September 28th-October 1st Insomina 2011 @ Red Head Gallery, 401 Richmond St. W. In its sixth year, over 70 artists will be participating in this yearly salon show; all pieces will have an ‘insomnia’ theme as interpreted by the artist. Show runs from 7 pm to 7 am on Saturday for Nuit Blanche and from Wednesday to Saturday from 12 to 5 pm.

WEDNESDAY 

8 pm AV Club Toronto Launch Party @ The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. The AV Club Toronto’s first print edition hits streets across the city and to celebrate, they’re throwing a party! Special appearances will include Jay Ferguson (Sloan) and Justin Peroff (Broken Social Scene). $5 donation at the door (all proceeds go to The United Way) includes a free drink ticket. 

THURSDAY 

4 pm Urban Outfitters College/University Night @ Urban Outfitters, 235 Yonge St. Hurray, deals! Get 30% off of already reduced sale merchandise and 10% off of regular price merchandise. Valid post-secondary student ID required. Until 9 pm.  

7 pm Vocal Relics @ Forgetus Collective, 163 Sterling Rd., Unit 29. Artists Julia Abraham, Jamie Matechuck, Natasha Bailey and Junko Otake explore artists’ work as ‘relic’. “The meaning of objects and acts are distorted by the passage of time, and even (or especially) as performance, art exists as artifact of the artist’s presence, functioning as both unique object and assumed voice.” Performances begin at 8 pm, refreshments and relics until 11. 

10 pm Switched On @ Camp 4, 1173 Dundas St. W. Jaime Sin and Pam Hong play indie rock, alt pop and campus radio jams. 

10 pm PWD @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. Named after the infamous Yorkville nightclub of the same name that showcased the best of modern soul, funk and disco. Expect to hear selections from the likes of Bowie, New Order, Lipps Inc., The Jacksons, Tim Curry, Prince, Midnight Star, Herbie Hancock and plenty more, all on vinyl.  

10 pm OCELOT @ Salvador Darling, 1237 Queen St. W. Music as luxurious as a cat’s fur coat: house, hip-hop, disco, new sounds, old favourites.  

10 pm RAG: Once A Month @ Margret, 2952 Dundas St. W. Have a bloody good time while listening to a heavy flow of girl rock anthems from the likes of Bikini Kill, Patti Smith, Hole, L7, Pretenders, the Runaways and so much more. 

10 pm Secret Models @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. One big room, full of bad bitches! DJs Secret Models play hits straight from your high school semi-formal.  

10 pm Karaoke @ The Henhouse, 1532 Dundas St. W. Get your drink on, get your outfits made, get your hair did and get obnoxious! With special guest Patti Smith. 

FRIDAY 

7 pm Bridge + Bardot Fall Vintage Clothing Sale @ Bridge + Bardot, 835 Bloor St. W. One-of-a-kind affordable, unique clothes that have been hand-picked and altered for both men and women. Pre-sale party (complimentary wine and cheese!) runs Friday from 7 to 10 pm, Saturday and Sunday sale from 11 to 5 pm.  

8 pm Kick It With A Cape @ Relative Space, 365 Dupont Ave. A night of music, art and socializing for a good cause, featuring local musical and artistic talent, yummy food, boozy beverages and a raffle. Wear your coolest cape for a chance to win a prize! $30 tickets available online and at the door (includes food and drinks), with proceeds going to Team Easter Seals Canada office team for the Easter Seals Drop Zone event.

8 pm Unsigned #19 @ Steam Whistle Brewery, 255 Bremner Blvd. This month’s show will feature Bonjay’s high-energy sound system of bass and soul, a stripped-down electro-shoegaze Powers, and HotKid’s shake me, move me rock n’ roll. $5 at the door, with all proceeds going back to the community through the Artists’ Health Centre Foundation.

9 pm Civic Garage Party @ Kool Haus, 132 Queen’s Quay E. Celebrate the launch of the new generation Honda Civic! With performances by Dragonette, Z-Trip, Super Mash Bros, Keys N Krates and more. For FREE tickets, RSVP online.

9 pm “Bees” Opening Reception @ The White House Studio, 277.5 Augusta Ave. “A great ally, a great danger – of all the insecta is there another that occupies as large a place in our mythos, imagination, and all too brutal realities. Bees have hypnotized, traumatized, terrorized, and tantalized children of all ages throughout the ages…plumb the depths of the sub-conscious and explore the deep-seeded fears, desires, and questions these haplo-diploid creatures so haplo-diplomatically evoke.” Featuring DJ Peter Malcom and a mad honeycomb dance floor until 2 am. Exhibit will also run during Nuit Blanche, featuring bands and a DJ.

10 pm Dance Armstrong @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. No genre specific theme here, merely songs that make you want to dance like you’ve won. And won big. Anything and everything from Gorillaz to Bowie, Hot Chip to Jay-Z, Paul Simon to The Stone Roses, The Beatles to Postal Service to Digable Planets. And probably Hall & Oates. Only the most victorious of songs! $5.

