If you missed the disappointing auction, you still have a chance to grab something from the now defunct Sam the Record Man—this time, for free! The building at Yonge and Gould Streets has been clearing out today and leaving the odds and ends outside under a sign indicating they are free for the taking. Unless you’re into Daddy's Boys on VHS or collect foam boards advertising CDs and their prices, there isn't much. But... [continue]

Spacing did it, now CTV is doing it: CTV wants you to make a video about our city using the prefix phrase "My Toronto is…". Interview a kid smoking in line at Funhaus, a smiling, round-faced butcher at St. Lawrence Market, and a Bloor station musician. Ya know, the usual. Then pepper the vid with shots of the skyline, Kensington, and a passing streetcar. Or you can do something interesting. The contest runs until... [continue]

Torontonians aren’t that cold, even if we have to be given a reason before hugging a stranger. If you’re tired of handing over cash every time you simply want someone to gather you in a warm embrace, or you’ve collected so much money from selling hugs that you want to do some charity work, then luckily for you the Free Hugs Campaign has unofficially deemed September 10 International Free Hugs Day (one of many).... [continue]

Photo of XOF1 solar-powered car driving on a frozen Lake Simcoe. It is the first solar vehicle in the world to operate in sub-zero temperatures. This isn’t the Queen’s University Faculty of Engineering building a solar vehicle. This isn’t a multinational corporation like Honda investing the millions it can afford into alternative transportation technology. This is the power of one, in the form of Torontonian Marcelo da Luz; an individual who is building a... [continue]

The good people at Brunswick Theatre are hosting another week of free film screenings! Return their love and boost attendance by coming out to see one (or a few) of the following films: Monday, July 9 Darwin's Nightmare—7 p.m. Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Pushing Drugs & Marketing Disease—9:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 10 Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price—4:30 p.m. Mardi Gras: Made in China—7 p.m. Scientology and Me—9 p.m. Wednesday, July 11 9/11... [continue]

The Green Toronto Festival wasn’t enough to get the city to go all environmentalist, so here’s another attempt. The Green Toronto Streetfest will take over Yonge-Dundas Square and Yonge Street from Dundas Street to Shuter Street on Saturday, July 7, noon–8 p.m. It coincides with the 7/7/07 Live Earth concerts around the world, which will be broadcasted at the Square in support of Friends of Live Earth. With this backdrop, check out clothing made... [continue]

An art bike! A very, very tall art bike! Want to see it in action? Benny Zenga of The Winking Circle is making a film for The New Kings’ bicycle anthem "Street Fighter," and he’s shooting at tonight's Critical Mass. He needs people riding bicycles, tricycles, unicycles, you name it, as extras. The Winking Circle began in Uxbridge with the mission of “the eccentrification of the world.” To make it happen, this group of self-proclaimed... [continue]

Now that you're informed about the unhappy and scary state of the earth, it's time to do something about it. The next ArtJam will not only showcase the usual fusion of art and music, but will be a fundraiser for WTF, or the Weather Task Force. Come out to Rancho Relaxo on Friday, June 29 at 8 p.m. and pay $7 cover to help out this environmental alliance—after all, WTF organizes a bunch of... [continue]

Enjoy showering with toy animals going at it inside your soap? Collect silver vinyl vegan handbags? Is cross stitching pin-up girls your thing? Then you have to check out the Sassy Little Craft Show at the Victory Café on Friday June 22, 7 p.m.–12:30 a.m. The show’s MySpace proclaims "This aint [sic] your granny's church basement!" And this craft party sure doesn't seem so. Grab a drink and browse the kitsch, the tack, and the... [continue]

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, child sexual abuse “occurs when a child is used for sexual purposes by an adult or adolescent.” In Canada, about 8,800 cases of such assaults were reported in 2002. More often than not, victims keep quiet about the abuse they experience usually because they fear retaliation from the abuser, blame themselves for the ill-treatment, or are ashamed of their predicament. So it would be more than... [continue]

