By Colleen Hale-Hodgson

Urban Planner is Torontoist’s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.

Photo of Sauci Calla Horra from Skin Tight Outta Sight by Taralea Cutler. Courtesy of Skin Tight Outta Sight.

WORDS: Let’s be honest. Book launches can be a bit dry. Sometimes not even some free wine can spice up an event that’s, more often than not, only interesting to industry types who want to network. And then there’s This Is Not A Reading Series. They take each of their literary events to a level that any above-average book-lover can enjoy. Tonight, TINARS outdoes itself with the launch of Lisa Pasold‘s first novel, Rats of Las Vegas at the Gladstone. The book follows a poker prodigy who learns to play poker in Vancouver during the Depression. She starts working her way through high-stakes games on the railroad, eventually making her way to Las Vegas and the Flamingo Hotel. For the launch tonight, singers Alejandra Ribera and Bremner Duthie will start off the Vegas-themed party with some lounge singing, followed by a discussion between Pasold and writer (and sometimes poker player) Craig Davidson. The night really gets interesting when Skin Tight Outta Sight members CoCo La Creme and Sauci Calla Horra put on a burlesque performance, and then you can ante in for the night’s biggest event, a “legal points-run poker tournament” hosted by Davidson. Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West), 7:30 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.), $15 (free with book purchase).
FILM: It’s well known that Arab men in Hollywood films are traditionally represented as the “other”—stereotypical bad guys in turbans. But what about the women? Their appearances have been equally cliché, and the Toronto Palestinian Film Festival is set to explore these representations as part of their panel discussion “Not Your Harem Girl: Cinema and Stereotypes.” TPFF’s second year has already started, offering an interesting contrast to the controversy-plagued TIFF earlier this month. Today, panellists Dana Olwan (national chair of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights), Nahed Mansour, and Natalie Kouri-Towe will talk about the representation of Arab women in film and the steps being taken by young Arab artists to subvert these stereotypes with their own art. William Doo Auditorium (45 Willcocks Street), 4–6 p.m., FREE.
THEATRE: Stephen Sondheim is a prolific writer and composer of some of modern theatre’s most recognizable musicals (including West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, and Company). Sondheim In September is a three-part charity concert series of songs from Sondheim musicals, performed by some of Canada’s top musical theatre artists (including many from the cast of The Sound Of Music). Tonight is part two of the series, which has the proceeds going to The Actors Fund Of Canada. Tonight’s lineup includes pieces from Follies, A Little Night Music, The Frogs/Evening Primrose, Pacific Overtures, Marry Me A Little, and Sweeney Todd. Part three of the series will be held on October 5. Metropolitan Community Church (115 Simpson Avenue), 8 p.m., $25 (cash only at the door).
CHARITY: September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and what better way to close out the month than with Heart & Music, a lavish charity event that supports ovarian cancer research? Hosts Jane Lockhart (W Network’s Colour Confidential) and Christine Cushing (VIVA’s Fearless in the Kitchen) will preside over the opening cocktail reception and art auction of pieces by Kent Bridges, Mark Scheibmayr, Brandy Gale, and Neil Young (not who you’re thinking of). Next will be performances by a litany of Canadian musical theatre stars. The night will end with some prize giveaways, including an eighteen karat–gold wheat chain and pendant ($6,000) and a vacation package for two to Turkey ($2,500). National Ballet School of Canada, Betty Oliphant Theatre (400 Jarvis Street), 6:30 p.m., $100.