May 1 - 31
CONTACT: TORONTO PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL
Various Locations

CONTACT is an annual month long festival of photography with over 500 local, national and international artists at more than 200 venues across the Greater Toronto Area in May. Founded as a not-for-profit organization 12 years ago, CONTACT is devoted to celebrating, and fostering an appreciation of the art and profession of photography. As the largest photography event in the world, and a premiere cultural event in Toronto, CONTACT stimulates excitement and discussion among a diverse audience that has grown to over 1,000,000 and is focused on cultivating even greater interest and participation this year's memories.

The Toronto Jewish Film Festival showcases feature drama and comedy, documentaries and shorts from Canada and all around the globe, often pairing screenings with the filmmakers for up-close and personal audience participation, interviews and Q&As.

Experience one of the world’s truly outstanding wine festivals, featuring amazing vintages, world-famous winemakers, celebrity chefs and spectacular cuisine. Vintners from South Africa are among a record setting 90 international wineries arriving in Toronto to uncrate their finest vintages. At Santé, you don’t just sip the wine – you live it, through international tasting events, casual afternoon seminars, shopping and dining experiences.

Since the beginning, Inside Out's mission has been the promotion and exhibition of film and video by or about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) people. And now, through a variety of initiatives, they are committed to nurturing and supporting new and established artists while providing opportunities for audiences to view the best and most diverse work of interest to the LGBT communities.

May 23 - 24
2008 Green Toronto Festival — celebrating our great, green city!

Bigger, better and greener than ever, this year's Green Toronto Festival will transform Yonge-Dundas Square into a celebration of all things green on May 23 and 24!

Stroll through more than 100 exhibits of green products and services, sample some scrumptious locally grown food and enjoy live bands & special guest speakers, all in a car-free environment — Yonge Street will be closed to traffic from Dundas to Queen.

Don't forget — Friday, May 23 is kids' day with lots of fun activities for kids and teachers.

Doors Open Toronto is an annual event held in the City of Toronto, Canada, that showcases many of the city's unique and historically significant buildings to the public. Among the buildings included are offices, places of worship, and historical landmarks (such as the house of William Lyon Mackenzie, first mayor of Toronto).

June 4 -8
ART OF JAZZ
Distillery Historic District

Art of Jazz is a not-for-profit organization, dedicated to jazz education and performance. Founded in 2005 by Jane Bunnett, Larry Cramer, Lenny Binder, Bonnie Lester and Howard Rees, Art of Jazz is dedicated to the cultivation of jazz education and performance. Through enriched educational activities and innovative live musical performances, they celebrate the rich heritage, art of improvisation, talent and discipline that are the heart and soul of jazz.

The premise is simple: continually maintain the high standard established since year one of The Distillery Blues Festival. They're confident that they've hit the mark with the outstanding 2008 Waterfront Blues line-up of well-established acts and emerging talent. And remember this first-rate entertainment is FREE!

Last year Luminato - Toronto’s Festival of Arts and Creativity took centre stage as the world’s newest international multidisciplinary arts festival. The inaugural festival attracted over one million participants to over 100 events, including 10 world premieres, and 3 Canadian premieres.

The Muhtadi International Drumming Festival (MIDF) is a not-for-profit organization that hosts a three-day annual event held in Toronto on the first weekend in June. The festival celebrates the drum, its universality as an art form, and its presence in all cultures around the world. Beginning with a gala opening on the first day of the celebration, and then taking place outdoors at Queen's Park North, MIDF takes a journey around the world, featuring over 30 drumming groups that display the diverse cultural traditions and drumming styles from many countries.

June 7 - 8
WOOFSTOCK
The Distillery District

Woofstock is the largest outdoor festival for dogs in all of North America. Quirky and fun, Woofstock is a free admission non-stop party that takes place at our hip, newly expanded location, the historic St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood, home to the world-famous food market as well as the dog-friendly Sunday Antique Market.

Every year the Worldwide Short Film Festival produces a compilation CD of independent Canadian music by Canadian musicians. The compilation CD is an innovative way for filmmakers and musicians to collaborate creatively and form working partnerships. The CD is distributed to over 400 festival delegates.

North by Northeast 14 takes over downtown Toronto June 12-15, 2008. For four days and nights on the cusp of summer, NXNE will entertain close to 100,000 people. The Music Festival will showcase over 500 performers on stages at 40 of the city's coolest clubs. The Film Festival will screen the year's best music-related cinema.

College Street, from Bathurst to Shaw, becomes a pedestrian square for the weekend, lined by local restaurants sampling their very best fare, music on every corner, shopping and exploring, and some of the best people watching in the city. And in a typical Toronto twist, nestled among the great Italian cafes, patios and street performers are other gems from around the world.

The Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival (TIDBRF) is an annual is an annual dragon boat regatta, first held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1988. It developed from the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival held in Vancouver, BC. An associated festival highlights Asian and other culture in Toronto.

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 2 Spirited communities. Pride Toronto has been in existence in various forms since the late 1970's and annually since 1981. Over the years, what began as a statement on the existence of lesbians and gays has evolved into an inclusive and award winning arts and cultural festival.

Toronto Special Events is a full-service Section of the City of Toronto's Economic Development, Culture & Tourism division. With a mandate to develop and promote dynamic, innovative and accessible events and festivals, the Toronto Special Events office celebrates the richness and diversity of this great city, enriching the quality of life for residents and attracting worldwide tourist audiences.

Nathan Phillips SquareAs the largest outdoor art exhibition in Canada, the TOAE offers a fresh-air alternative to conventional art shows and galleries. Approximately 500 artists participate and over 100,000 visitors attend the exhibition every year. Side by side, established artists, undiscovered talents and innovative students sell their work directly to the public and make lasting connections with art dealers and collectors.

