A Summer full of (awesome) Movies!

Do you like movies as much as we do? If so, then you’re in luck! Again this year, the city will be home to more outdoor movies in a variety of neighbourhoods, sure to please any movie buff. Invite your friends and family, and grab your popcorn, for these FREE outdoor movie experiences. CityEvents has cultivated this schedule for your convenience.  

 

Movies Nights in the Park

The Beach Village hosts FREE Movie Nights in the Park every Wednesday at dusk starting July 5 – August 30! Experience these movies under the stars in our beautiful parks. (screenings will rotate between Kew Gardens and Ivan Forrest Gardens Park). FREE ADMISSION and FREE popcorn!

-    July 5 @ 9pm, E.T. – Kew Gardens.

-    July 12 @ 9pm, Chronicles of Narnia – Ivan Forrest Gardens.

-    July 19 @ 9pm, Finding Nemo – Kew Gardens.

-    July 26 @ 9pm, Zootopia – Ivan Forrest Gardens.

-    August 02 @ 9pm, The Breakfast Club – Kew Gardens.

-    August 09 @ 9pm, Big Fish – Ivan Forrest Gardens.

-    August 16@ 9pm, Inside Out – Kew Gardens.

-    August 23 @ 9pm, Night at the Museum – Ivan Forrest Gardens.

-    August 30 @ 9pm, Willy Wonka and the Fantastic Chocolate Factory – Kew Gardens.

 

Please Check out the full schedule here:

http://thebeachvillage.com/2016/06/movie-nights-in-the-park/

 

Open Roof Festival

Toronto’s Open Roof Festival (ORF), celebrating indie film and music, returns for its eighth season, kicking-off on June 27, 2017, with screenings every Tuesday for 10 weeks. The Festival offers urbanites an al fresco take on hit cinema from across the globe, paired with live music by emerging artists in a variety of genres — a combination that has established Open Roof Festival’s reputation as Toronto’s ultimate summer date night and meeting spot.

-     June 27 @ 9 pm, Colossal

-     July 04 @ 9 pm, Free Fire

-     July 11 @ 9 pm, The Bad Batch

-     July 18 @ 9 pm, Get Out

-     July 25 @ 9 pm, Brimstone & Glory

-     August 1 @ 9 pm, TBC

-     August 15 @ 9 pm, Rumble: The Insdians who rocked the World

-     August 22 @ 9 pm, It Comes At Night

-     August 29 @ 9 pm, Sundowners

 

Please Check out the full schedule here:

http://www.openrooffestival.com/

 

Free Outdoor Movies at Harbourfront

Free movies are coming back to the Harbourfront this summer. Toronto loves seeing films in the great outdoors, and even more so when they’re screened down by the water.

-    July 5 @ 9pm, Air Bud – Harbourfront Centre Concert Stage.

-    July 12 @ 9pm, Wayne’s World – Harbourfront Centre Concert Stage.

-    July 19 @ 9pm, Meatballs – Harbourfront Centre Concert Stage.

-    August 2 @ 9pm, My Internship in Canada – Harbourfront Centre Concert Stage.

-    August 9 @ 9pm, Belle – Harbourfront Centre Concert Stage.

 

Please Check out the full schedule here:

http://www.blogto.com/film/2017/04/free-outdoor-movies-harbourfront-toronto-summer-2017/

 

Movies in St. James Park

Movies in St. James Park is back! Join us and enjoy free movie screenings in the park.

-    June 22 @ 8pm, Pride Toronto Affiliate Event with a free live drag show.

-    July 27 @ 9pm, Movies in St. James Park – TBC.

-    August 24 @ 8pm, Movies in St. James Park – TBC with a special live performance.

 

Please Check out the full schedule here:

https://www.oldtowntoronto.ca/index.php/events

 

Corktown Common Park

For the second summer running, Toronto Outdoor Picture Show will present films in the beautiful park at Corktown Common, in Corktown. Just minutes from many bustling east-side Toronto neighbourhoods – Riverdale, Regent Park & the Distillery, along others – this new neighbourhood is home to another great, urban TOPS screening series, under a city skyline that can’t be beat!

-    July 6: A League of Their Own

-    July 13: Hairspray

-    July 20: Invictus

 

Please Check out the full schedule here:

https://www.topictureshow.com/corktown-common-park-1

 

Trinity Bellwoods Movie Night

Join the Trinity Bellwoods BIA for a FREE outdoor movie night in the dog bowl atTrinity Bellwoods Park! A series of animated short films from the National Film Board of Canada will be screened starting at DUSK. The animated shorts are from the “Best of the Best: Especially for Kids” series, and include Every Child, The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin, Blackfly, The Cat Came Back, Sand Castle, The Owl Whom Married A Goose, Evolution, Christmas Cracker and Monsieur Pointu.

