What's Happening

Grand Parade with singer Sarah Jerrom, plays jigs and reels at the Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge on Saturday, just one night in a jam-packed schedule.

The Annex Wreck Room at Bathurst and Bloor hosts the Governor's Bash Metal/Comedy Showcase Saturday night featuring lots of metal music.
$12 will get in you in to Lee's Palace tomorrow to see Montreal duo Handsome Furs.

The Bloor Cinema features some interesting older movies in the next week as far-ranging as Batman: The Movie from 1966 to a new 35mm print of Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows on Tuesday. Time Magazine said the latter "defined the French New Wave for the world."

Only singletons from 21 to 39 are welcome to attend Fastlife's Annual Little White Lie event at Lobby on Bloor, west of Avenue Road.
"Themed around the Little White Lies we all tell, [the party] boasts fabulous draw prizes, cheeky lying games, Lady Lie (our human lie detector – dishing out penalty shots upon lie detection) and so much more."
Participants wear -- what else? -- white. Things get underway at 8 pm and tickets are $25.

This Friday from 6 to 8 pm, attend the Open Clay Studio at the Gardiner Museum on Queen's Park Circle to try your hand at working with clay. Sunday from 1 pm to 3 pm is available, too --just get there 30 minutes prior to buy your $10 ticket.

Our own area is once again on a walking tour agenda, this time a free, guided ROMwalk Wednesday. Highlights included the Medical Arts Building, the First Church of Christ Scientist, the York Club, plus two residential styles of architecture unique to Toronto.
Meet at Avenue Road and Lowther Avenue at 6 pm.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

The Bloor Cinema on Bloor just east of Bathurst is one of the screening sites for the Filmi South Asian Film Festival. Tonight at 9:30 pm is the North American premiere of When Kiran Met Karen.
And Sex And The City screens at various times Saturday through Tuesday... excuse for a night out?

Brooklyn band Oneida plays Lee's Palace Friday at 7:30 pm. Tickets are only $8.50.

The Art Bar Poetry series at Clinton's features a special theme night on Tuesday: Poetry & Blues.
"Hostess Cynthia Gould leads an eclectic lineup of poets & musicians in an exploration of the bluesy side of poetry and the poetic essence of blues lyrics."
As always, things get underway at 8 pm and voluntary donations are appreciated.

It's India Weekend at the ROM featuring films and dance performances, including one that "is a unique and refreshing new take on the much-loved sport of cricket. It pushes the boundaries of contemporary bharatanatyam in an exciting display of dance, sport and popular culture."
Sounds intriguing!

And, last but not least, there's the Friends of Christie Pits neighbourhood celebration on Sunday from 4 to 6 pm that I already BLOGged about.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

OOPS! Thanks to "anonymous" for pointing out that I had an old PS Mirvish Village event posted... I've removed it to avoid confusion.

Bloor Cinema has the Summer Toronto Film Challenge results Friday at 7 pm. Admission is $12.
As well, the Toronto premiere of Stuck runs throughout the week. Starring Mena Suvari and Stephen Rea, it's billed as being firmly in the gallows humour category.

Wisconsin singer-songwriter Bon Iver is at Lee's Palace Tuesday. Tickets are $14.

Dr. David Tal, a gerontology specialist, will be at the MilesNadalJCC June 17th at 1:30 pm to present Heart and Mind: Promoting Health and Preventing Disability. It's $2 (free for members), and includes coffee and a bagel. For more information, contact Phyllis Fien, phyllisf@mnjcc.org.

On Wednesday, you can mosey over to the Palmerston public library at 10:30 am to watch a family movie. Call 416.393.7680 for details.

The Tranzac Club on Brunswick hosts its Open House this Saturday starting at 8 pm with a jam-packed line up that includes the Fembots and castlemusic. Tickets are $10 in advance/for members and $12 at the door.

The Art Bar poetry reading series at Clinton's features Jaclyn Piudik, Spencer Butt and Christopher Doda, Tuesday at 8 p.m. Free admission, but donations are welcome.

Annex residents are involved in the "sold out smash hit of last year's Fringe Festival," Gladstone Variations.
''Convergence Theatre once again takes audiences on a journey of discovery through Toronto's historic Gladstone Hotel, where a first-rate cast ushers you into connected worlds of dreams, memories, and lost loves."
Performances run from July 16 to August 3rd. Tickets vary in price and can be ordered online.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

As a reminder, there's an Environment Day in our area Saturday.

