April 12th-15th Water Docs Film Festival @ Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W. A fascinating program of films on issues facing water systems and the people who live in them here and around the world. After each screening there will be lively Q&A sessions with filmmakers, activists, artists, experts, and other related speakers.
April 14th-15th Toronto Coffee & Tea Expo @ Evergreen Brickworks Pavillions, 550 Bayview Ave. Experience the city’s top brews and discover industry tips, emerging trends, and new beans from 60 local vendors and indie cafes at this two-day event. $15 advance tickets available online. Runs 11-6 pm both days.
WEDNESDAY
7 pm Trouble Every Day Presents: Morvern Callar @ Imagine Cinemas Carlton, 20 Carlton St. Trouble Every Day Presents is a new monthly screening series celebrating the best of forgotten and undiscovered cinema, programmed by James Rathbone and Marko Orlic. This month, catch Lynne Ramsay’s out-of-print, sophomore gem Morvern Callar, based on the Somerset Maugham Award-winning novel by Alan Warner. Following the screening, head to the piano lounge to talk about the film.
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 and the winning table gets an $80 Drake gift card (plus bragging rights)! Click here to reserve with OpenTable, or show up early to ensure a spot for your team.
9 pm Deep Freeze Wednesdays @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. Embrace the chill! Join DJs Tweed and Babe Decibel in the front room for chill mid and downtempo indie tunes. $4.75 drinks.
THURSDAY
10 pm Butter @ The Red Light, 1185 Dundas St. W. Late ’90s and early 2000s rap curated by Willson.
10 pm Rock ‘n’ Roll Witchcraft @ Lucky Shrike, 850 Dundas St. W. Black magic, love potions, garage, punk, surf, psych, and glam selected by DJ Nora Noise.
10 pm DJ D.B. Buxton @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. Psychedelic soul, disco, and groovy rock ‘n’ roll with D.B. Buxton.
FRIDAY
10 pm My Bad @ Stones Place, 1255 Queen St. W. DJ Blush brings you another ridiculous My Bad dance party featuring all the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s guilty pleasures you can handle. $5.
10 pm Mongobash @ Lucky Shrike, 850 Dundas St. W. When the sun goes down and the moon comes up, you can turn into a teenage Goo Goo Muck this Friday the 13th. DJs Mongobeat and Squaresville present a special selection of savage rock ‘n’ roll, garage, soul, frat rock, surf, Brazilian nuggets, freakbrega, and a touch of psych. All vinyl, all 7-inch, and no cover.
10 pm Verses @ The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen St. W. Club, afrobeat, dancehall, and house with DJs Ace Dillinger, Vaughan, and Chippy Nonstop. $5/PWYC.
10 pm Futura @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. Bass, dancehall, leftfield hip-hop, futureboogie, wave, and minimal R&B with Wavgods, Andycapp, and Andy B Bad. For futurists only. $5.
10 pm Very Special @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. DJs Big Jacks and Jenno play rap, R&B, and dancehall (now and ’00s classics).
10 pm Fuck It @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. ’90s/00s guilty pleasures dance party with Bangs & Blush! Drake, Hanson, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Missy Elliott, Vengaboys, Bieber, Will Smith, Spice Girls, Eminem, Jay-Z, Disney music, and more. $5 with student ID, $10 without.
10 pm Body Heat @ Handlebar, 159 Augusta Ave. DJ Jamieson and guests stir up a hot mess on the dance floor! Full of surprises, void of cover.
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 Puppy Love: A Heckin’ Gay Dance Party @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. Queer, sweaty dance party with Oliver Wickham on the decks, spinning a mix of pop, throwbacks, disco, R&B, and dance floor classics. Looks: Black cat chic / Jason Voorhees realness. $5.
10 pm DJ Digital’s Hair Metal Record Collection @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. Bring your favourite metal records or dig through DJ Digital’s crates. Get weird and get down!
10 pm Sunset Culture Club @ Farside, 600 Gerrard St. E. DJ Morgan Yew spins rare party jams, all vinyl.
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.
11 pm Sucio @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. The dirtiest reggaeton, dancehall, trap, and world rhythms are showcased by DJ Grump and rotating guests with Blxck Ixn on the mic keeping you moving. $10.
SATURDAY
10 am The Saturday Morning All-You-Can-Eat Cereal Cartoon Party @ The Royal Cinema, 608 College St. Curator Kier-La Janisse presents a three-hour trip down memory lane with a tribute to the eye-popping, brain-addling Saturday morning cartoons of yore, complete with a smorgasbord of delicious sugary cereals (non-dairy too!). You’ll see both faves and obscurities spanning the 1940s through the ’80s, all punctuated with vintage commercials and PSAs. $15 for adults, $8 for children 3-14 (under 3 free).
