Toronto Festivals

• August 13 - September 6
  Harbourfront Centre - 2010 World Routes Summer Festivals lineup - Exploring the idea of global to local & local to global
  Harbourfront Centre is pleased to announce the dates for the upcoming 2010 World Routes Summer Festivals season. Every weekend to September 6, Harbourfront Centre hosts a series of FREE outdoor festivals that explore the idea of global to local and local to global.”
• AUGUST 26-29
  11th Annual Scotiabank BuskerFest returns to Toronto
  Prepare to be amazed as daredevils and magicians, high skill circus acts, comedians, a wide variety of musicians, clowns, contortionists, acrobats, aerialists, puppets, fire breathers and a few things...
• August 31 - September 6
  15th Anniversary ASHKENAZ Festival
  Artistic Director Eric Stein announces the first of many headline acts appearing at the 15th Anniversary ASHKENAZ Festival, August 31 - September 6, at Harbourfront Centre, Lula Lounge, the Al Green Theatre at the Miles Nadal JCC and Caplansky's Delicatessen.
• SAVE THE DATE FOR IN 2011 FOR IDS11
  CREATORS OF CANADA'S LARGEST CONTEMPORARY DESIGN EVENT TAKE CULTURE TO NEW HEIGHTS WITH FIRST EVER TORONTO INTERNATIONAL DESIGN FESTIVAL
  MMPI Canada, creators of Canada's largest contemporary design event, the Interior Design Show (IDS), put their creative know-how to work, spearheading the first-ever TORONTO INTERNATIONAL DESIGN FESTIVAL (TIDF). The six-day festival has come to a close with resounding success.

For World Routes 2010, Habourfront Centre explores a “global to local and local to global” or “globalocal” theme that is programmed into each festival to bring together rich artistic traditions from around the corner to around the globe! This is a unique opportunity to experience top Canadian and international artists in music, dance, theatre, visual arts, film, literature and food in a fun, family-friendly environment without ever leaving the city!

Visitors to Harbourfront Centre can further explore the rich cultural diversity of each festival by shopping at the International Marketplace and by sampling a rotating selection of delicious food cooked up by local restaurants and caterers at the World Café.

Full festival programming and additional ticketed events will be announced shortly.

2010 WORLD ROUTES OVERVIEW & HIGHLIGHTS:

• TELUS TAIWANfest: CROSS OVER
  August 27 - 29
  TELUS TAIWANfest returns to celebrate the cultural treasures of Taiwan with performances by artists from the Island of Taiwan and Canada. The festival explores productions and exhibitions with the intermingling of Dutch, Canadian, Japanese, Chinese and indigenous people’s heritage within the cultural history of Taiwan.

• I-Wan-Jan Puppet Troupe
  August 28 | 2 p.m. (Studio Theatre)
  Founded by the world-renowned master puppeteer, Tien-Lu Lee, “I-Wan-Jan,” literallymeans "vivid mimicry”. In his skillful hands, these wooden puppets come alive as if they were real people.

• Aphasia
  August 28 | 6:30 p.m. (Redpath Stage)
  Using the name of the medical condition for the inability to speak, this instrumental band speaks for the voiceless with their music that combines post-rock, punk and metal.

• Kou Chou Ching
  August 28 | 8 p.m. (Sirius Stage)
  Known as “Taiwan’s Ambassadors of Rap,” Kou Chou Ching expresses the creativityand vitality of Taiwan’s independent music with explosive lyrics and energetic live performances.

• The 15^th Anniversary ASHKENAZ Festival
  September 4-6

• Showcasing the work of leading contemporary artists from Canada and around the world, Ashkenaz 2010 brings into focus the cultural vibrancy and interconnectedness of Jewish and non-Jewish communities at home and abroad.

• The Other Europeans
  September 4 | 9:30 p.m. (Sirius Stage)
  An international gathering of 14 leading Klezmer (Yiddish) and Lautari (Roma) musicians, this new intercultural supergroup creates powerful, deeply emotional andvirtuosic music.