10 pm Friday Night Cartoons @ Fox & Fiddle, 27 Wellesley St. E. A retro night like none other! Come pay tribute to the cartoons of your childhood with a video dance party featuring remixes and mash-ups of your favourite theme songs (+ 80’s and 90’s hits). Costume contest with prizes to be won! $5.

10 pm Shindig! Presents… Motown vs. Stax @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. A battle of the big city northern soul sound of Detroit, Michigan’s Motown records versus the stripped down funky southern soul sounds of Memphis, Tennessee’s Stax label. With resident 45 selectors Splattermonkey, General Eclectic and Double K! Come and judge for yourself who has the better sound, with the winning record label’s roster being spun for the last half hour of the party. Free before 11 pm, $5 after.

10 pm STD @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. An open-format party with DJs Isosceles and Innez Da Future. Party jams, disco, funk, old waves and new waves! Drink specials until 11:30 pm. Free before 11:30 pm, $5 after.  

10 pm Dancing Shoes, Booze & Tunes @ 751, 751 Queen St. W. The Ramones to The Pixies to Jay-Z with a side of M.I.A and Kanye. Drink specials include $4 PBRS, $4 Jameson or Jack shots, $5 Pints, $7 PBR + Jager, $11.75 Pitchers and $11.75 mini pitchers of bar rail (downstairs).

10 pm Get Buck @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Soul, R&B and hip-hop with DJs Sean Sax and Ariel. 

10 pm Bot Bot Bot @ Stella, 1261 Bloor St. W. DJs Carlitos and RType provide the audio (HEALTH, Gary Numan, Chromeo, Twin Shadow, YACHT, Depeche Mode, etc.) while Praliné provides the visuals.

10 pm Bad Table Manners @ Crawford, 718 College St. Hip-hop with DJs Lucy ’Lo, Marco Orlic and Patrick McGuire. Free before 11 pm, $5 after (for $5 all-night guestlist email guestlist@themansioninc.com with the subject Bad Table Manners).  

SATURDAY 

7 pm Scotiabank Nuit Blanche @ various locations. A free all-night event where our city is transformed by hundreds of artists for Toronto’s sixth annual sunset-to-sunrise celebration of contemporary art. www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca 

8 pm F as in Frank Grand Opening @ F as in Frank, 418 Queen St. W. Celebrate the grand opening of F as in Frank Toronto! Doors will open at 8 pm and stay open until 6 am to coincide with Nuit Blanche. Music provided by DJs Kicks and Dark Knight. 

8 pm Food Truck Eats Part 3 @ The Distillery District, 55 Mill St. Featuring trucks Big Grill Catering, Bonfire Catering, Cupcake Diner, El Gastronomo Vagabundo, Felix & Norton Cookies, Gorilla Cheese, New Dog, Olliffe, Portobello Burger, Shriner’s Creek, Twirlee’s and Wingmee’s + vendors Agave y aguacate, Augie’s Ice Pops, Beast Restaurant, Buster Rhinos BBQ, Cava / Xococava, The Grind House, Guy Rawlings/Geoff Hopgood, Hawaiian BBQ Skewers, Marben, Rossy Earle, Sabrosito, The Tempered Chef and a few surprises! Until 5 am.  

10 pm Tuff Meat @ Crawford (upstairs), 718 College St. Tuff Meat is back and ready to sizzle! DJ Comrade Black from Montreal blares your indie favourites. $5.  

10 pm Dixie Fried @ Crawford (downstairs), 718 College St. A dance party celebrating the hot sounds of the South including Otis, Dolly, Skynyrd and, of course, the King himself. The best country, soul and rock n’ roll spun by DJ Andrew Ennals. $5. 

10 pm Motown Party @ 751, 751 Queen St. W. Motown, northern soul and remixes with DJs Fawn BC and Caff upstairs, and an all-vinyl set with DJs Brett Millius and Reverend Throwdown downstairs. $11 pitchers and cheap bar rails all night. $5 before midnight, $10 after.   

10 pm Shake, Rattle & Roll @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. The ladies of Bangs & Blush are throwing another sexy, sweaty dance party! 60’s pop, soul and rock n’ roll. $5. 

10 pm Fine Tuning @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. A new monthly rockin’ and rollin’ party mixer featuring friends and compatriots digging out their favourite R&B, garage, soul, doo-wop and down and dirty rock n’ roll records! This month features local blues/R&B/rock rebels CATL and DJ Ryan Rothwell.  

10 pm Track Marxx @ Revival, 783 College St. boo With DJs Alex Alvarez of NYC, Dirty Dale, Riviera and KOLN. Until 4 am! $15 before midnight, $20 after.   

SUNDAY 

12 pm 5th Annual Picnic @ Evergreen Brickworks, 550 Bayview Ave. A celebration of the season’s bounty! For the fifth year in a row, Evergreen Brickworks is putting the spotlight on local growers, ranchers, fishers and artisans, providing a virtual tour of the culinary regions of Southern Ontario. $120 ticket covers entry and all food and drinks (all revenue from the event will ensure farmers and producers are paid fairly for their labour).