FIGHT HOMOPHOBIA
International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia addresses serious issues, but that doesn’t mean you can’t party to honour the occasion. Come to a barbecue ($1 hot dogs) and a silent auction of prizes donated by gay village businesses to help fund the Youth Justice Bursary on Friday (May 17). Entertainment comes via a drag show featuring Miss Crews & Tangos, Ivory Towers. Barbecue from 5 pm shows from 7 pm. Free. Church and Alexander. crewsandtangos.com.
BOOK-BURNING AND RACE
Talk about odd happenings: in 2011, Lawrence Hill’s amazing novel The Book Of Negroes was burned in Amsterdam beside a monument to the abolition of Dutch slavery. Sir, I Intend To Burn Your Book: Race, Censorship And Free Speech, a discussion of this event and broader issues, is hosted by PEN Canada and features Hill and Carol B. Duncan, prof of religion and culture at Wilfrid Laurier University. Tonight (Thursday, May 16), 7 pm. $25. Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park. pencanada.ca.
STOP RUNAWAY RUNWAYS
Will we really have a jet-fuelled downtown? Take in all the issues on Porter’s quest for Island Airport expansion at a meeting hosted by the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association. Speakers include jets foe Adam Vaughan and, hopefully, reps from Porter, the Toronto Port Authority and Waterfront Toronto. Thursday, May 23, 7:30 pm. Free. Harbourfront Community Centre, 627 Queens Quay West. info@bqna.org.