For more fun pursuits, you might want to hoof it up to Casa Loma for this weekend's Renaissance Festival.
"Casa Loma's estate gardens will be transformed into a Renaissance-style village populated by vendors, village characters and the court of King Henry VIII."
Acts include comedians Men In Tights (extra $2); Sir Charles of Linton, with his bird of prey; and Zoltan the Adequate, geek magician.

The Fringe, Toronto's Theatre Festival, is on till the 13th, as I already BLOGgeda about, and one of the sites in the MilesNadalJCC at Bloor and Spadina.
That's also the site for the third Annual IsReal Dance Festival July 3 to 5, which aims to "share the joy and fun of Israeli folk dancing, in celebration this year of Israel @ 60."

And on Sunday, you can mosey over to the MNjcc to hear author Brandon Marlon reading The Bleeding Season, which took top honours at the Canadian Jewish playwrighting competition.
"This play explores the physical and psychological effects of the suicide terrorists on both Israelis and Palestinians."
The suggested donation at the door is $8 and things get underway at 2 pm. For more information contact Esther Arbeid, esthera@mnjcc.org, 416.924-6211, ext. 606.

Remember Lukas Rossi, he of the heavy eyeliner and skunk-stripe hair? Who won Rockstar Supernova, the reality show quest for a singer to front a band made up of former members of various famous bands?
Well, if you do, you might be happy to know that he is in town with his band to play Lee's Palace Wednesday. (Yep, in a real shocker, the Supernova band didn't last....) Tickets are $15.

On Saturday, The Annex Wreck Room at Bathurst and Bloor is the venue for a Beck CD Release Listening Party. Not due to be released until July 8th, Beck's latest is called Modern Guilt.

The Toronto Photography Marathon kicks off in Christie Pits park Saturday at 10:30 am. Participants get a 12-exposure roll of film and 12 themes that must be photographed in sequence during a 24-hour period. It ends at noon on Sunday back at the park and the pics will be exhibited July 19 at the Gladstone, with voting on the best photo in each theme. It costs $45 to participate and you need to bring your own non-digital camera.

There's a new comedy undertaking in the 'hood... Brainstorm Lounge Comedy Show offers live comedians and short films with host "That Canadian Guy" Glen Foster every Monday starting at 8 p.m. on the second floor at 296 Brunswick Ave., which is just south of Bloor.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

In addition to a full slate of musical acts, The Tranzac Club on Brunswick is hosting its first ever Garage Sale on Saturday. The doors open at 8 am. What would a club have for sale? "Musical instruments, televisions, random pieces of sound equipment, chalk boards, scrap wood, pieces of metal, clothing and so much more!!!"

Over at the Miles Nadal JCC, the Avenue Roads Art School presents Urinetown: The Musical with two performances on Saturday. Tickets are $15.
On Sunday, there's Cooking With Itka Lunches For Kids. From 1 to 3 pm you can "taste nutritious kid-friendly lunches" and "take home innovative recipes." Cost is $18 per person or $36 per family.
Sunday is also the day for the Jewish Mosaic Festival, which is packed with events ranging from a youth basketball tournament, to a Jewish Antiques Road Show to culinary demonstrations. Free admission and parking.
Then, on Wednesday night it's the MJNCC Community Choir Concert at 8 pm in the Al Green Theatre. Tickets are $10 per person/$20 per family.

Canadian new wave band Blue Peter plays Lee's Palace Friday night. Tickets are $17.50.

Justin Rutledge and opening act Melissa McClelland play at Trinity-St. Paul's tomorrow night at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $18.

Three Operas in One Hour takes place at The Walmer Centre on Lowther Friday and Saturday at 8:30 pm. Presented by Toronto Chamber Opera Productions, tickets are $15 and $10.

I already mentioned Mayfest at Palmerston PS, which runs Saturday, rain or shine, from 11 am to 3 pm. There'll be games, a book sale, a raffle, entertainment, food, a rummage sale, button making, henna tattoos and much, much more.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

Attention gardeners: St. Alban's is holding its Annual Plant and Garage Sale this Saturday. You can donate garage sale items until Friday. Contact the club for more info.

Irish traditional music is on tap at the Tranzac as the weekend is devoted to the annual Chris Langan series of performances and workshops. The weekend "gives you the opportunity to learn or polish your skills on uilleann pipes, tin whistle, fiddle, flute,button accordion as wellas dance and song."

