May 1st-31st Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival @ various locations. “An annual festival of photography in Toronto, during the month of May, with over 1000 local, national and international artists exhibiting at almost 200 venues. Founded as a not-for-profit organization 16 years ago, and now a charitable organization, the festival is devoted to celebrating, and fostering the art and profession of photography. It stimulates excitement and discussion among a diverse audience that has grown to over 1.8 million. CONTACT is the largest photography event in the world, and a premiere cultural event in Canada.”
May 5th-6th Jane’s Walk @ various locations. “Jane’s Walk celebrates the ideas and legacy of urbanist Jane Jacobs by getting people out exploring their neighbourhoods and meeting their neighbours. Free walking tours held on the first weekend of May each year are led by locals who want to create a space for residents to talk about what matters to them in the places they live and work. Since its inception in Toronto in 2007, Jane’s Walk has expanded rapidly. In May of 2011, 511 walks were held in 75 cities in 15 countries worldwide.”
May 5th-6th Toronto Young Designers Spring 2012 @ L’ouvrier, 791 Dundas St. W. A selection of unique, one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones including jewellery, art, cards, and decor from Lockett Jewels, Avec Ma Soeur, Spoonstudio, Said the King, and RTgDesigns. Cash only. Runs 11-3 pm both days.
WEDNESDAY
9 pm Comedy at The Ossington @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. With comedians Helder Brum, Mark Little, James Hartnett, Ben Beauchemin, Bill Turnbull, Jy Harris, and Steve Patrick Adams. Hosted by Sara Hennessey, Greg Alsop, Jeremy Mersereau, and Steph Kaliner. PWYC.
10 pm Holy Shit It’s A Rap Party @ Crawford, 718 College St. Loud hip-hop and cheap drinks! Half pure classics + half new jams with DJ WLFPK, which means stuff like DMX, Waka Flocka Flame, Fat Joe, Jay-Z, Kriss Kross, Ludacris, Dr. Dre, Biggie, Wu-Tang, Weezy, and more.
THURSDAY
7 pm From the Heart @ Onlyonegallery, 88 Harbord St. An auction and raffle fundraiser for Vietnam. Bar and hors d’oeuvres + DJs Al-P (MSTRKRFT), St. Mandrew, Faryl, and Brandon Oliver. Free entry with suggested donation. Until midnight.
10 pm “Wildness” Official Afterparty @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Official afterparty for the hot docs film Wildness. With DJs Nino Brown (Yes Yes Y’all), Produzentin, and Katie Stelmanis (Austra) + host Wu Tsang. Free with movie admission, $3 without.
10 pm Spring Leanin’ / Sub Docket Theatre Dance Party @ Crawford, 718 College St. Upstairs, DJs Bass6 play hip-hop, rap, mashups, and party bangers. Downstairs, it’s a Sub Dockey Theatre fundraiser in the form of a dance party! $5 before midnight, more after.
FRIDAY
7 pm Star Wars Day 2012 @ Toronto Underground Cinema, 186 Spadina Ave. May the Fourth Be With You! Featuring an original trilogy trivia game show (sign up in the lobby before the show), a costume contest (Jedi League for adults), Star Wars comedy, remix/tribute/mashup fan films, smash a Death Star pinata, celebrity guests, and more! $15 tickets available online, with proceeds benefitting the Sick Kids Foundation.
10 pm Ranga @ 1602, 1602 Dundas St. W. Toronto’s first official ginger party! Ranga—noun: A person with red hair [from orang-utan]. Performances by Andrya Duff with Miss Fluffy Souffle and Ginger Darling with Tristan Harris + DJs Joe Blow and Randall.
10 pm Bangs & Blush Present: Beatlemania! @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. The ladies of Bangs & Blush take you on a MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR of 60’s soul, rock n’ roll and tons of Beatles songs in-between! Come TWIST AND SHOUT! $5.
10 pm Soul Block Party @ Crawford, 718 College St. Two floors of good music with DJs Fase and Splattermonkey + special guest Andy Capp! Soul hip-hop, R&B, reggae, and club bangers upstairs. Strictly 60’s soul, Motown, stax, etc. downstairs. $5 before midnight, more after.
10 pm Back-A-Yard @ The Emmet Ray, 924 College St. A night of sunshine vibes with Pie & Mash DJs. The best reggae, ska, dub, and dancehall tunes!
