MUSIC: You've got some options today, reader. You could head over to Sneaky Dee's tonight for the 428th edition of weekly music series Wavelength. This week's lineup features Winnipeg funk pop group Flying Fox and the Hunter/Gatherers, followed by improvisational jazz group The WoodChoppers (431 College Street, 10 p.m., PWYC). Alternatively, you could go to the Tranzac, where folk rock singer Andy Swan is playing in the Southern Cross Lounge (292 Brunswick Avenue, 10:30 p.m., FREE).
Results tagged “festival”
SPORTS: It's Labour Day weekend, and you know what that means! It's time for the annual three-day soundtrack of the pending apocalypse. In layman's terms, it's the Canadian International Air Show, a celebration of flight and scared looks on tourists' faces as planes fly a little too close to the Toronto skyline. This year's performers include the Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team, the Canadian Snowbirds Demonstration Team, and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. Admission to the show is included when you visit either Ontario Place or the CNE. Until Monday. Exhibition Place (200 Princes' Boulevard), 1 p.m.
THEATRE: This evening, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is presenting Electro-Alice: Adventures in the Underground. A new techno-opera by Torontonian Noah Henne, Electro-Alice explores what would happen if Alice had taken a bunch of MDMA before proceeding down the rabbit hole. The Facebook event describes it as "an experimental-techno-opera-costume-ball-acid-trip-mind-fucking-spiritual-dance-party for the 21st century." 2008 Toronto Drag Idol winner Daytona Bitch stars as Alice. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (12 Alexander Street), 10 p.m., $10.
FESTIVAL: HobbyStar's annual Fan Expo returns today. The largest of its kind in Canada, the event has grown exponentially since its inception in 1995. The Comic Book Expo, Science Fiction Expo, CNAnime Expo, Gaming Expo, and Rue Morgue Festival of Fear are all happening at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the next three days. There are some pretty hilarious and fun things happening, like a masquerade ball where the best World of Warcraft–themed costume wins a Sony VAIO laptop. This year's celebrity guests include Sean Astin, Henry Winkler, and Buzz Aldrin (among many others). Tickets purchased will be good for all expos, but not necessarily for all special events; for example, director Wes Craven is a featured guest of the Festival of Fear, but if you want a picture with him, you'll have to pay $200. Some people will do anything to get a cool Facebook profile picture. Metro Toronto Convention Centre (255 Front Street), 4–9 p.m., $25–$69.
FESTIVAL: Kensington Market's Pedestrian Sunday is today! This month's theme is "Water! Streams of Consciousness"—not to be confused with a tribute to Virginia Woolf's life and death. The magic of water will be celebrated through sea shanty sing-alongs, message-in-a-bottle crafts, and something the event's website refers to as a "water challenge." Most importantly, no cars allowed! Augusta Avenue (south of College), 1 p.m., FREE.
Well, we've listed the films that are showing at this week's NXNE festival, but we haven't particularly shown any opinion about which you should go and see. Until now! Our pick, above all, is Agile, Mobile, Hostile: A Year in the Life of Andre Williams, which plays the NFB Cinema at 1:15 p.m. this Saturday. Tim Perlich at NOW complains, "[directors] Matthies and Todd are unable to put [Williams's] sad current state in proper historical perspective," but we're still interested to see a film about Williams's current life. For a quick introduction to his work (and for some historical perspective), you couldn't do much better than checking out his song "Jail Bait." Pretty amazing—or amazingly offensive, depending on your point of view!

Newsstand: November 19, 2009