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The Boots and Hearts festival runs from Aug. 4 to 7 at Burl’s Creek Event Grounds in Oro-Medonte, Ont. Tickets range from $269.99 to $599.99.

Boots and Hearts

Looking at the talent lineup on the Boots and Hearts website, it is easy to see which demographic the country-music mega-festival wishes to attract. There they are, the hunky, hat-wearing bros Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley, Jake Owen, Sam Hunt and Chase Rice, all in T-shirts except for the aw-shucks Shelton, whose Boys 'Round Here from 2013 is not only the Oklahoman's signature song but apparently the state of affairs when it comes to this event's testosterone-heavy talent bill. Aug. 4 to 7. $269.99 to $599.99. Burl's Creek Event Grounds, Oro-Medonte, Ont.; 705- 487-1600 or bootsandhearts.com.

Thank You for Being a Friend

A few years ago when TV Guide ranked the top 60 television series of all-time, Sesame Street came in at No. 30 and the eighties prime-time staple Golden Girls placed 54th. Now comes something resembling a combination of those two classics, with swinging, zinging seniors Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia on stage as puppets, complete with sitcom shenanigans, Bea Arthur death-stares and candid kitchen-based conversations. Pass the cheesecake and strike up the theme song, as this is a zany salute to self-sufficient ladies who were nobody's puppets. To Sept. 24. $49.99 to $69.99. Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Ave., Toronto; 416-924-6211 or goldengirlstickets.com.

Hogtown Experience

Of all the gin joints in the world, you walked into the one inside the Campbell House Museum, which is where an immersive theatrical happening is taking place. Incorporating drama, music and dance, the create-your-own-adventure production has the run of a mansion, where visitors are invited to a 1926 environment and a story of bootlegging, white-hot jazz and a shady mayoral election. Toronto the good? Not so much, bub. To Aug. 28. $45. 160 Queen St. W., Toronto; 416-597-0227 or hogtownexperience.com.

Tragically Hip

The last time a Canadian tour generated this amount of talk, the Beatles were still twisting and shouting. The commotion involves a national jaunt by the Tragically Hip, the Kingston-bred rock quintet whose inimitable singer and lyricist Gord Downie has been diagnosed with incurable brain cancer. If the band is juiced on farewell emotion, though, it also tours on the strength of Man Machine Poem, a potent new album produced by Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew. Aug. 10, 12, 14, 8:30 p.m. $56 to $166. Air Canada Centre, 40 Bay St. Toronto; Aug. 16, 8:30 p.m. $56 to $136. First Ontario Centre, 101 York Blvd., Hamilton; 855-985-5000 or ticketmaster.ca.

Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival

The self-imposed mandate for the fifth annual event of new South Asian and select Middle Eastern film titles involves the "fierce defence of independent cinema." So, no blockbusters here – here being Mississauga, the festival place for 18 films, nearly half of which are directed by women. Highlights include the Hindi drama Waiting (followed by a Q&A with director Anu Menon) and Lala Begum, starring the Pakistani television icon Marina Khan, who will be in attendance. Aug. 4 to 7. Various prices. Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga, 309 Rathburn Rd. W., Mississauga, 905-275-3456 or misaff.com.

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