September 15th-25th Manifesto Festival Of Community & Culture @ various locations. A celebration of Toronto’s vibrant and diverse music and arts community. http://themanifesto.ca/festival

WEDNESDAY 

10 pm Kicks: Vinyl Party @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. A new monthly all-vinyl dance party hosted by KOPS Records! With DJs Yojimbo, Way of The Curl, Fancy Fanny and guests. Girly groups meet Billy at 10 pm, grit garage ’n groove at 10:45, cosmic-disco-electric-punk-wave at 11:15 and some surprises after.

10 pm Melody Bar Relaunch @ The Gladstone Hotel Melody Bar, 1214 Queen St. W. Six years after its original launch, The Gladstone’s Melody Bar got a serious makeover thanks to designer Christina Zeidler. Come celebrate with music by Light Fires and DJ Phil V!

10 pm Ready Steady Go! @ 751, 751 Queen St. W. Punk rock goodness and the music that spawned it. Expect to hear stuff like The Clash, The Sonics, The Cramps, Gene Vincent, The Temptations, Otis Redding, Etta James, The Stooges, Janis Martin, The Dead Boys, Dion & The Belmonts, The Kinks and more.

THURSDAY

6 pm Red Bull Music Academy World Tour: Culture Clash @ Echo Beach. Four sound systems. Four styles. One champion. You Decide. DJ Afrika Bambaataa and The Zulu Nation Crew vs. LuckyMe featuring Hudson Mohawke, Lunice and Rustie vs. Mad Decent featuring Dillon Francis, DJ Sega, South Rakkas Crew and Paul Devro vs. Toronto All-Stars featuring Boi1da, Starting from Scratch, DJ Mensa, Lissa Monet and Lindo P. Watch DJ crews from L.A., London, New York and Toronto battle it out, with host Kardinal Offishall.

7 pm “Singer” Opening Reception @ Whippersnapper Gallery, 594-B Dundas St. W. A new installation by Toronto-based artist Nahed Mansour, who “takes interest in the undercurrent of connections between the often hidden and anonymous labour of this workforce and the entertainment industry, a highly visible and celebrity culture whose leading workers are constantly in the spotlight.” Until 10 pm. Exhibition runs September 15th to October 16th.

10 pm Tight Up Skirt @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Dress code: booty shorts, mesh of all kinds, tight up skirts, cut-off denim-type stuff. Music provided by J.Lee, Matt Bilewizc, Ramon Charles and Jason Ebanks.

10 pm All Dressed 2 @ Tota Lounge, 592 Queen St. W. The return of everyone’s favourite potato chip party! Featuring free potato chips and music provided by Young Lord, Mack Browne and Blue Neptune.

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 Fu*k House @ Crawford, 718 College St. Post post modern raps, RnB and reggae, all 192 kbps or less.

FRIDAY

10 pm Love Handles @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. The Bangs & Blush ladies and the Rule Britannia boys want to show you some love! A classic indie dance party where you’ll hear the greatest bands of the last 20 years.

10 pm Llamas In Space @ The Red Light, 1185 Dundas St. W. An open-format dance party with DJs 4th Pyramid and Kae Wonder. Disco/funk/boogie/house/reggae/rap/llamas.

10 pm Sweat Pants @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJ Coolin cregg wears sweat pants while playing 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 STD @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. An open-format dance party with DJs Isosceles and Innez Da Future. Free before 11:30 pm, $5 after.

10 pm A Soul @ Holy Oak, 1241 Bloor St. W. A Soul is the soul band to make your heart spin. The band: Maylee Todd, Emilie Mover, Matt McLaren, Christine Bougie, Blake Howard, Jay Anderson and Jesse Levine.

10 pm Happy Endings @ Forestview Restaurant, 466 Dundas St. W. With DJs Nguzunguzu, Nautiluss and Mikey Digits. $3 beers before midnight and $5 drinks all night long, $5 dim sum platters and free birthday lobsters. $10 reduced cover on guest list before midnight (email names to guestlist@themansioninc.com with the subject Happy Endings).

