May 9th-31st Scotiabank CONTACT Festival @ various locations. The largest photography event in the world, featuring over 200 exhibitions and happenings throughout the month of May. This year, CONTACT expands its scope across Toronto and presents a broad spectrum of physically and conceptually engaging forms of photography.

WEDNESDAY

6:30 pm The Evolving Role of Museums Lecture @ Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Dr. In celebration of the upcoming International Museums Day on May 18, the Aga Khan Museum presents a free talk with Michael Edson, co-founder, Associate Director, and Head of Digital for the Museum for the United Nations, about the social mission of museums in the global space, and what happens when institutions commit to breaking down stereotypes and building bridges.

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

7 pm “HOME” Opening Reception @ Berenson Fine Art, 212 Avenue Rd. For more than 15 years, Toronto-based conservation photojournalist Neil Ever Osborne has travelled to the corners of the globe capturing images of its last wild places, many of them fragile and in desperate need of protection. In his first fine art exhibit, Osborne attempts to demystify the foreignness of the natural world and replace the concept of “the environment” with one that’s more accessible to each of us: a healthy home. Until 9 pm. Exhibition runs through May 31st.

9:30 pm DJ Windows98 (Win Butler) @ The Rec Room, 255 Bremner Blvd. DJ Window98, a.k.a. Win Butler of Arcade Fire, and Felix Cartal take over the decks at Rec Room for Canadian Music Week. $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

10 pm Sleeep @ Eden Hall, 193 Baldwin St. A pre-summer showcase by Bedroomer, featuring DJ sets by Hudson Alexander, Internet Daughter, Los Fucbois (Fil Jackson, Eytan Tobin, and Walmer Convenience), and SL.Y.

10 pm C81, C86 & The Birth of Indie Pop @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. Get your jangle on to songs from the DIY bands of the 1980s, with selections from the NME’s legendary C81 and C86 tapes, Rough Trade, Postcard Records, Sarah Records, the Subway Organization, and more!

10 pm Tender Grooves @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. Join DJs Silktits and Raf Reza as they waft the balearic breeze your way with some tender grooves.

10 pm Rock ‘n’ Roll Witchcraft @ Lucky Shrike, 850 Dundas St. W. Rock ‘n’ roll, surf, exotica, garage rock, punk, glam, and black magic all night long with DJ Nora Noise.

10 pm Club House @ The Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. Cozy + dancey = Club House. DJs Myst Milano and J. Lai serve up house, club, dance, and mystery genre sounds for your dancing pleasure. With special performances by Allysin Chaynes and Jacklynne Hyde

FRIDAY

7 pm Friday Night Live: Superheroes @ Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park. Start your Friday nights on the dance floor with top DJs and live artists, or explore the ROM’s stunning galleries with tasty food and drinks at #FNL. $17 (plus tax) tickets available online; limited amount available at the door.

7 pm “Dark Rainbow” Opening Reception @ Hashtag Gallery, 830 Dundas St. W. Art Frak explores themes of violence, mental health, emotions, and sexuality with a bright layer of rainbow-coloured coating in this solo exhibition. A happy façade of unicorns, candy, crafts, confetti, and balloons attempts to distract with flair, but ultimately fails to mask what is right at the surface. Until 11 pm. Exhibition runs through May 25th.

8:30 pm Inner Journey IV: Amir Koushkani and Friends @ Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Dr. Presented in association with Rumi Canada as part of a series inspired by the timeless teachings of Rumi, Hafiz, and other Sufi mystics, the Aga Khan Museum presents a spiritual performance from ethnomusicologist Amir Koushkani. $35 tickets available online.

9 pm No Ho Queen @ ROUND Venue, 152-A Augusta Ave. A party for queer asians and their friends (everyone welcome). With DJs Lulu Wei, Jaime Sin, and Kimberly Bianca. $10.

10 pm Turn Back Time: 80s Video Dance Party @ The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W. Strap on your sweatbands! DJ Caff is gonna work you out to Michael Jackson, Queen, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Lionel Richie, Culture Club, Wham!, Run DMC, Madonna, and more. $10 in advance, $15 at the door.

10 pm Saddle Up! @ Owl’s Club, 847 Dovercourt Rd. Dance to Willie, Dolly, Loretta, and the rest of your honky tonk favourites! You’ll hear all the good tunes and the best of the bad ones (no bro country). Set by Thelonius Hank at 10:30 pm. $5 before 11 pm, $10 after (bar is cash only).

10 pm Rock Sucker @ Swan Dive, 1631 Dundas St. W. DJ Starboy takes you on a psych, glam, punk, pop, and rock ‘n’ roll journey through the ages!

