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Rain in Toronto can dampen your enthusiasm for life - unless you have a plan for combating those blues. While we don't suffer the same wet days as cities like Vancouver or Halifax on either coast, we see our fair share of rain here in Toronto, so it's useful to find some inspiration for rainy-day fun.

Here are 30 things to do on a rainy day in Toronto.

GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS

See what's new at the Design Exchange
Housing many articles of Canada's unique design history in their permanent collection, as well as some impressive exhibitions, there is always something sure to delight at the Design Exchange. (Take, for example, the recent This Is Not A Toy, a show of conceptual toys guest-curated by Pharrell Williams.)

Take in some culture at the AGO
The architecture alone at the Art Gallery of Ontario is worth a rainy day visit, with the pitter-patter of droplets hitting Gehry's arch of windows as you walk in the sculpture garden. The collection, or more rightly, the several collections, include the cannon of Canadian art, Old Masters, Modern and Contemporary work, and more.

Go under the sea at Ripley's Aquarium
If the weather wasn't wet enough, why not take a visit to the aquarium, go to the underwater tunnel or one of the observation rooms, and be surrounded by water and sea life? They've got thousands of different types of creatures, including many varieties of sharks.

Check out the new Aga Khan Museum
The brand-new Aga Khan Museum celebrates the artistic accomplishments of Muslim civilizations from the Iberian Peninsula to China. Some of the world's most exciting Islamic art is on display, including paper works, ceramics, metalwork, ivory, stone, textiles and other objects.

Visit the Ryerson Image Centre
Dedicated to photography and related disciplines, the Ryerson Image Centre is a great place to spend a rainy afternoon. Some of this year's most notable exhibits include "What It Means To Be Seen: Photography and Queer Visibility" and "Dispatch: War Photographs in Print, 1854-2008", both evocative reflections on human experience.

ENTERTAINMENT

See a play
Fans already know of the abundance of great theatre in Toronto, but those unfamiliar with the many productions around should take some time on a grey-skied day and explore the local options. Summerworks, Toronto Fringe, Rhubarb and NextStage all have wonderful programming if they are going on; otherwise check the listings at one of the local theatres, like Annex, Mirvish, Soulpepper or Tarragon.

Watch a movie
Toronto is a well-respected 'movie' town: we make them, we act as a backdrop and work supply for others who make them, we celebrate them with many festivals, of which TIFF is just the largest, and boy, do we watch them. My favourite screen is the number 8 at Varsity, but there are many wonderful cinemas to escape to for a rainy day matinee.

Visit the TIFF film library
TIFF's Film Reference Library carries thousands of cinema related books and magazines, scripts, and importantly for those rainy-day wanderers, viewing stations with 11,000 film and TV programs to plug into. If that wasn't enough to keep you occupied, there are exhibits, like the current Kubrick exhibit nearby in the Lightbox, that you can view for a charge.

Cheer on the local team
Some of the best sporting arenas in Toronto are covered, making them perfectly enjoyable no matter what the weather. The Rogers Centre (aka the Skydome) lets you enjoy Major League Baseball games (plus the nosebleed sections can be quite cheap), The Air Canada Centre is home to both the Raptors NBA team and Toronto's beloved Maple Leafs, while the Ricoh Coliseum houses the AHL Marlies hockey games. Don't have enough dough for tickets? Hit up a sports bar.

Check out the comedy scene
Bluesy weather can be directly combatted with a steady stream of laughs, so why not seek out some comedy the next time the clouds roll in? The three major sites for comedy in Toronto were Yuk Yuk's, Second City and Absolute Comedy, but up and comers and renegade comics are now also found at Comedy Bar, Black Swan Comedy or the Laugh Sabbath nights at the Rivoli.

ACTIVE PURSUITS

Bowling
Bowling is a wonderful pastime, and easier to consider when the weather is less than pleasant. The Ballroom may be the only downtown spot to bowl, though Thorncliffe Bowlerama and Danforth Bowl are close; otherwise head north to Playtime Bowl or Bathurst Bowlerama. (How can you resist a place called Bowlerama?)

Indoor beach volleyball
Even on a sunny day, you may not consider Toronto an apt location for beach volleyball, so it seems like a stretch that such a sport could be enjoyed in TO on a glum, wet day. Not so: Both Beach Blast and North Beach Volleyball offer year-round indoor beach volleyball with actual sand courts.

