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Weekend Planner: September 26–27, 2009
Urban Planner is Torontoist’s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. 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 The Word On The Street festival, by Rich Freedman.
WORDS: Pore over print of all genres at the twentieth annual The Word On The Street festival. In addition to the marketplace of books and magazines, this national celebration of literacy and the written word will feature tents and stages of readings, spoken-word performances, poetry slams, cooking demonstrations, publishing seminars, financial advice, musical performances, and children’s activities. Margaret Atwood will be in attendance to read from her latest novel, The Year of the Flood. To throw out a few more names, Elizabeth May, Dionne Brand, Camilla Gibb, Nino Ricci, and Jane Urquhart will also be participating in readings and panel discussions. Queen’s Park (780 University Avenue), Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m., FREE.
ART: Canadian Art’s fourteenth annual Gallery Hop will start with a panel discussion with editor Richard Rhodes and guests on the theme of “promise”, followed by walking tours to galleries (1 p.m.) across eight neighbourhoods in the city. After the Hop, take a skip and a jump over to Mercer Union for a talk by artist Taku Dazai and writer Lise Hosein about the current exhibitions (4:30 p.m.), followed by a celebration of Canadian Art magazine’s twenty-fifth anniversary (5:30 p.m.). Ontario College of Art and Design (100 McCaul Street), Saturday 11 a.m., FREE.
COMMUNITY: All aboard the Human Train! The Clean Train Coalition is hosting a rally and march to send a message to Premier McGuinty and Minister of the Environment John Gerretsen about the need for clean electric trains in Toronto, rather than the diesel trains outlined in Metrolinx’s planned expansion of GO service and the Union Pearson Rail Link. The protest will bring together community members who are voicing concerns about the health and well-being of residents, especially children and the elderly. As Dr. Seuss said, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” Sorauren Avenue Park (Sorauren and Wabash avenues), Saturday 1 p.m., FREE.
ART: “Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913–2008,” which runs through January 3, showcases 150 portraits, including both classic and contemporary photographs. The opening coincides with the Art Gallery of Ontario’s opening of “Edward Steichen: In High Fashion, the Condé Nast Years, 1923–1937,” showcasing more than two hundred of Steichen’s portraits of influential figures and images of fashion photography. Torontoist will have reviews of both shows on Saturday, so stay tuned. Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen’s Park), Saturday 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m., general admission $19–22. Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Dundas Street West), Saturday 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m., general admission $10–18.
FUNDRAISER: The bike courier community is rallying together in memory of a fallen member. The Toronto Bike Messenger Association (TOMBA) is hosting a fundraiser in honour of Darcy Allan Sheppard, the bike courier that was killed in Yorkville last month after an incident involving former Attorney General Michael Bryant. All of the proceeds from the event will go towards paying for Sheppard’s burial and any money left over after the funeral will go to Sheppard’s four children. If you’re unable to attend the event but would still like to support this cause, donations are being accepted online or in person through TOMBA, or at any branch of TD Canada Trust. Sneaky Dee’s (431 College Street), Saturday 9 p.m., $10 or PWYC.
FASHION: Get your shop on at The Clothing Show, a semi-annual marketplace boasting more than three hundred booths featuring local designers and retailers, jewellery, accessories, and vintage and eco-friendly clothing for both men and women. The show, which opened last night, will also have runway shows and an artists’ exhibition throughout the weekend. Admission to the show gets you an eco-bag filled with product samples. This fall’s design contest winner for the bag was Pause Designs, whose belief that “Malls suck. Shop underground” epitomizes what The Clothing Show is all about. Better Living Place, Exhibition Place (195 Princes Boulevard); Saturday 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; $10.