April 24th-28th Fashion Art Toronto @ Daniel’s Spectrum, 585 Dundas St. W. Toronto’s five-day showcase of experimental, multi-sensory, and art-influenced fashion presentations, performances, art installations, photography, and short film.
April 25th-28th Hit The Floor @ John Bassett Theatre (Metro Toronto Convention Centre), 255 Front St. W. Returning to Toronto for a third edition, Hit The Floor is one of the world’s largest multi-style dance competitions. 2,000 talented dancers of all ages from over 50 dance schools nationwide will take the stage to compete for $15,000 in cash prizes and scholarships awarded by an esteemed panel of industry judges. The event also offers creative dance workshops with professional choreographers, the highly-anticipated All-Stars Showcase featuring performances by alumni of NBC’s World of Dance and So You Think You Can Dance, and an unmissable public afterparty on the rooftop of Lavelle. $15 tickets and $20 four-day passes available on site.
April 25th-May 4th Budweiser Stage Presents: It Happened Here, A Photo Exhibit @ 950 Queen St. W. Relive history at this free interactive exhibit celebrating 25 seasons of music at one of Toronto’s most iconic music venues, Budweiser Stage. Get up close and personal with decades of memorabilia, interactive installations, and photography from artists and performances throughout the years. Open 3-9 pm Monday to Thursday, 12-10 pm Friday and Saturday, and 12-6 pm Sunday.
April 25th-May 5th Hot Docs Festival @ Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W. North America’s largest documentary festival, showcasing the best in Canadian and international documentary. This year’s festival features over 200 amazing films and interactive projects from 50+ countries. Tickets available online.
April 26th-27th The Amazing Sci-Fi Show @ Super Wonder Gallery, 584 College St. A celebration of science fiction in popular culture, reinterpreted through contemporary art. Established and emerging artists will unveil hundreds of their latest creations immortalizing spaced-out heroes, quirky robots, bizarre aliens, and galactic beauties wearing silver bikinis. The event will also feature a movie prop display, life-sized spaceship prop, UFO fashion show, the Super Wonder robot collection, and much more. Runs 8 pm to 2 am both nights.
April 25th-28th Bumble #OneConnection Hub @ Bolo (364 Richmond St W). Bumble will be taking over Bolo in downtown Toronto all weekend long to provide a space for you to co-work, network, and connect with other professionals. They will also be offering free headshots (complete with makeup touch-ups), as well as one-on-one career coaching, tarot card readings, and profile doctoring to help maximize your Bizz matches. Check out the full schedule here.
WEDNESDAY
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
8 pm ’90s Nostalgia Trivia Night @ The Broadview Hotel, 106 Broadview Ave. Assemble your brain trust and head to the Broadview Hotel roof for Trivia Night! This month’s theme is ’90s Nostalgia. Prizes to be won and they’ll be serving cocktail and charcuterie specials to keep your tastebuds happy. $5 per team to play.
8 pm New Ho Queen: Undivided @ Gardiner Museum, 111 Queen’s Park. Inspired by the exhibition Ai Weiwei: Unbroken and in partnership with the Gardiner Museum, New Ho Queen: Undivided aims to explore how building bridges and fostering chosen families create subcultural spaces for expression and belonging. Expect a vibrant and artistic evening in celebration of the queer Asian diaspora. Curated by Ness Lee, with performances by Sze-Yang Ade-Lam and Ms. Nookie Galor + DJ sets by Sammy Rawal and Diego Armand. $10.
10 pm Doubles @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. A night of jungle and breaks with selektas Roberto S and Kaspr. $5.
10 pm Tutti Frutti Apocalypse @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. DJ Nora Noise spins from primitive rock ‘n’ roll to garage, psych to power pop, punk rock to glam, and old school hip-hop to soul.
FRIDAY
7 pm Community Night Market @ Mill Street Beer Hall, 21 Tank House Lane. The Mill Street Beer Hall plays host to live music, beer sampling, and local artisanal vendors, including Bella Buddha Beads, Claire Manning Design, Danielle Emily Jewelry, Outback Woodshack, Sarah Cait Co., Fifth Town Artisan Cheese, Wildwoods Nutrition Inc., Sweet Artisan Candies, and more. Until 10 pm.
