June is a when our city begins to kick into Summer mode. Kids are in the final stretches of school this year and some are graduating! Congrats! This month we also celebrate Pride Month, Indigenous Day, Summer Solstice and of course Father’s Day. While we wait for things to sloooowly open up, here are a few happenings in the city worth checking out!
Inside Out Film Festival: Canada’s largest 2SLGBTQ+ film festival continues until June 6 online with incredible titles from around the world including A Sexplanation (we interviewed the filmmaker here). Tickets can be purchased online and streamed at your convenience during Festival dates.
TIFF Queer Becoming Programming: TIFF’s LGBTQ+ Community has curated a month-long series of virtual screenings at digital.tiff.net highlighting stories that resist a “coming out” narrative and instead focuses on the process of “coming in (to)” queer identity, queer community, or queer family.
Fashion Art Toronto’s Virtual Fashion Week: June 2 to 17. Featuring collections from over 30 Canadian designers including Atelier Volpe, Madaline Nelson, urbancoolab, Yung Alexander and more. Live streamed runway shows will take over iconic Toronto landmarks including The Bentway, Ontario Place, Ripley’s Aquarium, and Union Station. the shows will stream live on Fashion Art Toronto’s Instagram channel and then can be viewed on a later date via their YouTube channel. Full schedule available at FashionArtToronto.ca
JUNOS: Canada’s Music Awards ceremony celebrates 50 years and the broadcast event will be held on June 6 on cbcmusic.ca/junos and livestreamed on CBC Music’s social media platforms. Special performances by Jann Arden, The Tragically Hip, Feist, Ali Gatie, Justin Bieber and more.
TPL presents Junior Junos: The Toronto Public library partners with the JUNOS to present a series of family-friendly virtual concerts featuring four of this year’s JUNO Children’s Album of the Year nominees. Tune in online on Saturdays (starting May 29) including Njacko Backo and Splash n’ Boots and Ginalina on June 5.
CBC Kids Kindie Class Graduation: Calling all wee graduates and families! Celebrate this milestone graduation with other students from coast-to-coast. CBC Kids is inviting parents to submit their little grad’s photo from now till June 1 to be included in the online ceremony. The event will be held on Saturday, June 19 at 1:00 pm ET via CBC Kids Facebook Page.
Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival: A free family-friendly event representing the diversity within our urban Indigenous community including First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists The multi-day event will be available live and online including an International Pow Wow, streamed musical performances & films, online culinary programs and arts & craft workshops. Indigenous Day Celebration & Drive-in Concert (June 21) presented by OLG includes a cultural showcase, drone show, performances by Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Award nominees. Not to be missed is the Indigenous Marketplace now open online where you can explore artisans from art, food items, jewellery and more. Register for DIY workshops early to have kit delivered.
ROM Curator Conversations: Continuing this month is a series of special Curator talks that span a wide variety of topics with industry experts. Each talk is followed by a Q&A session. Upcoming talks include: Art for the 21st Century with Wally Dion, Costs of Desire: Ethics of Production in Historic Chintz, Marine Rescue & Search and more. The events are live, free, and on Zoom. Registration required.
The Royal Agricultural Virtual Experience: Summer Edition: June 15 and 16. Tons of new teaching resources, videos, and live sessions will be available for free! Learn about creating your backyard gardens, taking your kids fishing, and even taking your barbecues to the next level all by Canadian experts. Registration required.
ChefDrop: You were hoping to do something special for Father’s Day or that special celebration but there restaurants are still closed for in-person dining? Then you may be interested in learning about this new meal kit delivery service that features some of our favourite Chefs in the city and their most popular dishes. Features recently spotted include kits from Piano Piano, The Carbon Bar, Union Chicken, Amano, Colibri, and more. Deliveries are scheduled for Wednesdays and Fridays across the city.