10 pm SoulSkank @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. SoulSkank has a new home! DJs Gramera and play ska, soul, funk, stax, Motown, and dancehall + live horns brought to you by Dennis P. Free before 11 pm, $5 after.
10 pm Yacht Rock @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. A night of dancing to the smoothest music you’ve ever heard in your life. $5 to step aboard.
10 pm Sweat Pants @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJ Coolin Cregg plays his/your favourite songs all night. ’95(ish) to ’05(ish) rap/RnB/reggae/dancehall, sexy tunes, new joints, old jams, sweat pants.
10 pm James Murphy DJ Set @ The Hoxton, 69 Bathurst St. James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem DJs with guest Jeremy Glenn. $15 advance tickets available online.
10 pm Big Primpin’ @ Wrongbar, 1279 Queen St. W. Hip-hop and hot times for homos, their friends, and admirers. With DJs Nino Brown, Rory Them Finest, and Blackcat. Half-price drinks until 11 pm! For line bypass email: bigprimpin@gmail.com. $5.
10 pm Death Star Friday @ 751, 751 Queen St. W. Tune up those droids, hop into the Millennium Falcon and haul ass down to 751 for a night of mayhem and mischief! 80sFavoriteBabies DJs D’eeznuts and SpecsOne spin hip-hop, dub, hard rock, punk, and pop.
10 pm Tech Talk @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. DJs Wolk and Ell V play techno, acid, Detroit, NYC dance, and synth fuk. BBQ on the patio and free glowsticks at the door (for real). PWYC.
10 pm Girl & Boy 90s Dance Party @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. A pulsating dance party rocking the retro sounds of the 1990s! All your favourite dance, pop, hip-hop, R&B, and so on and so on and so on. $5.
10 pm Scissors @ Bar Neon, 1226 Bloor St. W. Sexy house music for ladies who love ladies and their handsome friends. With DJs Fawn BC and Sokes. $5.
10 pm Keep In Touch @ Augusta House, 152-A Augusta Ave. DJs Jaybe and Samurai keep you moving to hip-hop, reggae, electro, soul, R&B and top 40s till you drop. $5 for girls, $10 for guys + one free drink ticket until 11 pm. $10 for everyone after midnight.
10 pm Pop Kult! @ The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W. With DJ Goldroom from L.A. and locals Kyle Marshall and Tudor. $10 advance tickets available at Rotate This, Soundscapes, Play De Record, and online (guaranteed entry). For $10 reduced guestlist (subject to capacity), email names to guestlist@themansioninc.com.
10 pm firstBASS @ Salvador Darling, 1237 Queen St. W. DJs Curtis Savage and Paulinator play funky house music.
11 pm Never Forgive Action @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. Classic hip-hop and R&B super jams all night long from special guest DJs Big Jacks and Royale + regulars DJ Numeric, Ted Dancin’, and Dalia. Vintage rap videos on the screens! $10.
SATURDAY
10 am Chalk the Block @ Dundas West between Dovercourt and Lansdowne. Express yourself with chalk graffiti! Draw pictures or write words, messages, and stories to mark the places that mean something. It could be a memory (“she kissed me here”,____ was born at this house), or a hope and desire (“I wish there was more parking here!” “A bike lane should be here”), or a drawing (cat crosswalks?) or really anything at all. Bring chalk (to share or pick up some from various points along Dundas if you don’t have any), do your thing – draw, write, play, and then walk around and enjoy others’ chalk art! Until 5 pm.
12 pm CHOSEN Presents Cinco De Mayo Vintage Venta @ CHOSEN, 960 Queen St. W. In celebration of the coming amazing summer weather and getting in the spirit of the spring cleaning/garage sale season, CHOSEN wants to kick start the good vibes and celebrate with a one day only, back alley sale! They’ll be teaming up with vintage shops Penny Arcade and Silver Falls, almost everything will be priced between $5 and $20. Enter via the Givins Street lane entrance. Until 6 pm.
10 am Drake Spring Market @ The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. An outdoor, community market featuring the city’s best artisans, jewelry makers, crafts, and gifts + quirky treasures from the Drake General Store. You’ll find everything from vintage vinyl to chocolate chip and bacon cookies at the corner of Queen and Beaconsfield!
