June 24th-July 3rd Pride Toronto @ various locations. This year’s theme is Dream Big! pridetoronto.com 

June 30th-July 3rd Toronto Ribfest @ Centennial Park, 256 Centennial Park Rd. Toronto’s largest annual charity event featuring great food, entertainment, rides and shopping, with 100% of the money raised donated by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke to support local community charity organizations, schools, and international aid projects. Open 11 am to 10 pm each day. www.torontoribfest.com 

WEDNESDAY 

7 pm The Book Bakery Fund-Fair @ The Centre for Culture, Arts, Media & Education, 918 Bathurst St. Carnival games, bake sale treats, celebrity author kissing booth and amazing prizes. Oh, yes, and books. Readings by Matthew Stadler (The Publication Studio) and Book Bakery authors: Andrew Kaufman, Pasha Malla and Tabatha Southey. www.thebookbakery.biz 

10 pm DJs Benny Ben and Teddy Ted @ Midpoint, 1180 Queen St. W. DJs Benny Ben and Teddy Ted spinning disco, hip hop and dancehall vinyl. Drink specials and cheap drinks before 11:30!  

THURSDAY 

5 pm Woodlawn Summer Sale @ Woodlawn, 1491 Dundas St. W. 20% off most merchandise all day and a BBQ, spiked lemonade and beer from 5 to 8 pm.  

6 pm Art + Design + Food Walk @ Paul Petro Contemporary, 980 Queen St. W. Meet at Paul Petro Contemporary at continue on down West Queen West in the name of art, design and food! Stops include BYOB, 69 Vintage, Artscape Triangle Loft Gallery, Ravi Soups and more. RSVP to the West Queen West BIA http://westqueenwest.ca or Betty Ann Jordan (416-820-2727). 

6 pm Hot Hunt Opening Party @ The Drake General Store, 1144 Queen St. W. For the month of July, all Drake General Stores will transform into carefully curated antique shops filled with one-of-a-kind treasures and fun collectibles! Opening party goes until 8 pm.http://drakegeneralstore.myshopify.com 

6:30 pm Art Spin @ Trinity Bellwoods Park (by the front gates at Queen & Strachan). Art Spin is a bicycle led tour of galleries, art performances and artist’s studios in Toronto’s west end art district. Tour starts at 7 pm. Free, all are welcome! 

7 pm The Good, The Bad & The Ugly @ The Gladstone Hotel Art Bar, 1214 Queen St. W. Toronto’s talented animation professionals gather together to display and sell their works in a multitude of mediums (sculpture, painting, digital, etc), all based on the theme, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. Until 11 pm. Show runs June 29th to July 5th, 12 to 5 pm daily.  

7:30 pm Turning Point @ The Mascot, 1267 Queen St. W. Art exhibit featuring new paintings by Warwick and a tribute to some of the many talented artists and musicans from the past who have shared there music via the Turning Point dance floor. Until 11 pm. Exhibit runs all month.  

8 pm Summer Exhibition Opening Party @ The Power Plant, 231 Queens Quay W. A celebration for the opening of “Rearview Mirror: New Art from Central and Eastern Europe” featuring a BBQ and music by the Goin’ Steady DJs. The gallery is FREE ALL SUMMER thanks to the support of the Hal Jackman Foundation and NOW Magazine. 

10 pm Rap-A-Lot @ Wrongbar, 1279 Queen St. W. All rap bangers all night long in celebration of the Canada Day long weekend! With DJs Fathom, Patrick McGuire, Caff and Fawn BC, and half-price drinks before 11 pm. 4 AM EXTENDED LAST CALL. RSVP for guestlist requests to good.kids.events@gmail.com. $5.  

10 pm Good Vibrations @ 751, 751 Queen St. W. DJ Misty Rock n’ Roll invites you to kick off summer with all the best hits and rarities from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and beyond from the pop, rock, soul, surf, punk and more genres.  

10 pm Happy Yassin by Dudebox @ Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College St. The guys from Dudebox are having a toast to Said Yassin, the man who has warmed their hearts, cooked their pancakes and slowly let them influence him into becoming a hipster (which he denies, but peep the get up); for all those late night Gatorade runs, car smashes (shhh!), eggings of hippies and picking up of girlies. Besides throwing a crazy shindig in celebration of Said Yassin’s birthday, they will also be raising money for a great cause: www.theremixproject.ca. $5. 

10 pm Switched On @ Camp 4, 1173 Dundas St. W. DJs Pammm and Jaime Sin play indie rock and pop.  

