To purchase tickets with cheque payment instead of credit card, call 416-203-0942

THE ISLAND on the INSIDE. Enjoy a delightful summer day on the Island in support of a great cause. On June 13, the Toronto Island Grannies in Spirit will host a tour of distinctive homes and community buildings, each with its own story to tell. The tour will feature a selection of historic, renovated, original and new homes. Visitors will also be able to meet Island residents, find out about Island life, and gain insight into one of Canada's most historic — and unique — communities.

Houses on the tour open at 1pm but you can register anytime after 12 noon. Come early to see the historical presentations or to have lunch in one of three restaurants in the community.

The Toronto Island community started as a “tent city” in the early 1900s. It is now a unique, year-round — and car-free — neighbourhood, with more than 650 residents living in 262 homes. There are no stores, banks, or ATMs. Some of the houses were purchased out of the Simpson’s catalogue in the 1930s. Others were floated from Hanlan’s Point when the Island Airport was built. And still others have been renovated or designed by architects to make optimal use of small spaces. The community is part of the urban landscape, yet magically removed from the city by a fifteen minute ferry ride.

Grannies in Spirit is one of over 230 grandmother groups across Canada in the Grandmothers Campaign. All proceeds from this event will go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to fund grass roots projects in Africa that support grandmothers who are raising their orphaned grandchildren. For more information on the Grandmothers Campaign and the Stephen Lewis Foundation, go to http://www.grandmotherscampaign.org and http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org.

Tickets will be emailed to you; PRINT TICKET AND BRING TO EVENT for entrance.

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2010
Time: 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Ticket Price: $40 ($15 for children 13 and under). 
Location: WARDS ISLAND at the east end of Toronto Island. Take the island ferry service to WARDS ISLAND.

About the Ferry Service to Wards Island: Ferry dock is at the foot of Bay Street (on Queens Quay, behind the Westin Harbour Castle hotel.) Be sure to take the ferry to Wards Island. Ferries leave every half hour in June; give yourself time to purchase ferry tickets as lineups may be long. Tour ticket does not include ferry ticket: return ferry is $6.50 for adults, $4 for students and seniors, $3 for children under 14, free for children 2 and under.

For more information about the tour, call 416-203-0942 or email granniesinspirit@gmail.com.

To purchase tickets over the phone, call 416-203-0942.