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Weekend Planner: January 9–10, 2010
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 of salsa dancers by Jim Gronau. Courtesy of Toronto Salsa Practice.
DANCE: Feel the “ritmo salsero” (salsa rhythm) at Toronto Salsa Practice (TSP) this weekend. Perhaps you’re interested in learning a new skill, socializing, and getting some exercise. Or maybe you’re a seasoned salsa dancer who’s looking for some practice. In any case, everyone is welcome to attend. You don’t need experience. You don’t need a partner. Rather than formal instruction, TSP prides itself on providing a relaxed and friendly atmosphere where salsa enthusiasts can dance with people with a wide variety of styles and abilities. The organization, which is celebrating its ninth anniversary this month, also organizes monthly outings for dancers who are interested in dipping into “real” salsa at local clubs. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre (427 Bloor Street West), Saturday 3:30–5:30 p.m. or 5:30–8 p.m., $4.
SPORTS: For your boat and whatever floats it, the Toronto International Boat Show starts this weekend. Now in its fifty-second year, the show has it all: daysailers, pontoon boats, cuddy cabins, sport-fishing yachts, canoes, kayaks, houseboats, and more, plus gear and accessories. The show will also feature boat rides, fishing, and paddleboat rides for the kids, seminars, and wakeboard and boat-handling demonstrations on what’s said to be the world’s largest indoor lake. You have until January 17 to drop anchor and check out the show. Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place (100 Princes’ Boulevard), Saturday 10 a.m.–7 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.–6 p.m., $12–15 or $20–25 for passes (available online).
MUSIC: East Coast songstress and ex–Eric’s Trip member Julie Doiron is playing a free show to celebrate the success of her most recent album, I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day, which ranges from intimate and sweet to heavy and haunting. In addition to receiving positive reviews, Doiron’s album topped the chart of best albums on Canadian campus radio in 2009. She opened for the Constantines at one of their most recent Toronto gigs, and Constantines’ keyboardist Will Kidman will return the favour by opening the show this time around. The Coburg (533 Parliament Street), Saturday 10 p.m., FREE.
ART: While his bandmate has a prior engagement with Julie Doiron this weekend, Constantines’ bassist Dallas Wehrle is focusing on a side project of his own. Hunter and Cook is hosting an opening reception for Wehrle’s new sculpture, No Life on a String. As with his previous sculpture work and the album artwork for the band’s most recent release, Kensington Heights, Wehrle is keeping with the theme of aviation. Based on photographs of plane crashes, his sculptures, which highlight the interplay between hobby and art, involve sourcing out the same planes in model form and replicating the crashes. Wehrle’s work will be on display at the gallery until February 7. Hunter and Cook (15 Ossington Avenue), Saturday 7–10 p.m., FREE.
HISTORY: If you think you’ve got a keen eye for artifacts, you can test your knowledge at the ROM’s “Fakes and Forgeries: Yesterday and Today” exhibit that is opening on Saturday. This interactive exhibit, which we previewed last month, challenges visitors to distinguish between real artifacts and clever knock-offs—everything from ancient art and fossils to modern designer brands and counterfeit money. This weekend is also the first of the ROM’s “Winter Weekends” offer: child admission is free (with each regular paying adult) for the next five weekends. Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen’s Park), Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m., $19–22.
FAMILY: The Solar Stage Children’s Theatre, an organization that prides itself on offering unique theatrical presentations for young audiences, presents Bigger the Better, Said Alistair Ant. This musical puppet show, which is suitable for children ages three to seven, is the first story in a trilogy starring Alistair Ant, a little guy who is frustrated by his teeny-weeny size. Solar Stage Children’s Theatre (100 Upper Madison Avenue); Saturday and Sunday 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.; $14.
SHENANIGANS: A bunch of transit riders are going to bare the cold and strip down to their skivvies for the third annual No Pants! Subway Ride. Participants need to be willing to take their pants off on the subway and go about it in a nonchalant manner. The event, which is happening on the same day in cities worldwide, is being organized here in town by Improv In Toronto. Last year’s event saw more than three hundred Torontonians synchronously drop trow to the amusement, disgust, and confusion of other riders. Queen’s Park (horseman statue, south of Museum Station), Sunday 3 p.m., $3 (TTC fare).