Weekend events in Toronto will let you enjoy every last ounce of outdoor fun possible in what remains of this season. With a few street festivals, a handful of concerts, a food truck fest, and one giant invasion of Ontario Place, you'd better get your late-summer/fall wardrobe out and get to living!
Here are my picks for the top weekend events in Toronto.
FESTIVALS
in/future (runs until September 25)
Ontario Place finally comes back to life via this massive art, music and culture festival! Art Spin and Small World Music Festival take over the abandoned island with bands, art instillations, sculptures, beer gardens and movies inside the Cinesphere. Single day and weekend passes are available online.
TURF Festival (September 16-18)
The three day music fest returns to Fort York for hours and hours of vintage indie rock for chilling out, drinking local beer and eating snacks. With 44 artists in all, this one's for lovers of indie rock, folk and soul.
Ukrainian Festival (September 16-18)
This is the "largest celebration of Ukrainian spirit in the world," according to festival organizers. The massive Bloor West Village (between Jane and Runnymede TTC stations) cultural celebration is more than just a food fest. This a a very tight and powerful community who love to celebrate their music, arts, costume, parades, and sure, lots of food and dance.
World Cup of Hockey (September 16-25)
The Distillery District and surrounding area get a major hockey makeover starting this weekend with loads of free shows, street performances and displays, and chances to get up close and personal with the Stanley Cup. The Killers and Sam Roberts will perform this weekend.
Kensington Market Jazz Festival (September 16-18)
Eight different venues, including The Boat, Supermarket, Handlebar, The Round, Handlebar, Poetry Jazz Café and Trinity Common qwill host jazz shows all weekend long. You won't be able to buy tickets in advance. But the lineup and schedule is already out so you can plan ahead and bring cash when you head out to one of the participating venues.
Roncesvalles Polish Festival (September 17-18)
A celebration of all things Polish on Roncesvalles with Polish bands and dance groups from across Canada and the United States, as well as a bunch of local musical talent on stages an inside tents along the strip. Stores will spill out on the streets, beer gardens will overflow and pierogi, kielbasa, bigos, cabbage rolls will fill you up.
MUSIC
Anderson.Paak and Kaytranada (September 17, Echo Beach)
Manifesto turned 10 this year and packed each day with some really great programming. It's a festival the city should be very proud of and this weekend they end with many bangs. One of which is this ticketed concert at Echo Beach. Katranada's album 99.9% was one of 2016's best, hear it live and improve your life.
- Miss Lauryn Hill (September 16, Massey Hall)
- Rock against the TPP (September 16, The Opera House)
- Superkick'd Pro Wrestling Rock Show (September 16, The Great Hall Underground)
- Tourist (September 16, Velvet Underground)
- Sandro Perri / Charles Spearin (September 18, Quixotic Sounds)
- Manifesto: A Tribe Called Red (September 18, Yonge-Dundas Square)
- The New Pornographers (September 18, Lee's Palace)
ART
MUSE 2016 - A Representational Art Exhibition (September 16-17, Super Wonder Gallery)
View the artwork of over 70 artists and their personal portrayal of representational art in the form of landscapes, portraits, still life, figurative, wildlife and more. From 8p.m. - 2 a.m. this will most likely be an art show and super fun party all in one. Dress code is snazzy, Sexy, artistically eccentric and door is $10.
Douglas Coupland: Polychrome (Daniel Faria Gallery)
Coupland's latest show is an experiment in colour and how we see it and live it when we're colour blind. That's the best way I'm able to describe it to you anyway. Just go; it's really bright and bold.
FILM
With TIFF in its final days (it wraps up Sunday, September 18, but there's still lots left this weekend), we can move on with our lives and take things a little less seriously. To wit, you can head to these two movie-watching events complete with drag hosts and drinking games. Take your pick.
- Drunken Cinema: Showgirls (September 16, The Steady)
- Screen Queens: The Breakfast Club (September 18, The Royal)
FOOD & DRANK
Oktoberfest at Steam Whistle Brewery (September 17, Steam Whistle Brewing)
There are a good bunch of Oktoberfest events in the city heading into next month, but this one is the first and most reliable and fun. A performance by George Kash, traditional German dancers, good eats, beats and games in addition to steins of beer all over the damn place.
- Food Truck Festival (Downsview Park)
- Garlic Festival (September 18, Wychwood Barns)
- Toronto Beer Week (Various locations)
DANCING
Motown Party 8 year anniversary (September 17, Studio Bar)
How do you chose where to dance with so many parties playing such great music at any given night? You sometimes go with a party that knows what they're doing and the Motown Party, which now exists in the U.S., Paris, London and soon to be Toyko, is where it's at. Retro gogo dancers, soul hits and rarerities mix in with the odd hip hop nod and projections.
- Fuck it (September 16, Clinton's)
- Smooth Operator (September 16, Bar 499)
- Course Of Time LXIV w Kill Them With Colour (September 16, Drake Underground)
- Lovefingers (September 16, Bambi's)
- Gravitation (September 17, Sammy's Upstairs Lounge)
- Back in the day 90's party (September 17, Revival)
- Cake (September 17, Bar 499)
- High Power: Manifesto 10 After Party (September 17, Miss Thing's)
- Chronologic (September 17, The Garrison)
- The Simpsons: A 90's Dance Party (September 17, Sneaky Dee's)
- Day Dip (September 18, Holy Oak)
Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events section and have a great weekend!
Photo of TURF by Jesse Milns.
by Phil Villeneuve via blogTO
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