It’s sure to be a lazy Sunday afternoon.  A great day for the Poor Pilgrim Island Solstice Show.  There’s plenty music in store.  It all kicks off around 4pm with Aaron Lumley’s set and ends with the Feuermusik Big Band at 10:45pm.  So much to see! Best bring a bike.  Each musical stop along the Poor Pilgrim route will be no more than a 10 minute bike ride.

Note to would be cyclists on the island. On Sundays there are no bikes allowed on Centre Island Ferry. Bikes are allowed on the Ward’s Island and Hanlan’s Ferry at all times.

Food, drink and even a flashlight would be a good idea to pack too.  A great compliment to the feast of music.

Poor Pilgrim Island Solstice
Toronto Island
Sunday, July 13th
Featuring:Aaron Lumley, Colours…Brothers, Ryan Driver, Stud Bancker, Allison Peacock, Eric Chenaux, Nadj, Laura McCoy,  Yuula Benivolski, Alex Lukashevsky, Maya Postepski Ensemble, All Under Heaven, and the Feuermusik Big Band
Starts at 4pm

Although Ottawa is, bar none, the best place to celebrate Canada Day, Toronto is no slouch in the festivities department:

• 8:00 pm, Mel Lastman Square — The official City of Toronto celebration. A concert and fireworks to music
• 7:00 am to 10:00 pm, East York’s Stan Wadlow Park — lots of games, music, eats, exhibits, and fireworks
• 10:00 am to 5:00pm, Fort York — Fort York Summer Guard, perform musket and artillery drill as well as fife and drum music
• 11:00 am, St. Lawrence Neighbourhood — parade and picnic
• 11:00 am to noon, Chinese Railroad Workers Monument, North Linear Park, west of Skydome — honour the over 4,000 Chinese who lost their lives during construction of the railroad
• 11:00 am to 4:30 pm, Toronto Zoo — celebrate Canada Day with the animals, bipedal and quadrapedal alike
• 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, Queen’s Park — the dignified celebration with a 21-gun salute
• 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, Black Creek Pioneer Village — 30 people become Canadians, crafts, games, music, and more
• 11:00 am to 11:00 pm, Downsview Park — free activities and entertainment, buskers at night, huge fireworks in the sky
• Noon to 5:00 pm, Mackenzie House — explore the editorial cartoons and media influence of the Confederation debate of the 1860s — those cartoonists pulled no punches! I love this small treasure of old Toronto on Bond Street.
• Noon to 6:00 pm, Kew Garden Park — kids games, live entertainment
• Noon to 10:00 pm, Centennial Park — ribfest!And fireworks too.
• 12:30 pm, CHIN International Picnic — a very packed picnic at the CNE’s Better Living Centre
• 5:00 pm to 9:45 pm, Harbourfront Centre — from Jackie Richardson to the Great Canadian Campfire Song Circle to Martha Wainwright, and much more
• 10:30 pm, Ontario Place — the must-see fireworks to end the happy day on a glorious note

And if all the isn’t enough of a selection, click on this PDF schedule provided by the city for more options.

Happy Canada Day!!!

Been laying low as lately.  Must have been the extreme heat to cold thing.  Ah no matter, the party starts now (for me), but NXNE (North by North East) already started yesterday.  Even Mayor Miller rocked out and help launch the festivities!

Lots of great bands to check out as always at this year’s NXNE including LADYHAWK, Moneen, Julie Doiron, The Besnard Lakes, Peanut Butter Wolf, SWERVEDRIVER and Grand Analog are some excellent choices that come to mind.  There will be alternative venues from tents and outdoor music at Public Parks and Parkettes (Dundas Square, Metro Square, Trinity Bellwoods Park, College Park Parkette and more). to celebrity interviews this weekend.  If you’re ready for more check out some NXNE films at the National Film Board or The Royal.

So much rocking to do, so little time… Got to love NXNE!!!

It all kicks off this Thursday. Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America’s largest documentary festival and runs from April 17-27, 2008. The festival strings together amazing selections (more than 100 cutting-edge documentaries) from Canada and around the world, past and present. 2008 marks marks its 15th anniversary.

From the photography of Edward Burtynsky, the lives of Carnies, to a Toronto family’s challenge to NOT throw out their garbage. A whole spectrum of interesting and cutting edge documentary films to choose from. Forget reality TV and catch reality on the big screen.

