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Holiday Planner: July 1, 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].
FESTIVAL: Dust off your lutes, tighten your corsets, and fry up those giant turkey legs—the Renaissance Faire is in town! The faire (or festival, as it insists on calling itself), runs at Casa Loma from today until July 4, and features all kinds of old-fashioned treats for the whole family. The festival includes warhorses (trained in the art of the joust!), a recreation of a Viking encampment, archery workshops, a carnival show from fire-eating geek Zoltan the Adequate, music from Tristan Shoute and his Minstrels, and more. Casa Loma (1 Austin Terrace), 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m., FREE with admission ($11.32–$20.55).
FESTIVAL: Harbourfront Centre has perfected the art of the summer festival with its annual World Routes series, and kicks off the season with a Canada Day party honouring our very own robust multicultural national ethos. From kayaking and canoeing to Roma music, jazz, and juggling, there are plenty of activities scheduled to awe and delight. The party continues into the evening with performances from First Nations songwriter Cheryl L’Hirondelle, dulcet-voiced songstress Sarah Slean, and wildly popular country rockers The Sadies. Harbourfront Centre (235 Queens Quay West), 12 p.m.–12 a.m., FREE.
FILM: No filmmaker can capture the terror of being swallowed alive by a carnivorous predator like Steven Spielberg. (It’s not his fault that he’s Dawson Leery‘s favourite director.) If fireworks and celebrations aren’t your thing, the Bloor Cinema will be screening Jaws and Jurassic Park in all their bloody, corpse-strewn glories. In addition to their fair share of death, gore, and frantic fleeing, these films feature classic performances from the likes of Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider, and Jeff Goldblum. You’ll totally be afraid to go back in the water…and the theme park filled with genetically engineered dinosaurs. Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor Street West); Jurassic Park: 4:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Jaws: 7 p.m.; $5–$10 per screening.
PROTEST: It’s a national holiday, but many people won’t feel like celebrating today. The city is still reeling from the grim, nightmarish events that took place during last weekend’s G20, where unprecedented violence and aggression left Toronto shaken. With hundreds having been arrested and yesterday’s revelation that the “five metre rule” was all a lie, Canadians Advocating Political Participation has organized a peaceful protest to take place today, demanding a public inquiry into the conduct of the police during the G20. Queen’s Park, 5:30–11:30 p.m., FREE.
ART / CYCLING: A cross between Grease‘s Pink Ladies, the Planeteers, and the Hells Angels, the Deadly Nightshades are a midnight biker gang and design collective, focusing on sustainable design and mischief-making. Tonight, clad in their matching mint-green jackets, they will lead cyclists on a Gallery Spin offered by the Drake Hotel. The tour will stop at three exhibits in the Queen West neighbourhood: Empire of Dreams at MOCCA, Bamako and That’s So Gay at the Gladstone, and an alley to see some street art. Then, participants will return to the Drake, where they will find a pop-up shop selling vintage and locally made clothes and accessories. Meet at the gates of Trinity Bellwoods Park (Queen Street West and Strachan Avenue), 6:30 p.m., FREE.
FIREWORKS: What do fireworks have to do with national pride? We have no idea, but they’re sure pretty. Ontario Place hosts its annual Festival of Fire, a family-friendly birthday party for Canada featuring buskers, fire performers, music, and culminating in a spectacular pyrotechnics show. The fireworks themselves can be viewed from a number of places on the waterfront and the Toronto Islands. Ontario Place (955 Lake Shore Boulevard West), fireworks at 10:30 p.m., FREE with admission ($16.90–$31.90).
