August 15th-19th Manifesto @ various locations. Manifesto Festival of Community & Culture takes over downtown Toronto this August with multi-arts events that culminate in a giant FREE concert and community gathering at City Hall, headlined by Chronixx and his band Zinc Fence Redemption (plus many more). See the full schedule here.
August 15th-19th Summerworks @ various locations. Re-imagine the possibilities of performance with 11 days of theatre, dance, music, and live art. Ticket passes available online.
August 17th-19th The Burger Fest @ Interchange Park (Vaughan), 1 Commerce St. A family-friendly festival of top burger vendors, craft beers, creative cocktails, and performances by Platinum Blonde and Real McCoy. $10 advance tickets available online.
August 18th-19th Camp Wavelength @ Fort York National Historic Site, 250 Fort York Blvd. For two magical days, Camp Wavelength will summon the spirit of summer camp and take festival-goers on a journey of discovery and escape. $28 single-day tickets and $48 weekend passes available online.
WEDNESDAY
7 pm Open Roof Festival: Isle of Dogs with Goosebump @ Lower Junction, 158 Sterling Rd. Toronto-based art-pop band Goosebump enhances the evening’s summer vibes with their cool sounds, followed by a screening of Wes Anderson’s latest stop-motion masterpiece, the Japan-set, canine-infused Isle of Dogs. $15.75 advance tickets available online.
7 pm Music Bingo @ The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W. A FREE weekly event combining the love of music with the traditional bingo format. Each player receives a Music Bingo card which consists of an assortment of songs. Instead of calling out numbers, they play the music! Singing along encouraged.
8 pm Drake Trivia @ The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. Teams of four or less put their random knowledge to the test as hosts Megan Griffith-Greene and Jeromy Lloyd 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
7:30 pm Shakespeare in the Ruff Presents: Portia’s Julius Caesar Opening Night @ Withrow Park, 725 Logan Ave. Withrow Park’s al fresco summer theatre company, Shakespeare in the Ruff, presents this adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic political thriller. Reframed to explore the agency of women in Ancient Rome, creator Kaitlyn Riordan introduces new voices using iambic pentameter to follow themes of female friendship, fertility, and the silencing of women. Committed to creating space for underrepresented voices in the classical canon, the play uses the pivotal moment in history to explore how women are affected by the decisions of men in power. PWYC. Runs through September 3rd. $20 advance tickets available online.
9 pm Open Your Heart: Madonna Dance Party @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. Madonna is turning 60! To celebrate, Phil Villeneuve is playing her hits, misses, remixes, and edits all night long to celebrate on dance floor.
10 pm Rewind @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. A DJ night featuring the best in RnB and UK garage!
10 pm DJ Cheff @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. Old school rock ‘n’ roll, post punk, rockabilly and psychedelic blooze explosions!
FRIDAY
8 pm Astronomy on Tap @ The Great Hall, 1087 Queen St. W. Quench your thirst for astronomy! A fun evening of pints, astronomy news, mind-expanding talks, games, and prizes. Following the talks, you’ll have all your cosmic questions answered by astronomers from the Dunlap Institute and University of Toronto. Doors at 7 pm.
8 pm Indie Fridays: PKEW PKEW PKEW, The Penske File, The Flatliners @ Yonge-Dundas Square, 1 Dundas St. E. Yonge-Dundas Square hosts 10 weeks of performances from Canada’s brightest artists! This week features local pop punkers PKEW PKEW PKEW, punk/folk trio The Penske File (who take their name from a joke on Seinfeld), and headline act The Flatliners, going on 16 years of playing together and bold as ever with their enduring punk/ska sound. Until 11 pm.
10 pm Bedroom Eyes @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. The musical adventures of DJs Automaticamore, Lazy Ray, and Gerrence playing B2B all night long. Italo, disco, house, new beat, cosmic, and a bunch of other party music.
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. $5.
10 pm Carlton Ranks @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. The ultimate smooth party groove. Hip-hop, dancehall, soul, RnB, reggae–everything you need.
10 pm Girl & Boy 90s Dance Party @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. A pulsating dance party rocking the retro sounds of the 1990s and early 2000s! Hip-hop, R&B, pop and dance music all night. $5 with student ID, $10 without.
10 pm Stereo Ferment @ Farside, 600 Gerrard St. E. DJ Oreku spins global grooves and afrobeat.
10 pm I Think I’m Making A Comeback Dance Party @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. DJ Shirley Tempo plays Motown, soul, rock, pop, and guilty pleasures to make you dance!
10 pm Beam Me Up Disco @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. A disco jam that celebrates the underrated and the obscure of funk, jazz, soul, boogie, rare groove, reggae, gospel, proto-house! It’s an evening of tuneful transcendence, supplied by residents Patchouli Brothers and Cyclist. $10.
10:30 pm Love Saves The Day @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. Maximal house, maximal disco with DJs Kevin Ritchie and Jaime Sin.
11 pm Collectif Nude Presents: Pawty Time @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. Featuring new lineups with Toronto’s best DJs every month + specially curated hosts and photographers, Pawty Time aims to bring together many elements from the arts and music community and to empower them with a stage to do their thing! $10.
SATURDAY
10 am Toronto Flower Market @ CAMH, 1001 Queen St. W. Toronto Flower Market returns for its biggest season ever to celebrate local growers, florists, craftspeople, and gardeners. Until 3 pm.
