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Urban Planner: August 7, 2008
FESTIVAL: Toronto’s annual Beer Festival is back today to celebrate one of Canada’s favourite beverages. As always, hundreds of different types of beer will be available for sipping, sampling, and vomiting later in the day. R&B, jazz, reggae, and blues musicians will be performing throughout the day, and barbecue connoisseur Ted Reader will be on hand to show off his World Famous Grill. Until Sunday. Historic Fort York (100 Garrison Road), 4 p.m., $50 (at the gate).
COMICS: In celebration of next week’s Doug Wright Awards for Canadian Cartooning (nominees here), a group exhibition of works by Canadian cartoonists and graphic novelists called “Strip Stories” is opening tonight at the Board of Directors gallery. The show will feature panels from Chester Brown’s Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography, as well as works by artists Ho Che Anderson, Ray Fenwick, Emily Holton, John Martz, Doug Wright, and others. The exhibition is curated by Katharine Mulherin, Erin Stump, and Sean Craig. Board of Directors (1080 Queen Street West), 7 p.m., FREE.
MUSIC: The still-reunited Backstreet Boys are in town tonight, joined by the equally-talented reality television girl group Girlicious. Although BSB are still sans Kevin “used to be a hottie” Richardson, you’ll probably still have a good time, provided they open with “Backstreet’s Back,” and provided Girlicious has already performed by the time you get to your seat. The Molson Amphitheatre (909 Lakeshore Boulevard West), 7:30 p.m., $27.50–$75.
BOOKS: Conceptual art store Magic Pony is throwing an exclusive book launch party in celebration of the new book in the Die Young series, 005: Nicholas Di Genova. The Die Young series documents emerging international artists, illustrators and designers. This particular edition looks back at the last three years of Di Genova’s visual artistry. Nicholas Di Genova will be there in person for a book signing, and the first fifty people to purchase a copy of the book will receive a limited-edition Di Genova print. Magic Pony Gallery (694 Queen Street West), 6 p.m., FREE.
Photo from a previous Beer Festival by Stills in Flux from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.