Toronto Legends.
Every street in this city has a legend. Maybe you arrived with one suitcase and built a life. Maybe you ran the corner shop for forty years, or remember the neighbourhood before the towers went up. Tell the story of your Toronto, in your own words, and we'll turn it into an episode your family can listen to for years.
We're gathering the very first stories now. Free for CASL members, and joining is free too.
One call. Your story, kept for good.
Call and press 4
Call (450) 977-7729 any time, day or night, and press 4 for Toronto Legends.
Just talk
Our story host, a patient automated assistant, asks a few warm questions. You take your time. Most stories take ten to twenty minutes.
We craft your episode
The CASL team listens and shapes it into a short episode in your own voice, with a written story to go with it.
Share it with family
Nothing goes out until we've checked it with you. Then it's yours to share with your children, grandchildren and friends.
You don't have to be famous. You just have to have lived it.
The best stories are the everyday ones nobody wrote down. A few ideas to get you started:
- The day you arrived in Toronto
- The street you grew up on
- The job you did for forty years
- How you met
- A hard winter, and how you got through it
- The shop, the diner, the dance hall that's gone now
- Someone who changed your life
- What you'd tell a young person arriving today
Know someone with a story Toronto should hear?
Your mother, your grandfather, a neighbour who has seen it all. Tell us about them and we'll reach out, gently, if they'd like to take part.
We only contact people who know you've suggested them and are happy to hear from CASL. You can also suggest someone by calling (450) 977-7729 and pressing 4.
Good to know.
Who can tell their story?
Toronto Legends is for CASL members, and CASL membership is free. If you aren't a member yet, you can join on the same call, in about two minutes.
Do I talk to a person?
You talk to CASL's story host, an automated assistant made to listen: it asks a few questions, never rushes you, and lets you tell it your way. The CASL team listens to every story afterwards.
Will my story be published?
Only if you say yes on the call, and only after someone from CASL has checked it with you. You choose whether we use your first name, your full name or no name, and you can change your mind at any time.
What happens to the recording?
CASL keeps it privately and uses it only to make your episode and the written story. If you'd like it deleted, email info@thecasl.ca.
Can my family help?
Of course. A son or daughter can dial for you and sit with you, but you answer the questions about sharing yourself. Family can also send a photo from back then to info@thecasl.ca.
Can I suggest someone else?
Yes, with the form above or by calling and pressing 4. We only reach out to people who know they've been suggested and are happy to hear from us.
When does it launch?
Soon. We're gathering the first stories now, so the people who call today will be among the very first Toronto Legends.
Does it cost anything?
No. Telling your story is free, and so is CASL membership.