Indoor badminton
Drop-in fees for badminton clubs across the GTA are sometimes low, making it a great choice to occupy a couple of listless hours on a rainy day, or maybe it's a steady passion in your life, come rain or shine, in which case you may want to invest in a club membership at a spot like The Boulevard Club.

Indoor tennis
Indoor tennis is another thought for a rainy day. Rosedale, North York Winter Tennis Club, Eglinton Flats Winter Tennis Club, and the Scarborough Winter Tennis Club have rates plebes can afford, while the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club is where you want to go if you know a member.

Swimming
Sometimes the way to best deal with a rainy day is to dive right in. Many neighbourhoods have their own indoor community pool like the Regent Park Aquatic Centre which has free and lane swimming at various times throughout the day. There are university pools like U of T's, or the familiarity of the old YMCA - or you could spring for the luxury of a hotel pool, like the Four Seasons, but you'll pay dearly.

Ping pong
There are lots of outdoor table tennis locations around the GTA, but what happens when the sky rains on your ping-pong parade? Some community centres have ping pong tables, like the Trinity Bellwoods, or hit one of T.O's table tennis centres - there's Top Spin Table Tennis or SPiN Toronto - where you can eat, drink and hit the court.

Indoor golf
Who said hitting the green was a summer time pursuit? You can also par bogey bogey par if the weather is rotten - even in a thunderstorm, you can keep working on your hole in one without worrying about getting electrocuted. Try the Lakeshore Links, Tee Times Indoor Golf or Metro Golf Dome.

Curling
If there is one thing that's more Canadian than skating, it's curling, a sport played by basically no one but us. I have yet to understand all the rules, and think the next time the weather turns I'll head to one of the many clubs in TO and get a better grip on one of the nation's favourite sports.

Skating
Many community centres and parks have rinks, and what's more Canadian than taking a spin on the rink? We've found ways to skate in any weather, but unlike outdoor rinks (useless with an inch of water on them) an indoor facility works come hell or high water.

Spinning
Want to combine exercise, cycling and nightclub energy? Find a spinning class. Every body gets on these stationary bikes, while the leader or coach plays crazy music and shouts "GO, GO, GO" at the hard parts, and you sweat a ton and generally feel like a tired million bucks at the end. Quad is a reputable one, with two locations, while Track Fitness in Forest Hill and RPM in the Junction service other neighbourhoods. Check out our list of Toronto's best spin classes to find one near you.

Rock climbing
An indoor gym is a fantastic way to enter into the world of rock climbing, with qualified instructors, safe climbs and mats and rentable gear. (Besides, climbing in a downpour sucks.) Boulderz Climbing Centre, Zen Climb, Toronto Climbing Academy, and Joe Rockhead's Indoor Rock Climbing are all available for amazing climbing experiences.

Parkour
Wet weather makes me sluggish, so to keep the blood moving, I need to move. The Monkey Vault training centre is a huge indoor (and outdoor) space set up for parkour. There's room for free running, tricking, gymnastics, breakdancing, even a place to work on your circus acts.

MAKE THINGS

VIsit a DIY cafe
We could all learn a new skill or two, and there is often a café or shop with highly skills persons there to help lead the way. You can learn to fire a mug at The Clay Room or All Fired Up, or knit at The Purple Purl or fashion some outfit at Sew Be It or The Workroom. You can even make jewellery at Jewel Envy and glass art at Nanopod Studio try your hand at 3D printing at 3DPhacktory. I personally want to be able to fix cars, but they don't have a café for that yet.

Unleash your inner artist
Painting in public doesn't sound like everyone's cup of tea with all that pressure to create something great, but drop into a Paintlounge some rainy day and the hesitancy will subside. They provide the supplies, right down to the canvas, and there are knowledgeable instructors to help you get the hang of being a real-life artiste.

Brush up on your life drawing skills
Not for jokesters, life drawing is a serious activity where you draw awkwardly posed naked people in a semi-private environment. There are tons of opportunities to participate in this time-honoured artistic tradition, which is, in all seriousness, a cornerstone of good drawing practice. Bring your kraft paper and drop into one of these life-drawing classes the next rainy day.