• Balkan Beat Box
  September 5 | 9:30-11 p.m. (Sirius Stage)
  Combining the musical traditions of Europe and the Mediterranean rim with rock, reggaeand electronic music, Balkan Beat Box’s fearless 21^st century fusion has earned them “buzz” band status across Europe, Israel and North America. Their relentlessly energetic and carnivalesque live shows are quickly becoming the stuff of legend, building wild anticipation for their Toronto debut at the 2010 Ashkenaz Festival.

• The Ashkenaz Parade
  September 6 | 4 p.m. (Redpath Stage)
  Propelled by the sounds of all the festival musicians, the Ashkenaz Parade is theundisputed weekend highlight, led once again by Shadowland Theatre.

11th Annual Scotiabank BuskerFest
Toronto International Street Performers Festival
Thursday, August 26 - Sunday, August 29, 2010
throughout the St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood

Event proceeds benefit Epilepsy Toronto

The official Launch runs from noon to 1pm on Thursday August 26 when Mayor David Miller launches the festival at Church and Market St. along with John Doig, Scotiabank Senior Vice-President, Toronto Region, and some of this year's featured performers, including Montreal's Cirque Éloize (who are slated to open the newly-renovated Sony Centre October 1-9), the Netherlands' giant dinosaur Saurus and a very special appearance by Toronto'sSuspended Animation Circus on a giant helium balloon!

Gifted 19-year-old Australian guitarist Kim Churchill, the U.K.'s Mat Ricardo (the only person in the world able to put the tablecloth back on the table once they have done the standard trick), and Toronto blues musician Jim Armstrong (who himself has epilepsy) are also among the performers appearing at the Launch.

Scotiabank BuskerFest promises to be even bigger and more exciting than ever before, with over 100 of the best street performers from Canada , the United States, Hungary, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Argentina, the Netherlands, and England, 50% of whom have never before been seen at Scotiabank BuskerFest.

Scotiabank BuskerFest offers something for everyone - jaw-dropping acts for audiences of all ages, great activities for kids in Scotiabank BuskerPlay, cool contests, spectacular fire performances, a new beer garden, delicious food choices - and just plain fun!

Some of the performers making their first-ever appearances this year at Scotiabank BuskerFest:

• From the Netherlands: Close Act's giant dinosaurs, standing approximately 18' tall and 20' long, forge through the crowds, amazing and mystifying onlookers as part of Saurus, the theatre company's larger-than-life prehistoric production!
• From Australia: A unique blend of circus stunts, virtuosic violin and fire combine in Liqueur Flambé's musical comedy performance. Winner of the 2009 Best in the City award for Sydney's Best Street Performance!
• From Japan: Witty Look combines the greatest skills of unicycle and acrobat with a hilarious, mischievous clown. The duo presents a comical, smart and exciting show loved by people around the world.
• From the US: America's Got Talent finalists the Calypso Tumblers have been wowing audiences in New York and Los Angeles with their fun, reggae-filled street acrobatics for over 20 years!
• From the UK: Former National Gymnast and dancer Bendy Em will have you on the edge of your 'seat' as she comically bends and contorts her body into freakily mind-boggling positions. Watch Bendy Em squeeze herself into a 16 inch Perspex box balanced on a seven-foot rig!
• From Northern Ireland: That Man presents a wordless performance of charming virtuosity and high skill. Not really a juggling show, more like a projectile assault on Gravity. First time coming to Canada, and even North America!
• From Argentina: Four-time Guiness world record breaker Victor Rubilar's soccer ball-juggling show mixes Latino soap opera with the passion of a football arena. "The things that Victor can do with a football are mesmerizing," says the Guiness Book of World Records. A family-friendly show everybody can enjoy.
• From the US: Stunt Double Circus features four "out of work stuntmen" performing death-defying stunts and high skill circus routines on the Cyr Wheel, the Russian Bar and some of the most extreme Pogo Tricks performed in the world!
• From Australia: At the cutting edge of fire performance, FlameOz delivers highly skilled and uniquely choreographed fire shows. They've captivated audiences of all ages around the world with their dynamic fusion of fire manipulation, dance, acrobatics, martial arts and circus.\o From Toronto: Suspended Animation Circus perform aerials and acrobatics as part of The 477th Greatest Show on Earth while moving through the festival suspended from a giant helium balloon!
• From Canada: Montreal's Cirque Éloize, whose groundbreaking performances recently seduced Broadway with Rain, will perform a special 'Sneak Peek' Benefit Show (Thurs. August 26 at 8pm) featuring excerpts from their newest show iD that combines the magic of the circus with the hard-hitting funk of urban dance and hip hop and will be opening at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts October 1st.