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 Classic Hip-Hop Night @ Crawford, 718 College St. DJ Marko Orlic plays the classic stuff – A Tribe Called Quest, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Cam’ron, Nas, Naughty By Nature, Wu-Tang Clan, etc. Drink specials all night long.  

10 pm La Bodeguita @ UNIT, 1198 Queen St. W. DJs Cliché (a.k.a. Christopher Sealy and Noël Nanton) play deep soulful house music for you. 

10:30 pm Gin&Tonic @ The Red Light, 1185 Dundas St. W. DJs G&T play your most desired dance tunes. 

FRIDAY 

10 am Canada Day @ Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W. Celebrate Canada Day by the water with all the things that make Canada unique! Complete list of events and activities at the Harbourfront Centre website www.harbourfrontcentre.com/summer/festivals.cfm?festival_id=82

12 pm Canada Day at Fort York @ Fort York National Historic Site, 250 Fort York Blvd. Celebrate Canada’s 144th birthday with a bang! Come and experience the place that helped defend and define Toronto (Town of York) and ultimately Canada with an amazing FREE line-up featuring musket and artillery drills, tours, music, historic cooking, theatre, dance, aboriginal storytelling and shadow puppetry. Food vendors (Veda Healthy Indian Takeout and Burrito Boyz) will be on site, or bring a picnic! Until 5 pm.  

4 pm Canada Day at the Dream in High Park @ High Park Amphitheatre, Bloor St. W. at High Park Ave. Crafts, interactive games, workshops, tours of the outdoor theatre, musical performances, carnival games, cake and a free performance of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. Bring a picnic! Registration is encouraged, contact 416-367-8243 ext. 280 or family@canadianstage.com for more information. 

4 pm Fuck Dance, Let’s Drink @ The Red Light, 1185 Dundas St. W. DJs Booth, Graham Zilla, Dougie Boom and ghettogoldmatt kindly share their favorite music they don’t often get to play out – this time with a Canadian focus & BBQ to celebrate the holiday! Free BBQ starting at 4 pm till as long as it lasts and music carrying on into the wee hours.  

5 pm Hip-Hop Karaoke: Canada Day Edition @ Harbourfront Centre (Redpath Stage), 235 Queens Quay W. HHK will be adding some more Can-Con to their song list in the next few days in celebration of Canada Day. Karaoke goes from 5 to 7 pm and returns for a bit more at 9 pm. Hosted by Abdominal and More or Les with DJs Numeric and Ted Dancin’.  

7:30 pm Voulez-vous Coucher Avec God? @ TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King St. W. A long-lost piece of Canadian counter-culture, this film is “an intoxicating (and perhaps intoxicated) journey into anarchy. Starring famed beat poet Tuli Kupferberg as a heavily bearded, blaspheming and bigoted God who rules from his bathtub perch in Hashish Seventh Heaven, the film is a cacophony of bizarreness, replete with wild animation, music by The Fugs and the stomach-churning consumption of a mouse omelette. Directed by Jack Christie and Michael Hirsh (who would go on to found renowned children’s animation company Nelvana) and, amazingly, made with funds from the Ontario Arts Council, this rare Canadian head trip reappears for the first time in years.” Free as part of Canada Day at TIFF Bell Lightbox! 

8:30 pm Let There Be Art 2 @ Bread & Circus, 299 Augusta Ave. Let There Be Art was devised as a concept which embodies the convergence of the best of Ontario’s music and art scene, together in one huge party. This year’s performers include Blood Rexdale and the Walls are Blonde, The First Seed, Gin Stillettos, Raiya Korol (monologue), BingeNinja, The Deadly Hopefuls, Tom Schweitzer (sound and video performance), The Hormoans and The First Seed vs. Chic Gala vs. BingeNinja vs. No Bridgade, with artists Tongson Chen, Adam Gabourie, David Kleiser, Derek Mckeon, Cameran Scarth, Sandra Kosinski, Matthew Alexander, Darren Leu, Steven Sandhu and Caity Ferrar. $5.  

10 pm Shindig @ Crawford, 718 College St. A rhythm and blues dance party featuring all-vinyl sets by DJs Misty Rock n’ Roll, Splattermonkey, Double K and General Eclectic. Show you patriotic spirit by sporting your favourite bowling shirt in honour of Canada’s favourite late 50’s/early 60’s past time (next to hockey), bowling! Free before 11:30 pm, $5 after. 

10 pm Whatevs @ 751 (basement), 751 Queen St. W. 90’s hip-hop and gangsta rap party with Steve Rock playing all your golden era favourites. Loose morals in effect + $10 mini pitchers of bar rail. 