Borrow something from the Toronto Tool Library
Sometimes it takes a bad weather day to look around your home and reflect on the state of affairs. Inevitably you want a new table, to put up that shelf in the bathroom, or to fix a wonky doorframe, but come on, who has all the equipment these days? Enter the Toronto Tool Library, where you can borrow all the tools you need to get the job done.

GAMES

Get lucky at a bingo hall
I love everything about bingo - except for the dreaded bingo arm, and the fact that bingo seems a little sacrilegious on a sunny day. No worries, then, when the clouds roll in - grab your stampers and strips and head on down to the hall for some games, and when you win a round, raise up those arms with pride, waddle or no waddle. You could be playing for big money!

Play at a board game cafe
An overcast sky can be a welcome indication of a cozy afternoon, tucked away with a book or a board game. Board game cafes have sprung up all over the GTA (Snakes and Lattes, Snakes and Lagers and Castle Board Game Café are some of my favourite spots) to offer just such a respite on a rainy day.

Go crazy at karaoke
Sing your heart out in one of those private karaoke rooms the next time the weather turns sour. They usually have no windows anyway and are illuminated by the background videos of cheesy beach walkers and eye-gazing lovers while you read the accompanying lyrics. You'll be so busy struggling to sing "Yah Mo Be There" you won't even notice the torrential downpour outside.

Get stuck in an escape room
Next time the showers start, why not grab a couple of your wisest friends and book yourselves in at escape room? The principle sounds terrifying: Lock yourself in a room in a setting - say, murder mystery, Saw-like horror scenario, or other speculative fiction - and race against the clock to figure your way out. But businesses like Real Escape Game T.O, Mystery Room, or Locked-In are all making a go of it, so who knows? It's worth a try.

What did I miss? Add your picks for rainy day activities in Toronto to the comments.

Photo by Stephen Lee in the blogTO Flickr pool.

TORONTO – A Toronto high school is investigating allegations that a teacher made racist remarks in front of students.

Keven Matchett said he was shocked when his son came home and told him about the alleged incidents.

“I was absolutely floored. I remember pulling over the truck to look at my son in the face and asked him are you embellishing? Are you exaggerating? Did this actually take place? And he said, ‘yeah Dad this actually happened.’” said Matchett.

Matchett said his son, who is in Grade 10 at Monarch Park Collegiate, told him about an incident during class. He said the teacher was splitting the class up into teams.

“’All the light coloured skin people on this side of the class. And all the dark coloured skin people on that side of the class.’ So he chose the colour of skin to separate a class. For the purpose of establishing teams.” said Matchett.

In another instance, Matchett said his son told him the teacher told the class “All Asian people look the same.”

“I couldn’t sit still on this. I was very upset about this,” said Matchett.

Matchett contacted school administration with his concerns on Thursday. The school principal allegedly told him they were too busy to look into the complaint right away.

“Initially, it was relayed to me how unbelievably busy they were due to the impending 50th anniversary the school was about to celebrate,” he said.  “Because of that, the school was going to have to wait until Monday to be addressed.”

But then his son came home Thursday afternoon with another story about the teacher Matchett said. His son told him he was a couple minutes late for class so the teacher told him to leave.

“Get out of my class. I don’t care what you do or where you go. Just get out. Didn’t tell him to go to the office. Didn’t lecture him as to why were you late?” said Matchett.  “Our son is 14. This is now a safety concern.”

Matchett said he contacted the school right away and learned an emergency meeting took place between the school’s superintendent, principal and vice principal about the alleged remarks.

Global News contacted the school but was told all matters were being directed to the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).

The TDSB said in a written statement to Global News the school is investigating.

“We pride ourselves on being multi-cultural, being a tolerant society, and accepting society. I feel like we packed up and moved and now we live four or five or six hours north of Toronto in a very small, enclosed, restrictive culture. That’s how it makes me feel,” said Matchett.

Matchett said he doesn’t want to see the teacher fired but thinks some education or sensitivity training may help. He and his partner adopted six children, some of whom have special needs and another who is a visible minority.

“I want to know that my children, all of my children, are living in a world, in a city where they are accepted 100%. Based on who they are as individuals, Not what they look like.”