Urban Planner: April 16, 2009

By Laura Trethewey

Urban Planner is Torontoist’s daily guide to what’s on in Toronto,published every morning. If you have an event you’d like considered, e-mail all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to [email protected].

Photo by Thelma Pepper from A Year at Sherbrooke courtesy of NFB.

FILM: NFB presents the world premiere of Saskatchewan film A Year at Sherbrooke tonight. The film records the experience of artists Thelma Pepper and Jeff Nachtigall working with residents at the Sherbrooke Community Centre, a long-term care facility in Saskatoon. Through the eyes of the visiting artists, the film explores the healing power of art in the lives of the disabled. NFB Mediatheque (150 John Street), 7 p.m., $6, $4 for students, seniors, or NFB members.
MEDIA: The shit-disturbing alternative news website rabble.ca is eight years old today. What better way to celebrate the coup for online journalism than hosting a discussion on the decline of the newspaper? Speakers include the award-winning writers Peter C. Newman and Linda McQuaig, along with veteran journalist Wayne MacPhail. Koffler Auditorium (569 Spadina Crescent), 7 p.m., $10 or PWYC for rabble.ca members.
FASHION: Peach Berserk, the long-running wonky Queen West store, has always been ahead of the curve, offering silk-screening workshops long before DIY was cool. Tonight, the Peach Berserk girls are launching an in-store computer program that allows customers to design a print and then screen their creation onto clothing. Bring an idea and a blank t-shirt and give this tool a try. Peach Berserk (507 Queen Street West), 5 p.m., FREE.
ENVIRONMENT: York University students are invited to dispose of their trash in the Vari Hall main foyer of the Keele campus today, creating a mini-landfill by day’s end. The organizer, student group York Gets Wasted, is hoping that the messy display will bring attention to the university’s amount of waste production: six tonnes of waste daily and 2,200 tonnes yearly. Vari Hall (4700 Keele Street), 10 a.m.–3 p.m., FREE.
THEATRE: Theatre troupe Impromptu Splendor is back, this time with an improvised riff on misanthropic writer Neil LaBute of In the Company of Men fame. The regular cast of Ron Pederson, Naomi Snieckus, Matt Baram, and Kayla Lorette is joined by actor and playwright Brendan Gall, who did a recent turn in the popular Tarragon show East of Berlin. Comedy Bar (945 Bloor Street West), 9 p.m., $10.