Do you think you can turn your lights off for an hour? The WWF is challenging people around the world to do just that at 8 p.m. local time on March 29. The global event is called Earth Hour, and the goal is to raise awareness of global warming. Last year's inaugural event took place in Sydney, Australia, where more than 2 million people and 2100 businesses turned off their lights. The result was......

Dundas Square gets a lot of flak for being a cold and soulless expanse of commercial neon and grey granite, and in a new music video for local singer-songwriter-producer Colin Munroe, it still is! But in this case, it's appropriate for his fantastic cover of Kanye West's mediocre "Flashing Lights" track. Directed by Toronto-based street artist, musician, and director Philip Sportel, the super-low-budget video effectively dulls the square down into a generic, industrial, underpopulated......

Each week, Torontoist shows off the most interesting, creative, and cool submissions to our Torontoist Flickr Pool. We're especially partial to photos that show our city in a new light, highlight a recent event, and remind us why we live here. Join the Flickr pool and show us what you've got. BenchesBY DOSHA UntitledBY BENTHAM Friday (Feels Like Monday)BY LEPAGEJP Balloon BunkerBY COLOUR VOID ObliviousBY DENMAR 7evenBY SIRCHARLIE Just Walking #2BY LEPAGEJP untitledBY TORONTOGAL PHOTOS......

In every neighbourhood there is one dude who goes a bit overboard with the Christmas lights. It's the stuff of bad Christmas movies. But few go quite as far as the Lindsay family, who seem to be trying their best to outdo the ZooTV tour. Every year since 2000, the Thornhill family has dressed up their home with a bigger and better light show. The lawn lights are buried under snow right now, but......

That headline is only slightly misleading in order to alert you to Kensington's annual Festival of Lights, celebrating the winter Solstice tomorrow night. But we can assure you that there will be giant puppets and there will be fire, if not necessarily at the same time. Starting at 6:00 p.m, revelers will gather at the corner of Augusta and College and begin a procession down Augusta, east onto Baldwin, down Kensington Avenue, west on......

Last week, we were told off a bit in the comments for being "down" on everything. We thought we’d do our best to be really positive this week, and then we realised how lame it is to force it, you know? The great news is we don’t actually have to force it, as this week sees the release of King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters—one of the most entertaining films we’ve seen in......

Torontoist remembers Lite-Brite like we were playing with it only yesterday. This year’s Cavalcade of Lights brings to mind pointillist masterpieces from the plastic peg-and-lightbox genre. This here’s a Lite-Brite-esque interpretation of the festivities––or what you may have seen if you forgot your glasses! Illustration by Kevin McBride.......

It's time to sharpen your skates, start bubbling up the hot chocolate, and get out your kneepads (and asspads and helmet, if you're like us), because today kicks off the skating season at Nathan Phillips Square. If skating isn't your bag, then you can still come down tonight to check out the Cavalcade of Lights kickoff. The events include performances by Jully Black, Sarah Slean, and Kim Stockwood, as well as a performance by......

Last night, entertainment upstart CiRCA faced one of its toughest challenges yet: how can a club, especially one of its size, impress or even satisfy a massive crowd of rockers in Toronto? Well, Torontoist reader skeptical, it is our pleasure to report to you that it passed with flying colours. With the help of Paris-based electrorockersuperstars Justice, A.D/D. sold out not just one venue in Toronto, but two. Last night's show was originally scheduled for......

CityPulse. The New Music. Baby Blue Movies. City Lights. Fashion Television. Speaker's Corner. These programs are among the innovative shows that have aired on CityTV since it officially launched way up the dial 35 years ago this evening. CityTV had a short gestation period after the CRTC approved its license in November 1971. Key figures in the station's early ownership included president Edgar Cowan, vice-president Phyllis Switzer, lawyer Jerry Grafstein and managing director/former CBC......

Daniel Handler! In Toronto! You may know him better as children’s writer Lemony Snicket of A Series of Unfortunate Events fame, but he has written three books for adults not as Snicket's "Handler," but quite wonderfully as himself. He'll be talking to charming local writer Jason McBride (who Torontoist may have seen in The Annex last week--belated hullo, Jason! If you weren’t Jason, greetings to the gent who is passing himself off as Jason quite......

Aaaand, we're back! Live Baby Live had a false start a few weeks ago, but we're officially back in action now and have changed things up a bit. The listings will now appear on the site mid-week and run from Thursday to Wednesday. We're starting to sound like a broken record, but once again, there is definitely no shortage of recently announced shows this week. Good to see Brit 'it girls' The Pipettes returning......

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. For LAist, strong winds attacked LA on the same day the Feds raided the Crips. Not to fear, though: the Japanese version......

A happy National Poetry Month to you! Established eight years ago by The League of Canadian Poets, National Poetry Month brings together schools, publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, and poets across the country to celebrate poetry. In April, you might trip over poems in some of the oddest places. Today, the festivities kicked off over breakfast at Toronto Reference Library’s Beaton Auditorium. With a morning of short readings hosted by The Globe and Mail’s Books......

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending a......

