Community
Haiti One Year Later What exactly is Canada doing in Haiti, anyway? A panel hosted by Students in Solidarity with Haiti and the The Canadian International Council Toronto discusses what has been accomplished and what remains as Haiti struggles to its feet. Speakers include Valerie Rzepka, Joel Etienne, Maryse Bermingham and Antoine Derose. 7-9 pm. Free. Hart House. See listing.
Gay bashing in the Village From pelted slushies to slurs, there’s trouble in Gaytown. Come to a meeting to discuss community responses. 7-9 pm. Free. 519 Church Community Centre. See listing.
Music
Allie Hughes Valentines Wedding Spectacular The theatrically-inclined singer is putting on a mock wedding at the Drake tonight, with special guests Henri Faberge and cover band Dwayne Gretsky. See listing.
Stage
Eternal Hydra Anton Piatigorsky’s script, about a lost manuscript and appropriation of voice, is one of the best plays of the past decade. Don’t miss this beautifully-staged and -performed Crow’s Theatre remount at the Factory Theatre. The show closes this weekend. See review here.
The Carnegie Hall Show The National Theatre of the World’s weekly variety show featuring an improvised radio play, a selection of “best improvised scenes” and many guests, takes place at Bread & Circus in Kensington Market. See NOW’s cover story on NTOW here and listing here.
Film
In Conversation With… Paul Haggis The London, Ontario-born Oscar-winning director/writer talks about his films like Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Flags Of Our Fathers and (maybe? who knows?) his work on TV series like The Facts Of Life and Due South. At the TIFF Bell Lightbox. See listings.
Do The Right Thing See how Spike Lee’s 1989 classic about clashing cultures in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn holds up. Could make some interesting Black History Month viewing. See related story on Lee’s recent T.O. appearance here and listing here.
Art
Deanna Bowen For this Black History Month event held at the Art Gallery of York U’s Centre For Incidental Activisms, African-Canadian artist Bowen hosts an online hookup with the U.S. National Youth Summit celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides. The video-conference, starting at noon, allows people to talk with four of the activists who took part in the 1961 initiative that bused supporters of the civil rights movement to the South to challenge Jim Crow laws. See listing.