And some returning BuskerFest favourites:

• From Australia: Didgeridoos, bamboo flutes, harmonica, slide guitar and more fill the air as OKA return like a boomerang from the land Down Under, taking you to the roots of the South Pacific.
• From Toronto: Hercini Arts returns to the fest with The Magical Music Box, a show that combines music with fantastic aerial and acrobatic stunts as beautiful bird-like creatures dance in and out of a giant jungle gym box.
• From Quebec City: Kromatik will transform your face, body and soul with their magical colours. Performing for over 20 years throughout North America, Europe and Asia, Kromatik have earned a reputation as some of the most sought-after body art artists in the world. Become a piece of art for the day!
• From Toronto: PyRomeo returns to the festival with two shows; at night he will perform his solo show demonstrating his skills with blazing props in a lavish storm of fiery brilliance and during the day he will team up with his beloved in PyRomeo & Fueliette, a show especially for the family in the BuskerPlay area with circus skills, hoola-hooping and of course - fire!
• From Quebec: The Quebec Russian Bar Trio, one of the most dangerous acts to be performed on the street, features a young woman performing aerial acrobatics from a bar only 4 inches wide, braced on the shoulders of two men.
• From the UK: English comedian Mat Ricardo, the gentleman juggler, entertains with impeccable style: the only performer in the world who will pull the tablecloth off the set table and then put it back on again!
• From Hungary: Mr. Istvan presents his fabulous and surprising show, which will take you through the land of illusion and a whole new reality where everything is possible by pure "magic".
• From New Zealand: Watch as Lurk, a "clown with a complex" standing three metres tall, inhabits public places and tries not to be noticed. It quickly becomes apparent that this show is like no other.

In addition, a number of special performances are happening this year:

• On Thursday, August 26 at 8pm, Cirque Éloize will perform a "sneak peek" benefit show at the Metro Stage in Berczy Park featuring excerpts from iD, which opens the Sony Centre for the Performing Art's 2010 season on October 1.
• The Fifth Annual Fire Show combines the best of all the Festival's fire acts, and features FlameOz, Arizona Jones, Liqueur Flambé, Aidan Orange, PyRomeo and a special appearance by Suspended Animation Circus. The Fire Show takes place Friday, August 27 at 9:30pm (rain date: Saturday, August 28) at the Scotiabank Stage (Front and Church St).
• Scotiabank BuskerFest ends with the Grande Finale on Sunday, August 29 at 6:30pm at the Metro Stage in Berczy Park, featuring performances by some of the festival's top international performers. The winner of this year's Metro People's Choice Award will be awarded to the act who receives the most audience votes.
• Normally buskers keep the proceeds that they gather after a performance but, for these three special performances, all proceeds go to Epilepsy Toronto, and Scotiabank has generously offered to match each dollar donated at the fire show!
• Not only is Scotiabank BuskerFest now the largest street performers' festival in North America, it is also the largest Epilepsy awareness-raising event in the world. More than one million spectators are estimated to attend Scotiabank BuskerFest this year. Volunteers will be standing by entrances, accepting donations on behalf of Epilepsy Toronto as crowds come and go.

