REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
THE COURSE BEGINS ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2023...
AND IT COMES WITH FREE BEER!
Alcohol has always been a dramatic part of life in Toronto — from the days of colonial treachery to modern debates over drinking in parks. In this four-week online course, we'll meet drunken rebels, beer-bashing mayors, notorious bootleggers, and alcoholic politicians. We'll witness booze-soaked murders, prohibition-era shootouts, and the kidnapping of one Canada's wealthiest brewers — plus, the bitter fight over whether drinking should be allowed at all. To truly understand Toronto, it helps to understand how this city has been shaped by centuries of people getting drunk.
Plus the course comes with free beer!
A Boozy History of Toronto is being sponsored by Great Lakes Brewery, so if you're logging in from Toronto, you'll get eight free beers to go along with the course — two for each class. (And if you'd like to do a little of your own research ahead of time so you know what kind of tasty beer you're in for, you can check out the Great Lakes Brewpub at 11 Lower Jarvis or find them on offer in bars and restaurants around the city.)
Explore the history of the city with the best-selling author of The Toronto Book of the Dead and The Toronto Book of Love, host of the Canadiana documentary series, and creator of The Toronto History Weekly newsletter.
FORMAT:
This course will include 4 weekly lectures on Zoom with a chance to interact and ask questions, as well as a list of recommended readings & other links. Each week's lecture will last approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.
Every lecture will also be available to stream online later for anyone who has to miss a class, and will remain available for the forseeable future. You'll find the course outline below.
DATES:
September 27 to October 18, 2023.
TIME:
Every Wednesday night at 8pm.
COST:
$75 + tax.
REGISTRATION:
To register, simply fill out the form below and I'll follow up to arrange payment by e-transfer or cheque, whichever you prefer.
If more than one person in your household would like to take the course, feel free to sit in on the lectures together — you only need to pay one fee per screen.
I'm also offering 10% off for paid subscribers of my Toronto History Weekly newsletter! (You can subscribe here.)
If you have any other questions, email me at adam@torontodreamsproject.com and I'll be very happy to answer them.
COURSE OUTLINE:
DRUNKEN BEGINNINGS
Week One
The history of alcohol in Toronto stretches back to a time long before the city was even founded. As the first French explorers arrived in the 1600s to trade with local First Nations, booze became a blunt tool of colonialism. And when a muddy little British frontier town eventually sprang up here, drunkenness immediately became a major concern. Toronto's first murder was sparked by booze. So was its first execution. And drinking helped fuelled political tensions, too, which would soon boil over into outright rebellion.
THE VICTORIAN BIG BUSINESS OF BOOZE
Week Two
Toronto boomed in the late 1800s. And booze boomed with it. Small breweries and distilleries evolved into major corporations. It was a Toronto business that made more whisky than any other in the world, and rich Victorian booze barons left a legacy is still with us today. But at the same time, a growing number of Torontonians became opposed to the entire idea of drinking. And they were determined to ban it altogether.
THE PROHIBITION YEARS
Week Three
The fight over drinking in our city really began picking up steam in the 1880s — with a teetotalling mayor who gave our city the nickname of "Toronto The Good." But the bitter debate raged for decades. It wasn't until the First World War that prohibition finally arrived. And with it came an era of speakeasies, bootleggers and smugglers who battled over control of the underworld, spilling blood and leaving bodies in their wake.
THE MODERN CITY OF TEMPERANCE
Week Four
The end of prohibition didn't mean the end of the fights over drinking in Toronto — or the drama, like when one of the most famous brewers in the country was kidnapped by gangsters. But with the birth of the LCBO, a new era arrived. Drinking might be legal, but the government still strictly controlled it, helping Toronto gain a reputation as a dry and dull city. And while today it might be a much more exciting place, debates over drinking are still regularly making headlines.
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