A variety of additional acts are on the schedule, too, including a Mariposa Folk Festival preview Sunday evening.

We BLOGged about how to join the VIVA Youth Singers awhile ago and now their concert is happening this weekend. Blue Green Hills of Earth takes place Saturday, May 24th at 7 pm at the Trinity St. Paul's Centre on Bloor, near Spadina. The concert features "a newly commissioned work by Toronto composer Alice Ho and poetry composed by children of VIVA! Youth Singers." Check the website for more details.

Lee's Palace on Bloor just east of Spadina has a full slate of music acts scheduled, including the intriguingly named Dark Meat With Quiet Hooves on Monday.

The Toronto Hispano-American Film Festival continues at the Bloor Cinema until the end of the weekend. Other screenings include the Brazilian import The Year My Parents Went On Vacation on various dates, a smattering of Woody Allen movies and a fundraiser for the Toronto Cyclists Union on Thursday, May 29th.
The latter will feature two screenings of Pee Wee's Big Adventure (at 7 and 9:30 pm) supported by a live cast including Sook Yin Lee and members of bands including The Apostles of Hustle, Broken Social Scene and The Hidden Cameras.
Tickets are $14 and are available at Grassroots Bloor, 408 Bloor St West, Toronto Women's Bookstore, 73 Harbord St., and the Bloor Cinema box office.

The Art Bar Poetry Series, housed at Clinton's, features Carmine Starnino, George Elliott Clarke and Kevin Fortnum this Tuesday at 8 pm. It's free, but donations are appreciated.

ROMwalks take a stroll around the Royal Ontario Museum and its neighbours on Wednesday. Meet in front of the ROM at 6 p.m. The guided series of tours are free.

Sonia Rodriguez, Principal Dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, gives a special reading of Cinderella and donates a pair of her ballet shoes to the Bata Shoe Museum. Things get underway Saturday at 2 p.m.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

The Annex Tree Tour set for Saturday starting at 2 pm is part of Toronto Tree Tours. The two-hour outing is free, but you need to register.
Things get underway at the northwest corner of College & Spadina, where you meet up with the guide, arborist Todd Irvine. Highlights of the tour include:
* an ancient white oak—thought to be one of the largest in the city—growing just steps away from one of Toronto’s busiest streets.
* wandering down back alleys to discover hidden giants, including a 70-foot-tall bur oak.
* venturing into the past as you gaze down a tree-lined boulevard onto St. Stephen’s in the Field, a 150-year-old Victorian Gothic style church that was once surrounded by gardens and grasslands.
Members of the Harbord Village Residents Association and The Annex Residents Association will be there to share stories about helping the forest canopy in their neighbourhoods.

Monday, May 12th is Varsity Day at the Bloor Cinema. If you show your U of T student card, admission is $3. The slate is Caramel at 4:30 pm, Up The Yangtze at 7 pm and The Band's Visit at 9 pm.

Liverpool-based indie rockers Clinic play Lee's Palace Sunday at 8 pm. Tickets are only $15.

It's the last weekend to catch MyType:Type Inspired Posters at Keep Six Contemporary art gallery at 938 Bathurst Street.

If you need a laugh head to Clinton's on Tuesday for The Artbardy Har Har, part of the Art Bar Poetry series. It's billed as an evening of comedic poetry. Free, but donations appreciated.

Clinton's is also the site for Catch23 Improv comedy and the next one has a twist... here's the mysterious invitation:
Catch23 and the case of the mysterious crime! on Monday, May 12 at 9 pm.
Can you figure it out before it does?
What: Convention
Host: catch23

There'll be a Heart & Craft Outdoor Eco Artisan Market on Saturday from noon to 6 pm at 61A Bellevue Avenue. It features 16 exhibitors showing clothing, jewellery, cosmetics and more.

The Palmerston Library hosts Korean-Canadian author and Registered Nurse Gemma Baik Tuesday, May 13 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. She will talk about her life's work in Korea and Canada, as well as discuss prenatal care. The talk will be in both Korean and English and marks Asian Heritage Month.

On the same day, Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point and Blink, is joined by Uof T philosophy professor and author Mark Kingwell for Well, Well: An Evening Of Dialogue On Social Change. The benefit event for Massey College and The Canadian Journalism Foundation starts at 7:30 pm at Convocation Hall. Tickets are $25 & $10.

Bloor Street Gospel Chorus performs the concert We've Got Joy! Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Bloor Street United, 300 Bloor St. West. Tickets are $12 at the door, $10 in advance and $7 for students. Call 416.477.9310 for more information.

