Just returned from five hours as an Aberdeen Street Volunteer. Passed out hundreds of water bottles and plastic cups, and collected hundreds of glass bottles. As for the scene, it was, well, relatively pacific. A few fireworks were set off, there were some minor scuffles between amped-up drunkards, and at one point some sort of rowboat was dragged onto the street and jumped upon. Just before I left, somebody sprayed a fire extinguisher off a house roof, which managed to clear out a significant section of the street. Chaotic? Sure. But in my estimation, not likely worthy of front-page Toronto Star news.

On that note, the presence of the media doesn’t have the most salutary effects: At one point, early in the night, before things had really started, a sudden rallying cry of ‘ole, ole, ole’ broke out and there was a frenzy of activity at one end of the street. The catalyst? A television camera, of course.

Oh, and if you wanted to ask, ‘hey, did you happen to see a dude buck naked from the waist down?’ The answer is yes. Yes, I did.

Also: Watermelon-shaped novelty hats? Bare breasts? A man having his belly signed by partygoers? Yes, yes and yes. Stay classy, Kingston.