27 Aug
A Serbian Food event, and Egyptian Coptic and Macedonian Cultural festivals – all related to Christian churches in Toronto. A First Nations art exhibit and a concert with Indigenous performers – both showcasing new developments in their arts. One of my favourite festivals – the Jewish Ashkenaz – which only comes every other year with traditional arts and unique contributions from the Ashkenaz diaspora.
The very popular Muslim Fest and a multi-racial jazz event. A Zimbabwe song and dance group adding to its generous contribution to our city that already includes a stone sculpture exhibition in one of our parks. A group of Morris Dancers.
These are among the free or almost free opportunities to experience the world in our multicultural city.
Egypt. Egyptian Coptic Festival. September 8. 12–9pm. Free. Mississauga Celebration Square, 300 City Centre Drive, Mississauga. Egyptian Coptic Festival.ca.
“The Egyptian Coptic Festival is a cultural event that celebrates Egyptian culture, history and arts in the public square, for the purpose of creating awareness about Coptic Canadians, their heritage and role in society. The event brings people together from within and from outside the Coptic community in Canada for family fun, music, shows, documentaries, kids activities and traditional food”. Yoliana Azer: info@egyptiancopticfestival.ca. Tel. 647-785-7473:” https://www.facebook.com/197353230284375/photos/gm.2030325150372563/1967305159955831/?type=3&theater and www.egyptiancopticfestival.ca
England. Morris Dancers tour around Toronto. Saturday, September 1. 10:30am. Start from Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave, and end up at 3-5pm at Taddle Creek Park, 40 Bedford Road; Sunday, September 2. 11am. Start from Tranzac Club, and end up at 3:30pm Show Dancing at Dufferin Grove Park, 875 Dufferin Street. Free.
Ruth’s note. This is the group of Morris dancers and their friends who perform in High Park every May Day starting at 7am. They are a friendly, lively and talented lot. Thanks to Bob for this August 31 update. See also update from Leo at the end of this blog.
First Nations. I continue to Shape. September 5 – December 8. Free. University of Toronto Art Centre (near Hart House). “… an exhibition curated by cheyanne turions… will include works by Maria Thereza Alves, Cathy Busby, etc…. with an additional collaboration with Maria Hupfield.
“The title of the exhibition, I continue to Shape, references an observation by participating artist Nicholas Galanin, that contemporary Indigenous cultures, like all other cultures, exist on a continuum of change based on engagements with others and in dialogue with land…” artmuseum.utoronto.ca/exhibition/i-continue-to-shape. Opening Reception. Wednesday, September 5. 6-8pm. With performance by Charlene Vickers, Jingles and Sounds for Speaking to our Grandmothers. Hart House Quad, 7 Hart House Circle.
First Nations. Revolutions Per Minute. August 30. Doors at 7:30pm. Show at 8pm. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Nataanii Means, Eekwol, and Sebastian Gaskin. Burdock Music Hall, 1184 Bloor St West.
“RPM’s acclaimed Indigenous music series returns for its third season with a full slate of monthly concerts showcasing Indigenous artists in Toronto and New York… with a slate of Toronto debuts, album release concerts, and rising voices from the Indigenous next wave. http://rpm.fm/live.
Jewish. Multicultural. Ashkenaz Festival. August 28-September 3. Most free. Harbourfront Centre, Queen’s Quay. The best of the global Jewish music and culture scene. Klezmer, Yiddish, Sephardic, Mizrachi, African, Latin-American and cross-cultural sounds. http://www.ashkenaz.ca/2018-festival/ Macedonia. Macedonian Cultural Festival. September 7. Friday 6pm; September 8. Saturday 12Noon; September 9. Sunday 12Noon. Free. Everyone welcome. St Dimitrija Solunski Macedonian Orthodox Church, St. Dimitrija Solunski Macedonian Orthodox Church, 201 Main St. North, Markham. Tel. 905–471-5555. Email: nick@makbiz.net.
Experience a weekend of traditional Macedonian hospitality, authentic Macedonian cuisine, spectacular folk dance performances, live music & much more…
Multiracial. 4th Annual T.U. Jazz Fest 2018. Friday, September 7. 4:30–9:30pm; September 8. 12-9:30pm. Free. Mel Lastman Square, 5100 Yonge Street.
“Hosting five outdoor stages, free masterclasses along with local food markets preparing mouth-watering treats, this festival provides a platform for jazz musicians from all over North America to perform together with Grammy & JUNO award winning artists across North America. T.U. Jazz Fest is the first initiative in Canada to mainly feature young musicians:” http://www.tujazz.com/; https://www.facebook.com/TUJazzFest/
Muslim. MuslimFest. August 31–September 2. Free. Mississauga Celebration Square, 300 City Centre Drive, Mississauga . “Over 60 professional and upcoming artists every year. Local, national, and international Muslim artists come together in a display of the best of Muslim arts and entertainment… exhibits, film screenings, concerts, stand-up comedy shows, theatre, and more: http://muslimfest.com./
Serbia. Serbian Food Fest. September 1. 12pm-midnight. Free. Assortment of traditional Serbian foods. Evening entertainment. All Serbian Saints Serbian Orthodox Church, 2520 Dixie Road, Mississauga. (at Dundas Street). Tel. 416 -568-3765. http://www.msff.ca/.
Our blog about a previous festival which featured a barbecued bull is at: https://www.torontomulticulturalcalendar.com/2015/09/23/529-serbian-food-festival-report-2015/
Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago Independence Day. August 31. 10am. Free. Flag raising followed by greetings, a cultural show and light refreshments. St. Nedela’s Church, 485 Bayly Street West, Ajax. For more information: Shane Suepaul. Phone: 416-407-8403.
Zimbabwe. Black Umfolosi. September 5. 8pm. Doors open at 7:30pm. $25 at door. $22 in advance. Acapella and dance group. Great Hall, Beach United Church, 140 Wineva Avenue (just north of Queen Street East. Bring the whole family. Presented by Acoustic Harvest. 416-729-7564. www.blackumfolosimusic.com; www.acousticharvest.ca.
Check also Zimbabwe sculptures at the Toronto Botanical Garden. See our previous blog for this highly recommended spectacular art show continuing until September 30: https://www.torontomulticulturalcalendar.com/2018/07/28/834-july-28-august-6-affordable-events-in-multicultural-toronto-2018/
Note from Ruth: TorontoMulticulturalCalendar.com chooses to promote events that encourage a feeling of community in our culturally 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 to 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.
A later update from Leo about September 1 and 2 re Morris Dancers.
Hi, Ruth!
Sorry to be so long getting back to you. We have moved the Saturday show dancing from morning to afternoon so will be in Taddle Creek Park (Bedford and Lowther) from 3 pm Sat to 4:30 or 5 pm. Sunday’s show dancing continues to be at Dufferin Grove Park (Dufferin just south of Bloor) from 3:30 to about 5 pm.
Saturday there is a Contra dance at the Tranzac from about 9 pm. We don’t advertise it as being open but people have been known to join us on the basis of paying at the door for that.
Tours head out across the City Sat and Sun at about 11 and people will find dancers in St Lawrence Market, along Bloor St and in Parkdale on Saturday. On Sunday, dancers will head to King St W, Queen St W, Bloor St W and the Danforth.
All are welcome to come and enjoy our show stands. Anyone interested in learning the dance can contact me via leo.n@rogers.com to be connected to whichever group most interests them.