to take a crack at stand-up comedy? The time is now. Curious about what flying a glider feels like? Wonder no more. Wish you could run the world’s major marathons? Get going. Dying to commune with the departed? Contact your nearest medium. For inspiration on wonderful, wild and even some slightly reckless things to tackle over the next 12 months—as described by people who dared to try them—read on.

“My job had me glued to my phone, so I quit screens cold turkey”

A digital detox camp worked wonders for Christie Wong, a 31-year-old social media consultant from Moss Park

“There’s nothing like soaring through the air in a glider”

Emily Peelar, a 20-year-old student from Schomberg, shares her current obsession: flying a plane with no engine

“For my 98th birthday, I zip-lined over Niagara Falls”

Joan Thomlinson, a retired taxi driver from Cambridge, raised over $2,000 for SickKids in the process

“I walked 200 kilometres in eight days in search of inner peace”

For Cherie Bauman, a 52-year-old cook from Guelph, the journey was more important than the destination

“I did stand-up for the first time in my 40s—and now I’m hooked”

After a lifetime of making people laugh offstage, Larissa Primeau, a 46-year-old writer, director and producer from the Beaches, finally took her turn under the hot lights

“I communed with the dead via a seance at Exhibition Place”

Yashy Murphy, a 44-year-old travel writer from downtown, recounts her eerie encounter with spirits from the beyond—or a well-produced spooky spectacle

“I organized a concert with Lizzo and Macaulay Culkin on a moving streetcar”

Riley Murray, a 40-year-old creative director from the Annex, hosted a lineup of celebrities—all while travelling along Queen from McCaul to Parkdale

“I fell in love with gliding over the water like Jesus”

After the death of his father, 41-year-old lip-balm company owner Eric Fallon decided to seize each day and stop putting off new experiences. Enter his latest hobby: wing foiling

“As a home cook eager to improve, I was thrilled to sous for one of my favourite chefs”

Evan Webster, a 31-year-old software sales manager from midtown, got a crash course in the exacting standards of DaiLo chef Nick Liu

“My favourite pastime is sneaking into abandoned buildings”

Dave Conlon, a 49-year-old marketing manager from Burlington, says the fact that his hobby isn’t exactly legal makes it all the more exciting

“Working as a background actor was an exhilarating behind-the-scenes experience”

From acting as a body double in a Guillermo del Toro sex scene to watching a car flip with Colin Farrell, Maddie Fordham, a 34-year-old production manager from Oshawa, had a blast as an extra

“My passion is exploring historic shipwrecks”

Matt Mandziuk, a 45-year-old scuba instructor from St. Catharines, was diving in the Caribbean by the time he was 10

“I was in my forties and happily single, so I decided to marry myself”

Naomi Harris, a 51-year-old photographer from Downsview, travelled to Japan to enjoy a wedding experience for one

“Being a supernumerary is like being handed an all-access pass to the opera”

For diehard opera fan Mark Garlin, a 37-year-old administrative assistant in outpatient care from Swansea, watching his favourite productions from the stage itself was a dream come true

“This summer, I did my first striptease for a room full of strangers”

Ocean La’Vodka Giovanni, a 24-year-old drag performer from Little Portugal, may not have won the amateur strip competition, but it was the ideal venue for their first time

“For our anniversary, my wife and I ate an entire lamb”

Wayne Walker, a 43-year-old cook from High Park North, could think of no better way to celebrate their love than to devour a whole animal together

“Ice climbing helped me realize what I’m capable of”

Christa Niravong, a 48-year-old climber and business owner from Elora, found empowerment by using axes to scale a frozen waterfall

“I ran the world’s six biggest marathons”

Robyn Michaud, a 53-year-old Conestoga College Indigenous studies professor from Woodstock, is seeking her next challenge after completing the World Marathon Majors: Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York and Tokyo

More bucket-list experiences to have in the city

Channel your inner bootlegger For speakeasy enthusiasts eager to revisit the days of bathtub gin (minus the health hazards), Spirit of York offers a make-your-own master class for $100. Hosted at the company’s HQ in the Distillery District, participants get a crash course on the booze’s history and distillation process before experimenting with botanicals to create one-of-a-kind libations. Everyone leaves with a bottle of their special spirit, and, with a little notice, Spirit of York can revive your recipe at a later date to whip up some reserves.

Rent a megamansion If you find yourself with a windfall to burn and an Architectural Digest itch to scratch, bypass Airbnb and Vrbo and head to the Christie’s and Sotheby’s real estate sites to book a few months of luxe living. Or, for one-stop shopping, the US site Mansion Global lists a range of luxury offerings in Toronto—from $5,100 to $21,500 a month—including a three-bedroom-plus-den condo in Yorkville with a 156-bottle wine fridge and a 5,650-square-foot modern home in Lawrence Park South.

Go wild at the zoo Animal lovers who spring for the Toronto Zoo’s VIP package (up to $400 per person) get behind-the-scenes bonuses: five hours with a personal tour guide and a private vehicle to zip around the African Savanna, Australasia Pavilion and more. It’s a hands-off experience—no touching or feeding the animals, please—but you’re privy to training and health care sessions that don’t happen in the habitats, plus tons of insider info. (Psst, the white lion Fintan gets a spritz of Adidas cologne in his mane when he’s good—the big cat loves nothing more than smelling fine.)

Play pirate for a day From May to October, mini mateys and their grown-ups can deploy their best arghs, ayes and ahoys with Pirate Life Theatre for $45 per person. The swashbucklers don their gear and Jack Sparrow–worthy temporary tattoos on shore, then spend an hour sailing around the harbour on the 45-foot Island Rogue. Buccaneer business includes searching for buried treasure, fending off invaders (firing water cannons at a Pirate Life staffer in a passing motorboat) and belting out sea shanties.

Charter a yacht Party like a celeb (on Lake Ontario) by chartering one of the opulent vessels listed at getmyboat.com. Below Deck fans can opt for something like the Carver, a 65-foot yacht that hosts 20 guests for $700 an hour plus captain’s fees. If cruising and sailing is more your speed, the 42-foot Fontaine Pajot Astréa catamaran will cost you and 17 of your nearest and dearest a breezy $1,700 an hour.

Burn rubber in a ’Rari In need of speed? Trade Toronto’s gridlock for the rush of high-octane laps around a professional racetrack in Grand Bend or Bowmanville via the luxury car rental company GTA Exotics. Sunday drivers with champagne tastes can book one of the agency’s tours through Niagara wine country or Halton Hills. For $700, drivers get to spend six hours tooling around in multiple high-performance cars, including a Lamborghini, a Ferrari and a McLaren.

Book a 200-seat screening room with friends Sure, your living room is cozy and convenient, but nothing compares to sitting in a darkened theatre with other movie-loving diehards. Now imagine dictating the time, venue, film and guest list. Local indies across the city, including the Royal, the Paradise and the Revue, rent out their spaces for a few hundred bucks an hour. It beats squinting at your smartphone.

Host a private concert You can spend thousands on Taylor Swift tickets, or you can skip the sweaty throngs, overpriced drinks and bathroom queues by hiring your other favourite artist to thrill you and your crew (and no one else). Paquin Entertainment Group has a roster of 350-plus musicians at various price points—including locals like Broken Social Scene, Cuff the Duke and Holly Cole—and can help you book the venue and gear. If DIY is your thing, there are great cover bands that will rock an exclusive guest list for a few grand—as long as you’re up for playing party planner, host and roadie.