Torontoist » parties

Jim Flaherty, Rob Ford, and One Very Big Belt

Did your invitation to yesterday's Ford/Harper barbecue get lost in the mail? (Ours did. Can't imagine why.) Those in the mayor's good graces have you covered though, for a few hours after festivities wound down, videos of some key moments popped up on YouTube. (Was there ever any doubt?) If the above video of Jim Flaherty being awarded a very special honour isn't enough, the video of Stephen Harper's remarks to the crowd is after the jump. (Choice quote: “Rob is doing something very important that needs to be done here. He is cleaning up the NDP mess here in Toronto.” Rob is also part of a "great Conservative political dynasty," in case you weren't sure.)

Favourite Moments from Power Ball 13

Amidst clouds of smoke and litres of cocktails, the oversold Power Ball 13 saw the Power Plant transformed by international artists and the chatter of Toronto's (aspiring) best dressed. From light installations to fridges full of sound, the geniuses behind the Power Ball are the hardworking installation crew—though they're not the ones who usually make the papers the next day. Headed by Paul Zingrone, they labour to bring the Plant new life time and time again, not just for the parties but for the art exhibitions too.

Neon Windbreaker Asks Fans to Eat Their Record

Toronto indie band-cum-sandwichers Neon Windbreaker. Photo courtesy Joe Fuda. When anyone with an internet connection can download the entire Flipper discography via BitTorrent for free in thirty-seven seconds, selling records can be tricky. The industry’s need to fix the problem has spawned a myriad of half-measures, from including download codes with special edition translucent-colour vinyl [...]

Will Hits and Misses Finally Hit At New Location?

Hits and Misses and Rotate This: the Macy’s and Gimbels of Queen West? When Bloor West vinyl institution Hits and Misses packed up and stole south to Queen and Niagara a few weeks back, many local crate-diggers were surprised that the shop set down at 799 Queen Street West—right next door to neighbourhood favourite Rotate [...]

No Ten-Year Jinx For Raymi the Minx

Illustration by Roxanne Ignatius/Torontoist. Lauren White is starting to feel the pressure. On Thursday night, she’ll be hosting a party to mark the ten-year anniversary of her widely known and much-loved/hated blog, the hyper-personal internet-cum-life saga that is Raymi the Minx. She’s taken care of the planning and string pulling pretty much by herself, and [...]

Where You Should Be on Election Night

Design by Matt Daley/Torontoist. No matter what you think of this municipal election, its candidates, and its defining issues, one thing’s clear—election day is going to be a Big Deal. One way or another, the city’s future will be shaped, in perhaps dramatic fashion, by the results Big deals deserve parties to mark them, and [...]

Massive Letdown

We were, perhaps, a little naive, held out hopes a little too high. But can you blame us? We were promised a glittering, highlight-of-the-year fête, whimsically conceived and executed with flair. What we got instead felt, more or less, like the Guvernment, only twenty years older and several tax brackets richer. Welcome to Massive Party, [...]

Four-One-Six to the Nine-Oh-Five

This is April Wozny, and we’re assured she doesn’t usually look or dress like this. “Buzz ‘hoods pop up and then inflate like giant, shiny balloons,” wrote Toronto.com’s Stacey McLeod on February 3, 2009, “until the pricks roll in and pop them.” Bouncing from joint to joint along what was then a freshly trendified strip, [...]

For The Holidays, a Ride Home For Your Ride

The usual way for a driver to avoid eggnog-fuelled destruction during the holidays is for them to travel with a designated driver. This is a tried-and-true method of avoiding being the only perp at the station who smells alluringly of nutmeg. If, for whatever reason, it’s not a viable option for you (maybe all your [...]

Partying Till the Break of Don

The “Night In The Big House @ THE DON JAIL,” scheduled for tonight, was to be the rave of the season. But a note posted to the Facebook event page on Thursday morning called it off: “As of 10am on Thursday, June 04, 2009 the Ontario Realty Corporation, an arm of the provincial government and [...]

Not Long AGO, a Party

You say you want a revolution? Great! Welcome to the AGO’s Massive Uprising. Thanks for coming. Here’s your media kit. Here’s your hand stamp. Don’t worry, those aren’t real protesters. They’re part of the event. Oh, coat check is down and to your left—see the line? We did see the lineup, the least unruly (ruliest?) [...]

A PROMising Event

PROM attendees dance the night away. Photo courtesy of the ROM. On Saturday, the Royal Ontario Museum held PROM, an annual fundraiser thrown by the Young Patrons’ Circle program. In its fourth year, PROM drew eight hundred attendees, including National Post columnist Shinan Govani and the hosts of the After Show on MTV Canada. In [...]