Urban Planner: October 8, 2008

FILM: War/Dance, winner of the 2007 Hot Docs Audience Award, will be screened tonight at the Bloor Cinema. The documentary follows a children's dance troupe from northern Uganda invited to compete at an annual dance and music festival. The screening is presented in association with GuluWalk and AMREF Canada. Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor Street West), 7 p.m., $10 ($5 for students).

WORDS: Pages' This Is Not A Reading Series continues with the release of The Idler's Glossary, a new book by Mark Kingwell and Joshua Glenn with illustrations by Seth. Kingwell will speak at the event on his “12 Step Program For Idlers,” and both Joshua Glenn and Seth will make appearances. Gladstone Hotel Ballroom (1214 Queen Street West), 7 p.m., FREE.

WORDS: Chef Ferran Adrià will be speaking at the Isabel Bader Theatre tonight to celebrate his new book, A Day at elBulli: An Insight into the Ideas, Methods and Creativity of Ferran Adrià. For those of you not familiar with Adrià, he's the head chef at elBulli, which has held the title of #1 Restaurant in the World for the past three years. He will be giving a lecture followed by a Q&A and book signing. Isabel Bader Theatre (93 Charles Street West), 4:30 p.m., $95 (tickets available only at the Cookbook Store).

ART: Artist-run contemporary art centre Mercer Union is opening a new gallery space tonight. To celebrate, they're throwing a French New Wave–themed party. There will be art installations by Alison S.M. Kobayashi, Stephanie Comilang, and Annie MacDonell, and DJ sets from Jaime Sin, Produzentin, and Isabelle Noël. Additionally, some guy named Beardo (whose other moniker might strike you as more familiar) will be performing live. The $40 VIP preview starts at 6 p.m., but $10 will get you in at 8 p.m. if you're interested in just seeing the DJs and bands. Mercer Union (1286 Bloor Street West), 6 p.m., $10–$40.

Still from War/Dance.