WORDS: “This Is Not A Reading Series For Tots,” a new monthly literary program for children that we told you about a few weeks ago, is launching today at the Gladstone Hotel. Kids aged two to eight will get to meet the authors of childrens’ books and participate in art activities, sing-a-longs, and puppet shows. Speaking today is Matt Hammill, who will be giving a PowerPoint presentation about his new book, Sir Reginald’s Logbook.......

At first, the idea of Canadian versions of popular reality shows sounded pretty terrible, but Canuck versions of Project Runway and Top Model have been more entertaining than they had any right to be. Next up is So You Think You Can Dance Canada, premiering September 11 on CTV. Granted, we were initially anxious over Leah Miller as host and the new ads look pretty cheesy, but with Tré Armstrong of How She Move......

WORDS: Chris Carlsson, one of the founders of Critical Mass and the author of 2008's Nowtopia, is speaking this evening at CineCycle as part of Pages' This Is Not A Reading Series. He'll be discussing Nowtopia, which researches social challenges faced by outlaw bicyclists and others looking to get away from urban consumer lifestyles. Spacing's publisher and creative director Matthew Blackett will be interviewing Carlsson, and there will be an audience Q&A following the......

FESTIVAL: The Scotiabank BuskerFest is back for its ninth year. This year's line-up includes over forty of the world's best buskers from Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. BuskerFest is free with an optional donation to Epilepsy Toronto; since its inception, BuskerFest has raised over half of a million dollars for the organization. Come out to enjoy the circus performers, magic shows, and artistic spectacles, and leave knowing it's all......

FESTIVAL: The Canadian National Exhibition is back and bigger than ever this year. Along with the usual carnival rides, games, and snacks, there will be an outdoor acrobatic and pyrotechnic circus performance, equestrian shows, an escape artist, and the always-popular IAMS SuperDogs Show. Visitors can also get a preview of new state-of-the-art TTC subway cars set to debut in 2010, which will be on display in front of the Direct Energy Centre for the......

SPORTS: The Toronto FC are playing FC Dallas this afternoon. The team's had a week to rest since their loss to Real Salt Lake last Monday, so hopefully a victory is in store. BMO Field (170 Princes' Boulevard), 4 p.m., $21–$85. "SPORTS": In case soccer's too sissy a sport for you, you better head over to the Amsterdam Brewery, where Stranglehold Pro Wrestling is presenting their latest joust, "R.E.H.A.B." (which stands for "Really Extreme......

Friday WORDS: The new season of the Toronto Poetry Slam kicks off Friday. Amateurs sign up half an hour before the show, and are given a chance to showcase their talents. Afterward, there will be a performance from musician Mark Berube and The Patriotic Few. For more information, check out the Toronto Poetry Slam website. The Drake Hotel Underground (1150 Queen Street West), 8 p.m. (sign-up at 7:30 p.m.), $5. MUSIC: Local musician Jennifer Castle......

Photo from Paetec Music Tour. One of history's greatest voices will be serenading the Sony Centre tonight as Al Green kicks off the Downtown Jazz Festival. After taking a very long break, The Reverend has been busy in the past few years. He recruited ?uestlove of The Roots for help on the just released Lay It Down. Although there will be plenty of new songs, we hope that Green struts his stuff on classics......

It's a special edition of the Stone's Throw MOVE Toronto party as label head Peanut Butter Wolf will be headlining the night. Working since the Golden Era of hip hop where he partnered with Charizma as a duo, Peanut Butter Wolf overcame Charizma's tragic death to found the label that now houses acclaimed acts like Madlib, MF Doom, and Jay Dee. With impeccable tastes in artists, you can expect Peanut Butter Wolf to spin a......

Photo by cobrasnatch. Everybody's favourite Elastica video directin', acclaimed stencilin', and self-proclaimed "super Indian babe" is rocking the Sound Academy stage on Monday. What can be said about M.I.A. that hasn't been said before? She's so talented that she can make a song about robbing you and you can't not dance to it. The multitalented Ms. Arulpragasam will be joined by local upstarts Holy Fuck, who you have to wonder after four years how......