4 pm Cityscape/Soundscape: Exploring Our Sonic Environment @ Toronto Music Garden (Pavilion Stage), 475 Queens Quay W. Inspired by Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer, this soundwalk will raise participants’ awareness of their sonic environments and show how Toronto’s diverse downtown spaces can be distinguished by their own characteristic soundscapes. Part of Jane’s Walk. Free!
5 pm Fingerpainting & Juice Drinking in the Park @ Trinity Bellwoods Park. Come relive your fave childhood activities: drinking juice and fingerpainting! Take part in one giant collective art project and paint with your fingers on our canvas in the park. Specialty herbal iced teas and juices will be served to quench thirst after a hard few minutes’ work of fingerpainting. There will be cartoons and music videos shown on laptops until batteries run out. This event is weather dependent and part of National Youth Arts Week.
8 pm Grand Opening @ Kitch Bar, 229 Geary Ave. Celebrate Cinco De Mayo AND the grand opening of Kitch Bar! With DJs Lazy Ray and The Super Maniak.
10 pm Evveryday Wavvy @ The Red Light, 1185 Dundas St. W. DJs Smells Gvcci and Coolin Cregg + special guest Run North select splashy drug rap all night long.
10 pm Rip It Up Presents The Mods Mayday @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. DJ Davy Love and guests Ryan Rothwell and Andy Social hammer the decks with the slickest northern soul, beat, ska, garage, 50’s and 60’s R&B, blue eyed soul, and reggae sounds around. It’s also the annual Mods Mayday Dance, so dress for excess!
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 Chronologic @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. A dance party through the ages! Pop and antipop from since the end of history (i.e. music from 1890 to 2013, played in chronological order). $5.
10 pm Motown Party @ 751, 751 Queen St. W. Motown, northern soul and remixes with DJs Fawn BC, Caff, and special guest Misty Rock n’ Roll 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. For guestlist, email good.kids.events@gmail.com.
10 pm Shake, Rattle & Roll @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. A sexy, sweaty dance party thrown by the Bangs & Blush ladies! 60’s pop, soul and rock n’ roll. $5.
10 pm Slowed @ Wrongbar, 1279 Queen St. W. Slowed + Cinco De Mayo = tequila errrrywhere, slowed errrrything. With DJs Torro Torro and Lucie Tic + guests Grandtheft and Dos Mundos DJs. $10. For reduced guestlist and table service, email allicia@ledewit.com.
10 pm Back in the Day / Funk You Very Much @ Crawford, 718 College St. Upstairs, DJ Law and guest Aphillyaded spin the best of all the classics with music videos GALORE! Downstairs, DJ Expo plays funk, soul, boogie, and hip-hop for your dancing pleasure. $5 before midnight, more after.
10 pm Pay Day @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. DJs Isosceles and Stew Innes play open format from 10 to midnight followed by old school hip-hop from midnight to close. Free before 11:30 pm, $5 after.
10 pm Reality Bytes @ Augusta House, 152-A Augusta Ave. Travel back in time to the 90’s! DJs 4est, Lindzrox, Jrox, and special guests spin all your favourite dance, hip-hop, electronica and alternative 90’s tunes. Free before 11 pm, $5 after.
11 pm Love Saves the Day @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. Maximal disco and maximal house with DJs Luis Jacob, Produzentin, and Jaime Sin.
11 pm S.O.S. Saturdays @ The Velvet Underground, 510 Queen St. W. 80sFavoriteBabies DJs D’eeznuts and SpecsOne tag team the speakers playing the best in hard rock, alternative, 90’s, and retro. $5.
11 pm Chris Malinchak @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. A night of arpeggios and sunset vibes courtesy of DJ Chris Malinchak and guests Jeremy Glenn and Dime-A-Dozen. Think: fast cars, faster women, and enough white leather to fill a Miami Beach mile. $10.
SUNDAY
11 am The Cake Show @ Artscape Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St. The Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts presents The Cake Show, an annual cake design exhibition now in its 4th year and drawing upwards of 1000 people. Featuring demonstrations, cake design competitions, and live challenges featuring cake designers from the GTA and beyond. $10 tickets available online and at the door.
9:30 pm Crosswires #11 @ The Garrison, 1197 Dundas St. W. A Sunday night series brought to you by Doc Pickles, co-founder and emcee of Wavelength. Featuring performances by Logan Rathbone, Fitness, and The Wizard of Rock + General Chaos Visuals and DJ selector Acacia Christensen. Sponsored by Steam Whistle. PWYC.
~ Caitlyn Holroyd
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