Shaun Evans plays The Central on Markham Street on Wednesday and The River Pilots, which features one of our neighbours, plays its monthly gig on Thursday, May 15th.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's On

Acts including I Have Eaten The City, Baby Eagle and Feuermusik play The Tranzac on Brunswick this week.

The Toronto Youth Music Theatre Company presents Bye Bye Birdie in the Al Green Theatre at the MilesNadalJCC next Wednesday through Friday evenings. Ticket ordering information is on the group's website.

The Born Ruffians have an album release party Saturday at Lee's Palace. Tickets are $10.

Italy Now and Then: Virtual Reality and the "Postcards from History" is "a compendium of some extraordinary visions of Italy through the exclusive twenty years work of digital cultural heritage exploration made by Altair4 in Rome."
Tonight from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, 496 Huron St., free admission. For more information, call 416-921-3802 ext. 221.

In the "little farther afield" department, there is a Book Swap and Sale Saturday at Massey-Harris Park, 945 King Street West, just seven blocks west of Bathurst, in the shadow of Trinity Bellwoods to the north. The park looks fascinating and worth a visit and what's not to love about a book swap and sale that reduces, reuses and recycles; promotes reading; and brings people out to meet and greet?
The sale runs from noon to 3 pm and book drop off begins at 11 am.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

It's Environment Month and one way to Think Global, Act Local is to join the Saturday morning spring cleanup of Ecology Park. Located on Madison Avenue, just north of Bloor, the park is an initiative of the Annex Residents' Association. More details are on their website.

Lee's Palace has a packed lineup, including State Radio from Massachusetts Friday at 9 pm ($15), Destroyer, a/k/a Dan Bejar of The New Pornographers Saturday at 9 pm ($13.50) and Tuesday at 8 pm The Aggrolites play "dirty reggae" ($13.50).

The Bloor Cinema is one of the hosts of the Hot Docs documentary film festival this week. The lineup includes Shot In Bombay, about shooting films in Bollywood, The Rise and Fall of the Grumpy Burger and 1984 documentary Shut The Fuck Up that "cleverly takes on the mass media's focus on gossip, spectacle and celebrity instead of content in its treatment of art and artists."

Charlotte Cornfield plays The Central Sunday at 8 pm. Tickets are only $7.

Doug Valleau, Sharon Harris and Tara-Michelle Ziniuk read at Clinton's Tuesday as part of The Art Bar Poetry Series. It's free, but donations are appreciated.

And there's always 1001 Friday Nights Of Storytelling at Innis College Cafe, 2 Sussex Street. It runs from 8 to 10:30 pm and cost is a suggested donation of $5.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

There's quite a few diverse musical happenings sched'd for this week...

The Reveries are at the Tranzac Saturday night for a CD release party, followed by a reggae dance party.

A cappella group Wibi is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a concert at the MilesNadalJCC on April 5. You can buy the $15 and $12 tickets online.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra features Love and Betrayal: Handel Opera Arias with Daniel Taylor and Carolyn Sampson with a run that begins Wednesday at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor St. W.

Also at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre, Toronto Consort offers The Glory of St. Mark's with works by Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Cavalli. Fri. & Sat. 8 p.m., 416-964-6337.

At Trane Studio at 964 Bathurst St. Ainiké is joined by ex-Shuffle Demon Perry White for an evening of world-fusion and jazz Fri. 9 p.m. Tickets are $10.

Victor Wooten hits Lee's Palace Monday. Tickets are $25.

For film fans, the Bloor Cinema has some interesting things going on this week... Monday is Varsity Day and admission is $3 if you show your U of T student ID. The line up is Lars and the Real Girl at 4:30 pm, Persepolis at 7 pm and There Will Be Blood at 9 pm. The latter two get Tomatometer readings in the 90s; not too shabby.

Also, if you want to revisit some classics, or introduce your kids to them, Wednesday night's double bill is Sunset Boulevard and A Streetcar Named Desire. I've heard nothing about the intriguing sounding Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Way of The Tosser, but it screens Saturday at 9:30 pm.

History buff? You might want to attend the final event in the Building Toronto: Archives and Architects lecture series (a .pdf flyer is available online). Andrew Waldron discusses Researching the Recent Past: Modern Architecture and the Archival Record Saturday at 1:30 p.m. It's free, but you have to register at 416-392-0558. City of Toronto Archives, 255 Spadina Rd.