Please Check out the full schedule here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1106788049363437/

 

Open Roof Festival

Open Roof Festival is a not for profit, outdoor music and film festival providing Toronto with a summer experience like no other, highlighting independent filmmakers and artists from Canada and around the world. The Festival is a fun, unique experience that is more than just a party – its an evening of shared experiences. Of Toronto’s music and film scene. Of refreshments. And, of enjoying Toronto’s beautiful summer nights with friends.

-    June 21, Everybody Wants Some! 

-    June 28, Sing Street

-    July 05, The Lobster

-    July 13, Sleeping Giant

-    July 20, A Off the Rails

-    August 3, The Fits

-    August 10, The Splash

-    August 17, My Blind Brother

-    August 23, Closet Monster

-    August 24, Hunt for the Wilderpeople

 

Please Check out the full schedule here:

http://www.openrooffestival.com/contact/

 

City Cinema at Yonge-Dundas Square

Yonge-Dundas square is changed to nice outdoor movie theatre in this summer too. You can enjoy a free outdoor film screening. They will screen some short films and classic comedy feature films. For more information, please check the full line-up.

 

Please Check out the full schedule here:

http://www.ydsquare.ca/city-cinema.html

 

Contact Dance Film Festival

A unique opportunity for both film and dance lovers to experience the joy, chaos and intimacy of human connection through physical movement. Five different screening programs will be presented alongside dance workshops, jams and parties where dancers fly and bodies collide with force, grace and tenderness.

–    June 28 @ 9pm, Toronto Spins – Dovercourt House, 805 Dovercourt Road.

–     June 29 @ 8pm, Zen and the Art of Dance Mechanics, Betty Oliphant Theatre, 404 Jarvis Street.

–     June 30 @ 5:30pm, Rotating View Points – Celia Franca Centre, 400 Jarvis Street

–     July 1 @ 2pm-  An Intimate Dance: Journeys Through Movement and Touch – Celia Franca Centre, 400 Jarvis Street,

–     July 1 @ 8pm, Gala Film Screenings and Award Ceremony – Revue Cinema, 400 Roncesvalles Avenue.

 

Please Check out the full schedule here:

http://contactdancefilmfest.com/films.html

 

Don’t forget to check out our blog and social media for more information.

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The Drake Effect

As part of Drake Hotel Properties recent expansions, the Junction Triangle will now get a taste of the hip trendsetter all to itself. The Drake Commissionary, opening this spring at 128 Sterling Rd. (right beside Henderson Brewery) will be an 8,000 sq. ft. creative culinary and social neighbourhood hub.

Drake Commissary will offer fully customizable event planning that will include every step from innovative food and drink, to art, music, and décor. Expect expert event coordination for anything from afternoon brainstorming sessions to team building events where you can get your hands messy at a cooking class. And of course, there will be a bar for after work cocktails accompanied by talks from artists.

Continuing with their promise to serve healthy, unprocessed food, the new bakery will be dedicated to exploring new and fresh creations daily using locally sourced products. The whole place is set to become a “gastronomic town square” that blends the edges of guests and chefs.

The Drake’s expanding empire now includes the Commissary, Drake Hotel, Drake One Fifty, Drake Devonshire Inn and multiple Drake General Stores. Each venue encapsulating and reflecting its own unique neighbourhood.

Read all about the features and exciting happenings here, and stay tuned for more information as it becomes available

 

 

Is it a Restaurant? Is it a Comic Book Store? It’s FIGURES!

Step into the past and relive memories of your childhood as you enter Figures. At first glance, Figures offers visitors a look into a their small vintage toy shop, a space that’s been specially wallpapered with comics by a local artist.

If curiosity truly gets the best of you, you’ll notice a faint outline of a door that leads to the best section of Figures.

Through the secret passageway you’ll find yourself in a beautiful restaurant that takes pride in the joys of comic book imagery; custom art, comic themes and some of your favourite superheroes and villains fill the walls, filling you with feelings of nostalgia and excitement.

But what really gets people to come back is the mix of tapas, shareable plates and delicious food that is offered on the menu (which you only get to take a look at once you visit the restaurant in person!) For the curious minds however, you have choices of Yellow Beet & Yukon Gold Gnocchi ($22) or even a Warm Crab Cake over Lightly Truffled Crab Salad ($26) and more.

In terms of events, the venue is a fantastic space for networking and entertaining as the atmosphere provides an intimate space with plenty of character that will be sure to be an icebreaker for guests

Space: 2,000 Sq. Feet

Capacity: 80 seated | 150 cocktail

This space also has a DJ booth and an area for socializing, Figures’ guests can enjoy a delicious dinner into a vibrant nightlife.

