Imagine a museum with no walls. No exhibits, no photography displays, no touch screens tell this museum’s stories. Instead, the Toronto Ward Museum (TWM) is a museum of ideas, of conversation with some conservation thrown in for good measure.

The TWM celebrates the history of Toronto’s earliest immigrant communities, most specifically those that settled in the vicinity of St. John’s Ward or what is known today as downtown Toronto. This region once housed refugees from the Ireland’s Potato Famine, was a resting place for those who escaped slavery in America via the Underground Railroad. It housed immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe and it was the centre of Toronto’s Jewish communities, its Italian communities and the city’s first Chinatown.

There are few physical remains chronicling the Ward’s history. Which is where the Ward Museum comes in. The museum’s lack of a physical structure does not stop it from keeping the stories of Toronto’s immigrant populations alive.

"History often gets told by an elite few,” said co-founder Gracia Dyer Jalea. “The life stories of everyday people are seldom recognized. As a museum dedicated to telling Toronto's migration history, we hope to create space for these stories by partnering and collaborating with communities and individuals whose contributions will help to better shape our understanding of Toronto's migration history.”

In its newest program, TWM is connecting stories of Toronto's past through the city’s rich food heritage.

"Food has the ability to open people's minds and hearts," said Dyer Jalea.  "It is an intimate experience that can create space for dialogue. It can bring us together."

From June 22 to 25, 2016, TWM, in partnership with Heritage Toronto and Culinaria from the University of Toronto Scarborough, will launch Dishing Up Toronto, a series of tours guided by locals who share their own personal stories while exploring different areas throughout the city. Through the tour, they’ll lead guests to some of their favorite neighbourhood hangouts and share favourite dishes that help bring the story of migration to life. The tours include:

A Wok in Chinatown
June 22, 2016, 2-4 p.m.
A Chinatown historian and a professor chef share the stories of Chinese food along Spadina Avenue in Chinatown West. Sample food at a bakery, BBQ store and a supermarket, and watch a demonstration by a master dumpling chef. Space is limited to 10 people.

Taste of Ramadhan
June 25, 2016, 8:30 – 11 p.m.
A food blogger and her family share the flavours and traditions of Ramadhan in their home. Guests from all walks of life are invited to join the family to share stories of Muslim immigration to Toronto. Space is limited to 20 people.

Balikbayan Renaissance: KAIN NA! Filipino Food Tour
June 22, 2016, 2-4 p.m.
Three downtown Filipino restaurants are highlighted on this tour, designed to introduce Philippine culture and cuisine. The tour visits Kensington Market and Queen Street West, and learn how central food is to the Filipino experience. Space is limited to 10 people.

To learn more about the museum and the tours, visit: www.wardmuseum.ca/dishinguptoronto

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