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Urban Planner: July 27, 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].
It’s a battle of the brushstrokes tonight when Art Battle 7 pits painter against painter at the Great Hall. Photo by Dan Cox.
Today in Toronto: a barista battle of the beans, O.A.R. rocks the Phoenix, local artists go head to head, and a new theatre company debuts.
COFFEE: Java slingers from around the province—and a few in from Montreal—will descend on St. Lawrence Market today to square off in the Eastern Regional Barista Championship. Tasked with the challenge of preparing and serving twelve separate espresso beverages—four espresso, four cappuccino, and four of their own creation—contestants will be assessed on various factors by a panel of judges. Representatives from local hotspots such as Sam James Coffee Bar and Brassaii will compete to represent Canada in the World Barista Championship in 2011. St. Lawrence Market North (92 Front Street East), 9 a.m.–7 p.m., admission by donation (to help families in coffee-growing countries).
MUSIC: It’s not often you find a band that has stayed together since high school, but American rockers O.A.R. have been belting out their limpid lyrics and sweeping string solos for over a decade after tossing their graduation caps. Known for their strong online presence and use of social media, O.A.R.’s latest project saw them co-writing “Light Switch Sky” with fans via Twitter to raise funds for their veteran support initiative, Open Up Your Arms. Tonight only, Toronto residents won’t have to turn to the interwebs for their O.A.R. fix, as the band takes to the stage at the Phoenix, along with special guests The Dirty Heads. Phoenix Concert Theatre (410 Sherbourne Street), 7 p.m., $30.
ART: It ain’t your mother’s Matisse at the seventh Art Battle this evening, where local brushsmiths are set against each other in a bout of competitive painting. Two preliminary rounds between contenders drawn from the crowd will yield a pair of advancing artists, who will then set their palettes against previous winner Alex Christiani and the talented Sylvia Chan. The audience will not only decide on the winner, but also the ultimate fate of the works themselves—any paintings not purchased in the final auction are destroyed on stage. The Great Hall (1087 Queen Street West), 7:30 p.m., $5 for painters, $10 for patrons.
THEATRE: Give a hearty welcome to the Outside the March Theatre Company, the newest addition to Toronto’s stage scene making their debut with the Canadian premiere of Will Eno‘s Oh, the Humanity (and other good intentions). Composed of five vignettes that explore ennui and existential panic, the show is an excellent example of Eno’s linguistic cunning. Coming from previous runs with Soulpepper and the Great Canadian Theatre Company, artistic directors Simon Bloom and Mitchell Cushman are thrilled to debut the Brooklyn-based playwright’s work north of the border. Look for Torontoist’s review of Oh, the Humanity later today. Abrams Studio Theatre (46 Gerrard Street East), 8 p.m., $10 ($15 for the generous).