Whether it’s through the use of stormtrooper appearances in your latte’s and cocktails or the Pac-Man that seems to leave behind neon trails on the ceiling, you’ll be fascinated with what Figures has to offer.

For more information visit: http://figuresto.com/

Or email: info@figuresto.ca

Twitter: @figurestoronto

 

137 Avenue Road

Toronto, ON, M5R 1R2

416-900-1022

The Ups and Downs of The Richard L. Hearn Generating Station

Gritty and raw, iron and steel beams, industrial, passageways and tunnels, brick and concrete. Toronto History. If any of this makes sense to you, then you know we are about to talk about the Richard L. Hearn Generating Station, one of Toronto’s largest and most rarely used spaces.

Toronto’s massive wealth of space in the Portlands has seen its years of ups and downs since it opened in 1951. Originally, the Richard L. Hearn Generating Station burned coal which was shipped out on the Saint Lawrence Seaway to ports around the globe.

Environmental complaints in the early 70’s about the heavy smog that was emitted from the Stations eight chimney stacks lead to the installation of a single smokestack, which cost nine million dollars but it also landed the Station in the record books at the time with having one of the world’s tallest smokestacks (215 m/705 ft.). This move greatly reduced Toronto’s air pollution and the area around the plant came to be known as a popular fishing and recreation spot.

The Station was decommissioned in 1983 after it was unable to meet the increasing financial demand that cogeneration ( natural gas and coal) would cost.

Since it was decommissioned there were many talks and many different plans to restart the generators and switchboards, with none coming to fruition mostly because of city and provincial politics

In 2002, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) gave a long lease to a film studio ( 32.5 years, according to the City of Toronto’s Waterfront Secretariat) who had ambition plans to convert the Station into a 28 thousand sq.m. multi purpose film and production studio and call it ‘Great Lakes Studios’. Many of the interior boilers and equipment was removed to make room for the renovations, which sadly also did not make it to completion.  

Since then, the Station has been a haven for urban explorers and photographers. It began getting serious about opening up its doors as a venue for events and film in 2010 when it was used in a movie, and in 2014 for Luminato’s Big Bang Bash and Yves Saint Laurent Opening Night Party. In 2015 Luminator hosted UNSOUND on the property and again in 2016 Luminator used the grounds as their festival hug, utilizing most of the space for art and performance.

 

 

 

Recently there have been a few commercial shoots, but that’s about it. So far, Luminato Festival seems to be the only lucky infrequent resident of the Station. Stats show that the 5.6-acre venue has proved to hold 10,000 people.

 

Written By: Paula McDines

A Timeless Beauty – Omni King Edward Crystal Ballroom

The Omni King Edward Hotel welcomed more than 100 guests to enjoy delicious foods and fantastic entertainment while leading up to the main event of unveiling the timeless beauty that is the Crystal Ballroom, fully restored and as pristine and elegant as ever.  The Omni team is excited about the new space and is already booked for a number of weddings over the next few months.

Our Deb Lewis from CityEvents was lucky enough to see the ballroom a few times over the last decade at Doors Open Toronto. The first time over a decade ago, when the room was full of cobwebs and was only used by a local fly fishing club. After that the ballroom was deemed unsafe so it was years later after the renovation started she was able to see the ballroom starting to take shape.  “It is such an exciting time to see the King Eddy ballroom rebirth for another century of key events.”

Named after their adorned crystal chandeliers, the Crystal Ballroom also kept its old-world charm meets modern luxury with ornate moldings, 8-metre high coffered ceilings and floor to ceiling windows with panoramic views of the city. These features are what makes the Crystal Ballroom the most popular venue for hosting grand society affairs, royal galas, debutante balls, weddings and conventions.

In fact, since opening in 1922, the venue, located on the hotel’s 17th floor has hosted some of Toronto’s most prestigious and extravagant events from the 1920s to the 1970s including:

• August 8, 1927 - The Prince of Wales (later, the uncrowned King Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor) and British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin were entertained with a lavish state dinner.

• 1939 – Senator Frank O’Connor founder of Laura Secord Candy in Canada, received a remarkable testimonial dinner, which had a crowd overflow the hall and the head table was filled with the chief representatives of the king, the government and the city including Mayor Ralph C. Day

• April 12, 1955 - Polio Vaccine proved effective and safe for 80% to 90% of children across Canada and the US. Nearly 700 doctors, technicians and nurses crowded the Crystal Ballroom to watch the news report on two dozen TV Sets, installed specifically for the occasion.

And it seems that the hotel has some very strong intentions to keep doing so, especially with the new restoration that has brought new life and shine to the ballroom.

For more info about the Crystal Ballroom re-opening, click here: Omni King Edward Hotel 

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