Daytime/Matinees shows (before 6pm) are $10, evening shows are $12 and late night shows (after 11pm) are only $5!

HOT DOCS
April 17 – 27, 2008
Tickets are available at the DOCUMENTARY Box Office, 87 Avenue Road (2 blocks north of Bloor), Hazelton Lanes (Upper Level) by phone at 416-637-5150, or online.

One of my favourite times for live Music in the city is here. CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK! Ah but work, school and life conflicts will mean I will miss all of this years shows. Such is life (even when I’ve busted out hard cash for a wristband to catch the action during the fest)…

Well if I can’t see some of my favourites like Julie Doiron, The Besnard Lakes, Sloan or The Breeders I can only encourage you NOT to do the same.

Of course there are 500 Canadian and International artists playing at 41 venues in the city. Best pick at least one and hang on for the ride. You may not get back in if you leave. Trust me.

Not sure where to start? My choice picks during the CMW (that I have to miss…GRRR… but you don’t) are Burlington’s Saint Alvia Cartel, Montreal’s SoCalled, Raised by Swans, Volcanoless in Canada, Toronto’s own Colin Munroe, and Grand Analog.  Even Jenny Omnichord (just because I miss Lederhosen Lucil)…

Canadian Music Week – March 5th – 8th

Unless you were under a rock or ducking for cover you would have known Wakestock 2007 hit Toronto this weekend. From Hip Hop to Punk, skateboarding to wakeboarding, Moto X to surf wear to the Reef Girls Bikini contest there was a lot to see.

Saturday probably had the best line up of events and music though today’s Skateboard and Wakeboard finals were no joke. Locals Lee Yankou and Morgan Smith will be among the amateurs competing in the skateboard contest finals today. Hip Hop heavyweights Del and De La Soul were a welcome addition to the list of bands. GTA’s The End had an amazing set on the Indie Stage Saturday. The Deftones had some minor sound trouble at the start of their set but went on with their usual amazing wall of sound. The legendary Chad Muska had the crowd chearing at the Element Skateboard street course. Didn’t get to ask him about what was was like living next door to Paris Hilton a few years back but i digress… Fellow team Element Skateboard teammates Chad Tim Tim and Levi Brown also were tearing it up despite the heat. No body could touch Montreal’s Casey MacDonald on the mini-ramp. He took 1st place handily. Flying Motorcycles, beer, food and the Reef Girls provided distractions from above. Oh yeah there was wakeboarding too.

If you missed out this year don’t make the same mistake next year!

A friend introduced me to the ReelHeART International Film Festival (RHIFF). She’s selfish like that. You see, she’s in one of the films featured.

She’s in a film entitled Las Peregrinas: The Women Who Walk.

You can see her here. She’s the one with the red socks.
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The Worldwide Shortfilm Festival starts today with the Opening Gala @ Bloor Cinema tonight at 7 pm. There are other different venues around the city.

Personally, I can’t wait to see Laughing at Americans (LOVE Paget Brewster and Rainn Wilson), The Political is Personal, and my ultimate fave in this year’s lineup, Sci-Fi: Out There.

This is the perfect festival for those of us with ADHD. Natch!

The Festival of Architecture and Design is well underway.

What is it? Held all throughout May, it “celebrates the design and the designers of Toronto. The Festival features exhibitions, films, symposia, lectures, walking tours, readings, book launches, award celebrations and dinners. The finale is Doors Open Toronto, the last weekend in May.”

I love Doors Open Toronto. So many buildings to visit, so little time. I can’t wait!

Here’s a list of other events.

Looking forward to seeing BIKINI ATOLL by Niall O’Reilly, one of the many plays on stage as part of the Playwrights of Spring. The 2007 festival kicked off April 12th and runs until April 28th. This festival is a showcase featuring 3 new scripts from Ontario writers.

Bikini Atoll tells the story of the long reach of the Hydrogen bomb from its first test by blowing up Bikini Atoll to its impact on a small Northern Ontario community that has the uranium that America wants. Do you sell your community and its way of life? Will it be taken anyway? And who pays the human costs?

Henderson Drive runs East-West between Yonge St & Bathurst St in the South part of Aurora