May 1st-31st Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival @ various locations. The largest photography event in the world is back! CONTACT is an annual event in May featuring over 1,500 Canadian and international artists and photographers exhibiting at more than 175 venues throughout the GTA. Check out the CONTACT website for a full list of exhibitions and installations.

WEDNESDAY

9 pm Hitchcock Dance Party @ Baltic Avenue, 875 Bloor St. W. Enter the world of Alfred Hitchcock and dance the evening away amidst iconic moments from your favourite Hitchcock films such as Psycho and Dial “M” For Murder. Featuring: The “Hitchcocktail” ($5), nibblies, award for best Jimmy Stewart impression, award for best costume, raffle prizes, and dancing till the witching hour! Costumes encouraged (i.e. Grace Kelly! Norman Bates’ Mother! A Bird!) but not required. $8 advance tickets available online; $10 at the door.

10 pm Liquid Karaoke @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. Colin Bergh, James McDonough, Nadia Belerique, and Jeff Hayward are your hosts. $4 Jameson and $5.50 pints before midnight.

10 pm Home Based @ Weldon Park, 569 College St. A night filled with good hip-hop, good people, and good vibes with DJs Sanga Genesis, James Redi, and special guests. Every Wednesday.

10 pm Decade Romance @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. All summer, Humble Kyle will select a decade and then play music and visuals from that era. This week: the 1920s.

10 pm This Is Not A Toy Official Closing Party @ Storys Building, 11 Duncan St. The Official Closing Party for the This Is Not A Toy Exhibit at the Design Exchange curated by Pharrell Williams. Close it out in style with good drinks, good music, and good vibes! $10.

10 pm Camp Out @ Scouts Honour, 1576 Dundas St. W. Queer disco dance party with DJs Aqua Vulva and Mary Mack. Come in your best scout/guide/lumberjack attire and tear up this series of springtime humpdays!

THURSDAY

6 pm “A Different Kind of Tension” Opening Reception @ Cooper Cole, 1161 Dundas St. W. A solo exhibition by Oakland-based artist Chris Duncan. “Emphasis on various forms of spacial manipulation are at the core of Duncan’s work; the show will challenge viewers to question the nature of perception by exposing typically unnoticed facets of the viewing experience. The viewer is provoked to contemplate Duncan’s work obliquely, examining shadow and periphery spaces as highlighted parts of the artwork.” Until 10 pm. Exhibition runs until June 15th.

10 pm #ThrowbackThursdays @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. Every Thursday, come get a taste of tunes from: J-Lo, DMX, Spice Girls, Will Smith, Aqua, Ludacris, Backstreet Boys, Snoop Dogg, S Club 7, Jay-Z, Hanson, Ace of Base, Savage Garden, Britney Spears, Destiny’s Child, and many more. $3 tall cans before 11:30 pm. $5.

10 pm Twisted Thursdays @ Crawford, 718 College St. Hip-hop, RnB, reggae, trap, and old school with DJ Law. $5.

10 pm Fat Laces @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJ Big Jimmy Mills, the scratch-monster, spins old school hip-hop.

10 pm Magnifique @ Churchill, 1212 Dundas St. W. Jay + Joel play the hits! Disco, Italo, synth.

10 pm Secret Models @ Northwood, 815 Bloor St. W. Music that makes you feel funny all over.

FRIDAY

7 pm “Trevor Wheatley: A Return Where” Opening Reception @ #Hashtag Gallery, 801 Dundas St. W. “Cataloguing an ever-growing body of paintings, sculptures, and large scale, site-specific graphic installations, A Return Where provides visual evidence of Trevor Wheatley’s developing interest in the place and nature of logos and other equally ubiquitous forms of pop iconography. By exposing recognizable graphic language to unlikely material and environmental possibilities – say, a wooden, billboard-sized Nike Swoosh installed in a horse field or the leaping Air Jordan silhouette sprayed onto the side of a highway overpass – Wheatley’s work questions whether such images may be decolonized in their roles as corporate metonyms and reduced to pure image when presented in isolated, commercially futile settings.” Until 11:30 pm (RSVP torsvp@hashtaggallery.com). Exhibition runs until May 25th.

7 pm Friday Night Live: Cottage at the ROM @ Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park. The best cottage night of your life: No mosquitoes but plenty of buzzz! Sights: Taste Ontario Craft Beer. Sounds: Sam Cash & The Romantic Dogs, FNL House DJs curated by ElectriCITY Events, Summer Fling DJs, UofT Jazz Music Program, and Andrew Austin. Experiences: Cottage Critters (learn what bugs and wild animals are at your cottage); Ontario Fossils (find fossils at home and at the cottage); Arts for Children and Youth emerging arists; and Meet the Scopify Guy. Eats: Gourmet Gringos, HotBunzz Street Cuizine, Curbside Bliss Cupcakes, City Gourmet, Tita Flips, JK Frites, The Saucy Pierogi, Little Tomato Catering, ME.N.U Food Truck, Randy’s Roti, and Liko’s BBQ. $12 advance tickets available online.