10 pm Sunset Culture Club @ Farside, 600 Gerrard St. E. All vinyl rare party jams and audio explorations with DJ Morgan Yew.

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 Babygirl / Club Fitness / Roberto @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. Tuff + smooth underground house, garage, and techno sounds from yesterday and today. $5.

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 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 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 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 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 Lavender @ Glad Day Bookshop, 499 Church St. Queer women and trans people to the front, everyone welcome! Music selections by DJs Creshord and Lavender Menace. $5/PWYC (no one will be turned away due to lack of funds).

11 pm Cut Class @ The Rec Room, 255 Bremner Blvd. DJ Fawn Big Canoe plays bangers, dance floor fillers, one hit wonders, and nostalgic guilty pleasures from the late ’90s and early 2000s. Nothing is off the table at Cut Class!

11 pm Sucio @ The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W. DJ Grump brings this party to the Underground, featuring a healthy dose of latin bass, dancehall, and trap. $10.

11:59 pm ESP @ The Baby G, 1608 Dundas St. W. Shake off the world and get intuit! House-isms, R&B, club, techno, and ESP from Karim Olen Ash, New Chance, Valeroo, and Vibrant Matter. Dress code: Cosmic, aura healing, sparkling, psychic chic, freaky deaky. 4 AM LAST CALL. $15.

SATURDAY

9 am CAFTCAD Movie Wardrobe Sale @ The Backlot Film Studios, 40 Butterick Rd. Shop from a selection of vintage and gently used designer/name brand clothing items and accessories as well as clothing and costumes that have been featured on TV series and films shot in Toronto. $5 at the door (free for children under 12 and seniors), with partial proceeds going to The AFC. Until 5 pm.

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.

11 am Spring into Parkdale Sidewalk Festival & Night Market @ Parkdale Village (Queen St. W. from Roncesvalles to Dufferin). Spring into Parkdale returns for the sixth year with a sidewalk sale featuring more than 150 vendors, free entertainment, night market showcasing local chefs, and lots more! Until 9 pm.

6:30 pm “Women of Color” Opening Reception @ Struck Contemporary, 365 Dupont St. Struck Contemporary showcases Toronto portrait painter Benny Bing for his fifth solo exhibition. In his new collection, Bing brings forth the concept of “colour,” taking its definition and symbolic range to connect his painted subjects to a diverse audience. Until midnight.

7 pm SUTRA @ Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front St. SUTRA is a spectacle of athleticism that explores the philosophy of faith behind the Shaolin tradition and its relationship with kung fu within a dance context. This award-winning collaboration between Flemish-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Turner Prize-winning sculptor Antony Gormley, and Polish composer Szyman Brzóska will be in Toronto for one night only. $75-145 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 Bodak Yellow: Cardi B Dance Party @ Sneaky Dee’s, 431 College St. Slap on your red bottoms and come dance to tons of Cardi B, along with other girl power anthems from Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and more! 4 AM LAST CALL. $5 advance tickets available online.

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 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 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 Hyperwine & Walmer Convenience Presents: Mina @ Bambi’s, 1265 Dundas St. W. The Canadian debut of Mina of ENCHUFADA Records (London, UK), warming you up with her colourful tropical riddims. With local support by Young Teesh, Vaughan, and Sunclef b2b Nevin The Dude (Cakeshop Seoul, On the Run). $18 advance tickets available online.

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 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.

10:30 pm Ovah @ Luanda House, 974 Bloor St. W. Ovah is the place to hear the newest, sickest, fiercest beats from some local and international legends. For this month’s edition, Bambii serves up ballroom, club beats, world beats, dancehall, baile favela, and more, with support from DJ Blackcat and Karim Olen Ash. $10 before 1 am, $15 after.

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

11 am Leslieville Flea Mother’s Day Market @ The Broadview Hotel, 106 Broadview Ave. Pick up something special for mom and maybe even treat yourself at the Leslieville Flea Mother’s Day Market! Featuring 25-plus vendors selling a curated selection of vintage and handcrafted items. Until 5 pm.

4:30 pm Girl Gang Cabarets @ The Painted Lady, 218 Ossington Ave. A celebration of women-identifying people and artists! Featuring performances by musician Zaynab Wilson and special guests, poet Faith Mousa, burlesque goddess Steff Ivory Conover, and comedian DeAnne Smith, followed by an open stage lady cabaret (open to comedians, storytellers, poets, musicians, dancers, or anything else you can think of). $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.

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