By: Ann Marie Awad
The sweaty tidings of summer are upon us, and even with a wealth of things to do in our own locale, an hour drive north holds a whole other pile of happenings this weekend. Here’s your travel guide, in case you forgot to make plans.
This entire week marks the North by Northeast festival, and this weekend is the Toronto Island Festival concert. I’ll be telling you a bit about each, and then throwing in some neat stuff to check out if you decide to stay the weekend.
North By Northeast (6/14/10 – 6/20/2010)
This jam-packed festival is all about music, film and anything else you could imagine. 7 days, 40 films and 50 venues, enough to keep you busy longer than you knew you could be busy. This year’s performers include noted Canadian artists such as Sloan and K-Os, as well as Iggy and The Stooges, Surfer Blood, The Raveonettes, Mudhoney, De La Soul and more. Films about Johnny Cash, The Doors, The Weakerthans, Iggy and The Stooges, Joe Strummer and…man, should I even be talking about all this? It seems like way too much to handle.
Get overwhelmed all week in Toronto with a plethora of shows. Seven venues are all free, but the admission for the festival is criminally cheap. The whole week? $50 One day? $25. A film wristband for the whole festival is also only $25. Be sure to catch the annual charity soccer match on Sunday, to make up for missing the world cup in that huge mess of music and film.
Toronto Island Festival (6/19/2010)
Presented by the Toronto music label Arts+Crafts, this one day festival is not necessarily the sprawling event that NXNE may be, but this one is probably easier for you working stiffs that can only get out on Saturday and Sunday. It features a small lineup of bands, a beer tent and several food vendors.
The tickets run for about $64 online, but the headliners are none other than Pavement and Broken Social Scene. To get those two for that price isn’t bad, but along with them you’ll also get Band of Horses, Beach House (who are playing here in Buffalo the next day) and the Toronto Revue. Some of you may remember the Olympic Festival; this one is one in the same, just a new name.
Foods and Funs
Now, if you manage to find any time between ferrying to and from a concert or bouncing between free shows and films like a pinball, you’ll want some places to eat, cups of coffee to drink, and places to sit and relax soothe your aching sunburn.
I will endlessly recommend Dim Sum in Toronto because it’s phenomenal. Bright Pearl does fantastic Dim Sum. Rol San Restaurant is pretty tasty as well. Make sure you leave a lot of room; it’s very easy to get carried away with Dim Sum.
Everyone is going to tell you to go to the Kensington Market, and I’m not going to say any different. It’s a fun way to spend an afternoon, maybe if you get here too early for the Island, or if you’re killing time between NXNE shows. Grab some vintage clothes, maybe some small pieces of furniture to take home and grab a bite to eat. There’s also a ton of specialty grocers, but to avoid the heartbreak of buying something completely delicious only to have it tossed by a customs officer, please be informed of what you can and can’t take back with you.
Another essential place to hit is the Steam Whistle Brewery. An iconic mainstay of the Toronto music scene thanks to Steam Whistle Indie Club every Saturday, the place also has tasty brews and a really cool space. Stroll in after a long day of shows and relax.
If you need a cup of coffee in the morning, the place to hit is Dark Horse Espresso with two locations, one on Spadina and the other on Queen Street. The coffee here is wonderful, and reviewers on their Yelp page complain about the baristas being too attractive. Good coffee and some eye candy? On an exhausting day/weekend/week, that sounds alright to me.
Enjoy Toronto, it’s our neighbor to the north and a lot of us seem to forget it’s right there. Put your brand new passport to use. Sing along, watch in awe, and dance your shoes off. Enjoy the weekend responsibly, but enjoy it none the less. Maybe I’ll see you on the other side…of the border.
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Ann Marie Awad is a
senior English major at the University at Buffalo, who is also studying
journalism. Awad has been published in Artvoice, Generation Magazine
and Eat Me Daily (a food blog). She has a passion for supporting local
businesses, great coffee and Saturday mornings at the farmers market.