Photo by Runs with Scissors. Watch out kids, Nas Is Coming. The Queensbridge legend will be performing at the Koolhaus on Friday, and the stage may be a welcome respite for Esco considering his week: Nas has abandoned his much-publicized decision to name his upcoming album Nigger, and Al Sharpton may have been involved. Instead Nas will leave the album untitled, content that fans will know what the real name is. While many are......

It's May 24 long weekend, and you know what that means: clash of the mega-parties. On Sunday, the Guvernment complex will be hosting Freedom 08. Two-time DJ Mag anointed No. 1 DJ Paul Van Dyk will be rocking the Koolhaus. Electro lovers should not miss Chicago's Felix da Housecat and local favourite Nasty Nav spinning at The Drink. The Guvernment will feature house icons Bad Boy Bill and Erick Morillo. For people that prefer their......

Fool’s Gold Records, known for their dirty, cut-up, fidgety electro artists, recently signed Atlanta-based Treasure Fingers. Tomorrow, May 15th, Treasure Fingers teams up with rising bloghouse master Kill The Noise for the "School's Out Forever Tour" at Wrongbar, courtesy of the boys at Dopplehertz. Plus there is the added treat of a DJ set from local favourite Vaneska. Which reminds us, somebody really needs to make some clearer subgenres for electro. From the gritty,......

Parkdale is most definitely in the house this weekend. On Friday, the Elizabeth Shepherd Quintet will be playing a CD release show at the Gladstone Ballroom. Parkdale (at right) is the follow-up to Shepherd's acclaimed debut Start to Move and is being released by Do Right! Music. John Kong has acquired an eclectic label roster and the label is top notch. They've already promoted Parkdale with a making-of video and a podcast. It's worked too,......

Photo from Skratch Bastid. It's a night of east coast hip hop at the Danforth Music Hall on Friday. Acclaimed party-rocking DJ Skratch Bastid will be manning the decks first as an opening act and then accompanying Buck 65, who headlines the night. The Halifax-raised DJ is well-known for his Imperial Death March beat juggling routine and is an accomplished turntablist. Recently, he laced Buck 65's latest album Situation, which has produced a video......

It's a Hollertronix weekend as Wrongbar hosts Diplo on Saturday and Eli Escobar on Friday. While he may have dipped a little under the radar in the last couple of years when was the ambassador for baile funk, Diplo has serious skills. He has secured a place in many a music lover's heart for producing M.I.A.'s fantastic "Paper Planes." The Philly based DJ is also responsible for acclaimed remixes for Kanye West and Yeah Yeah......

Attention, stalkers of local multihyphenate Tyler Clark Burke: either you'll have to figure out how to be in two places at once this weekend, or you'll be flipping a coin. Heads: from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, TCB fetes her new exhibit, "A Murder of Vs," at Katherine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects (also known as a "gallery," located at 1086 Queen Street West). The artist promises "paintings and sculpture and prisms" (oh my!)......

In a city that, he says, is devoid of an electrifying dance music scene, Matt Sims is offering up a brand-new way for party-goers to dabble in dj beats. "I feel there been a lot missing from the dance music scene down here," Sims wrote in a release sent to Torontoist, "so we’re here to save it!" His solution? Dopplehertz. Dopple-whaat? The new group is promising to throw parties and spin sounds all 'round town.......

Dancemakers just closed its latest show last night at Harbourfront's Premiere Dance Theatre. Called Double Bill # 1, the show consisted of two pieces danced by the company choreographed by different artists. Though quite different, both pieces explored the repetition of physical actions and the idea of "covers." The music was provided entirely by local curiosity The Reveries, a group that exclusively covers love ballads. The twist is that they play the covers with......

Since its opening last October, Wrongbar has been a blessing to the Parkdale area. This Friday, it'll be hosting the second edition of the Stone's Throw Move Toronto party. The respected California indie hip hop and funk label will be sending off one of its biggest stars as Madlib spins a set. One half of Madvillian and Jaylib, Madlib also releases records under his Quasimoto guise. He will be joined by label mates Egon and......

