97. Multicultural Public Library Events

The  Toronto Public Library has many free events.  You don’t even have to show a library card to attend. The following are among its many April multicultural offerings. Keep checking its web-site each month: http://bit.ly/idCojD . A few events, not listed here, require registration and a fee to pay for food. 

Mon. Apr. 4, 7pm.  Between Two Worlds: A Panel Discussion with authors Judy Fong Bates, Antanas Sileika, and Nino Ricci, about being the family interpreter of language and culture. Hosted by CBC’s Anne-Marie Mediwake, Palmerston Branch, 560 Palmerston Ave., 416-393-7680.

Tues. Apr. 5, 7pm. The White Snake Cantonese Opera. A demonstration of this famous opera with the Starlight Cantonese Opera Company. Burrows Hall/Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto, 5183 Sheppard Ave. East, 416-396-8740.

Wed. Apr.6, 7pm. Former Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario James Bartleman talks about his new book, As Long As The Rivers Flow. It follows six-year-old Martha from Cat Lake First Nation through the nightmare of residential school and the enduring consequences of having been removed from her land, her people and her own childhood. North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, 416-395-5596. 

Wed. Apr.6, 7pm. Eating Chinese: From Ginger Beef to the Dragon Café with Lily Cho, author of Eating Chinese: Culture on the Menu in Small Town Canada. This book is a history of North American Chinese cuisine. Riverdale Branch, 370 Broadview Ave., 416-393-7720.

Thurs. Apr. 7, 7pm. Diaspora Dialogues. An evening of readings and performance by several of Toronto’s diverse literary voices, including Rupinder Gill (author of On the Outside Looking Indian) and Ian Kamau (author of Love & Other Struggles The Boy Who Cried Wolf).  Hosted by Dalton Higgins. Toronto Reference Library, Atrium, 789 Yonge Street, 416-395-5577.

Tues. Apr. 12, 1:30pm. Chinese Gong-Fu Tea Ceremony.  Multi-generational program on Yi Xing tea pot making, and ancient Chinese dress. Register or call 416-395-5980. York Woods Theatre & Lobby, 1785 Finch Ave. W. 416-395-5980.

Wed. Apr.13, 7pm. From Chop Suey to Peking Duck: The Evolution of Chinese Food in Toronto. Author Arlene Chan, who grew up in her parents’ popular downtown Kwangchow restaurant, talks about Chinese food since the first Chinese restaurant opened here in 1901. Pape/Danforth. 701 Pape Ave. 416-393-7727.