After 42 plays and more than a dozen bands, the sun set on the 2011 SummerWorks Festival this past Sunday. And with about 20,000 audience members and 1,500 to 2,000 Music Series tickets sold, the 10-day celebration of progressive theatre, dance, and music seems to have weathered the storm of losing its government funding just fine.

In Today’s Urban Planner: a panel discussion about the future of the book industry in Canada, a musical launch for the Bicycle Film Fest, an auction with proceeds going to provide affordable bikes for people around the world, and more awesome offerings from SummerWorks.

It's been about a week since the skies opened up and summer arrived on the streets of Toronto. And by that, of course, we mean the SummerWorks Theatre Festival. Starting last Thursday and continuing until this Sunday, 42 plays and more than a dozen music acts are taking over West Queen West in celebration of new, bold, and unconventional artistic projects in theatre, dance, and music. Even with a tiny hiccup concerning federal government funding a few months ago, artistic producer Michael Rubenfeld and the rest of the play-going community are not letting the festival—which gets larger and larger every year in attendance and scope—lose its momentum.

In Today’s Urban Planner: A panel discussion about the future of the book industry in Canada, a musical launch for the Bicycle Film Fest, an auction with proceeds going to provide affordable bikes for people around the world and more edgy works from Summerworks.

In this Weekend Planner: arguably the biggest, best-attended food festival of the summer; a walk through one of Toronto’s northwest neighbourhoods; a rugby match between Canada and the U.S.; a film about John Lennon’s early years as a struggling musician; music inspired by the underdog; a classic story, set to classical music, read by one of the former Barenaked Ladies; a bike tour around some really cool hidden locations; and plenty of theatre to choose from at SummerWorks.

Since current artistic director Michael Rubenfeld took the reins of the SummerWorks Festival, there hae been some significant changes. It's become a Queen Street West corridor festival (as opposed to the Fringe Festival's focus on Bathurst); it's grown even further from its local theatre festival roots to embrace a national perspective; and, in its audacious programming, it's courted controversy.

In Today’s Urban Planner: celebrating queer and trans communities with beer and Ace of Base; SummerWorks kicks off with an adaptation of a harrowing G20 experience, two retellings of ancient myths, and an opening-night party; our city’s castle turns 100 years old; a kickoff for a poetry odyssey; and Atom Egoyan dispenses nuggets of wisdom.

SummerWorks! In case you haven't seen/heard/written that word enough in the past few weeks (because we certainly have), here it is again. SummerWorks! SummerWorks is one week away! Yes, there was a government funding crisis. Yes, it's allegedly because Stephen Harper and the Sun think the festival is sympathetic towards terrorists. Yes, now artists around the country are royally pissed, sparking a potential war between the Conservatives and the Creatives fought on the stage and in the media. Allegedly. And yes, all this is important. But let's not forget the real purpose of the SummerWorks Theatre Festival, shall we? The theatre (there's lots of music too, but we'll have more on that later).

So you may have heard: the annual SummerWorks Theatre Festival was denied government funding this year, losing about 20 per cent of its operating budget, without warning or explanation. Many took this as a direct affront to the artistic community, punishment by a conservative/Conservative goverment for last year's purported "terrorist love-in," but if the Cons really wanted to start a fight with Canada's theatre makers they've sure chosen a worthy opponent. It's taken a hit, but with overwhelming support, both financial and moral, from SummerWorks fans and alumni, it looks likely the fest will pull through (albeit, with a slightly steeper ticket price).

In today's Urban Planner: do some night shopping at Scadding Court; help the clowns of SPENT raise money for Summerworks; win tickets to see Todd Glass at his tapings this weekend at Comedy Bar; and choose from loads of local music, including the Sadies at Yonge-Dundas Square.

Up until the morning of July 31, 2010, Catherine Frid's Homegrown was just another one of the 42 plays produced by The SummerWorks Theatre Festival that year. But mere days before the show was to open, it was thrust into the media's spotlight under the headline "Sympathy for the Devil." Suddenly, Homegrown was no longer just a developing piece about a woman's relationship with an accused terrorist associated with the Toronto 18—it became the city's symbol for the battle between artists and Conservative politics. This past Friday, almost a year later, an event to recuperate the losses of SummerWorks's unanticipated denial of government funding (commonly believed to be in direct response to the play itself), made Homegrown all of Canada's.

In today's Urban Planner: a pop-up shop of African-inspired art and other wares opens; readings across Canada of Homegrown by companies "sympathetic" to Summerworks; Mae Martin tests out her show twice more before heading to the Edinburgh Fringe; lots more Toronto Fringe Festival shows to check out; and BA Johnston and pals bring sweet summer melodies to the Garrison.