Venturing Out to Toronto's Four Seasons Centre in the Dead of Winter

Looking out of our window into our neighborhood

It has been bitterly cold for the past two weeks during the 2017 Christmas and New Year holidays in Toronto and the rest of Canada.  But we are Canadians; we are not afraid of the cold! We carry on our daily living in frigid cold weather. Nothing would stop us from shopping, going to work, to school and enjoying ourselves.

We pay close attention to the daily weather reports and forecast and dress accordingly and appropriately for the weather.

For the past few days, the temperature in Toronto was hovering around minus 20 degree C., and with wind chill, it felt like minus 29 degree C. in Toronto.

The government did issue an extreme cold alert advising homeless people to avoid sleeping outdoors and to seek shelter at one of the city warming and homeless shelters. When the government issues warning against people going out or driving, we generally heed the advice.

My mom at the Shen Yun performance, Four Seasons Centre, Toronto

Though the temperature was chilling to the bone, there was no official warning from the government asking people to stay home.  Therefore, we came out of our warm homes during the holidays and attended a Shen Yun performance at the Four Seasons Performing Arts Centre shortly after the New Year.

Front entrance of the Four Seasons for the Performing Arts Centre, Toronto

Home of the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada, the Four Seasons for the Performing Arts Centre is located in downtown Toronto.

Designed by by a Canadian company, the building was completed in 2006  and can accommodate over two thousand people.

The design of this piece of modern architecture includes an unusual glass staircase.

The Four Seasons Centre was very strict about no photography taken inside the theatre. Following the instructions, I did not take any pictures of the Shen Yun performance. It was a marvelous show with lots of Chinese traditional and tribal dancing. My mom obviously enjoyed the performance as she was wide awake being interested for the whole time.

At the end of the performance, she was happy and commented enthusiastically on the show. She told me that of all the dances we had seen, she enjoyed the handkerchief dance the most. She was mesmerized by how skillful the dancers were in manipulating and controlling the handkerchiefs which became beautiful and powerful props in th dancers' hands.

As long as we can make my mother happy and bring her a good time, this makes us happy. It was worth the time, the effort and our venturing out into the freezing cold to bring my mom out for an enjoying afternoon in the middle of a seriously cold Canadian winter.

R.T.

Four Seasons Performing Arts Centre

Toronto, Ontario