July 2nd-13th Toronto Fringe Festival @ various locations. Toronto’s largest theatre festival, featuring 150 productions at venues across the city.
July 5th-6th Jeremy Laing + Calla Spring Sample Sale @ Cooper Cole Gallery, 1161 Dundas St. W. Shop current and past seasons (both women’s and men’s) in a range of sizes. Cash and credit card only. Sale runs 12-6 pm both days.
July 5th-6th Vintage & Flea Community Market @ Vintage & Flea, 1263 Dundas St. W. A community furniture and clothing market happening every weekend! Featuring a selection of vintage clothing, designer consignment, and antique furniture. Starts at noon and goes late.
WEDNESDAY
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 1950s.
THURSDAY
6 pm One Night in Bangkok @ Bangkok Garden Restaurant, 18 Elm St. Experience Thailand in the heart of downtown Toronto. With a modern bar and lounge, specialty Thai-themed martinis, Thai street food, and a live DJ, it will be One Night in Bangkok to remember. $25 advance available online, $30 at the door (plus HST).
8 pm AWKS: Summa Camp @ The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen St. W. The two months you’ve looked forward to as a child have been packed crisply into one AWKward night. The Torontonians have kept the greatest parts of summer camp, thrown in a little teen flavour, and created AWKS: Summa Camp. Located in the Gladstone Hotel’s savvy Ballroom, awaits an urban adventure far from flag saluting and friendship bracelet braiding. Take a seat at the campfire and sing campfire songs, share ghost stories, and enjoy performances by young talent from across the GTA + special guest Lido Pimienta.
10 pm Strangelove @ Weldon Park, 569 College St. The return of a Toronto cultural institution. Every Thursday. $5.
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. $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 Get Home Safe Presents: Blah Blah Blah @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. Music provided by DJs Happy Boy Tona, Cyber69, and Trophy Jones. Free before 11 pm, $5 after.
10 pm Sex Blazers @ Sex Laser, 1369 Dundas St. W. DJs Notable Recluse and Qualls play a whole lotta disco/funk/whatever they feel like, all while wearing eminently sensible (if seasonally inadvisable) tweed jackets.
FRIDAY
9 pm “Hey ’90s Kids, You’re Old” Opening Night @ St. Vladimir’s Theatre, 620 Spadina Ave. Presented by Taryn Parrish, in association with the Toronto Fringe Festival, this nostalgia sketch comedy show brings ’90s pop culture into the present. Show runs until July 13th. $12 advance tickets available online.
10 pm Yacht Rock @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. A night of dancing to the smoothest music you’ve ever heard in your life. $5 to step aboard.
10 pm City Love / Coast To Coast @ Crawford, 718 College St. Upstairs, Lacey & Tammy blast out the hottest hip-hop and RnB tracks! Downstairs, it’s a July 4th celebration with DJ O, from ATL to the Bay! $5 before 10:30 pm, more after.
10 pm Hamburg ’63 @ Sex Laser, 1369 Dundas St. W. For all you weirdos of the vinyl persuasion, this Friday is for you. A strange 60’s brew of: rock and roll melters, psych shakers, freakbeat, mod, garage. Hosted by June Records counter rats Ian F Cheung and Riff Randell.
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 SoulSkank @ Handlebar, 159 Augusta Ave. Funk, soul, reggae, ska, and dancehall in its most raw form! A vinyl-only dance party with DJs Gramera and Double K on the decks + Dennis P on the sax. Free before 11 pm, $5 after.
10 pm Bad News @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. What better way to spend the 4th of July than with some raw, greasy, stompin’ sixties soul and rock n’ roll?! All vinyl. All American. With your gracious Canadian hosts, DJs Neil and Derek.Free before 11 pm, $5 after.
10 pm Marmalade & Buttahfingaz @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Hip-hop, soul, RnB, rap, trap, south.
