Toronto Hit List: The Wild Card, Le 7th Annual Celine Dion Dance Party, The Big Sound, The Trinity Bellwoods Flea & more!

November 13th-17th Indie Week @ various locations. Indie Week is one of Canada’s top emerging artist festivals, featuring over 200 acts performing at 25 venues across Toronto +  demo listening sessions, industry panels, and more.

November 14th-17th ADFF: Toronto @ TIFF Bell Lightbox, King St. W. The Architecture & Design Film Festival celebrates the unique creative spirit that drives architecture and design. With a curated selection of films, events, and panel discussions, ADFF creates an opportunity to entertain, engage, and educate all types of people who are excited about architecture and design.

November 14th-December 22nd Toronto Christmas Market @ The Distillery District. Rediscover the magic and romance of the holidays at the Toronto Christmas Market. There will be vendors selling locally handcrafted products, entertainment, Santa and his elves, light canopies, heated mulled wine, and lots more. Admission is free on weekdays until Friday at 5 pm, after which tickets cost $6. 

November 15th-17th Syria Film Festival @ Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W. Syria Film Festival returns for a fifth year with a carefully selected set of three features and five shorts. This year’s movies tackle subjects such as child marriage in Waha Al-Raheb’s Proclaimed Murder, life under siege in Ghiath Ayoub and Saeed Al Batal’s Still Recording, and refugee youth experiencing the Canadian wilderness for the first time in Barbara Kopple’s New Homeland.

WEDNESDAY

7 pm Music Bingo: Hot Apple Cider & Cozy Hats Edition @ The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W. Join the Gladstone for three rounds of bingo and a chance to win cozy hats and more rad prizes! Music Bingo is a FREE weekly event combining the love of music with the traditional bingo format. Host Kaleb Robertson plays a song, and if it’s on your bingo card, you get to hit it with the dabber. It tests your musical knowledge too – you’ve got to know what the song is to be able to cross it off the card. 

8 pm Drake Trivia @ The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. Teams of four or less put their random knowledge to the test as the hosts fire off questions ranging from sporting records and celebrity scandals to geographic discoveries and culinary lingo. $2 to participate. Email host@thedrakehotel.ca or show up early to reserve a spot.

THURSDAY

7 pm ArtAttack @ Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. Every year, Buddies welcomes hundreds of discerning art lovers and adventurous shoppers for an outrageous art auction unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Their live auction features work from dozens of our country’s foremost contemporary artists, while the Rock Hudson Memorial Tuck Shop offers an astounding collection of artist multiples and limited edition prints. There’s also a silent auction full of products and cultural experiences from a variety of local businesses + surprise performances, tasty treats from Sassafraz, free beer (and a striptease) from the boys at Steamwhistle, and more. $40 tickets available online.

7 pm F*ck Sh*t Up: Trans + Non-Binary Performer Cabaret @ The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W. A night of great performances and good times! Hosted by Hosted Babia Majora and Fluffy Soufflé, with performances by Lady Kunterpunt, Ocean Giovanni, Kero Patra, and Vale. Stick around after the cabaret for tunes and more good times. PWYC (no one turned away).

FRIDAY

6:30 pm The Wildcard @ OCAD University, 115 McCaul Street (third floor). A multi-faceted arts show committed to uplifting local emerging artists and performers. Think of it as an open mic and an artist alley combined, but elevated. Tickets are $2 at the door and food and drink will be available for purchase.

7 pm Friday Night Live: Mic Drop @ Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park. Pop, lock, and drop it all night long with talented rappers and DJs at #FNLROM! Celebrate the world’s biggest genre of music with a uniquely Canadian flavour, along with the 30-year anniversary of Canada’s longest running hip-hop radio show, Masterplan. $22.60 tickets available online, limited amount available at the door.

9 pm Decades Dance Party @ Handlebar, 159 Augusta Ave. The dance party to end all dance parties! Here’s how it works: every hour is a new decade of music from the ’70s until today. Every hour is a new DJ. The top of every hour is a confetti-fuelled countdown into the next decade. (It’s kind of like 5 New Year’s Eve parties in one. Except it’s not New Year’s Eve.)

