Photo: "Kensington Car-Free" by x3nomik, member of he blogTO Flickr pool.

Events on Toronto's Radar for THURSDAY AUGUST 27, 2009... lovingly handpicked from blogTO's events calendar.

FESTIVAL | Scotiabank Buskerfest
It's difficult to define what world class street theatre is. After all, you can't really say that the artists at Buskerfest have performed at the great venues around the world. A better way to say it would be that they are the best at doing what they do, and they're coming from Australia, Portugal, New Zealand, England and across Canada to do it here. Magicians, daredevils, musicians and other lovable riff-raff descend on St. Lawrence Market for the next four days in a delightful and family-oriented display of humour and spectacle. Ongoing until Sunday.
St. Lawrence Market, Voluntary donations to Epilepsy Canada, 12 pm - 10 pm

MUSIC | Caress Me Aunt Jemima
This new music night at Hotshots Gallery in Kensington has the coolest name for a show we've seen in Toronto since My Other Vagina is an 18th Century Russian Poet back in April. Apparently the reference to America's pancake queen is explained by the fact that there will be free flapjacks all night. Experimental Washington, DC band Hume headline with support from local boys Brides, who appear to be everywhere these days. Be sure to get there when doors open at 8 pm for the Paul Simon listening hour.
Hotshots Gallery, 181 Augusta Ave., No price listed, 8 pm

FILM | Veer
Apparently whenever hardcore bicycle activists aren't actually on their bicycles, they're making movies about being on their bicycles. For those who didn't get their cycle film fix at last week's Bicycle Film Festival comes this screening of Veer, a movie about community-based cycling activism. It follows activists in five different cities including the Zoobombers, a group that makes late-night high-speed downhill rides on tiny bikes, and the Sprockettes, an all-female synchronized mini-bike dance troupe.
CineCycle, 129 Spadina Ave., $8, 8pm

BOOKS AND LIT | 3-Day Novel Contest Launch
Ever had a great idea for a novel but just can't find the time to write it? Then this contest is for you. The rules are: contestants submit an idea for a novel, and then write it in its entirety over Labour Day weekend. Tonight is the launch party for both the contest and last year's winning book, and interested parties will have a chance not only to sign up but to have a Q&A with previous participants to get some tips on how not to kill yourself while trying to finish your masterwork.
Victory CafĂŠ, 581 Markham St., Free, 7 pm

MUSIC | Music in Alternative Spaces - Pony Da Look
Signed to Sloan's label Murderrecords, Pony Da Look play a popified brand of keyboard rock. The foursome has been playing together since 2001 and have the hearty endorsement of Final Fantasy's Owen Pallet and Sloan's Chris Murphy - so much so in fact that Murphy and drummer Rebecca Mendoza celebrated the birth of their son in 2007. Tonight's show will take place in one of Bloor St.'s coolest art spaces in Mercer Union, which has been hosting a wide variety of acts since the MiAS night began in 2006.
Mercer Union, 1286 Bloor St. W., Free, 8 pm

FILM/THEATRE | Repo! Shadow Cats perform at the Bloor Cinema
Repo! The Genetic Opera was designed to be a cult film hit, and it appears that it's achieved that goal. Set in the year 2056, the musical features organ thieves, grave robbers, impalement on wrought iron fences, and people's faces falling off in mid-song. It's basically the Rocky Horror Picture Show meets the Saw movies. Tonight's screening of the film features a performance by the Shadow Cats troupe, who will recreate and interact with the film as it plays behind them on the screen. The Cats promise plenty of glow sticks, blood, and boobs.
Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W., 9:30 pm

THEATRE | 8 Girls Without Boyfriends
Organizers of this event describe it as a combination of burlesque, slam poetry, and thesis presentation, which is not a combo you see every day. Eight single girls, including Jamie Arfin, Leslie Don Remedios, and Jennifer Dowding use different mediums to examine such pertinent subjects as surviving grad school, sexually transmitted diseases, and recycling. Runs til Sunday.
Bread and Circus, 299 Augusta Ave., $15, 8 pm

MUSIC | The Cool Kids at Lee's Palace
Chicago hip-hop duo Cool Kids have been on an upward trajectory since forming in 2005. In 2007 they played the hipper-than-hip Pitchfork Festival where they shared a stage with hip hop icons Clipse and De La Soul and have had their music featured on the NBA 2K8 video game. Their show at Lee's tonight should be a bass-thumping hot sweaty mess.
Lee's Palace, 529 Bloor St. W., $20, 8:30 pm

FUNDRAISER | Take II - Silent Auction for the Canadian Cancer Society
Two things that are sexy: oysters and raising money for a good cause. They come together tonight at the Prohibition Oyster Bar, where proceeds of a silent auction go to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society. Items on the block include dinners at some of the city's hottest restaurants, sports paraphernalia, and perhaps the most Canadian piece of clothing of all time: a hockey jersey autographed by the Tragically Hip.
Prohibition Gastro Pub and Oyster Bar, 696 Queen St. W., Free, 7 pm

MUSIC | Rebel Emergency CD Release
Toronto band Rebel Emergency has the distinction of being a local reggae group that has actually played in Jamaica. If that didn't give them enough credibility, their 2008 EP was co-produced by Commissioner Gordon, a producer who's worked with Lauryn Hill and Santana. The band launches its latest release entitled Love Ain't Free tonight at the Mod Club with King Sunshine and Street Pharmacy.
Mod Club Theatre, 722 College St., $15, 8 pm

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