11th Annual Scotiabank BuskerFest
Toronto International Street Performers Festival
Thursday, August 26 - Sunday, August 29, 2010
throughout the St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood:
Front Street from Jarvis Street to Yonge Street, and all adjacent side streets
Thursday, noon - 10 p.m., Friday, noon - 11 p.m.,
Saturday, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Admission is by voluntary donation to Epilepsy Toronto.
www.torontobuskerfest.com  www.facebook.com/BuskerFestToronto

15th Anniversary ASHKENAZ Festival
August 31 - September 6

The Other Europeans, an multicultural supergroup will perform Saturday, August 4, and Balkan Beat Box, an Israeli trio of Jewish hipsters will perform Sunday August 5. Both concerts are FREE and take place at the Harbourfront Centre Sirius Stage beginning at 9:30pm each night.

Bringing together some of the most distinguished soloists from seven countries, The Other Europeans is an international gathering of 14 leading klezmer (Yiddish) and lautari (Roma) musicians who are contributing to a new cosmopolitan European identity. The Jews and the Roma are often considered marginally European, but they have played a major role in creating and transmitting European musical traditions.

Building new cultural relationships, The Other Europeans are: Kalman Balogh (Budapest), cimbalom; Alan Bern (Berlin) piano, accordion, musical direction; Marin Bunea (Chi_inau) violin; Dan Blacksberg (Philadelphia) trombone; Csaba Novak (Budapest) double bass; Paul Brody (Berlin) trumpet, Petar Ralchev (Plovdiv) accordion; Matt Darriau (New York) flutes, saxophone, clarinet; Adrian Receanu (Paris) clarinet; Christian Dawid (Berlin) clarinet, saxophone; Adam Stinga (Chi_inau) trumpet; Stas Rayko (Berlin) violin; Mark Rubin (Austin) tuba, double bass; and Guy Schalom (London) percussion.

Deeply connected to their folk upbringing yet firmly planted in the modern day, Balkan Beat Box's fearless 21st century fusion has earned them "buzz" band status across Europe, Israel and North America. The New York based trio; saxophone player Ori Kaplan, drummer/programmer/producer Tamir Muskat and MC Tomer Yosef, combine the musical traditions of Europe and the Mediterranean rim with rock, reggae, electronica, hip hop, dance hall, Balkanoid horns, and Greek guitars to name a few.

Balkan Beat Box's relentlessly energetic and carnival-esque live shows are quickly becoming the stuff of legend, building wild anticipation for their Toronto debut at the 2010 ASHKENAZ Festival.

One of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind anywhere in the world, the 15th Anniversary ASHKENAZ Festival features the best of the global Jewish culture scene, from traditional and boundary-breaking Klezmer, Yiddish, Sephardic and Mizrahi music, to diverse offerings in theatre, film, visual arts, literature, family programming, participatory dance workshops, all-inclusive celebrations and rituals, and the always-popular ASHKENAZ Parade.

MMPI Canada, creators of Canada's largest contemporary design event, the Interior Design Show (IDS), put their creative know-how to work, spearheading the first-ever TORONTO INTERNATIONAL DESIGN FESTIVAL (TIDF). The six-day festival has come to a close with resounding success.

"IDS and TIDF are a way of making Toronto a must-see design destination," says show visionary and MMPI Vice President, Shauna Levy. "The events are meant to emulate what we see in cities that are home to a major design fair, like Milan, Miami or London. Cultural events like ours are an important way to expose the public to design; and to share that design is as much about culture and experience, than it is a commercial exercise."

Presented by RADO and AUDI, the week-long TIDF made its first appearance on January 19-24, 2010 at cultural hot-spots like the ROM, AGO, Gardiner Museum and Harbourfront Centre. With IDS at the core, TIDF is set to become an annual citywide festival celebrating Toronto as a major international design destination. Jenn-Air and Designlines/Azure, City of Toronto, Department of Economic Development also proudly supported the initiative.

