Results tagged “junctionartsfestival”

CAUSE: We should be proud that Toronto—a city of socially minded citizens (although plagued by our issues of urban poverty)—has been chosen to host the North American launch of The Global Poverty Project, in partnership with Chris Adams, executive producer of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, and actor and advocate Hugh Jackman. At the Torontoist-sponsored launch, fellow Aussie, humanitarian, and recent "Young Australian of the Year," Hugh Evans, will share "1.4 Billion Reasons," a ninety-minute live presentation based on research about extreme poverty that aims to demonstrate that we can all be part of the solution. As a bonus addition to this provoking and important event, organizers are planning for special remarks via live video link from Jeffrey Sachs, senior advisor on development and the Millennium Development Goals to the United Nations. And, as the launch coincides with TIFF, rumours have it Hugh Jackman has convinced several high-profile friends to be in attendance. Danforth Music Hall (147 Danforth Avenue), 11 a.m., FREE (first come, first served).

COMMUNITY: With the summer street-festival season drawing to a close, the west end may be getting the last word in with the seventeenth annual Junction Arts Festival. True to the festival logo, the five-day celebration will feature a mosaic of visual and performing arts, speakers and workshops in the Green Village, a juried art exhibit featuring more than seventy artists, gallery open houses, arts and crafts for the kids, and an artisan marketplace. The festival boasts an all-Canadian lineup with the Starlight Orchestra opening the show tonight, and performances by hometown favourites The Framework, Mr. Something Something, The Beauties, Jason Collett, and Justin Rutledge this weekend. Junction City Square (2960 Dundas Street West), 7–11 p.m., FREE.

NATURE: As part of the Junction Arts Festival, LEAF arborist Todd Irvine will be giving a guided tour of the Junction area and its various historic trees. The tour is presented by Toronto Tree Tours, in association with LEAF and the Toronto Public Space Committee. If you can't make it, it's worth checking out the Toronto Tree Tours website to see their premade, printable self-guided tree tours. Keele Street and Dundas Street West (on the northeast corner), 11 a.m., PWYC ($5 suggested).

ART: There are two cool art openings today. The first is StreetSpeaks, a new photo exhibition by May Karp, a 30-year advocate of expression through street art. The exhibit showcases the street art photographed by Karp while travelling through France, Portugal, Miami, New York, Spain, the Canary Islands, and Toronto. Until September 27 (The Moore Gallery at 404-80 Spadina Avenue, 2 p.m., FREE). The second is The Artillerist, an installation by Pixel Immersive Gallery, featuring many artists including Neil Collyer, Derrick Hodgson, Niko Stumpo, and Janis Kun, among others. The show boasts an interactive premise, with visitors using Nintendo Wii controllers aimed at digital canvases in order to output graphics previously created by the show's artists. Each visitor will be able to view their unique composition on the exhibit's Flickr gallery, and will also be able to purchase hi-res prints of their work. Until October 4 (Pixel Immersive Gallery at 156 Augusta Avenue, 7 p.m., $5).

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.