Annoucing: The Toronto Dreams Project's Grand Tour of Europe!

If you're a long-time reader, then you know all about The Toronto Dreams Project — it's the reason I started this blog way back in 2010. For nearly a decade now, I've been writing fictional dreams about figures from our city's past, printing them on custom-designed postcards, and then leaving them in the places where that history happened so people can find them. It's a way to bring history to life and hopefully get more people interested in it.

But Toronto’s history doesn't end at our city limits; as a deeply multicultural city, you'll find our stories in places all over the world. Five years ago, your support allowed me to take The Toronto Dreams Project on the road to the UK — leaving dreams in places across England and Wales related to the history of Toronto.

Now, I'm getting ready for an even more ambitious adventure...

This September, I'm taking The Toronto Dreams Project on a Grand Tour of Europe. I'll be leaving about twenty different dreams about the history of Toronto in seven cities across four countries: Rome, Florence, Venice, Berlin, Barcelona, Marseille and Paris. Every one of those places is connected to the history of our own city in utterly fascinating ways by utterly fascinating people — from crime bosses to war heroes to bomb-wielding suffragettes.

You'll also be able to follow along on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as I share incredible true stories of our city's connection to those places. Together, we'll learn everything from how a fish from Kensington Market ended up as a major landmark in Spain, to the link between a baby born outside the Vatican two centuries ago and our very own hometown rapper Drake. We'll meet a University of Toronto spy as he's gunned down by Nazis in the streets of Paris. A prime minister searching for prophecies in Berlin. The movie star who brought fettuccine alfredo to America. 

I'll be sharing some stories about Canada's historical connections to Europe through Canadiana, too — so be sure to follow us over there as well, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Thanks so much to everyone who supported the Dreams Project's crowd-funding campaign. Without you, this would be just another trip to Europe. With you, it's going be a historical adventure bringing the history of Toronto to life in the alleyways, cafés and monuments of a continent half a world away.

It all kicks off on September 7! I cannot wait to share sharing these stories with you!

If you missed out on the crowd-funding campaign, but would still like to contribute, you can send a donation via PayPal here. And I'll be very happy to send you the same perks: a personalized video message for everyone who contributes; a copy of one of the new dreams for those who pledge $25; three for $50; and if you donate $100 or more I'll send you a copy of every single one of the new dreams you've helped me create.