10 pm No Sleep ‘Til Brooklynn @ Brooklynn, 1186 Queen St. W. Make new friends. No dress code. No bullshit. $5 with guestlistbefore 11:30 pm, $10 otherwise.
10 pm Building Blocks @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. DJ General Eclectic and friends take you from A to Z of good dance floor music! Funk, soul, reggae, dancehall, disco, hip-hop, Brazilian, Latin, and rock. Free before 11 pm, $5 after.
10:30 pm Rush Hour @ Churchill, 1212 Dundas St. W. DJs Shanly and Grayson Margiela serve up some steamy plates of rhythm and/or blues, with a heaping side of gangsta rap shit. Look forward to awkwardly timed jokes, black + yellow mixed drinks, and plenty of early 2000s Ja Rule feat. Ashanti hits.
11 pm Y2K: A Millennium Dance Party @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. A party devoted to the best jams of the early-to-mid 2000s, brought to you by Good Kids. Guilty pleasures, one hit wonders, chart toppers, and everything in between! Featuring special guest DJ Matt Roan (Chicago). $7 advance tickets available online, $10 at the door.
SATURDAY
11 am Uber-SWAP @ Pentimento Gallery, 1164 Queen St. E. Trade your cool cast-offs with stylish scavengers in Leslieville. Expect a tempting stash of gently used, vintage, and even some *new* women’s clothing, bags, accessories, and footwear. Participants are asked to bring gently-used cast-offs (nothing damaged, dirty, or stained). Until 2 pm. Same day drop-offs begin at 9:30 am. $10 at the door.
3 pm Bastid’s BBQ 2014 @ Queen & Peter Parking Lot, 306 Queen St. W. DJs, live performances, and prime barbeque cooking provided by Canada’s premier food purveyors! Featuring Skratch Bastid, Tony Touch (NYC), Starting From Scratch, Rich Kidd (live), Wristpect, DeMiggs & Tom Wrecks (Itzsoweezee), Jesse Futerman (live), Jim Sharp (UK), The Gaff, Big Jacks, Love Handle (Catalist and Famous Lee), Big Toe’s Hifi, Your Boy Brian, and Mark Brand. Until 11 pm. $15 (plus tax and a $1 donation to Manifesto Community Projects) available online.
9 pm 2night We Are… The Strokes @ Silver Dollar Room, 486 Spadina Ave. Members of Blue Sky Miners come together for the second installment of 2night We Are to pay tribute to The Strokes. Two full sets spanning The Strokes’ catalogue performed by: Jena Gogo and Jay Mitchell with guest Jack Derricourt (vocals), Eric Duquette and Elliot Carter (guitars), Mark Lavoie (bass), and Stefan Hegerat (drums). The Fire Ends will perform an opening set of NYC rock classics by bands including The Velvet Underground, Television, and many more. Huey Weintraub a.k.a. Mr. Selector H will be spinning classics all night between live sets. $10 at the door.
10 pm Bad Girls Club @ The Yukon, 1592 Queen St. W. Big hips, tiny tits, lotsa lip, all the hits! You’re new favourite ladies night by three of the baddest bitches in town. All wax. All raunch. Whatever they feel like.
10 pm Motown Party @ 751 Queen St. W. Motown, northern soul, and remixes with DJ Fawn BC and special guest Shaydakiss upstairs + an all-vinyl set with DJs Brett Millius and Reverend Throwdown downstairs. Video and prizes from Eyesore Cinema! $5 before 11 pm, $10 after. $7 advance tickets available online.
10 pm Lazer Pop @ Holy Oak, 1241 Bloor St. W. DJs Magic Marine and PJ flip some serious wax ALL NIGHT LONG. Electro, cumbia, hip-hop, ’80s, Beyoncé.
10 pm PPParty @ The Boat, 158 Augusta Ave. Why all the the P? ‘Cuz this party is golden! 24 Karat hits from all decades. $5.