10 pm Le 7th Annual Celine Dion Dance Party @ The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W. Tapette’s annual all-Céline Dion dance party extravaganza returns with five hours of Céline hits, misses, rarities, and remixes for your mind, body, and soul with DJ Phillippe. Expect an emotional performance by Amanda Roberts, warmup show by Miss Moço, Céline swag giveaways, and more. $20 at the door (anyone in FULL Céline drag gets in free). 

10 pm The Big Sound @ The Great Hall, 1087 Queen St. W. A night of 30 musicians banging out the greatest soul hits of all time as faithfully as they can + DJ Wes Allen dishing up the biggest dance floor bangers. $16.74 in advance, $20 at the door.

10 pm 80s Mixtape Dance Party @ Stones Place, 1255 Queen St. W. All ’80s pop, rock, new wave, and synthpop with DJ Blush. $5.

10 pm Rave Echo @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. Toronto’s own Sophia Ruby Katz of Ferrari Garden links with resident DJ Cadence Weapon for a wide-ranging club night at Bambi’s, fresh off the heels of the release of her new single “Bridge.”

10 pm Shadows of Motown @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. DJs Well Said, Slater, and Ty play the biggest and best Motown, doo-wop, and booty shakin’ hits.

10 pm Decade: A 1995-2005 Dance Party @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. Get out your butterfly clips and studded belts, and relive your best life at Decade! Anthems from 1995-2005 all night. $10.

10 pm Stereo Ferment @ Farside, 600 Gerrard St. E. DJ Oreku spins global grooves and afrobeat.

10 pm Whas Good @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Good vibes dance party! Old school to new school hip-hop, R&B, soul, reggae, dancehall.

10 pm DJ Granny Pantys @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. A night of rock, psych, alternatives, post-punk, and oddities with Granny Pantys.

10 pm Wax Candy Disco Party @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. DJ Efsharp and Cyclist serve up platters of the sweetest soulful, refreshing, and uplifting disco in one of the best sounding rooms in the city. $10.

10 pm Hot Coco @ The Drake Lounge, 1150 Queen St. W. Experience world music in the most multicultural city in the world. Playing afrobeats, coupé-décalé, gqom, reggae, and much more. $10.

11 pm Co-Werk @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. A party concept inspired by collaboration. No openers; no headliners; no set times – just a rotating crew of DJs keeping the vibes fresh and the energy high all night with a mix of hip-hop, house, reggae, club, and classics. $10.

SATURDAY

7 pm Glad Day Drag Bingo @ Glad Day Bookshop, 499 Church St. Join Glad Day for a night of music, food, performances, prizes, and fun! They spin the bingo cage on a rotating lineup of kings, queens, and performers for a queer-positive, inclusive, and affirming evening. Seats at tables are $15 and seats at the bar are free. 

9 pm New York Night Train Soul Clap & Dance Off @ The Velvet Underground, 508 Queen St. W. NYC’s legendary DJ Jonathan Toubin brings his Soul Clap party to Toronto! Shake a tail feather all night long to ’60s soul and compete in a dance contest for a chance to win a $100 prize! $22.45 tickets available online.

10 pm Love Below @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. Throbbing music made by machines (and people) moving in slow motion. Quiet storm meets storm rave. DJ Andrew Ross in control all night. $5 before midnight, more after.

10 pm ’90s Dance Party @ Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College St. Get your scrunchies, choker necklaces, parachute pants, and Tamagotchis ready because Sneaky Dee’s is going back to the decade of dial-up modems and La Macarena! They’ll be spinning ’90s hits by NSYNC, Biggie, Nirvana, Spice Girls, and more. $5 early bird tickets available online.

10 pm Intermission @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. DJs Dare and Joee Fro have dug deep to bring you the soundtrack for your Saturday: red hot jams, queer anthems, disco classics, and dirty house.