"The first annual TIDF was a wonderful opportunity tointroduce innovative Canadian design to visitors at the Institute for Contemporary Cultureat the Royal Ontario Museum. We're very pleased with the outcome, which allowed us to showcase a young Canadiandesign agency (Motherbrand) beforeawide audience. After this successful first edition, the Festival will surely grow year by year, and help to cement Toronto's reputation as an international centre of excellence in design." Francisco Alvarez, Managing Director, Institute for Contemporary Culture, Royal Ontario Museum.

Both IDS and TIDF had a tremendous impact on economic and commercial development as well as tourism. "The inaugural Toronto International Design Festival shone a spotlight on the tremendous capabilities of Toronto's design industry and brought together leading designers from around the world in a series of events throughout the citythat served both toinspire and inform," Laurie Belzak, Sector Development Officer - fashion/apparel & design, Economic Development, City of Toronto.

"Nearly 20 events and exhibitions were held as part of TIDF 2010! That is more than anyone can ask of a first year," says TIDF/IDS's Shauna Levy. "We anticipate a marked increase in both private and public sector support for 2011."

Also new this year was IDS' World Without Oil (WWO) symposium held at the Toronto Design Exchange (DX) on January 19th. Attended by principals of the city's leading architectural and design firms, the all-day series featured some of the world's true leaders in sustainable design like Bruce Mau, Fritz Haeg and Sheila Kennedy.

Celebrating its 12th year, The Interior Design Show/IDS10 saw an optimistic increase in visitors. A return to its original and convenient downtown location, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, worked to draw a record 48,000 show-goers to the exciting opening night party and weekend events. IDS's unique talks, international designer heavy-hitters, visually stimulating exhibits and diverse range of over 300 exhibitors all contributed to the successful event. IDS10 was proudly presented for the first time by world-class brand, RADO.

At the opening night Gala, over 5,000 guests noshed Italian-themed goodies at the ULTIMATE kitchen party presented by Dekla and Scavolini. DJ jojoflores and the Calrizians rocked the house in the Rhed-designed Monk Lounge by Templar. The opening night Klaus/Veuve Clicquot party in the media lounge was hopping! At one point you could reach out and touch Jaime Hayon, Steven & Chris, Tord Boontje, Thomas Smythe, Karen von Hahn, Nipa Doshi, Shinan Govani, Jennifer Wilson-Speedy, Ingrid Abramovitch, Fritz Haeg, Barbara Hulanicki, Suzanne Dimma, Lynda Reeves, Toronto Star's Rita Zekas, Joshua Prince-Ramus, Sarah Richardson, radio hosts Mad Dog & Billie, Arren Williams, Lisa Tant, Jesse Ashlock, Glenn Dixon, Del Terrelonge, Bonnie Brooks, Dee Dee Taylor Hannah, Marissa Bronfman from Huffington Post, Bruno Billio and Glen Peloso.

The launch of this year's Space Concepts exhibit offered a glimpse of 4 ULTIMATE spaces sprouted from such creative minds as stylist Arren Williams, architect Drew Mandel, designer Jason MacIsaac, interior designers Munge Leung and lifestyle/entertainment provocateur INK. "I was thrilled with the broad exposure and reach that the Interior Design Show brought to our Live the Ultimate design and to our new hotel and residence brand Bisha. From industry enthusiasts, to corporate clients to end-users - the event was a great success," says INK's Charles Khabouth.

Among the success stories of exhibitors at the Interior Design Show, Klaus by Nienkamper continues to receive orders for the Moooi Raimond light featured in his award winning booth as does Ministry of the Interior for Jaime Hayon's "Scenes Collection" by LladrÛ which made their Canadian debut at IDS10. Metalarte was superbly received by the design industry of Canada and as a result of the captivating Monk Lounge, Templar sold a unit in its limited-edition residence Langston Hall. Many of the participants in the Off the Wall exhibit reported strong interest from national and international clients.

The impressive turnout this year only affirms the caliber and prominence of Levy's vision.

Save the date: IDS11 happens January 27-30, 2011 and TIDF happens January 25-30, 2011.

www.interiordesignshow.com
www.tidfonline.com