10 pm Grill$ @ Crawford, 718 College St. DJs James Redi, Jon Chetty, Sanga Genesis, and Feel Good Smalls spin Motown, funk, disco, hip-hop, and reggae tunes while the George Forman holds it down front and centre with a stack of cheesy slices and a fresh loaf. That’s right – FREE GRILLED CHEESE ON THE DANCE FLOOR! Free before 11 pm, $5 after.
10 pm Blackbird Blackbird @ Wrongbar, 1279 Queen St. W. Blackbird Blackbird (OM Recordings, San Francisco) with special guests AViDD + Mix Chopin with Jim Jr. and Courtney. $12.50 advance tickets available online. For guestlist requests, emailguestlist@wrongbar.com.
10 pm Pay Day @ The Shop under Parts & Labour, 1566 Queen St. W. DJs Isosceles and Stew Innes play hip-hop, RnB, and party jams. Free before 11:30 pm, $5 after.
10 pm With It @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. DJ Nico and special guest Tim Hanna pay tribute to mod culture of the 1960s with a night of mod, R&B, soul, psych, and more. Featuring ’60s go-go dancer Mel Appeal. $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 Lucky Bitches @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Two ice stallions serve it up hot with a glamour-positive party for anyone who knows what it’s like to be a lucky bitch. The guiltiest of pleasures all night: hitz that span the ages, ’90s hip-hop, contemporary hitz, ’80s velvet jamz, forgotten gemz.
11 pm Shake A Tail @ Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College St. ’60s pop, rock, soul, funk, garage, ska, ANYTHING! Always humid. $5.
11 pm Never Forgive Action @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. A monthly dance party paying tribute to the golden age of hip-hop! DJs Numeric, Ted Dancin’, and Dalia spin classic jams from the sweet spot of 1986 to 1994. $10.
SUNDAY
10 am Sunday Mini Mart @ The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. Every Sunday morning to afternoon, The Drake hosts the Timberlost + friends mini market. Featuring beautiful flowers from Timberlost, with rotating wares ranging from stationary to street art.
11 am Bellwoods Block Party @ 198 Walnut Ave. Bellwoods Block Party is back for Spring/Summer ’14! Featuring vintage, art, accessories, food, brew, and more! Watch out for the following vendors: Hogtown Brewers, She Must Be Somewhere, I Love Goldie, Heels and Bow Ties, honeybea designhive, Guns n’ Glamour, May 28th, Standing O, Rare Bloom by Michelle Tilley, RAW ECO Fashion, Miz Dragonfly, Asikere Afana, Shop Wanderlust, Shea Essence, Pickled Flower, Dandelion Sun, Sofia Isrealsen Imports, and A Homerun Vintage. Until 6 pm.
1 pm Borrel @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Traditional Dutch comfort/soul food, every Sunday afternoon. Drinks, tunes, and food you didn’t know that you love. Until 6 pm.
4 pm Sky Yard Sundays @ The Drake Sky Yard, 1150 Queen St. W. Brunch, booze, and a ton of fun in the Sun(day)! Fuel up with a late brunch or refreshing Coronas, and enjoy the sounds of weekly DJs from 4-8 pm.
7 pm Brass Facts Trivia @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. Test your knowledge and win prizes! Hosted by Famous Kirk Hero. Until 10 pm.
7:30 pm Christie Pits Film Festival: A League of Their Own @ Christie Pits Park, 779 Crawford St. Christie Pits Film Festival opens its fourth season with “Days of Summer,” a theme fit for a summer heat wave! Join CPFF for a screening of A League of Their Own and take part in a costume contest! Wear your favourite baseball uniform, whether inspired by the film or your home team. Prizes awarded to the best individual and team costumes. Food service and costume contest begin at 7:30 pm, screening at 9:15 pm. PWYC / BYOBlanket.
~ For event submissions, email Caitlyn Holroyd at caitlyn_holroyd@hotmail.com