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NIGHTTIME

Varekai

Inspired by a Greek cautionary tale about hubris, Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai premiered under the big top in Montreal in 2002 and now tours arenas with an enlarged set to match the exotic-circus company’s big ideas. Here, Icarus finds himself lost and vulnerable in a magical forest, where his fall from grace has delivered him. Can he recover? Can he be reborn? Can he fly acrobatically through the air? Most likely he can – this is the otherworld of Cirque, in which anything is possible.

Sept. 2 to 6. $50 to $120. Air Canada Centre, 40 Bay St., 855-985-5000 or ticketmaster.com.

FESTIVAL

Taiwan Fest

The theme of this happening of Taiwanese arts and culture is “The Torch of Hope,” optimism being a valued attitude for a tiny, island republic with political and legal statuses that are contentious. Weekend events of cinema, food and music are free, including a performance of The Beautiful Island (Aug. 29, 8 to 10 p.m.), an orchestral reminisce of Taiwan’s past and a peek into its future, with video drawn from contents of the National Taiwan History Museum.

To Aug. 30. Free. Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W., 416-973-4000 or taiwanfest.ca.

FOR THE KIDS

Buskerfest

No doubt, his voicemail message sounds something like, “I’m tied up at the moment and can’t get to the phone.” Yes, he’s Alakazam, an unusually limber Australian who bills himself as The Human Knot. He’s a star attraction at this year’s event of street performers, most of whom display skill sets rarely called upon in day-to-day life. But if you ask “why,” when it comes to peculiar talents, surely Alakazam, speaking for his brethren artists, answers with “why not?”

To Aug. 30. Donations encouraged. Yonge Street, from Queen Street to College Street, torontobuskerfest.com.

ONE NIGHT ONLY

ShakesBeer

Belly up to the Bard, as it were. In the name of conviviality, plucky theatre and the taming of a brew or two, the Classical Theatre Project presents The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged, a 75-minute romp by three performers through 37 plays. It’s all perfectly madcap, and if the all-ages production doesn’t quench your taste for Shakespeare, an added craft beer component to the proceedings will only add to the event’s irreverence.

Aug. 29, 6:30 and 9 p.m. $49 to $69. Artscape Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St., 416-653-3520 or ctptickets.com.

OUT OF TOWN

Greenbelt Harvest Picnic

Since 2011, the Greenbelt Harvest Picnic has set high standards in sound, music, swimming holes, bro-free vibes and general Daniel Lanois-ness. This year, the producer-musician won’t be at his usual post as festival host, but the bill is strong with Bahamas, Arkells, Iron and Wine and Kathleen Edwards, along with a persevering (if diminished) Gordon Lightfoot. And anyhow, isn’t it time an event devoted to eco-sustainability prove it can thrive without its former face?

Aug. 29, noon. $26 to $98. Christie Lake Conservation Area, Dundas, 866-943-8849 or ticketbreak.com.