Because the fans wouldn't stop pouring into the Diesel Playhouse on 56 Blue Jays Way, Evil Dead the Musical has extended its run in Toronto to June 14th! The show is so popular and has such massive global appeal that it's now playing in Seoul, South Korea. What can go wrong when five college students break into an abandoned cabin in the woods? Apparently a whole heck of a lot! They unleash evil spirits, turn into demons… and sing show tunes! In Evil Dead: the Musical, Sam Raimi's cult classic 80s films are brought to life in a hilarious, campy show that will make you love the theatre again. With songs such as "All the Men in my Life keep getting Killed by Candarian Demons" and "What the F*@k was That?" it's no wonder Evil Dead won the Dora Award as Toronto's Favourite Show. So come and see the musical everyone is talking about… it would literally kill you to miss it!

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Toronto lost its popular open-wheel race this year as Grand Prix of Toronto CEO Charlie Johnstone confirmed in March that the 23rd edition of the race was cancelled. Johnstone attributed the loss to running out of both time and options for 2008. However, this doesn't mean the future is bleak. Work is underway to secure the Grand Prix in Toronto for next year.

Held annually since 1986, the Grand Prix of Toronto has become Ontario's largest annual sporting event, attracting an average of 160,000 spectators on race weekend. The economic impact of the Grand Prix and the weeklong festivities surrounding it is a reported $50 million. More than $40 million of these expenditures are the result of initial attendance and Grand Prix operating expenses.

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The world's leading theatrical ice skating company, The Imperial Ice Stars, comes to the Sony Centre to the Performing Arts in Toronto as part of their first North American tour. Their new production, Swan Lake on Ice, will transform the stage of the biggest theatre in Canada into an intimate skating rink for 14 performances only, from April 30 to May 11, 2008. Swan Lake on Ice comes to Toronto straight from a sold-out tour of South Africa as part of an 80-week world tour, which will also take in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.S.

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On June 9, 2008, the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto will launch its new exhibition Facing Mars which features interactive exhibits that encourage visitors to "Walk on Mars," test and launch rockets, and "fly over" the Martian landscape. Facing Mars is an innovative exhibition focused on the real challenges of sending human explorers to Mars and will be a mainstay at the Ontario Science Centre until January 4, 2009. With more than 30 exhibits, Facing Mars combines a range of hands-on experiences with compelling artifacts. To complement the new Facing Mars exhibit, the Ontario Science Centre's IMAX Theatre will also begin featuring the documentary Roving Mars. This film follows the journey of NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity to the surface of the mysterious Red Planet.

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Lifting off April 9, 2008, the CN Tower introduced North America's first and the world's highest glass floor paneled elevator as one of its glass-fronted elevators. It offers a thrilling new perspective on the view 346m (1,136 ft) straight down. The new elevator was available beginning on April 9, 2008 as part of the CN Tower's do-it-all ticket the Total Tower experience. The Total Tower is the CN Tower's best value ticket and includes Look Out, Glass Floor and Sky Pod Observation Levels, Film, and Motion Theatre Ride. Much like the Tower's Glass Floor, the new glass panels are five times stronger than the weight-bearing requirement for the elevator floor. DORA MAVOR MOORE AWARDS

Recognizing the outstanding achievements in Toronto's performing arts community, the Doras honour the creators of over 200 theatre, dance and opera productions annually in the following categories: General Theatre, Independent Theatre, Dance, Opera and Theatre for Young Audiences. On Monday June 30, the awards will be hosted by Sharron Matthews of the iconic Sharron's Party. A VIP Reception will be held at the Rosewater Supper Club from 5 – 7 p.m. at 19 Toronto Street. At 8 p.m. the awards show will be in the Winter Garden Theatre at 189 Yonge Street. At 10:30 p.m. there will be an After Party in the Cascading Lobbies.

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Returning for its eighth year, the 2008 Bicycle Film Festival (BFF) is kicking off its annual tour, stopping in 15 cities internationally. BFF ‘08 promises to continue to grow this year, boasting nearly 100,000 attendees in 2007. Founder Brendt Barbur remains a strong voice of this massive movement, holding the torch for creatively bringing together an explosive festival that showcases well-known and respected artists, musicians, and filmmakers. The days of the festival are filled with films, parades, block parties and art shows – all bike themed. The films that will be shown were hand selected from hundreds of submissions that came from around world. All BFF related events include free bicycle valet parking. The BFF is scheduled to come to Toronto in August, but dates may be subject to change.

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The Toronto engagement of Jersey Boys will play at the Toronto Centre for the Arts on 5040 Yonge Street. The musical will make its Canadian premiere on August 21, 2008 through October 5, 2008. Directed by two-time Tony Award winner and Toronto native Des McAnuff, Jersey Boys won four 2006 Tony Awards including Best Musical and continues to break box office records since opening on Broadway in November 2005. Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. This is the story of how a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty.