10 pm Totally Buggin’ @ After Dark, 1180 Queen St. W. A nostalgic girl power dance party with DJ Kid Gorgeous spinning your fave anthems of the ’90s, ’00s, and right now. $5 vodka, $5 cover.
10 pm Shake A Tail @ The Garrison, 1197 Dundas St. W. Shake A Tail returns to sweat up the Garrison dance floor with the greatest pop, garage, psych, and soul sounds from the ’60s.
10 pm Tropic of Funk: Spring Fling @ Miss Thing’s, 1279 Queen St. W. Tropic of Funk is an attempt to reconnect the roots of disco to a more contemporary and experimental sound while being aware of disco and funk’s underground roots. Disco was popularised at a time where Black, LatinX, Queers, Femmes, Trans, and gender diverse individuals felt the need for spaces to dance, heal, and thrive. The space will prioritize those folks, but is open to ALL. DJ sets by Valeroo, Kevin Ritchie, and Myst milano. $10.
10 pm Farslide @ Farside, 600 Gerrard St. E. Through the joy and versatility of record collector and DJ selector Jason Parker Quinton, Farside brings you a mix of classic dance and party music that starts with be-boppin’ rock and roll jukebox jumpers and will spin you through disco, techno, house, hip-hop, reggae, and bizzaro futuristic beatz that might have just hit soundcloud today.
10 pm 80s + 90s @ Stones Place, 1255 Queen St. W. 1980s and 1990s tunes all night with DJ Blush. $5.
10 pm Beam Me Up Disco @ The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. Beam Me Up is 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 pm Get Buck @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJ Nino Brown spins hip-hop, soca, RnB, and dancehall. Deep grooves that transcend.
10 pm DJ Teenage Werewolf @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. Friday night freak out with DJ Teenage Werewolf! Rock ‘n’ roll, soul, psych, punk, and more.
10 pm DJ Akwasi @ The Boat, 152-A Augusta Ave. DJ Akwasi spinning all things hip-hop, RnB, Motown, disco, old school, and new school. Free before 11 pm, $10 after.
10 pm Disco Fridays @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. Hear a delightful array of disco and its sub genres every Friday at The Piston. $10.
SATURDAY
11 am Spring Uber-SWAP @ East End United Regional Ministry, 310 Danforth Ave. Edit your closets and trade your best spring appropriate cast-offs with other stylish scavengers at Uber-SWAP! Bring your stash of gently used in-season clothing and accessories to the advance drop-off (April 25th from 5-7 pm in the basement of Eastminster United) or at 10:30 am the day of, and get ready to swap. Minimum of 12 approved items per person to participate (aim to bring 15+ items, as not everything is accepted). More details here. Until 2 pm. $10.
1 pm 2SQTBIPoC Community Arts/Zine Fair @ Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave. An arts and zine fair focused on two-spirit, queer, and trans artists that are Black, Indigenous, and/or people of colour. Until 6 pm.
1 pm The Deadstock Depot @ 146 Ossington Ave. Toronto’s only vintage streetwear flea market is back! Over 30 local and international vendors come together to form Canada’s largest selection of handpicked garments catering to the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s street and sportswear aesthetic. Until 7 pm.
3 pm Sustainable Fashion Mood Board & Clothing Swap @ 2111 Dundas St. W. Define your style, learn about colours that work best for your skin tone, and experience sustainable fabrics and textiles at this interactive event featuring experts from the fashion world. Art supplies provided and light snacks and mocktails will be served. For the clothing swap, a maximum of 20 gently used and/or new items will be accepted per person (women’s clothing, accessories, footwear, and jewelry). $10 in advance, $15 at the door.
9:30 pm Hype @ Smiling Buddha, 961 College St. Hype is an afrocentric summer party series celebrating black culture through music. Putting a spotlight on all black communities through food, drinks, music, dancing, special guests, and good vibes. $8 advance tickets available online.