10 pm Saturday Night Jukebox Dance Party @ Stones Place, 1255 Queen St. W. Sweat it out to the sweet sounds of the golden age of rock ‘n’ roll and soul music! DJ Blush plays pop, rock, and soul from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. $10.

10 pm Get It Together @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. Kensington Market’s open format dance party welcoming all genres, all styles, and all people. Selections by Mikey McFly.

10 pm Worst Behavior @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. Saturdays are for getting loose and being on your Worst Behavior! Bangs & Blush roll out rap and hip-hop from now and then. $10.

10 pm It’s All Good @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. Join resident VJs General Eclectic and Mike Luke as they take you on a journey through the 1990s, from Biggie to Bjork, Nirvana to No Doubt, Destiny’s Child to Daft Punk, TLC to ATCQ, Eminem to En Vogue, Mariah Carey to Massive Attack, Portishead to Pavement, Spice Girls to Stereolab, and much more! $10.

10 pm Gold Chain @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJs Aoki and Snack will have you dancing all night long to the best hip-hop of today and yesterday. You don’t wanna miss this display of supreme DJing – it’s the gold standard.

10 pm I Think I’m Making A Comeback Dance Party @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. DJ Brother Wayne playing Motown, soul, pop, rock, and guilty pleasures.

10:30 pm Back In The Day @ Revival, 783 College St. A tribute to ’90s and ’00s old school hip-hop, R&B, dance, house, reggae, and pop with DJs Wristpect, D-Smooth, and Gio. Email info@themarqueemedia.com for bottle service inquiries and guest list.

10:30 pm Dance Mix ’94 @ Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. A new monthly queer dance party at Buddies featuring all your favourites from the ’90s, 2000s, and more, mixed by DJ Tom Cable. With performances by Xtacy Love, Nicolette Brown, and Heaven Lee Hytes. $5 before 11:30 pm, $8 after.

11 pm Fancy Footwork @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. Fancy Footwork is back for another edition with residents Kill Them With Colour, Mike Don’t, and Mista Jiggz playing the best in indie dance, nu-disco, future funk, and more all night long! Expect to hear music from artists such as Flight Facilities, Tuxedo, Chromeo, Kaytranada, Daft Punk, Disclosure, Moon Boots, and many others. $10. RSVP here for line bypass before midnight.

SUNDAY

10 am Flipside DJ & Collectors Record Sale @ The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen St. W. Over 30,000 used records in one room from collectors and DJs near and far! Jazz, funk, soul, Latin, Caribbean, rock, library hip-hop, disco, Brazil, reggae, house, breaks, D&B psych, rock, and much more. Until 4 pm.

10 am The Trinity Bellwoods Flea @ The Great Hall (lower level), 1087 Queen St. W. The Trinity Bellwoods Flea is stepping it up this year for the holidays with their largest market yet! Shop from over 100 of the city’s best artisans, makers, crafters, and small businesses in one place. Admission is free and four-legged friends are welcome. Until 5 pm.

3 pm Sweaty Betty’s 15th Anniversary Bash @ Sweaty Betty’s, 13 Ossington Ave. Your favourite unpretentious, independently owned dive bar is turning 15 this month and to celebrate, they’re throwing a huge party to benefit the Sistering 24 Hour Drop In! Enjoy drink specials, raffle prizes, DJs, and more, with proceeds going to Sistering. Until 2 am. 

7 pm Brass Facts Trivia @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Test your knowledge and win prizes! Hosted by Famous Kirk Hero. Until 10 pm.

9 pm Love Shack @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. DJ DangerCat playing all the best rock and roll, indie, surf, garage, and new wave hits all night!

10 pm Sinful Sundays Burlesque @ Cherry Cola’s, 200 Bathurst St. Come be entertained at this weekly “temple of tease,” where you’ll find a fresh lineup of burlesque entertainers, drag, and variety acts. On stage this week: Bellamie Beastly, Forca, Miss Enchante (MTL), and host Sucre a la Creme. Free entry; tipping encouraged.

~ For event submissions, email Caitlyn Holroyd at caitlyn_holroyd@hotmail.com