Maggie & Me: A Healing Dance
Choreographer Christine Friday, winner of the 2018 K.M. Hunter Award for Dance, has created an immersive performance that honours the legacy of Indigenous women as healers to help strengthen communities. After the tumultuous past couple of months, healing seems a necessity.
July 15-18 at the Amphitheatre in High Park. Pay-what-you-wish. canadianstage.ca
Splinter-Dimensional
The Luminato Festival and Planet Fabulon present a free augmented reality scavenger hunt at Christie Pits that involves using your phone and finding QR codes to reveal clues.
July 15-16, noon to 8 pm; July 16-17, 10 am to 8 pm. Free. Christie Pits Park. luminatofestival.com
Vector Festival
Toronto’s festival of digital art, new media and video games is back with a program that pokes around the idea of what our post-isolation life will soon be like – when we’re all coexisting again. There are public gif screenings, virtual events, Zoom workshops, online performances, panels, screenings and more. It will all expand your consciousness and your empathy.
July 15-August 8. Free. Some events require registration. vectorfestival.org
Stupidhead! audio version
Katherine Cullen and Britta Johnson’s funny and moving musical about dyslexia and self-acceptance gets several live-streamed audio performances before going on the road in physically distanced in-person performances. See review here.
To July 16. $15. outsidethemarch.ca.
A Quiet Place Part II
In case you haven’t heard, movie theatres are now open! Which means you can now find out what happens to Emily Blunt and her kids after they survived those creepy creatures from 2018’s original. The sequel has been screening at drive-in theatres throughout the GTA, but now you can sit among strangers and see who can make the least noise – appropriate for this pic, since the monsters are attracted to noise! Or you can watch it at home and be as loud as you can. See review here.
From July 16 at select theatres; also available to rent to stream at home
The Horseshoe Tavern’s Chill-O-Rama
The Horseshoe Tavern is coming back sooner than anticipated, but before they let you back on those checkerboard floors, the historic bar has a fundraiser series at CityView Drive-In featuring bands that are no strangers to the venue: Stars, Ellis, the Jim Cuddy Band, the Sadies, Elliott Brood and more. Get in your car, grab some popcorn, roll down the window and maybe turn off your AC for the full ‘Shoe experience.
July 15-17. CityView Drive-In. Tickets start at $99.50 for a two-occupant car. Livestream tickets $13.50-$22.50. cityviewdrivein.com
Beaches Jazz Festival Drive-In
This year’s Beaches Jazz Fest is a drive-in festival (enjoy those while you can). The Richards Group Block Party starts it off with performances by Brass Transit and the Free Label. Then on July 17 and 18, the festival cedes to another fest we’ve been missing: AfroFest. That two-day series features Slim Flex, Steeles and more.
July 16-18. Guildwood GO Station. $25-$80. beachesjazz.com
Laughter From The Frontlines
Stand-up and registered nurse Zabrina Douglas headlines a show featuring comics who also work in healthcare, like personal support worker Caroline DG, long term care worker Janice Israeloff and paramedic Morgan Phillips. Scott Faulconbridge hosts the virtual event from the buzzy Unknown Comedy Club, which while using Zoom makes you feel like you’re at a real comedy club.
July 17 at 9 pm. Pwyc by donation. unknowncomedyclub.com