The Beaches International Jazz Festival has grown steadily since that first year of an afternoon of Jazz in the park into a world-class event that attracts an annual audience of 1 million people. Now, in celebration of our 20th anniversary, Beaches Jazz - voted Toronto's # 1 music event in a 2006 Toronto Star Decima Poll - has been enhanced to include an additional weekend at Woodbine Park to complement the well established Main Stage concerts at Kew Gardens, StreetFest, and Jazz related workshops.

As the Toronto Summer Music Festival enters its third season, a month-long celebration of music and music making, Once again they have chosen to program concerts around a central theme.

StreetFest is a Beaches International Jazz Festival original event showcasing the finest in Big Band, Swing, Dixieland, Smooth, Post-Bop, Afro-Cuban, Fusion, Funk, R&B and Soul sounds that Canada has to offer. Upwards of 50 bands entertain you along a closed 2 km stretch of Queen Street East! It's an annual 3-afternoon into evening pilgrimage for close to a million folks who come out to groove to the music and soak in the ambience. Admission is FREE to all!

Toronto After Dark Film Festival is one of the world's leading showcases of thrilling international cinema and runs every October, just before Halloween. The critically acclaimed festival features new horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action, animated and cult films from around the world, including a number of award-winning features and shorts.

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 2 Spirited communities.

The Beer Store proudly presents the 13th edition of Canada’s premier beer festival, Toronto's Festival of Beer!  On August 7 - 10, we celebrate a dozen years of this popular summer tradition at the Historic Fort York. Festival Organizers, Sponsors and Exhibitors remind you to please drink responsibly. 

The Toronto International Improv Festival has quickly become a top destination for teams, groups and individual improvisers from around the world. Attendees have traveled from as far away as Portugal, Norway and Japan. The seventh annual Toronto International Improv Festival will be held from Monday, Aug. 11 to Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008. The festival will feature three key components: performance, seminars, and workshops.

August 15 – September 1
CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION
Exhibition Place

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is an 18-day fair taking place every August concluding on Labour Day. Over its 129 year history, the CNE has grown to be the largest annual fair in Canada and the fifth largest in North America attracting approximately 1.25 million visitors each year. 

August 21 - 24
BUSKERFEST
St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood

Comedy, spontaneity and a dash of the unbelievable!
Welcome to the wacky and wonderful world of BuskerFest. For 4 days, every August, a collection of the highest skilled and most entertaining street performers gather in the St. Lawrence market to bring the thrill of world class street theatre to Torontonians.

The Ashkenaz Foundation is a community-based non-profit organization dedicated to fostering an increased awareness of Yiddish and Jewish culture through the arts. Through its biannual festival and an expanding slate of year-round programming, Ashkenaz showcases the work of leading contemporary artists from Canada and around the world working in music, film, theatre, dance, literature, craft, and visual arts.

The Toronto International Film Festival Group is a charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world. Its vision is to lead the world in creative and cultural discovery through the moving image. The Group generates an annual economic impact of $67 million CAD, including $33 million in tourism, and operates with an annual budget of $17 million. Currently, the Group employs more than 100 full-time staff, 500 part-time and seasonal staff, and counts upon the largesse of over 2000 volunteers year-round.

Dragon boat racing is the fastest growing water sport in the world. Helping to drive that expansion in North America is Great White North (GWN) Dragon Boat, the continent's largest, full-service dragon boat racing company. Each year, GWN produces more than 40 dragon boat events, which raise millions of dollars for community and charitable partners.

The Junction Arts Festival invite all interested individuals and organizations to participate in this information session to be held at local Junction bar, Margret at 2952 Dundas Street West (just east of Pacific Ave). They will be discussing all of the upcoming events planned for the Junction Centennial Celebrations including the Junction Arts Festival.

Taste delicious foods, find great crafts, hunt for bargains and enjoy a farmers' market and old-fashioned entertainment at this acclaimed Mennonite and Pennsylvania-German Festival.

On the last Sunday in September, Queen's Park will transform into a booklover's paradise with a marketplace of more than 250 book, magazine and literacy exhibits, readings by more than 170 Canadian authors, poets, storytellers, and performers, and a myriad of workshops for aspiring writers.

Revellers hit the streets of Toronto to participate in a playful sunset-to-sunrise celebration of contemporary art. For one night only, all night long, Scotiabank Nuit Blanche transformed public space, making contemporary art accessible to thousands.

This is the event where Chocolate is featured in all its magnificent and tasty forms. ChocolateFest ‘08 promises to present three delectable, delicious and simply decadent events including Chocolicious, The Chocolate Ball and The Chocolate Show. www.ChocolateFestivalWeek.com

THE ONLY CONSUMER SHOW DEDICATED TO CHOCOLATE and DESSERTS

Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival is an annual film festival that presents features and shorts touching upon the facts and mythology surrounding mental health and addiction. Each program focuses on a different theme. Post-screening panel discussions involve filmmakers, artists and people with professional and personal experience with mental illness and addiction.

Truly, a show like no other. No theatre can offer more outstanding live action. No cinema can be as interactive and involving. No classroom can match the magic of hands-on learning. Nothing compares with the multiple layers of sight, sound, smell and taste that make up The Royal Experience. It's a part of Canadian tradition. It's the place where entertainment meets education. Where the thrill of competition meets the pride of accomplishment. Where the country shows the city a thing or two.

Canada's Premier Pan-Asian International Film Festival. A unique showcase of contemporary Asian cinema and work from the Asian diaspora. Works include films and videos by East and Southeast Asian artist in Canada, the U.S., Asia and all over the world. Reel Asian has been named Toronto’s Best Small Festival by NOW Magazine: '(Reel Asian) strikes the best balance between cutting edge and community. Strong programming and deep roots attract a super-hyphenated tribe.'