11 Oct
Halloween celebrations, revealing Inter-faith and First Nations history, Multicultural Israel and a charming Japanese film are among Toronto’s interesting, free or almost-free events in this time period. If we hear of any more, we will add them to our “Leave a Reply” section below. You could do the same but events must be free or almost-free and be examples of the opportunities we have to experience the world in our city.
England. English Country Dancers. Experience not necessary. All ages. Friday, October 21, 8 – 10 pm, Trinity St. Paul Centre, 427 Bloor Street West near Spadina. $7-$10. Live music. Sessions also on October 30, in November and December, including annual Solstice and New Year’s Eve dances (December 21st and 31st). Sign up on its mailing list or regularly consult : http://www.torontoenglishdance.ca/ . This is the same group which dances in High Park in the summer.
First Nations. History of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nations. Carolyn King, Cultural Awareness Consultant and Member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation discusses the history of the Mississaugas and some current initiatives. October 19, 7:30-9pm. Free. North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street. http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMLIB01&R=LIB01.
Inter-faith. Cross-cultural and Inter-religious Encounters among the Muslims, Christians and Jews of Latin Christendom and the Islamic world in the Mediterranean zone from the tenth to the fifteenth centuries. Dr Adnan Husain is Associate Professor in the Department of History at Queen’s University. Saturday October 22, 7-9pm. $5. Auditorium, Noor Cultural Centre, 123 Wynford Drive.
Israel and African Refugees. Film: Ethnocracy – Israel’s African Refugees. 7-9:30pm, Saturday, October 22. $5. The story of African refugees in Israel during the last 10 years culminating in their deportation. Followed by conversation with the Toronto-based filmmaker, reporter and activist, Lia Tarachansky. Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham Street (near Bathurst Subway Station). 2015 | Lia Tarachansky and Jesse Freeston | Israel / Palestine | 53 min | Spanish, English, Arabic, Hebrew. Subtitles. http://beitzatoun.org/event/film-ethnocracy-israels-african-refugees/
Japanese film. Umimachi Diary / Diary Our Little Sister. Thursday, October 20, 7pm. $10-$12. Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, 6 Garamond Court. We don’t usually promote films – there are just too many film festivals in Toronto to mention – but P. Anne Winter raved about this one. Director Hirokazu Koreeda’s (Nobody Knows, Like Father, Like Son) film was nominated for a record 12 Japanese Academy Awards and won for Best Film, and Best Director among others.
“Three sisters live together in their late grandmother’s house in Kamakura. Attending the funeral of their estranged father, they unexpectedly meet their teen-aged half-sister Suzu and immediately fall for the spell of this exquisite young woman. With no one to properly care for her, they decide to invite Suzu to move to their Kamakura home. Taking the shy young girl into their home, the sisters find their long suppressed memories of their unhappy childhood stirred – and the painful past becomes fully present once more when their mother who abandoned them suddenly reappears after 15 years. This sumptuous and moving family drama stars Ayase Haruka, Nagasawa Masami, Kaho and Suzu Hirose.”
Please tell us about other films we shouldn’t miss. Email us with information and preferably a poster to ruthlormalloy@gmail.com.
Mexico. Singer and guitarist Gabino Palomares with Ismael Duran from Detroit. 6-9pm, October 23. $15. Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham Street (near Bathurst Subway Station.) “Gabino Palomares is one of the most important representatives of the New Song Movement (now called Trova).” http://beitzatoun.org/event/gabino-palomares-from-mexico/. Sign up to get more stimulating events from Beit Zatoun before it closes. http://beitzatoun.org/events/.
Multicultural Celebrations Library Settlement Week: Dance from Around the World. Music performances representing our newcomers. Raffle, refreshments and more. October, 22, 2-4:15pm. Free. Fairview Library, 35 Fairview Mall Drive.http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMLIB010&R=LIB010. Please confirm the time and date before going.
Multicultural. Worlds on a String: Beads • Journeys • Inspirations. $6-$15. It’s not too late to see this exhibition from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Oceania and Europe, which “explores the process through which beading practices have evolved, echoing and absorbing changing social and political circumstances as this popular new material inflected cultural perspectives and creative practices.” Currently on view until October 23. Textile Museum of Canada, 85 Centre Avenue.
Please note that between 5 and 8 pm on Wednesday evenings, the Museum offers pay-what-you-can admission. http://www.textilemuseum.ca/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/worlds-on-a-string-beads
Toronto Tradition. Halloween. 6th Boo! at the Barns. October 22, 5-10pm. Free. Artscape Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie Street. All-ages “Hallowe’en party offers frightful fun for the whole family. This year’s event will feature a haunted house, scary dance party, face painting, costume swap, a beer and wine garden, treats, and much more.” http://www.torontoartscape.org/events/boo-barns
Our apologies for sending out five notifications of the same new blog to our subscribers last week. I can truly blame it on computer error and will try to catch it in future automatic mailings which go out at 4am. If anyone can help solve this unpredictable and annoying computer behaviour, please let me know. Ruth. ruthlormalloy@gmail.com.