10 pm Dirty Talk @ Unlovable, 1415-B Dundas St. W. Music for dancing with pleasure models. Music to transport you to the far reaches of Orion, to watch the C-beams glitter in the dark. Music for robots, runners, and replicants. DJs Pammm and Automaticamore play Italo, cosmic disco, ’80s Euro synthpop, Montreal sound, and weird dad jams.
10 pm Hold Tight @ Stones Place, 1255 Queen St. W. DJ Misty and DJ Blush are back together bringing you another night of funk, soul, disco, rock ‘n’ roll, and friendship! $10.
10 pm Wedding Party @ The Boat, 152-A Augusta Ave. Everyone is the bride at Wedding Party! Playing the golden hits for any and all to groove to – soul, funk, new wave, and hip-hop.
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! $10.
10 pm Take A Chance @ Farside, 600 Gerrard St. E. DJ JD spins all-vinyl Euro disco and the sweetest tunes to make you feel good.
10 pm Juicebox @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W. DJs Tweed and Babe Decibel spinning the indie, retro, and Britpop you need! You will hear: The Strokes, David Bowie, Pulp, The Stooges, LCD Soundsystem, Bloc Party, The Human League, Joy Division, Holy Ghost, Glass Candy, and lots more! $10.
10 pm Panic @ Remix, 1305 Dundas St. W. The ultimate retro party with DJ Lazarus spinning the kind of retro that changed your life. ’80s, ’90s, new wave, post-punk, classic alternatives, synth pioneers, Britpop, shoegaze, madchester, new romantic, classic industrial, ska, and more. This month’s spotlight is Blondie. $5 before 11 pm, $10 after.
10 pm Faded @ The Rec Room, 255 Bremner Blvd. Family Business presents a night of your favourite hip-hop, R&B, and dancehall tunes. DJs FBomb and Ry-Fi will keep you wildin’ all night long with classics and new bangers.
10 pm Roll + Skank @ The Ossington, 61 Ossington Ave. DJ night with the hottest beats around. All the way from the UK, this is what you’ve been waiting for.
10 pm DJ Crunch Bandicut @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. Rock ‘n’ roll weirdness all damn night with DJ Crunch Bandicut.
10:30 pm Diegoraphy @ Glad Day Bookshop, 499 Church St. Diego Armand and Raphael Sanchez keep it fun and play dance, house, discohouse, and R&B. $5 before midnight, more after.
SUNDAY
10 am Toronto East (Scarborough) Vinyl Record & Collectibles Show @ Heron Park Community Centre, 292 Manse Rd. The Record Vault in association with G&G Electronics presents the Toronto East (Scarborough) Vinyl Record & Collectibles Show. Shop new and used vinyl records, audio equipment, books, CDs, music-related art and collectibles, miscellaneous collectibles, new audio gear, and more. Until 3 pm. $5.
10 am GH Marketplace: Swap & Shop Sustainable @ The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W. The Gladstone Hotel, Fashion Takes Action, and GFX are teaming up to present a sustainable fashion marketplace as part of last day of Fashion Revolution Week! Shop local sustainable and ethically made fashion brands and participate in curated clothing swap just in time for summer. Admission to the vendor market is free and admission to the clothing swap is $10 (tickets available online and at the door). Until 4 pm.
10 am The Leslieville Flea @ The Fermenting Cellar, 28 Distillery Lane. A curated flea market featuring 50+ vendors selling vintage, salvaged, upcycled goods, furniture, antiques, collectibles, and more. Bargains, rare finds, and one-of-a-kind pieces at every market! Until 5 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.
10 pm Sinful Sundays Burlesque: Tainted Cabaret @ Cherry Cola’s, 200 Bathurst St. Come be entertained at this weekly “temple of tease.” This edition features the Tainted Cabaret, a North American touring show where the sexy, campy, and theatrical combine to create one deliciously naked evening of entertainment. Free entry; tipping encouraged.
~ For event submissions, email Caitlyn Holroyd at caitlyn_holroyd@hotmail.com