815. April 21-29+ Events in Multicultural Toronto – 2018

Sorry to have missed a lot of important and stimulating events this past month but traveling to Israel and Ireland helped broaden my own horizons.  Here are some more exciting upcoming happenings in our culturally diverse city that you can join. They involve Buddhists, Muslims and Jews. Then there’s our Sikhs’ annual, colourful parade and their invitation to a banquet to all of us. There’s a Black Artists’ exhibition, First Nations bazaar, German Virtual Reality talk, and Hot Docs from around the world too. Look also for an opportunity to see and hear one of my favourite authors Kim Thuy as she talks about her latest book on Vietnamese refugees.

It’s too bad we need a workshop on Islamophobia and Bystander Intervention but our situation is not as tragic as that of Belfast where actual walls still keep Catholics and Protestants apart, most schools are still segregated, and different young people can’t even play on the same sports teams.

Austria. Spain. Close Encounters in Vienna and Madrid. Artists of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. April 24, 12pm. Free. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. West. https://www.coc.ca/plan-your-visit/free-concert-series

Image from Four Seasons Centre website

 

Black Artists. U.S. Cutting a Figure: Black Style through the Lens of Charles “Teenie” Harris. April 26-June 17. Opening Reception April 26, 6-8pm. BAND Gallery and Cultural Centre, 19 Brock Avenue. http://band-rand.com/site/

Buddhist. Earth Day Community Clean Up. April 21, 9am-12pm. Free. Buddhist Meditation Centre, 11175 Kennedy Road, Markham. Note: Volunteering together could help you make some very interesting new friends. – Ruth

First Nations. Spring Craft Sale & Flea Market. April 21, 10am-4pm. Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, 16 Spadina Road. http://ncct.on.ca/

Germany. Multicultural. Exhibition & talk about VR artists Erin Gee and Li Alin @ Digifest. April 26, 3 pm. Corus Quay, 25 Dockside Drive. The curators Tina Sauerländer (Berlin) and Erandy Vergara (Montreal) will speak about the history of VR and current trends and critical perspectives on this technology. https://www.goethe.de/ins/ca/en/sta/tor/ver.cfm?fuseaction=events.detail&event_id=21169806 .This three-day conference costs $25-$100 (free on Saturday): https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/digifest-2018-tickets-38810188318

Image from Goethe website.

 

Jewish. Muslim. Confronting Hate and Prejudice: Jewish-Muslim Relations in North America. April 25, 7pm-9pm. Free. Hart House, Debates Room, 7 Hart House Circle. https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/confronting-hate-and-prejudice-jewish-muslim-relations-in-north-america-tickets-45052160224

Speakers: Imam Abdullah Antepli, Chief Representative of Muslim Affairs, Duke University; Rabbi Daniel Korobkin, Senior Rabbi, Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto; Ingrid Mattson, Chair in Islamic Studies, Huron University College; Yoni Goldstein, Editor, Canadian Jewish News

Multicultural. 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival will begin at 7pm on Thursday, April 26 and end on Sunday, May 6. Regular Tickets: $17; Premium Tickets: $22 – $24; FREE Daytime Screenings before 5pm Courtesy of CBC Docs for Seniors (60+) and students with valid ID. (Pick up your tickets at the screening venue’s box office on the day of the screening, subject to availability.) Various venues. For “Stories from Around the World”: http://www.hotdocs.ca/p/subject-index/stories-from

Image from the New Zealand documentary Yellow is Forbidden.

 

Muslim. Multicultural. Say Salaam: A Workshop on Islamophobia and Bystander Intervention. Tuesday, April 24, 5–8pm. $5-10 donation. Sliding Scale. Innovation Lab, Centre for Social Innovation, 4th floor, 215 Spadina Avenue. This workshop explores how Islamophobia impacts community on an individual level- and works to identify the different ways that we can intervene on an individual, community and systemic level. A light dinner will be provided. This event is being co-hosted by the Centre for Social Innovation with financial support from The Olive Tree Foundation. https://www.nccm.ca/event/say-salaam-a-workshop-on-islamophobia-bystander-intervention

 

Sikh. Punjab. India. Khalsa Day Parade and Celebration. April 29, 9am-1pm. Free. Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place. Prayers and snacks. At 1pm the parade of warriors, families, and floats heads east from the CNE grounds. At Toronto City Hall, there will be prayers and dignitaries will address the gathering. Worshippers try to touch the glass around the holy Guru Granth Sahib scriptures. Everyone is welcome to partake of delicious, vegetarian Sikh food.

The OSGC encourages people from all backgrounds and religions to come out and celebrate this important day in the Sikh calendar.” https://osgc.ca/khalsa-day-downtown-toronto/

Note: This is another of my favourite annual Toronto festivals because the Sikhs are so welcoming and congenial. While they are usually shy about initiating conversations with strangers, I have found them ready to answer friendly questions about their culture, their religion, and music. I expect you will even get answers about the controversy regarding the recent visit of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to India.

On Khalsa Day, Nathan Phillips Square becomes a brilliant garden of colourful turbans and salwar kameezes, especially on a sunny day. It’s an opportunity to enjoy the wonderful Sikh hospitality. The food is abundant and free. Just be prepared for long queues so try to get to City Hall before the parade arrives there about 3:30pm. You can ask people what they are eating and where they found it and they will help you. At least they did for us.

For pictures of this event from a previous year, see my blog:  https://www.torontomulticulturalcalendar.com/2015/04/29/460-this-weekends-sikh-khalsa-parades-2015/

The following week on Sunday, May 6, there’s a similar celebration in Mississauga. — Ruth.

Vietnam. Kim Thuy: Vi. Wed Apr 25, 7- 8pm. Free. Bram & Bluma Appel Salon, Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street.”The perfect complement to the exquisitely wrought novels Ru and Man, Canada Reads winner Kim Thúy returns with Vi, exploring the lives, loves and struggles of Vietnamese refugees as they reinvent themselves in new lands. Hear Thúy discuss her latest novel, translated by the award-winning Sheila Fischman.”
https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEVT322199&R=EVT322199

Image of KimThuy from the Toronto Reference Library website.

 Note from Ruth: TorontoMulticulturalCalendar.com chooses to promote events that encourage a peaceful world in our diverse city. Mention doesn’t mean endorsement but we try to include events we think readers will find stimulating in the cultures of other groups. If you go to any of our mentioned events, please send us corrections or an account of your impressions so we will know whether or not we should promote these events in future. Please continue to send us posters. We don’t charge to post them and we don’t accept paid advertising. Post Comments on  “Leave a Reply” below.  Email us at: ruthlormalloy@gmail.com. Subscribe to our Newsletter above.

 

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