What's Happening

This Sunday is a PS Sunday in Mirvish Village -- no cars and lots of fun. August 10th promises to "highlight the visual arts and the community artists who call Mirvish Village home."

The Spadina Public Library features a children's Laugh Out Loud Party with silly stories and games on Wednesday the 13th at 10:30 a.m.

There's an intriguing sounding show at the Tranzac, Things I Have Found And How They Got There, on Saturday at 8 pm. Tickets are $12.

I didn't know that there was an all-female Toronto Roller Derby League until I saw that The Annex WreckRoom is hosting an after-derby party Saturday. Learn something new every day!

If you feel like venturing a little further afield, head south to Spadina south of College for the Toronto Chinatown Festival Saturday and Sunday. There's no info on the website (?), but a flyer says that it runs Saturday from 11 am to 8 pm and Sunday til 6 pm.

The usual suspects hold their weekend events, of course, including the ROM and the Bata Shoe Museum.
Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

As part of ROMWalks, there's a free walking tour of the Annex Sunday at 2 pm. Look for the person with the blue umbrella at Lowther and Avenue Road.

Speaking of the ROM, it is the venue for Shanghai: City of the Future?, a panel discussion about "Shanghai, which in recent decades has experienced a building boom on a scale that is unprecedented in world history and has completely changed its residents’ lifestyle." It ties in with the current exhibit, Shanghai Kaleidoscope.
The panel discussion features architect Brian Andrew, philosophy professor Mark Kingwell and author Jay Pridmore and is moderated by Toronto Star architecture columnist Christopher Hume. Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.

The Annex Wreck Room at Bloor and Bathurst hosts Shattered Remains Presents Flatlined tonight. In addition to Flatlined, the hard rock acts include Three See, Brane, Silver Cade and Helcion. Things get underway at 8 pm and tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

Tonight you can catch "I ain't marching anymore", an event featuring protest and folk singer Phil Ochs and Zachary Stevenson at OISE, 252 Bloor Street West. Tickets are $10 and $20 and things kick off at 8 pm.


The Tranzac club on Brunswick, south of Bloor, has its usual full sched, including The Weather Station + Muskox + Anna-Linda Siddall Saturday in the Southern Cross Lounge at 10 pm. Admission is PWYC/$5 suggested.


For all ages, the Palmerston Public Library on Palmerston just north of Bloor, features Laugh Out Loud Stories Wednesday at 10:30 am. As the name suggests, storyteller Adele Koehnke promises to tell stories that will tickle your funny bone.


The Bloor Cinema is "all about" the Rolling Stones Saturday with three $10-each screenings of Stones documentaries. Also on the sched this week is the new Indiana Jones movie, which doesn't disappoint.


The Trane Studio on Bathurst features Philadelphia's Elliott Levin Friday at 9:30 pm with The Sharron Macleod Quartet. Tickets are $15 in advance.

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

The Bloor Cinema has a raft of classic summer movies lined up this week, including E.T.: The Extraterrestrial; Bladerunner, The Final Cut; Independence Day and Jurassic Park. (Do I really need outgoing links to explain those movies?)

It's PS Mirvish Village this Sunday, meaning Markham Street just south of Bloor will be closed to cars and open to pedestrians (PS = Pedestrian Sunday.) July 13th's PS will emphasize the history of Mirvish Village and anniversaries of several local businesses will be celebrated.

The Palmerston Library is offering a comic book workshop for kids age nine and older on Wednesday, July 16 at 10:30 am. Register in person, or by calling 416.393.7680.

Just down the road on the same day -- July 16 -- children age two to six and their caregivers can enjoy Family Storytime Silly Stories For Children at 10:30 a.m. at the Spadina Road library.

The Annex Wreck Room at the corner of Bathurst and Bloor hosts the Toronto Independent Music Award Showcase tonight at 8 pm. The cost is $7.

Although the Tranzac is the HQ for The Fringe Festival, you still can catch some music there, including Torontonian Ronley Teper Tuesday at 10 pm.

I BLOGged about The Fringe Festival separately, but it's still on till the 13th. Local venues include Royal St. George's and the Miles Nadal JCC.

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 Happening

Palmerston Library has been hosting readings as part of Keep Toronto Reading. Tomorrow at 7 pm features Common Denominator: Reading the New Toronto with Judy Fong Bates, Goran Simic, Shila Desai and Sayeeda Jaigirdar. There's also spoken word by Michelle Muir and music by master drummer Muhtadi. It's free and there's more info online at http://www.diasporadialogues.com/

There's several acts on during the week at The Central in Mirvish Village, including a Rock Band Open Mic night on Monday. The Tranzac is keeping things rocking, as usual, on Brunswick Ave. On the 26th, the intriguing sounding An Inconvenient Musical starts at 7:30 pm. Hmmm....

Well, I'm sure you've all seen the hype about the new Indiana Jones movie coming out. The Bloor Cinema is showing two of the first movies in the series throughout the week in case you want to refresh your memory, or introduce a little person to the whole whip-cracking, edge-of-your-seat adventure.
You also can go to The Bloor to catch Sunday night's Oscars ceremony. Everything's more fun in a crowd, right? Or with buttered popcorn? Doors open at 7:30 pm.

If the cold, snowy, windy winter has you down, maybe a little comedy will perk you up? Don't forget that Clinton's (on Bloor at -- where else? Clinton) has Catch 23 improv comedy showdowns on Monday nights and it's only $5 to get in.

Slightly farther afield, but probably worth the trip AND within walking distance: Robert Munsch, author of children's books Love You Forever and The Paper Bag Princess (just to name two) gives a storytelling concert Saturday at 11 am and 1:30 p.m. It's at lovely Convocation Hall, 31 King's College Circle, in the U of T grounds.

Whatever you do, enjoy it!
Vanessa

What's Happening

As always, there's lots happening at The Tranzac Club, including three different shows on the weekend.

The Spadina Road Public Library has a Book Club meeting monthly in the winter. Call 416-393-7666 to register.
For the younger crowd and their parents/caregivers, there's Ready for Reading Storytimes, which will take place Wednesdays at 10:30 am from January 30 to March 5th. Register in person, or by calling the number listed above on or after January 23.

At the Palmerston Public Library, Ready For Reading Storytimes will be Fridays from 10:30 to 11 am for Baby Time and Wednesdays from January 30 to March 5th from 10:30 to 11 am for Family Time.
Registration begins Monday, Jan. 14 in person or by calling 416-393-7680.

The ever-hopping Miles Nadal JCC hosts an Israel At 60 weekend with two music events, including a free Big Band concert Sunday at 2 pm.
They're also throwing a Saltwater Pool Party on Sunday from noon to 2 pm to celebrate the official opening of the pool. They promise games, prizes, saltwater taffy and more.

Cheers,
Vanessa