Most Mondays you can enjoy improv comedy at the aptly named Clinton's, which is on the corner of Clinton and Bloor. Catch23Improv starts at 9 pm and the cover is just $5.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

This one doesn't happen until Thursday, March 27th, but I'm telling you now so that you can make time in your schedule. The Annex Residents' Assocation holds its Annual General Meeting at 7:30 pm at the Friends House on Lowther. Gary Wright, Toronto's acting chief planner, will be speaking.

The ROM is "all about" Charles Darwin and his theories these days, so it's only natural that they would select (sorry!) the movie Inherit The Wind for a screening and lecture. The 1960 Stanley Kramer movie is about the famous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, the real-life case of a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution.
The ROM screening takes place Tuesday at 7 pm and the evening is introduced by film lecturer Anthony Harrison, while Toronto lawyer Michael Weissenborn will discuss the legal aspects of the original trial. Tickets are $18/$15.

Tomorrow night at the Tranzac Club Mysterion the Mind Reader & Santini "The World's Most Extreme Escapist" take to the stage in the main hall at 8 pm for Mysterion: An evening of EXTREME sideshow and escape never before seen anywhere in North America." It's billed as being like SAW or Hostel LIVE on stage. Rock band The Sevenate also is due to perform. Tickets ($17- $20 ) are available at Darkside on Queen, or at the door.

The MilesNadalJCC at Bloor and Spadina holds its annual Purim Carnival this Sunday from 11 am to 2 pm. It's $7 per family to get in, there's cheap food for sale and you should wear a costume.

Dundas, Ontario's Caribou perform tonight and tomorrow night at Lee's Palace. Tickets are $15.

The Art Bar Poetry Series, which takes place at Clinton's, features Toronto's poet laureate, Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, on the 25th. It starts at 8 pm and admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. Jeff Latosik and Ariel Platt also will read.

The Randolph Academy is mounting Anton In Show Business next Tuesday through Saturday at the Bathurst Street Theatre, which is housed in a former church on Bathurst, south of Bloor. Performances are at 8 pm and tickets are $22.

Of course, it's Easter weekend and the niblets are off school both Friday and Monday. If you'd like to celebrate with a parade, you'll have to leave the 'hood. You can choose either the frivolity of the Beaches Easter parade, or the solemnity of the St. Francis of Assisi Church's Good Friday Procession. The latter starts at 3 pm and follows a route south of our area. It's quite a massive undertaking, as this article outlines, and as these pictures illustrate.
The Beaches Easter parade runs from 2 to about 4 pm along Queen Street East from Fallingbrook Road to Woodbine Avenue. This parade is heavy on the bunny costumes/free chocolates aspects of celebrating Easter. There's even the third annual Dog Day Parade, with prizes for the best-dressed dogs.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

On Sunday, you can catch the classic Israeli movie Late Summer Blues (Blues Lahofesh Hagadol) at 4 pm and 7:30 pm at the Miles Nadal JCC. It's presented by the Toronto Jewish Film Society with Israel @ 60 and Shlomo Schwartzberg will be speaking.
Rush seats will go on sale 15 minutes before screenings: $15, $10 (ages 18 – 29, 7:30 pm screening only). For more information, contact Esther Arbeid, (416)924-6211 x 606, esthera@mnjcc.org.

A Fine Frenzy plays Lee's Palace on Sunday at 8 pm. Tickets are $16.50.

Monday you can catch performances by ensembles from the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (the musicians are 21 or younger) as part of the Five Small Concerts series. Perhaps the stars of tomorrow? Things get underway at 7:30 p.m. at the Trinity-St. Paul's Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. Tickets are $17, $14 and $10: 416.221.8342.

Sunset Tours of Casa Loma take place tonight, Friday and Saturday. And I quote: "Casa Loma is offering the rare opportunity to experience beautifully decorated suites in the romantic glow of a sunset. Each evening, visitors will be able to relive the golden era of this majestic estate when it was illuminated by some of the city's first electric lights combined with candlelight."
Tours run from 4 to 7:30 pm, but get there by 6:30 at the latest. Cost is $12, $7.50 and $6.75. and you'll have to pony up a small Capital Improvement Surcharge that will go toward keeping Casa Loma reseplendent.


The Annex Residents' Association meets tonight at the Annex Retirement Residence, 123 Spadina Road. No start time is listed.

Last week we listed some March Break activities, which will wrap up this weekend, of course.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa