887. Affordable Events October 7-25 in Multicultural Toronto – 2019

Our apologies for a gap in our listing of festivals and other events in our diverse city. What our server called a technical “attack” on the software sending out our newsletters has delayed us and it’s taken a long time to resolve the problem.

No worry. Our subscribers have not been affected except for the delay. We are now back up and running – I hope – although my 10-day out-of-town trip later this month could  mean another gap.

October brings our Thanksgiving holiday and Halloween, a Toronto tradition of many decades. Our city also blesses us with other kinds of events like a poutine-eating contest, a major Hindu celebration, and Islamic Heritage Month. 

Some but not all of the following are free or nearly-free. We hope you will find them interesting – not just to experience first hand – but to help you learn something about the cultures of our neighbours. You might want to spend time just exploring these websites.

Black Artists. Launch. Twenty_Four_Seven/365 Opening Reception. October 24. 6-8pm. Free. BAND, 19 Brock Avenue.

An interactive installation about the rising dangers of surveillance technology for communities of colour. Participants will walk through an audiovisual installation while they are on their journey to reflect on privacy and the right to not be surveilled without consent…” https://www.facebook.com/events/384200952473760

Image from BAND Facebook.

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Canada. Federal Elections. Monday, October 21. All-candidates debates have been and are going on in Toronto. Look for them in your neighbourhood. Free. These are not only great for learning about the issues, they are wonderful examples of the diversity of our city, our immigrants and racial minorities taking responsibility in our government.

For a list: https://www.toronto.com/news-story/9610300-2019-canadian-federal-election-all-candidate-debates-in-toronto/

Image from October 2 Debates in Bloor West-Parkdale. Copyright ©2019 Ruth Lor Malloy

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Hindu. India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh. Durga Puja or Navratri. October 3-7. Donations appreciated. Bangladesh Hindu Cultural Mandir, 16 Dohme Avenue, East York.

This is one of the most important Hindu festival. It is celebrated in various forms, across India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. This is a good time to visit a Hindu temple to share in the spirituality of our Hindu neighbours.

For more information, tel. 416-693-4444; E-mail: info@hindumondir.org. http://www.hindumondir.org/?q=node/39.

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Hungary. Flag raising. Hungary Revolution Day. October 23. Ceremony at 12pm. Free. Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West. https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/awards-tributes/tributes/flag-raising-half-masting/flag-raisings-2019/

Hungarian Flag from Wikipedia.

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Ireland. Cape Breton. Ontario. Manus McGuire and Emily Flack. October 12. 3pm. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Burdock Music Hall, 1184 Bloor Street West.

Manus McGuire from Sligo in the north west of Ireland… Irish fiddle music tradition… Emily Flack from Dorchester, Ontario, likewise comes from a family steeped in the music tradition, this time the music of Cape Breton and Ontario…” https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/manus-mcguire-and-emily-flack-tickets-71549351035

For this and other events inspired by Irish culture, contact Maureen O’Leary, <moleary2001@rogers.com>.

Image from https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/manus-mcguire-and-emily-flack-tickets-71549351035

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Islam. Islamic Heritage Month. October 5-26. IHM event – Uighurs: Oct. 12, 5-9 pm; IHM event – Rohingya: Oct. 19, 5-9 pm; IHM event – Kashmir: Oct. 26, 5-9 pm. Free. Islamic Institute of Toronto, 1630 Neilson Road. For more information on this and other related Islamic Heritage Month events in Ontario: https://muslimlink.ca/news/muslim-canadian-islamic-history-month-islamic-heritage-month-canada-ontario-2.

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Japan. 2019 Ikebana Floral Show. October 13. Noon to 4:30pm. $15. Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, 6 Garamond Court (Wynford and DVP): www.Ikebana-toronto.com

Image from Ikebana-Toronto.com website.

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Kenya. Andrew and Leonora Obara, Co-Founders of Kijiji Cha Upendo (Village of Love) Children’s Project in the slum community of Kibera, Kenya. Sunday, October 6. 2pm. Emmanuel United Church, 420 Balmoral Dr., Brampton and Wednesday, October 16. 7:30 pm, Runnymede United Church, 432 Runnymede Road. Both events are free but organizers would appreciate an RSVP to plan numbers.

“Hear Kenyan visitors, Leonora and Andrew Obara, tell their story: how they raised 10 orphaned children along with their five biological children and are now offering a future beyond poverty for over 600 vulnerable children through Village of Love. Family belonging, food and the opportunity for school is setting these children free from the traps of extreme poverty, violence, crime, gangs, drugs, rape and prostitution.

“Multi-media presentation, Q & A, Refreshments, African crafts for sale: Linda, 416-766-7265; linda.levin@villageoflovecanada.org; http://www.villageoflovecanada.org/love-beyond-borders/

Image from Village of Love website

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Multicultural. Africa. China. Black – White history/future. Free Tours Tuesday through Sunday at 2:30pm. Ryerson Image Centre, 33 Gould Street.

For current exhibitions. Lucy Lu: Da Pi Yuan. September 11 – October 20, 2019. “an exploration, an homage, and a love letter to my first home… a document of my journey into deepening and embracing what it means to be Chinese-Canadian.”

Ancestors, Can You Read Us? (Dispatches From The Future); September 11 – October 20, 2019; Syrus Marcus Ware: imagines a world where racialized people have survived the “Black death spectacle” writ large on the nightly news; survived the catastrophic impact of the Anthropocene; and survived the crushing effects of white supremacy.”

The Way She Looks: A History of Female Gazes in African Portraiture. September 11–December 8, 2019. For more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/947676938900007/.

Image from Ryerson Image Centre website.

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Multicultural. Japan, Norway, Spain. Torque. Simulacrum: Winter Guests/Norway. October 18 and 19. 7:30pm. $25-$45. Harbourfront Centre.

Expensive but interesting. Flamenco. Kabuki. On the same stage at the same time. https://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/torque/simulacrum/

Ruth’s note: This costs more than I would want to spend on an event but it sounds very interesting, because I love Kabuki and Flamenco. To see it on the same stage, “theatre, dance, memory and ritual” – how can I not splurge? Alas, I will be out of town.

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Multicultural. Election 2019 A Commitment To Solve The Climate Emergency. For events in October: https://climatechallenge.ca (updated regularly for changes).

Image of Sandbags on Toronto Island Copyright ©2019 Ruth Lor Malloy

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Multicultural. Getting Informed to Vote. Organized by Noor Cultural Centre,

Wednesday October 16, 6:30 – 9pm. Free. Auditorium, Noor Cultural Centre: Indigenous Justice | Prof Hayden King (Yellowhead Institute, Ryerson University); National Security | Fahad Ahmad (PhD Candidate, Carleton University); Militarism | Prof John Duncan (Ethics, Society & Law, Trinity College, University of Toronto).

Thursday October 17, 6:30 – 9pm. Free.  Auditorium, Noor Cultural Centre: Environment | Maya Menezes (The Leap); Immigration & Refugee Policy | Syed Hussan (Migrant Workers Alliance for Change); Economy | Randy Robinson (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives). Website: https://noorculturalcentre.ca/getting-informed-to-vote-pre-election-panels

Image from Noor Cultural Centre website


Ontario. Pumpkinfest. Family event. Thanksgiving weekend. October 12-14. 10am-6pm. Free admission. Downsview Park, 35 Carl Hall Road. This is one of many events in town this month celebrating Halloween (October 30). Food vendors, entertainment, and pumpkins. http://www.pumpkinfesttoronto.com.

For a list of the many Halloween events in October, see: https://bit.ly/2LKikwj

Image from Pumpkinfest website.

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Quebec. International. Smoke’s Poutinerie World Poutine Eating Championship. October 19. 10am-4pm. Free. Yonge-Dundas Square.

…Professional Major League Eaters from all over the world will be taking the stage along with a very hungry group of CEO’s vying for the position as the top fundraiser in the CEO Charity Challenge supporting Friends of We Care.

…. The WPEC CEO Charity Challenge has ROCKED its way to collecting over $250,000 in charitable donations since it began in 2016, all in benefit of sending children with disabilities to fully accessible Easter Seals summer camps…” https://www.todocanada.ca/city/toronto/event/smokes-poutinerie-world-poutine-eating-championship/.

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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Flag Raising. Independence Day. October 25. Ceremony at 11:45am. Free. Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West. https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/awards-tributes/tributes/flag-raising-half-masting/flag-raisings-2019/

Image from Wikipedia

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Sri Lanka. Tamil. Marrying for a Future: Transnational Sri Lankan Tamil Marriages in the Shadow of War. Speaker: Sidharthan Maunaguru (Author). October 11. 4-6pm. Free. Munk School of Global Affairs, 208N, North House, 1 Devonshire Place.

This “talk will be based on my newly published book that examines the life of the Sri Lankan Tamil community in the time of war and migration before the war was ended in 2009… but the prolonged violence during the war devastated the Sri Lankan Tamil community, leading to a serious disruption of ordinary life and mass migrations to escape the violence of the state and of Tamil militants. Jaffna Tamils are now widely dispersed across the world – predominantly in Canada, continental Europe, UK, Australia and India…”

For more information about this and about lectures on other world events, see: https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/events/

Image of jacket from Marrying for a Future.

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Ruth’s Note: TorontoMulticulturalCalendar.com chooses to promote events that encourage a feeling of community in our culturally-diverse city. Mention doesn’t mean endorsement as we try to include events we think readers will find stimulating in the cultures of other groups and an opportunity to meet people from other cultures. If you go to any of our mentioned events, please send us corrections or an account of your impressions. 

Let us know the kind of events that interest you. Please continue to send posters to ruthlormalloy@gmail.com. We don’t charge to include them and we don’t accept paid advertising. We are privately financed. Please post comments on “Leave a Reply” below and subscribe to receive our newsletters that announce new blogs. See above right.

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