11 pm Evening Standard @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. A dance party with DJs Tiger & Woods + residents Members Only. $10.

SATURDAY

7 pm Poetry Slam @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. An evening of spoken word, lyrical mastery and friendly competition featuring the 2010 Capital Slam Team from Ottawa, winners of last year’s Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. Sign-up at 7:30 if you think your literary creations have what it takes to win! $75 goes to the best performance of the night. $5.

8:30 pm Women’s Arm Wrestling Championship @ 751 (upstairs), 751 Queen St. W. Put your elbows down and your hands together! Each wrestler dukes it out to the tune of her own theme song and brings her posse as back up. Event is open to everyone and fake names and costumes are highly encouraged! To pre-register, email classyladiesarmwrestling@g​mail.com (same-day registration starts at 8 pm). $2 to register, $5 to watch with all proceeds going to Planned Parenthood.

10 pm Black @ 751 (downstairs), 751 Queen St. W. DJ SaveMeBoots plays hip-hop and dance music all night long. $5, with all proceeds going to Planned Parenthood.

10 pm Lick A Shot @ The Red Light, 1185 Dundas St. W. Millenium-era rap and R&B all night long. Selections by the ’93 Bulls of binge drinking: 84.85, Andrew Roti and Geoff Snack + special guest Dario “BRAINS4BRKFST” Petruzzi. Requests encouraged.

10 pm Born To Run DMC @ Holy Oak, 1241 Bloor St. W.The best rock and hip-hop classics of ALL TIME! From The Boss to Run DMC and everything in between. This will be the last Born To Run DMC at Holy Oak as they’re taking a hiatus for a bit. PWYC.

10 pm Goin’ Steady @ The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen St. W. A grimy 50’s/60’s RnB dance party playing all your favourite choones plus unknown treasures. Email goinsteady@gmail.com to be on the $5 all-night guestlist.

10 pm Alex Metric @ The Hoxton, 69 Bathurst St. British musician/DJ/producer Alex Metric stops by. $15 advanced tickets available at Rotate This, Soundscapes, Play De Record and online.

10 pm Kid Sister @ Wrongbar, 1279 Queen St. W. Chicago rapper Melissa Young (a.k.a. Kid Sister) with special guest Neroteric. Arrive early for complimentary drinks courtesy of Rolling Rock! For guestlist requests, email guestlist@wrongbar.com. $15 advanced tickets available at Rotate This, Soundscapes, Play De Record and online.

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

10 pm Love Handle @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJs Catalist, Famous Lee and Janina Marie throw an all-vinyl boogie funk dance party.

10 pm Panic @ Velvet Underground, 510 Queen St. W. The ultimate retro party with DJ Lazarus spinning the kind of retro that changed your life. 70’s, 80s and 90’s, new wave, classic alternatives, ska, Brit-pop, dance, shoegaze, post-punk and more. This month’s spotlight is The Human League. $5 before 11 pm, $10 after.

10 pm Sundown @ Unlovable, 1415-B Dundas St. W. Open-format party with DJ Shit La Merde.

10 pm Greazy @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. A groovy vinyl dance party with DJs Matt Mclaren and Maylee Todd.

SUNDAY 

11 am 99 MRKT @ 99 Sudbury, 99 Sudbury St. An independent community-based market showcasing local foods, artists and designers. Fully-licensed and pet friendly! Until 5 pm.

12 pm Pedestrian Sunday: Earth! Global Harvest Traditions @ Kensington Market. Share in the deliciousness of harvest time bounty – the streets are yours until 7 pm!

5 pm WORN Journal Presents: Diversity & Fashion Magazines Panel Discussion @ Word On The Street, Queen’s Park. Join WORN Fashion Journal at the Word on the Street Canadian Magazines Tent where editors Serah-Marie McMahon and Gwen Stegelmann will discuss the responsibility of fashion magazines to provide a comprehensive overview of the world outside of mainstream fashion with a panel of industry insiders. Panel guests include Anita Clarke of the I Want – I Got fashion blog, award-winning journalist Elizabeth St. Philip and fashion buyer/stylist/instructor Iris Simpson.