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Weekend Planner: June 5–6, 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].
This photo from Jury’s Choice Award winner Jon Muldoon is one example of the visual treats on display at this weekend’s Riverdale Art Walk. Photo courtesy of The Artists’ Network.
NEIGHBOURHOOD: Following up on their guided brainstorming walk a couple weeks back, the Dundas Street West Streetscape Improvement Project continues full steam ahead with its open Public Design Workshop [PDF] hosted in OCAD’s main auditorium. Residents, visitors, and all interested parties are invited to pitch ideas towards the neighbourhood’s proposed facelift in this collaborative initiative between the community and the City. Contributions can also be made on the group’s Facebook and Twitter pages. RSVP to [email protected] or 416-392-2962. Ontario College of Art & Design, Main Auditorium (100 McCaul Street), Saturday 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m., FREE.
ART: Queen East gets a makeover this weekend with the twelfth annual Riverdale Art Walk, a juried art show spanning the length and breadth of Eastern Avenue, Leslie Street, Dundas Street East, and Broadview Avenue. Over one hundred artists display their work in a variety of galleries and spaces throughout the neighbourhood, as well as outdoors at Jimmie Simpson Park. If the network of guided and self-guided walks leave you a bit parched, Steam Whistle will be setting up a beer tent for discerning connoisseurs at the northwest corner of the park. Along Queen Street East from Broadview Avenue to Leslie Street and between Eastern Avenue and Dundas Street East, Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m., FREE.
WORDS: The hardships of teendom come as no surprise to anyone, nor are they in short supply as subjects of Young Adult fiction. That said, emerging youth writer Lesley Anne Cowan dares to delve into the darker side of those formative years in her upcoming novel Something Wicked, focusing on an at-risk sixteen-year-old’s downward spiral into drugs and substance abuse after a series of personal tragedies. Cowan, who drew upon her experience working with at-risk youths as a secondary-school teacher, is interviewed on her new work by award-winning author Emily Pohl-Weary at her book launch presented by Small Print and Penguin Group. Gladstone Hotel Ballroom (1214 Queen Street West), Saturday 2 p.m., FREE.
THEATRE: The Toronto summer theatre season begins ramping up Saturday with the Summerworks Launch Party, celebrating the festival’s twentieth anniversary. Attendees can look forward to a sampler cross-section of the festival’s talent docket, including music from Matthew Barber and Boys Who Say No. Throw in catering from The Lakeview and you’ve got a pretty entertaining prospect for your Saturday night. The Lower Ossington Theatre (100A Ossington Avenue), Saturday 8 p.m., FREE.
COMICS: Local talent takes centre stage at the 6th Annual Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards, paying tribute to our homeland’s contributions to the world of graphic storytelling. For a peek at what’s in store at this year’s awards—including a tribute to the Great White North’s iconic protector Captain Canuck—check out Dave Howard’s interview with Kevin Boyd, executive director of the Awards Association. Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Avenue), Saturday 8 p.m., FREE.
PARTY: The fight against cancer gets a little groovier this weekend at Lust for Life, a dance party fundraiser for Katrina Armstrong’s Relay for Life team, The Cancer Fighters. With every nickel of cover proceeds going to the team and the Canadian Cancer Society, it’s a bit of revelry your conscience can get behind. Stepping up to the DJ plate will be Sofi P, Shaun Bowring, and M-Dash, with a rumoured appearance by notorious impromptu dancemaster Phil Villeneuve. The Garrison (1197 Dundas Street West), Saturday 10 p.m., $5.
DOGS: Ever thought your pup bore a striking resemblance to Ernest Borgnine? Now’s your chance to show the world at Woofstock’s Doggie Doggelganger Celebrity Look-Alike High Tea! Marking the official launch of the largest festival for dogs in North America (June 12–13), this extravagant event treats sixty photogenic pups to a day of top treats and proper pampering. The VIPs will be led down the red carpet by Canada’s top Marilyn Monroe impersonator, with her own celebrity canine in tow. Entry is with a minimum ten dollar donation, with proceeds going to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund for Pets. Le Meridien King Edward Hotel, Windsor Ballroom (37 King Street East), Sunday 2–3:30 p.m., $10.