By Karen Bliss Francophone indie rock act Karkwa had little presence outside its native Quebec when its fourth album, Les Chemins de Verre, was selected as winner of the 2010 Polaris Music Prize—a $20,000 cheque that went to the year’s Best Album, as determined by media from across the country. The award landed the band immediate attention in […]

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By Síle Cleary They may be new in town, but Daycare Records are showing just how feisty they are by utilizing the tag line “babysitting your stupid band.” The record label is the brainchild of music journalist Karen Bliss (whose work is published in numerous publications, including the Gleaner, Billboard, RollingStone.com and MSN) and musician/producer […]

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By Karen Bliss A meeting at a local Starbucks with “Steal My Sunshine” hit maker Marc Costanzo from the pop group Len gave Barbara Sedun, EMI Music Publishing Canada’s senior vice-president, the idea to host a free weekly networking event in the Liberty area. She dubbed it “BS Fridays,” which stands for her initials and […]

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              By Síle Cleary It may only be their second production, but precocious theatre company Soup Can Theatre have taken on a mammoth challenge by reinterpreting the classic Peter Weiss play The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the […]

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By Nathaniel G. Moore Things are looking bright for Annex actor Paul Bates this summer. In addition to a highly anticipated show The Soaps—a Live Improvised Soap Opera at Toronto’s Fringe Festival this month, the entire cast of CTV’s “Dan for Mayor” are up for best ensemble for a Canadian Comedy Award, which will be […]

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By Reem Jazar Upcoming Fringe play The Giant’s Garden, starring Annex resident Lucas Meuse, is bringing good old fashioned family fun back to the stage along with a couple musical numbers. Writers Scott White and Peter Fenton say they were aiming to write a story that the whole family can relate to. Fenton said they were […]

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By Julia Hennessey For the first time ever, the Toronto Fringe Festival has officially opened its programming to include visual artists, and according to Gideon Arthurs, barring hate crimes, anything goes. “People don’t feel like [art is] accessible so they don’t understand it and they don’t interact with the visual arts,” said Arthurs, the festival’s […]

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By Síle Cleary Over the past twenty years, Ballet Creole has gone from humble beginnings to carving out a reputation as being the quintessential leader of Afro-Caribbean dance in Canada under the direction of artistic director and founder Patrick Parson. “When I first arrived in Canada, I tried to seek out a dance company that […]

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By Cara Waterfall Festival on Bloor started as a bet between local business owners and has become a summer staple for Annex residents. Credit: Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre. Festival on Bloor (FoB) originally began with a disagreement between Andrew Kilgour and former James Joyce Irish Pub (386 Bloor St. W.) owner Robert Costello. “I […]

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By Nathaniel G. Moore This month, two works by the infamous late-Annex writer Daniel Jones are being reissued.Coach House’s The Brave Never Write Poetry comes with a brand new New Order record sleeve-inspired cover, while Three O’Clock Press’ remix of 1978 is slightly more sophisticated than its original release over a decade ago. Born in a working-class district […]

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By Karen Bliss After moving around the country for the past nine years, the Junos will be back in Toronto on March 27th for their 40th anniversary show. As part of the week-long celebration, JunoFest will take over downtown this weekend with 120 acts—more than 50 of them Juno nominees—playing 20 venues. “I believe we […]

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  By Emina Gamulin While the head of the local residents’ association jokingly refers to them as the “Politically Correct Development Group,” the newly-renamed PCDG says they will continue to do the work they’ve always done: encouraging economic and employment initiatives in Parkdale. “The vision is to build connections among businesses, residents, and organizations that […]

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