8 pm Puppy Love @ Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave. A laid back, sugar-sweet Friday evening to woo loves (new and old) by sunset. More a peck-on-the-cheek than a full on makeout. A night for people who aren’t into the club scene but want to shake their booty and make new friends. Also: dance floor featuring less clubby hits; Twister and other classics; on-stage dating games; Truth or Dare and Spin the Bottle; and tons of sex-positive friends to meet! (Puppy Love is for everyone, regardless of gender, race, relationship status or sexual preferences.) $10.

10 pm No Scrubs @ Detour Bar, 193 Baldwin St. Official launch party! Strictly ’90s and ’00s party jams all night long: Ludacris, 50 cent, Ashanti, Cam’ron, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Missy Eddiot, Biggie Smalls, ODB, T.I., Mystikal, Fat Joe, Ciara, Usher, Ginuwine, J-Kwon, Sir Mixalot, Nelly, and more. STRICT NO SCRUBS POLICY IN EFFECT. $5 tall cans of PBR and Old Style Pilsner. $5.

10 pm Shadows of Motown 5 Year Anniversary @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. Shadows of Motown is a dance party that plays the biggest and best Motown, doo wop, booty shakin’ hits! This month, they’re celebrating five years! With DJs Slater, Well Said, and Ty. $5.

10 pm Easy Life @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. Prince Innocence DJ Set (Talvi Faustmann and Josh McIntyre). Rap, R&B, house, pop, diva, hits. Free before 11 pm, $5 after.

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 Fuzz Nugs @ Handlebar, 159 Augusta Ave. DJs Christoph Duft, Jeremiah Knight, and Evan Lewis play a collection of danceable ’60s pop junk from their record collections. Girl group, garage, psychedelica, beat, and surf!

10 pm Hip-Hop Karaoke: Round #88 @ Revival, 783 College St. Another round of HHK, with over 600 instrumentals to choose from. No bouncing ball, just spit fire on the mic. Hosted by Abdominal and More Or Les with DJs Numeric and Dalia. $10 before 11 pm, $15 after.

10 pm Rebel Hop @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. Soul, funk, reggae, hip-hop, Motown, and their relative disciples with DJs Gramera and Linx + Dennis P on the sax! Free before 11 pm, $5 after.

10 pm Frkn Wknd @ Savoy, 1166 Queen St. W. Walmer Convenience runs the best in current and classic R&B, hip-hop, and dancehall. Cheap drinks in a dark room.

10 pm Creature Feature @ Sex Laser, 1369 Dundas St. W. Wilderness Creature plays a mix of vibey dark melodies, psychedelic fun, smooth blues, songs about the devil, and good ol’ fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. $3 PBR until 11 pm, so come early and stay late.

10 pm Barber Shop @ The Henhouse, 1532 Dundas St. W. The year is 1963; the Beach Boys are at the top of the charts in the USA, and the Beatles are ripping it up on the other side of the Pond. Dr. King has a dream, and Johnny Depp breathes his first breath… Hot-and-sweet soul-disco-boogie music provided by DJ Michael K and special guest Philip Edward Villeneuve!

10 pm Phazed / Crawford House Party @ Crawford, 718 College St. Upstairs, it’s old school meets new school hip-hop and R&B with DJ Amplified. Downstairs, MC Jayflex hosts your favourite house party! Old school hip-hop, trap, and R&B all night + red cup drink special ($8.50 gets you a Molson cup and a Jager shot). $5 before 10:30 pm, more after.

10 pm Yes Yes Y’all @ CODA, 794 Bathurst St. The hottest, sweatiest, busiest queer hip-hop/dancehall/RnB jam around! Vybz meets A$AP meets Kendrick meets Cham meets Foxy meets Ciara. DJ Lissa Monet joins the YYY Crew this month. $6 before midnight, more after.

10 pm Èbony @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. DJs Lapelle, Antony Creay, Sylvermayne, and Jordan Gardner play techno and house.

10 pm Feels So Good @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJ Benny Ben spins hip-hop and beyond, from jiggy to crunk.

10 pm Scissors @ Bassline, 782 King St. W. DJs Sham, Whitewolf, and Fawn BC play luscious and heavy house music for ladies that like ladies, boys who dig boys, and everyone in between. $5 or free before 11:30 pm with guestlist (leave your name on the wall before 3 pm, day of the event).

11 pm Oh Well @ Milk Glass Co., 1247 Dundas St. W. Some thrills till closing and projections… till closing.

SATURDAY

1 pm 23 hours live! @ Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas St. E. A live performance marathon (in conjunction with b current’s annual rock.paper.sistahz festival) featuring 14 new plays performed over 23 hours by award-winning and esteemed artists – many rooted in the culture and experiences of the Black Diaspora – plus a late night dance party with DJ L’Oqenz, burlesque dancer Dainty Box, early morning yoga, a pancake breakfast, and more. $50 for the 23 hour pass or $13 for timed admissions.