3 pm Cityfest Parc Rosé @ Canoe Landing Park, 95 Fort York Blvd. Celebrate all things rosé at this massive pink and white party! Featuring a drinks garden, virtual reality station, mini treatments from Foundation Physiotherapy, DJs, food trucks, and more. $45.20 advance tickets available online.
10 pm 2012: A Rap Odyssey @ Handlebar, 159 Augusta Ave. 2012. It was a simpler time. 45 was merely an ex-reality TV star. Instagram barely had a cultural footprint. Our chief existential concern was whether the Mayan calendar prediction would come true and the world would end. It wasn’t all roses, but at least the music was fire. Boosie Fade DJs Yung Adult and Jordan Sowunmi)want to transport you back to that time, in the sweet confines of Handlebar (they’ll be playing tunes from 2010-2013, with a special emphasis on 2012). $5.
10 pm Worst Behavior @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. This Saturday, be on your worst behavior. Bangs & Blush play past and present bangers all night long from Drake, The Weeknd, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., Nelly, TLC, Missy Elliott, and more! $5 with student ID, $10 without.
10 pm It’s All Good @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. Join resident VJ General Eclectic as he takes you on a journey from House of Pain to The Cranberries, 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 All Soul’d Out @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJ Big Jimmy Mills on two turntables spinning old school hip-hop, party jams, dancehall, reggae and RnB.
11:30 pm DJ Mensa @ The Rec Room, 255 Bremner Blvd. DJ Mensa knows that creating the right vibe trumps all and has spent years perfecting an alchemy of scratching and song selection that weaves between genres and eras to make him a Toronto dance floor favourite.
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. $5.
10 pm Jersey Shore: 2000s Party @ Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College St. Time to pause GTL for a sec and sip on some Ron Ron juice. Sneaky Dee’s will be playing all your favourite 2000s party jams all night long. $5 advance tickets available online.
10:30 pm Back In The Day @ Revival, 783 College St. A tribute to ’90s old school hip-hop, R&B, dance, house, reggae, and pop with DJs Skratch Bastid and R2. Email info@themarqueemedia.com for bottle service inquiries and guest list.
11 pm Stuck On Stupid @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. DJs Fase and Dougie Boom throw a no-holds-barred, anything-goes, sky’s-the-limit, all-out dance-a-thon! Expect hits and not-so-hits, jams old and new. $10.
SUNDAY
10 am Open Streets TO @ Bloor & Yonge St. Open Streets programs, also known as Ciclovias, open streets to people and close them to cars encouraging participation in physical activity and healthy recreation. They are free, regularly occurring programs, and offer communities the opportunity to experience their city streets in a whole new way. Until 2 pm.
10 am Ontario Vintage Market @ Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview Ave. Shop from a selection of vintage design, art, and antiques for that one-of-a-kind find. Until 3 pm.
10 am The Trinity Bellwoods Flea: End of Summer Market @ The Great Hall (lower level), 1087 Queen St. W. Celebrate the end of summer and Trinity Bellwoods Flea’s fourth birthday! Featuring the best handmade, locally crafted goods, beauty, home decor, art, and vintage. Four-legged friends welcome! Until 5 pm.
3 pm Promise Cherry Beach @ Cherry Beach, 1 Cherry St. Bring your friends and lovers, sisters and brothers, four-legged wonders, toddling toddlers, picnics, and hammocks, and hang out on the beach while Promise’s underground DJs create the soundtrack to a perfect summer. House, techno, dub, disco, electro, and beach party grooves. And sometimes a secret surprise international guest. Until 11 pm. Your contribution is appreciated, though not required to enter (suggested donation of $20 to help cover costs). Children are always free.
4 pm Faerie Grove @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. A day-drinking throwback to disco and unrestrained queerness, with DJ Michael K and guests on the decks. Be fierce. Be glorious. Wear as little as you like. Party goes ’til sunset.
4 pm Sunnyside 20: Episode 006 @ Sunnyside Pavilion & Cafe, 1755 Lake Shore Blvd. W. Sunnyside is back for its 20th season of summer music events under the sun, moon and stars! The sixth installment features living legend Tony Humphries (NYC) making his Sunnyside debut for an unforgettable afternoon/evening by the lake alongside Members Only, Dirty Dale, Karla Houser, and Schmanta. $30 (plus HST) tickets available online.
6 pm Christie Pits Film Festival: Vertigo @ Christie Pits Park, Bloor St. W. CPFF close out its 2018 season with a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s indelible San Francisco thriller, Vertigo, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. It will be paired with Kazik Radwanski’s film Scaffold, a short documentary about recent immigrants to Toronto who break the routine of their scaffolding job by observing people in the neighbourhood below from their unique vantage point. Films at sundown (8:30 pm); eats and treats from 6 pm onwards featuring The Arepa Republic, Holy Husk, and popcorn at the TOPS tent. BYOBlanket. Free/PWYC ($10 suggested).
7 pm Screen Queens Presents: Little Shop of Horrors @ The Royal Cinema, 608 College St. Drag Queens. Live drunk commentary. Drinking games. Debauchery. Get ready to experience movies like never before. This month, Screen Queens presents a screening of Frank Oz’s 1986 horror comedy rock musical, Little Shop of Horrors. Doors at 7 pm, screening at 8. $15 advance tickets available online.
7 pm Brass Facts Trivia @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Test your knowledge and win prizes! Hosted by Famous Kirk Hero. Until 10 pm.
~ For event submissions, email Caitlyn Holroyd at caitlyn_holroyd@hotmail.com