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Dancap Productions presents Lerner & Loewe's My Fair Lady, stunningly reinvented by four-time Tony Award Winner Trevor Nunn (Les MisÈrables) and Choreographed by two-time Tony Award Winner Matthew Bourne (Mary Poppins) from May 8 to 31, 2008 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge Street. Christopher Cazenove, who played Ben Carrington on TV's Dynasty and Lisa O'Hare, who played the title role of Mary Poppins in London, star as Professor Henry Higgins & Eliza Doolittle. Marni Nixon, Eliza's singing voice in the 1964 film, plays Mrs. Higgins.

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George Brown College will present Rouge from April 10 to May 4, 2008. For this year's graduates, Rouge will be the culminating event of the three-year Jewellery Arts program at George Brown College. Rouge will showcase more than one hundred one-of-a-kind, handcrafted traditional and contemporary jewellery works designed and made by the program's 20 newly minted metal smiths. Rouge will be hosted as a free exhibition by Bounty – The Canadian Contemporary Craft Shop at Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto. This event is open to the public and free to attend.

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A myth-busting, adrenaline-fuelled indie music and film festival that takes over Toronto for four days every June, The Music Festival is recognized worldwide as the place for fans to see breakout performances from great bands at intimate venues and for musicians to get vital international exposure. The Film Festival features the planet's most eclectic schedule of music-related films - concert classics to indie docs, from Rio to Rwanda. And the Conference puts music insiders and veterans alongside next-generation thought leaders and cyber-punk upstarts who are defining the industry for the digital age. Festival alumni include The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Sam Roberts, Feist, Billy Talent, The Dears, Sufjan Stevens, Kathleen Edwards, Ron Sexsmith, K'naan, Jason Collett, Sarah Harmer, and Sum 41. Catch the 14th annual North by Northeast Music & Film Festival and Conference June 12-15, 2008 at over 50 venues in downtown Toronto.

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Gareth Henry, the Co-Chair and Program Manager of JFLAG, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays, will be Pride Toronto's International Grand Marshal for Pride Week 2008.

Pride Week 2008 will be held from June 20th to 29th. Currently entering its 28th year, Toronto's Pride Week has been named the Best Festival in Canada by the Canadian Special Events Industry, is recognized as one of only Eight Signature Events in the city of Toronto, and is ranked as one of the top 50 festivals in Ontario by Festivals and Events Ontario. Pride Toronto is the registered not-for-profit organization that produces Toronto's Pride Week, a ten day long celebration of the diverse sexual and gender identities, histories, cultures, families and lives of Toronto's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Questioning and two Spirited communities. Pride Toronto has been in existence in various forms since the late 1970's and annually since 1981.

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Immediately following his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Leonard Cohen announced his world tour, marking a return to the live arena after 15 years. He is scheduled to open in Toronto on June 6 and 7, the city that gave birth to his career as a recording and literary artist, and then play Europe in the remainder of June, July, August and early September. Cohen is arguably the greatest singer songwriter of modern times. At his induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, he was recognized by Lou Reed as, "Without question one of the most important and influential songwriters of our time, a figure whose body of work achieves greater mystery and depth as time goes one." Among those inducted with Cohen were: Madonna, John Mellencamp, The Dave Clark Five and the Ventures.

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The 19th Annual MuchMusic Video Awards puts fans up close and personal with today's hottest chart-toppers and celebrities on Sunday, June 15, 2008 live from Much world headquarters in Toronto, Canada. The much buzzed-about, celeb-packed showcase of Canadian and international talent is the most fan accessible award show on the planet. From the wildest red carpet arrivals to the hottest performances, thousands of music lovers get friendly with their favourite stars...and love every second of it. Last year saw performances by: Avril Lavigne, Fergie, Billy Talent, Hilary Duff, Alexisonfire, Maroon 5, Belly, The Used, and Finger Eleven. Joss Stone, Perez Hilton, Tara Reid, Nickelback, Sum 41, Hedley, and Sam Roberts were among those presenters who graced the 2007 MMVAs stage.

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Due to overwhelming demand, the Saltimbanco Arena Tour has added two performances on Friday, August 15 and Friday, August 23 at 3:30 p.m. Saltimbanco will be presented at the Air Canada Centre for a limited engagement August 13 to 24, 2008. The Saltimbanco Arena Tour will also stop in Hamilton at the Copps Coliseum, August 27 to 31. Saltimbanco belongs to the emblematic style of Cirque du Soleil - a signature Cirque du Soleil show with a style that borrows from theatre, dance and music and where spectacular costumes, lighting and make-up take pride of place. The current cast of 49 artists, 15 of whom were part of the show's original big top tour, hail from Canada and 20 other countries. Saltimbanco—from the Italian "saltare in banco," which literally means "to jump on a bench" - explores the urban experience in all its myriad forms: the people who live there, their idiosyncrasies and likenesses, families and groups, the hustle and bustle of the street and the towering heights of skyscrapers. Between whirlwind and lull, prowess and poetry, Saltimbanco takes spectators on an allegorical and acrobatic journey into the heart of the city.

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