Max, who comes to almost every meeting, was kind enough to let us repost some of the pictures he’s taken during four of our Smokers. (You can find the originals on his site.)
Downtown Toronto Pipe Club
The Vegas Pipe Show is coming up — November 2nd and 3rd — and a contingent of smokers from the DTPC will be there to rub elbows with fellow pipe brethren and get up to general no-good. If you plan to be at the show, drop us a line!
Well, despite the scorching heat that blew in this month and stayed for a few days there is no denying that we are rapidly approaching Fall! That means the next smoker will be our official “Season Closer”. It will be on Wednesday, October 2nd at 7:30pm at The Raq.
Again, I should point out that the venue can be fully enclosed (excepting the roof) and they do have a mighty big and powerful heater — so don’t let any cold weather deter you.
I will note there may be subsequent smokers, but past October they will not be guaranteed as they are subject to either the good fortune of finding an indoor venue or unusually welcoming (and forecasted) weather!
We shall leave the month of August behind us with its threat (not carried through) of thunderstorms and proceed into the every-increasingly fickle months ending with “er”. Up next: our September Smoker. It will be on Wednesday, September 4th at 7:30pm at The Raq.
Our venue is pretty forgiving when it comes to wind and cold (thanks to walls and a big heater) but if the sky threatens rain then please check this web-site the day of the smoker just to make sure we haven’t rescheduled.
Due to the 80% chance of thunderstorms tonight, the August Smoker has been shifted a day to Thursday, August 8th at 7:30pm at The Raq.
Hope you can all make it!
Thanks to everyone who came out to our June Smoker! We had over a dozen members attend again this time, despite the fact that June weather wasn’t kind to us — it got to be quite chilly! (Fortunately, the heater was working so we were toasty warm in no time.)
Our next smoker will be on Wednesday, July 3rd at 7:30pm at The Raq. (You’d think we were inside!) See you there.
Local pipemaker and DTPC member Michael Parks has asked us to post about an event at his workshop this Wednesday, May 22nd, from 6-9pm. It’s a pipe night with the smokers from Victory Cigars and there will even be a special “pipe cake” made from a local bakery, Cakes and Coffee.
June Smoker
It was great to see so many members out for our Spring Opener — there were 14 of us there despite the threat of rain and cool-ish weather. We lit up the night with pipes and it was nice to catch up with some of our oldest members (that would be Gord, “The General”) and longest-standing (that would be Paul) and meet some new faces as well (that’s a shout-out to Jack).
Our next smoker will be on Wednesday, June 5th at 7:30pm at The Raq. For those who have never yet been there — it’s on the second floor and their patio is completely enclosed by four walls so the worst of the wind is kept out.
Retiring the Google Group
In an effort to simplify and consolidate the multifaceted means of communicating online, the Google Group will be retired effective May 31st. For social communications I would like to direct you to our Facebook Group instead.
Our Google Group members have been consolidated with our standard “Smoker Alert” mailing list and news of upcoming smokers will be sent out as “Newsletters”, of which this is the first. Rest assured you can expect to receive no more than 1 or 2 per month. If you wish to opt out of these newsletters follow the link below and you can still visit the official DTPC website for news of the next smoker or visit the aforementioned Facebook group.
We’re half-way through April and we’re only getting the occasional snow squall–so clearly it’s time for us to dust off the briars, huff into our tobacco jars (to get the humidity back up), and note the location of our parkas (just in case) for the 2013 Season Opening Smoker. We’ve seen an uptick on the number of people emailing about looking forward to the next meeting — and we’re up to 176 people on this list now — so let us get ready to rejoice together by unleashing great gales of tobacco smoke into the Toronto night sky on Wednesday, May 8th @ 7:30 pm.*
Location
The Raq
739 Queen St. West, 2nd Floor (near Tecumseh, a block west of Bathurst)
www.theraq.ca
In Other News
We have fancy new logo and a completely redesigned website. See them at Downtown Toronto Pipe Club website and be sure to check out the swag in our online store while you’re there. (A small percentage from every purchase goes to the club to help pay for cool events, such the BBQ we had last year.)
Brothers in briar,
DTPC
* We’re not weather forecasters. It may be too frigid, or pouring rain, or even snowing again… so be prepared for us to go to Plan B: The Following Wednesday if weather does not permit.
On our way back from the 2012 Chicago Pipe Show we made an unintentional stop at the one of most eclectic pipes shops on the planet, Paul’s Pipe Shop in downtown Flint, Michigan. If you ever go, be sure to make time to go through the pipe museum on the top floor.
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Interested in finding out where and when the next meetings are as well as conversing with fellow Toronto pipe smokers? Give us your email below and let us do the rest.