10 pm Mirage @ SILO, 567 Queen St. W. DJs Raf Reza, Paul Revered, and Jennifer Loveless guide you through a journey in an alternate reality. A place where you can let yourself be taken over by an uncontrollable urge to dance in a utopia of aural pleasures and wonder: Is it REAL or just a MIRAGE? $10 (email guestlist requests to reza.rafayat@gmail.com).

10 pm White Girl Chilling @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. Hip-hop dance party! With DJs itsmattlangille, Co-Op, and Hunnicutt. Free before midnight, $5 after.

10 pm Chronologic @ The Garrison, 1197 Dundas St. W. A dance party through the ages! Pop and antipop from since the end of history (i.e. music from 1890 to 2014, played in chronological order). $5.

10 pm Paradise Life @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. Hard working selectors join forces to melt dance floors and snap necks. DJs Jason Ulrich and Todd Westendorp play only the finest records in soul, disco, fonk, boogie, and house music.

10 pm Get It Together: Summer Kick-off Edition @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. An open-format dance party specializing in cheap drinks, beautiful people, and packed dance floors! All styles, all genres, all peoples welcome. $5.

10 pm Grüber @ Weldon Park, 569 College St. Hip-hop, house, party music miscellany brought to you by Canada Thrust.

10 pm Good Vibes @ Baltic Avenue, 875 Bloor St. W. Nothin’ but GOOD VIBES. Featuring Toronto’s most eclectic and party-rockin’ DJ playing the best hip-hop, new wave, electro-pop, indie rock, R&B, and mashup: This Broken Mixtape. $5.

10 pm All Vinyl Everything @ Ballet, 227-A Ossington Ave. DJs Agile, Mensa, Mista Jiggz, and special guest DJ Channel IX play a mix of RnB, hip-hop, house, funk, disco, soul, reggae, and more – strictly on vinyl. $10.

10 pm Love Handle @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. DJs Catalist, Famous Lee, and special guest Aki throw an all-vinyl boogie funk dance party! $5.

10 pm Ice Cold Dranks / Back In The Day @ Crawford, 718 College St. Upstairs, Family Business presents an evening of rap bangers, old school classics, and a whole lotta twerk music. Downstairs, DJ Law replicates your high school video dance party. $5 before 11 pm, $10 after.

10 pm Mad City Saturdays @ Savoy, 1166 Queen St. W. DJ Caff plays nothing but big tunes from the ’90s up. Hip-hop, reggae, R&B, and guilty pleasures all night long.

10 pm All Souled Out @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJs Big Jimmy Mills and Sylvermayne play hip-hop, funk, soul, R&B, make-you-wanna-boogie dance party music. $5.

10 pm Shake, Rattle & Roll @ Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W. Spend the night together with the Bangs & Blush ladies! ’60s pop, soul and rock ‘n’ roll to drink, dance, and get messy to. $5.

10 pm Penguin Prison @ Wrongbar, 1279 Queen St. W. DJ set by Penguin Prison (NYC) with support from Natural Animal and Mix Chop. $12.50 advance tickets available online. For guestlist requests, email guestlist@wrongbar.com.

10 pm Deep Endz @ The Steady, 1051 Bloor St. W. A dance music night with a focus on two-step, house, UK garage, and techno. Music provided by Briggs x Comma Splice, Adam Harding, and CBB.

11 pm Shake A Tail @ Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College St. ’60s pop, rock, soul, funk, garage, ska, ANYTHING! Always humid. $5.

11 pm Racks & Bands @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. Racks & Bands is a monthly party focused on one thing and one thing only: bringing booty back to the Underground. Turn up with resident DJs Johnny Hockin and Vanity Muscles as they motivate the winin’ and grindin’, playing only the hottest in current rap and RnB. $10.

SUNDAY

10 am The Junction Flea @ Evergreen Brickworks, 550 Bayview Ave. The Junction Flea is back for the summer! Featuring over 50 vendors selling vintage clothing, crafts, antiques, records, food (and beer!), and more. Until 4 pm. $2.

1 pm Borrel @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Traditional Dutch comfort/soul food, every Sunday afternoon. Drinks, tunes, and food you didn’t know you loved. Until 6 pm.

3 pm Sweaty Betty’s 10th Anniversary @ Sweaty Betty’s, 13 Ossington Ave. The Ossington institution celebrates 10 years of drinking, laughing, and not providing table service as best they can. Swing by for a beer, wine, oysters, or maybe a cocktail (but only if it has less than 3 ingredients).

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 Retro Party @ Velvet Underground, 510 Queen St. W. DJ Lazarus plays the best of the ’80s and ’90s. $5.

10 pm No Parking on the Dance Floor @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. Dress to move, groove and sweat! With Kwame Younge and DJ Dave Campbell. $10.

~ For event submissions, email Caitlyn Holroyd at caitlyn_holroyd@hotmail.com