ART & LIT Peter Kingstone in conversation with Thomas Waugh
Local artist Peter Kingstone never knew his grandmother. She was a sex-trade worker in Miami and other cities. For his four-channel video installation, entitled 100 Stories About My Grandmother, Kingstone interviewed other men who are grandsons of prositutes. Concordia University film professor Thomas Waugh and the local artist will talk about the touching stories he heard in the making of the video, which weaves together memories the men have of their grandmothers.
Today, 1 p.m. Free. Gallery TPW, 56 Ossington Ave. 416-645-1066. http://www.gallerytpw.ca.
Queen West Gallery Tours
Art enthusiasts: Lace up your sneakers. Local art critic Betty Ann Jordan will be leading walking tours through the trendy gallery district every Saturday this month. Among the 10 selected galleries, all highlights from this year's Contact Photography Festival, the tour includes a stop at Galerie Lausberg, where Vancouver artist David Burdeny is showing panoramic shots of glaciers he took on a trip to Antarctica and Greenland.
Today, 12 to 3:30 p.m. $25. Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W. 416-531-5042.
http://www.thedrakehotel.ca.Insomniac Press Spring
Poetry Launch
Three poets read from their new books - The Debaucher by Montreal's Jason Camlot, The Red Element by Catherine Graham, and Dead Cars in Managua by Stuart Ross, who is co-founder of Toronto Small Press Book Fair.
Wednesday, 7 p.m. Free. Dora Keogh Traditional Irish Pub, 141 Danforth Ave. 416-778-1804. http://www.insomniacpress.com.
The Super Pen Pals Secret Reading Society
Founder Kathleen Phillips has recently expanded the event - a night for amateur writers to share their stories - to include found letters, elementary-school journals and speeches. The theme for this round is "Winter is over, I feel different." Complimentary Rice Krispie squares will be provided.
Thursday, 8:30 p.m. Free. Savannah Room, 294 College St. 416-975-0845. http://www.my
space.com/thesavannahroom.
EAT & DRINK
Italian Seasons Primavera Festival
Foodies need no convincing, but the Italian Trade Commission and 20 Toronto restaurants, including hot spots Scaramouche and Vertical, are promoting the motherland's alta cucina with prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus to celebrate the flavours of spring.
Today through May 31. Various locations. 416-598-1566.
http://www.italianseasonsfestival.com.
HOT NOTES
Distillery Drummings
The Cool Drummings festival strikes up the beat with a free outdoor performance by steel-pan virtuoso Liam Teague, playing with Toronto's Caribana favourites Afropan. The McGill and U of T percussion ensembles perform pieces by Steve Reich and John Cage.
Tomorrow, 1 p.m. Free. Distillery Historic District, 55 Mill St., Case Goods Building #304. 416-504-1282. http://www.soundstreams.ca.
Drugs
This annual dance party, hosted by DJ Dougie Boom and the Fuck Faces collective, spends the night spinning only songs about drugs or by musicians who are known for their drug problems. Like something out of Trainspotting, guest DJs include Cousin Cole from Brooklyn and Caps n Jones from Philadelphia.
Tonight, 10. $7. Sneaky Dee's, 431 College St. 416-603-3090. http://www.sneaky-dees.com.
Tunes from Louis XIV's iPod
The Sun King would be tapping his high-heeled satin shoes to these songs - flautists Alison Melville and Emma Elkinson, along with Borys Medicky on harpsichord and Justin Haynes on viola da gamba, play French baroque sonatas.
Tomorrow, 2:30 p.m. PWYC. Church of the Holy Trinity, 10 Trinity Sq. 416-920-5025. pages.interlog.com/~temc/
STAGES
Burlesque à la carte
To raise funds for the inaugural Toronto Burlesque Festival in July, the ladies of Skin Tight Outta Sight, Les Coquettes and more will be bumping, grinding, shimmying and tassel-twirling for the cause. A silent auction and after-party follow.
Monday, 8 p.m. $15 to $20. Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W. 416-531-4635. http://www.torontoburlesquefestival.com.
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