Ahh, Toronto, do you have the fever? Dance fever, that is. In June, our fair city will not only have auditions for So You Think You Can Dance Canada, but will also host the rehearsals for Toy Story: The Musical. (We suspect some dancing might happen at this shindig too.) It's enough to make a grown man suit up and dance. First up, Leah Miller has been named the host of So You Think......

Photo from The Chameleon Project. Local livetronica trio Chameleon Project celebrate their sophomore album ...if it takes all night with a two set-show at Revival on Friday. The instrumental group has undergone a number of changes since releasing their debut Stereoscopic five years ago. The new record features a stripped down sound and smooth guitar tones, which isn't surprising since their guitarist threw a Yacht Rock–themed party last year. Joining the group will be......

This weekend, Toronto was impossible to miss at Miami's Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival. Currently, five Torontonians occupy the number one and two and slots on the electro house chart on Beatport, which has become the de facto standard website for legally downloading electronic music, and a major player in the Winter Music Conference. Additionally, an Ontarian holds the number two spot on Beatport's tech house chart—Londoner John Acquaviva with "Sofa King."......

A historic tour rolls into town this Wednesday, as Jay-Z and Mary J Blige bring their Heart of the City co-venture to the ACC. Since 1996, Jigga has released ten studio albums, two collaborations with R. Kelly, a mash-up album with Linkin Park, and an MTV Unplugged with The Roots. He also managed to squeeze in a three-year retirement, during which he served as Def Jam president. When no major labels would sign him, he......

Photo by Rafael Style. It's Easter weekend, and it's the perfect time to resurrect your love of psy-trance. Israeli goa dance pioneers Infected Mushroom return to Toronto as part of the Guvernment's massive Decadance party on Thursday. They'll be joined by hometown heroes MSTRKRFT and famed boyfriend to pseudo-celebrities DJ AM. Since the party takes place in the entire Guvernment and Koolhaus complex, get ready to have your elbows ready when trying to walk......

Photo by Caesar Sebastian. Justice brings their gigantic glowing cross and their hot electro-house beats to the city on Monday. While the Sound Academy (ex-The Docks) is usually an awkward place to see music, it's well suited for this show. There will be plenty of space for people to "D.A.N.C.E." and the duo has a sound large enough to match the venue. They'll be joined by fellow Parisian Busy P and Fancy at the......

It's Canadian Music Week and that means there's an unusually large number of hip hop shows going on. KRS-One will be teachin' at The Opera House on Saturday as he continues his Stop the Violence movement. RZA dons his Bobby Digital mask on Sunday at the Phoenix. There's also grimy New York hip-hop (M.O.P. on Friday), French rap (DJ Orgasmic and Cuizinier on Thursday), and a strong showcase of local talent (Friday's Exclaim! event). Also......

Photo by Linnea Helmersson. There's something about Sweden and disco that is as perfect as America and apple pie or Toronto and complaining. Following the footsteps of ABBA, Ace of Base, and Robyn onto the dancefloor is critic's darling, Sally Shapiro. The mysterious singer will be making her first public appearance in North America spinning a set with her producer Johan Agebjorn at Wrongbar on Tuesday. Shapiro has other links to Toronto as Paper......

If you like dancing and the TTC, this is probably the sweetest thing you will see today (other than, maybe, that Spadina Bus video). On Saturday afternoon, Jared Alleyne––inspired by Toronto's Improv Everywhere–inspired stunts like the Eaton Centre freeze and the no-pants subway ride––organized a small group to fill a Yonge-University subway car with spontaneous, unsolicited, and definitely unchoreographed dancing. We'd say more, but the video above pretty much does all the talkin' for......

The coolest movie opening this week is Be Kind Rewind, which is a treasure trove of Things White People Like, as it stars Jack Black and his black friend played by Mos Def, and is directed by Michel Gondry, and has lots of irony, seeing as how it is about a couple of people who erase all the videotapes in their video store and then make their own mocking versions of the movies they......