9 pm Shipwreck’d @ The Shore Leave, 1775 Danforth Ave. The tides are rising and you’re invited to ride the waves! Join DJ Swankenstein, island beauty Blue Suede Sue, musical guests The Dave Palmtree Trio, and the whole gang for a night of flowing of exotic grooves, tiki concoctions, and plenty of shenanigans.
10 pm Parallel Minds @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. Raf Reza, Yohei S, Daniel 58, and Ciel reach deep into their record bags to weird you out and make you move. $5.
10 pm Expansions @ The Rec Room, 255 Bremner Blvd. Beam Me Up DJs Cyclist and The Patchouli Brothers celebrate house music’s creative ascendancy from disco and the impetus to all modern dance music.
10 pm One Leg Up @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. Dust off your dancin’ shoes and come shake a leg! DJ Precious Brett plays rock, soul, funk, pop, and rarities from any decade.
10 pm On The Run: Jay-Z, Beyoncé & Rihanna Dance Party @ Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College St. Don’t tell Becky with the good hair, but Sneaky Dee’s is spinning the best jams from the infamous love triangle themselves: Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. They’ll toss in some of your other favourite hip-hop anthems as well. $5 advance tickets available online.
10 pm Synthesexer @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. Toronto’s synthesexiest sexy synthy alternative electro dance party with DJs Little Kicks, ARP 2600, and Digits! Expect to hear stuff like: Tiga, Annie, Chromeo, M.I.A., Holy Ghost!, Robyn, Daft Punk, Little Dragon, Pet Shop Boys, and more. $10.
10 pm A Drag Tribute to the East Coast @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. Each month, The Beaver welcomes Fisher Price to pull together a menagerie of ghastly creatures to entertain you and pay tribute to whatever themed nonsense Fisher pulls from her highly caffeinated brain. DJ Oliver! will be twisting tunes all night long. $5.
10 pm Tiki Disco Saturdays @ Miss Thing’s, 1279 Queen St. W. Post-dinner Saturday night party in the Coconut Room, with special guest DJs to make you MOVE! No cover before midnight.
10 pm Whatever You Like Feat. Sgt Garbage @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. All hits, all night with spicy DJs that’ll really get you moving and shaking. It’s the good stuff – the prom that never was!
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, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., Nelly, TLC, Missy Elliott, and more! $5 with student ID, $10 without.
10 pm Turning Point @ The Garrison, 1197 Dundas St. W. A special evening dedicated to exploring the many tropical rhythms and sounds of the past for the dance floor. Resident selector A Man Called Warwick and special guest Senor Vishal share a top-notch selection of Indo, Afro, Latin, Arabic, Asian, Brazilian, Balkan, and Caribbean. $10 before 11 pm, $15 after.
10 pm Funk Off @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. Chicago’s finest, Tim and Teddy, spinning the best and boldest funk across the decades. $5.
10 pm Moon Hop @ Lucky Shrike, 850 Dundas St. W. Move and to the finest ska, reggae, and rocksteady with DJ TBA!
11 pm Racks & Bands @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. Jay Jolliffe and guests take you on a rollercoaster ride through the biggest songs in hip-hop and RnB. $10.
SUNDAY
10 am A Kind Market Pop-Up @ Maquette A Berkeley Event Venue, 111 King Street E. Whether it means ethical sourcing, a cruelty-free model, or a locally-made product, A Kind Market Pop-Up brings the community together to experience a unique shopping experience while raising money for the Toronto Humane Society. RSVP and get one free raffle ticket entry for a chance to win the “kindest” prize! Until 4 pm.
4:30 pm Girl Gang Cabarets @ The Painted Lady, 218 Ossington Ave. A celebration of women-identifying people and artists! Featuring performances by Shanika Maria, Jamie Milay, Salma Hindy, and Bex and the Disappointment followed by an open stage lady cabaret (open to comedians, storytellers, poets, musicians, dancers, or anything else you can think of) and jam. $10 in advance, $12 at the door.
7 pm Brass Facts Trivia @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Test your knowledge and win prizes! Hosted by Famous Kirk Hero. Until 10 pm.
10 pm Play Something Good @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. DJ Droideka plays pretty sonic noise pop, quadraphonic post-rock, ghost folk gangsta-hop, ultra starlet trip slop, supa-dupa soundtrack, disko-tronic down slack, soul crush dance punk, mega distortion dream funk, no-wave mood drive, alt-wizard slowdive, old school cult classic, and glam-rock voodoo magic.
~ For event submissions, email Caitlyn Holroyd at caitlyn_holroyd@hotmail.com