Toronto wants you to get on the environmentalism bandwagon and help make the city more eco-friendly for a day (because it would be too much effort all year round, of course). The second annual Green Toronto Festival will be held on Tuesday June 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Nathan Phillips Square. Have lunch courtesy of Field to Table, which emphasizes healthy, locally-grown produce, learn about sustainable home design, building, and renovation from... [continue]

Unfortunately, Brunswick Theatre cancelled its weeklong screening of Barbara Hammer films and accompanying art exhibit due to lack of attendance. (Only one person attended last Saturday evening. How disappointing.) So in its place, the cinema will show free films for the rest of the week! No Logo—June 10, 7 p.m. The God Delusion—June 10, 8:30 p.m. & June 12, 7 p.m. War on Science—June 11, 7 p.m. Darwin's Nightmare—June 11, 8:30 p.m. Sharia in... [continue]

The trash can pictured is not a City-approved waste receptacle. It was an advertising tool for ck IN2U, Calvin Klein’s newest fragrance, and its stay at the corner of Dundas and Victoria Streets long outlasted its welcome. Branded with the catchphrase "what are u in 2?" with no mention of the fragrance itself or of Calvin Klein, eighty faux trash cans were distributed across Montreal and Toronto as part of the ck IN2U teaser... [continue]

Ever wanted to know what goes on in the kitchens at the Royal York Hotel? Or see if the interior of the Gooderham Flatiron Building is as cool as its exterior? Or finally know what’s in that loft above the Pure Spirits building at the Distillery District? Doors Open Toronto 2007 will allow you to do all that—for free! 150 buildings across the city will allow you free access on May 26 and 27 in... [continue]

Remember Makeout!? You can see what happened with the roomful of 200 people smooching at the Ryerson University Film Festival. This weekend RUFF will showcase films by about 40 graduating Image Arts students from May 10-12 at Royal Cinema. Eat popcorn to Billy Bites People, in which, well, Billy bites people, claymation in Happy Endings Sanatorium, and Jesus’ second coming in Zombie Jesus!. A man steals sounds from existence and catalogues them in Even With... [continue]

If you’re a beadophile, you’re more likely into jewelry and craft making than abacuses and Mardi Gras. Whether you’re a margaretologist or just someone who likes pretty things, check out the Toronto Bead Society's (yes, we have a bead society!) semi-annual Bead and Jewelry Fair on May 5, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at the YMCA at 20 Grosvenor Street. The group’s website boasts the fair will showcase “African beads, lampwork beads, semi-precious, Swarovski, Czech, seed... [continue]

In a time when Al Gore is predicting that global warming is the coming of the apocalypse, people are looking for creative ways to maintain a sustainable ecosystem without giving up their consumerist lifestyles. Toronto’s first Green Living Show will inspire ways to do just that. The Green Living Show is this weekend, April 27-29, at the Direct Energy Centre at the Exhibition grounds. It boasts eco-fashion shows, organic cooking demonstrations, a wildflower garden, the... [continue]

Despite the bitter temperatures as of late, the windy weather is perfect for kite flying! Toronto Kite Fliers is seeking kite enthusiasts to participate in the first monthly TKF and Spitfire Fun Fly of the year at Downsview Park this Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The Toronto Kite Fliers hosts events not only in the GTA but in surrounding communities as well, such as the Four Winds Kite Festival in Maple and Milliken... [continue]

Tomorrow kick-starts the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s annual National Wildlife Week. Proclaimed in 1947, the festival is about reminding us humans that we must maintain a sustainable ecosystem to preserve what little wildlife we have left. This year’s theme is Canada’s North. It seems like every small city, town, and county in Ontario will be recognizing NWW, but shamefully not Toronto. Because wildlife doesn’t matter in our urban centre, right? To celebrate squirrels and polar... [continue]

A few blocks east of Bloor and Bathurst, on the south side of Bloor St. and around Future Bakery, there’s an inconspicuous door facing Brunswick Ave. on the side of the building. Probably only studios or something upstairs, right? Not so on the second floor. Here is housed Toronto’s newest cinema, Brunswick Theatre.... [continue]