10 pm Rollin’ & Scratchin’ @ The Supermarket, 268 Augusta Ave. DJ Riviera and a special performance by Roney + Nani and Kyle Marshall. $5 Canadians and $4 Canada Day shots all night long. $5 before midnight.  

10 pm Sex Robot @ Camp 4, 1173 Dundas St. W. Sounds like: Pixies, Talking Heads, Blondie, New Order, Fleetwood Mac, Stones, Bowie, Depeche Mode and some new stuff. Programmed for love all night long.  

10 pm Sweat Pants @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJ Coolin Cregg plays sweet, sexy, sweaty tunes for you to rock, bump and wind too. 

10 pm Neat, Neat, Neat! @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. Punk, Brit-pop, power pop, new wave, shoegaze, Mod revival with guest DJ Shehzaad.  

10 pm Rocking Hunting @ The Henhouse, 1532 Dundas St. W. DJs Sasha Van Bon Bon and Secret Agent present a night of dirty, sweaty, head wrenching rock and roll.  

11 pm Don Cherry is an Asshole @ Parts & Labour (main floor), 1566 Queen St. W. DJs Josh V and Mark Pesci play classic Canadian content. Cheap Canadian beer all night, a table hockey tournament and Strange Brew and Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em videos projected on the wall.  

SATURDAY 

3 pm Canada Day After Party @ Lomography Gallery Store, 536 Queen St. W. Buck 65 plays songs from his latest album 20 Odd Years from 3 to 4 pm, followed by refreshments, cake and some Lomographic good times! RSVP on Lomography Toronto’s Facebook Pagewww.facebook.com/pages/LomographyGalleryStoreToronto/197421913601729 or via email to shoptoronto@lomography.com (space will be limited and guest list will be in effect). 

4 pm Doing The Same @ The Red Light, 1185 Dundas St. W. Weekly BBQ jam! All smooth West Coast sounds (electro, boogie, jheri curl funk, g-funk, rap and R&B), all free BBQ (while it lasts), all day long cheap beers and mixed drinks ($12 Mill Street pitchers) from 4-8 pm every Saturday on the patio. Music by Ghetto Gold Matt and guests, BBQ by Vladimir Kato.  

10 pm Shake, Rattle & Roll @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. Bangs & Blush are throwing yet another sexy dance party to turn you into one hot Canadian mess! 60’s soul and rock n’ roll. $5. 

10 pm Dream//Date (Kept Man Edition) @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. Learn how to impress a potential suitor, beginning with the dance moves and moving on from there. With the usual fixings of post-punk, new wave, italo, minimal and synth wave. Drink specials until 11:30 pm. Free before 11:30 pm, $5 after. 

10 pm Motown Party @ 751, 751 Queen St. W. DJs Fawn BC and Caff play Motown, northern soul and some remixes for you upstairs while Brett Millius and Reverend Throwdown play an all-vinyl set in the basement. $11 pitchers and cheap bar rails all night long. Video and prizes from Eyesore Cinema. $5 before midnight, $10 after. 

10 pm Goin’ Steady 6 Year Anniversary Party @ The Gladstone Ballroom, 1214 Queen St. W. The Goin’ Steady DJs celebrate the 6th year anniversary of their grimy 1950’s/60’s RnB dance party! Diggin’ the rarest and best music from the 50’s and 60’s, with all your favourite choones plus some unknown treasures. 4 AM LAST CALL. Email goinsteady@gmail.com to be on the $5 all night guest list. 

10 pm Reality Bytes @ Augusta House, 152-A Augusta Ave. Come reminiscence while DJs 4est, Lindzroxm Jrox and special guest Peachy Keen play all your favourite dance, hip-hop, electronica and alternative 90’s tunes! 

10 pm Standards @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. DJs Davy Love and Linda Noelle bring you a steamy night of soul, mod, ska, punk, new wave, garage and good times.  

10:30 pm DJ Tons @ Holy Oak, 1241 Bloor St. W. DJ Tons spins the best in 1950’s country and western music. Yee haw! 

SUNDAY 

7 pm Movies In The Mess Hall @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. Sculptor and conceptual artist Bruno Billio invites you to join him for a screening of his favourite flick, Auntie Mame, a film that sets the bohemian against the upper-crust in the story of rich orphan Patrick Dennis and his free-spirited Auntie Mame. $5 or $15 with dinner (a steamed foot long veal cheese dog with your choice of 2 sides + a sprinkle doughnut).