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Urban Planner: June 27, 2009
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, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to [email protected].
Photo from last year’s Multicultural Summer Festival courtesy of the Children’s Peace Theatre.
FAMILY: In celebration of Canadian Multiculturalism Day, the Children’s Peace Theatre presents its second annual Multicultural Summer Festival, a fun-filled afternoon of live music and dance. Today’s celebration of cultural diversity will include performances by Tasa, the Samba Kidz, Hannan’s Belly Dancing troupe, the Bangladeshi Alam-Piya School of Music, and the School of Energy and Medicine. There will also be an international food market, face painting, henna artists, and free cake. Children’s Peace Theatre (305 Dawes Road), 1–5 p.m., FREE.
PRIDE: On the eve of the Pride Parade, LGBTTIQQ2S communities will join forces for a political demonstration, the annual Dyke March. This grassroots event will provide an opportunity for women, transgendered individuals, and lesbian-oriented groups to celebrate pride, diversity, passion, and a strengthened sense of community. The Village (starting at Church and Hayden Streets), 2 p.m., FREE.
COMMUNITY: Counteract capitalism and celebrate public space, music, and art with the Light Up Our Alley Street Festival and The Really Really Free Market. The festival, a project organized by the Duspa Corner Collective (DCC), will feature a barbeque and potluck, face painting, bike repairs, seed planting, mural painting, art installations, DIY tables, and a lantern walk when dusk settles in. A great line-up of ten bands is also on the bill, including The Sure Things, Barn Owl, and Ten Thousand Creatures. At the market, participants can revel in the spirit of anti-consumerism, giving what they have and taking what they need. Goods and services may include clothing, books, music, baked goods, haircuts, music and dance lessons, massages, and even hugs and kisses if you’re in the mood. Duspa Corner Collective (186 Spadina Road), 3 p.m., REALLY FREE.
DANCE: The Fox Theatre presents a production from The Royal Ballet, The Sleeping Beauty, based on the 1946 Sergeyev/de Valois recreation of the original 1890 Marius Petipa production in St. Petersburg. This matinee show, featuring a score by Tchaikovsky played by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in London, will feature performances by Alina Cojocaru and Federico Bonelli. Fox Theatre (2236 Queen Street East); 1 p.m.; children $11.50, students/seniors $19.50, adults $22.95.
FILM: The ReelHeART International Film Festival (RHIFF) is hosting the Canadian premiere of Across Dot Ave, a film that explores issues of race, class, betrayal, and forgiveness. The film is based on the true story of Kevin Hearns, an ex-white-supremacist skinhead turned NYC stockbroker who returns to his hometown of Dorchester, Massachusetts to confront his seedy past. Stick around after the film for a post-screening discussion with filmmaker Mark Ezovski and co-producer Rebecca Gallagher. Innis Town Hall, Innis College (2 Sussex Avenue), 9:30 p.m., $5–10.