Tomorrow night promises to be a great time for book lovers in Toronto. This Is Not A Reading Series presents what is perhaps their most anticipated event of the season as author Vendela Vida comes to town. Vida is in town to launch her new novel, Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name. The book concerns a young woman who learns the man she thought was her father really wasn't. She embarks on a journey......

Not everyone's December 25th consists of bulging stockings hanging from a mantel, unwrapping presents in the reflection of Christmas tree ornaments, and a grandmother in her pearls and green and red apron carving a turkey at the family dinner. For those not living in a movie, who are boycotting the holidays, or who forgot about Santa’s birthday, Torontoist has the guide to an alternative Christmas. Those Charity Drives Were for a Reason Remember the......

Not only is this Friday the first official day of winter (so even though it hasn’t snowed yet, maybe there’s still hope for a white Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/ Boxing Day), it’s also the winter solstice. Around 12:20 a.m. Universal Time on December 22nd, or for Torontonians, 7:20 p.m. Eastern Time on December 21st, the Earth's northern hemisphere is farthest away from the sun. The winter solstice marks the 24 hours of the least daylight, thus the shortest......

The year is winding down and so is the music, which is kind of nice, actually, because there seem to be a lot of tours already gearing up for 2007. Hopefully Alexisonfire isn't one of them...we have no idea how they can manage to go onstage and scream for 7 solid days (they have a few more shows this week). Insanity. Best bets for this week include Royal Wood tonight at the Cameron House......

This year's Santarchy brought inebriated joy to Queen West, hitting Parkdale bars, renovated hotels, streetcars and even the Cavalcade of Lights. Unsurprisingly hosted by a group of naughty Burning Man attendees, the night was characterized by bewildered passersby, uproarious shouting of "Ho Ho Ho!" and many, many litres of "Santa Juice". More photos available here and here. Photo by Luke Tymowski.......

This Is Not A Reading Series wraps up 2006 with its final two events of the year. With the temperature dropping every day and water soon turning into ice, what better topic than hockey? Tomorrow, join Rheostatic/author Dave Bidini (On a Cold Road; Tropic of Hockey; The Best Game You Can Name) as he launches his new book of hockey erotica (Indigo will need a new section) The Five Hole . Joining Dave to celebrate......

Energy efficient LED lights in the sky are as enchanting and romantic as the starry nights of the countryside. Perhaps that’s a lie. Regardless, LED lighting displays have been set up in 19 neighbourhoods across the city for the 40th annual Cavalcade of Lights. Even in the less than attractive Bloordale Village, “blue and white illuminated festoons [are] suspended on light poles lining Bloor St from Lansdowne to Dufferin.” Festoons, eh? Take the Cavalcade......

If you’re hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs “so are you nakie” to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor......

If you have lived in a metropolitan area all your life, you may not have known that in some parts of the world, one can see little points of light in the night sky. These are called stars. This Friday, you will be able to see stars in Toronto! Those crazy kids at Newmindspace are putting together a twinkly, glowing installation of LED's and helium to create an artificial starscape, along with several other......

Busy, busy week here in Toronto. There are so many good shows to go to, that it's quite possible to be out almost every night. For example, tonight is so chock full of great shows that it's a shame they weren't spread out better over the week...we'd love to see most of these acts! Death Cab For Cutie are in town tonight and tomorrow, and according to the Toronto Sun they will be doing......

The great thing about having a pass or a wristband for NXNE is being able to see a handful of bands at different venues for one low cost. On Thursday night, we settled for staying at the Rivoli for the duration of the evening which turned out to be awesome night which ended with The Neverending White Lights playing till 2 in the morning. If you haven't caught anything at NXNE, you still have......

The Royal Ontario Museum has acquired 2,000 dead birds just in time for March Break visitors. These birds are victims of the Fall 2005 migration, killed by colliding with Toronto’s human-built structures. In attempt to minimize the death toll, FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program) has worked with the City of Toronto to develop a new migratory protection policy, which is the first of its kind worldwide. In addition to a public awareness campaign called......

Celebrate the longest, darkest, and possibly coldest night of the year in Kensington Market tonight with the annual Festival of Lights. Along with choir singing, various forms of international percussion and hot soup, organizers hope Kensington can celebrate the holidays and kiss off the "old year." Red Pepper Spectacle Arts, the Samba Squad and many collaborators reunite to ignite...their legendary lantern-lit celestial carnival in the narrow, culturally rich streets of historic Kensington Market. Join in......

Torontoist was walking past This Ain't The Rosedale Library (obviously not pictured here) and noticed that it had been tapped by Canadian ex-pat Jeremy Mercer in the Guardian (the best paper in the English speaking world, sorry NYT) as one of the top 10 bookstores in the world. TATRL clocked in at eighth place and had some truly mindboggling competition. Shakespeare and Co. in Paris (no. 2 on the list) is a "a socialist utopia......

On the eighth extreme heat warning, the city offers these cool* hangouts: Etobicoke - 399 The West Mall (Burnhamthorpe and Hwy 427) East York - 850 Coxwell Avenue (Coxwell and Mortimer) North York - 5100 Yonge Street (Yonge and Sheppard) Metro Hall - 55 John Street (John and King) But if Civic Centres aren't necessarily your scene, and you don't want to be an electricity swine, run through the following low temp checklist and you'll......