I often give public lectures on a variety of topics related to the history of Toronto and Canada. The best way to keep up to date with my upcoming talks is to subscribe to my Toronto History Weekly newsletter, which you can do for free here, or follow me on social media @todreamsproject.
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BOOKINGS:
If you'd like me to speak at your event, you can email me at adam@torontodreamsproject.com. I've spoken everywhere from local historical societies and libraries, to universities and cultural institutions like the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum, to barroom lecture series like Trampoline Hall.
Here's a list of talks I currently offer:
The Toronto Book of the Dead & The City's Morbid Past
With grisly tales of war and plague, duels and executions, you can learn a lot about Toronto through stories whose endings were anything but peaceful. This talk about The Toronto Book of the Dead delves into those tales — from the murder of Toronto's first lighthouse keeper to the séances that grabbed headlines in the wake of the First World War — and how the city's shifting attitudes toward death have impacted the way Toronto sees its own history.
The Toronto Book of Love & The City's Romantic Past
The Toronto Book of Love explores the history of the city through fascinating true tales of romance, marriage and passion. From the scandalous love affairs of the city's early settlers to the prime minister's wife partying with rock stars on her wedding anniversary, Toronto has been shaped by crushes, jealousies and flirtations. In his talk, we'll explore some of these stories, as well as exploring the evolution of Toronto's ever-changing attitudes toward love.
The Toronto Circus Riot: A True Tale of Sex, Violence, Corruption and Clowns
The strangest riot in Toronto history broke out in the summer of 1855, sparked by a brawl at a King Street brothel. When some rowdy clowns picked a fight with a battle-hardened crew of firefighters, they would quickly learn they'd made a terrible mistake. The circus performers found themselves facing off against Toronto's powerful Orange Order in a bloody clash that revealed the fault lines that once violently divided our city.
Toronto's Founding Dog & How He Almost Got Eaten
The Simcoes brought their pets with them when they founded Toronto in the late 1700s, including a big Newfoundland dog named Jack Sharp. I'll talk a bit about the breed's dramatic role in Canadian history, touch on all the Simcoes' pets, and tell the story of how Jack Sharp found himself in very deep trouble soon after our city was founded.
The Body Snatchers of Toronto
Toronto's dead haven't always been able to rest in peace. There was a time when our city was plagued by graverobbers. As local medical schools developed a ravenous appetite for fresh bodies, grisly scenes played out under the cover of darkness. Victorian Torontonians were left horrified by reports of empty coffins and missing corpses.
A Haunted History of Toronto
You can learn a lot about a place through its ghost stories. Tales of phantoms, spirits and apparitions are connected to many of the most dramatic moments from Toronto's past. The spectres said to lurk in the shadows of our city are tied to war, rebellion, tragedy and transformation. Whether it's the ghost of a murdered lighthouse keeper, the prime minister who spoke to the dead, or the demon of Queen Street West, the supernatural stories told about Toronto illuminate the history of the place we call home.
The Strange & Disturbing Tale of Toronto's First Baseball Championship
The history of baseball in Toronto stretches back to a time long before the Blue Jays first took the field. Our city's first championship club was formed all the way back in the 1880s, with a roster that included an alcoholic monkey-owning slugger and one of the most notorious con artists on the continent. This talk focuses on the unlikely season they won the pennant, the role the franchise played in creating baseball's colour barrier, and the sport's infamous reputation in Victorian Toronto as a game for "undesirables."
The Pandemic That Created The City of Toronto
Cholera swept across the globe two centuries ago, unleashing horrors wherever it went — including Toronto. Our city was still the muddy little frontier town of York back then, a very gross place very vulnerable to disease. When cholera finally arrived, a summer of terror and death made it clear things needed to change. And so, it was a fascinating and deadly pandemic that led the Town of York to become the City of Toronto.
Toronto's Long, Bizarre War Against Rats
Our city has been battling the furry vermin for at least a century and a half. And the fight has often been deeply strange. Whether it's unleashing birds of prey or the poison gasses of the First World War, the ghost rats said to haunt Union Station or the mayor who asked residents to mail rat tails to City Hall, the story of rodent control in Toronto is bizarrely entertaining.
Toronto's Most Notorious Murders
Toronto has a bloody past. It's filled with stories of chilling crimes stretching back to the days when the city was founded. And while these tales may send shivers up our spines, they also have a lot to teach us about the place we call home. In this talk, we'll meet the murderers who've been terrorizing Toronto for more than 200 years — and explore the history of the city through the stories of some of its most infamous homicides.
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WATCH PAST TALKS:
Word On The Street With Lainey Lui
Watch the online conversation between Adam Bunch and Lainey Lui (founder and editor of LaineyGossip.com, co-host of CTV's daytime talk show "The Social", and a reporter on CTV's "etalk") as they chat about some of the most fascinating stories from The Toronto Book of Love. Stream on YouTube for free here.
An Evening With The Beach & East Toronto Historical Society
Explore the romantic history of the city as Adam Bunch shares stories of heartbreak, marriage and scandal from The Toronto Book of Love. Stream on YouTube for free here.
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