Photo: "Beautiful Sorta" by neilta, member of the blogTO Flickr Pool.

Events on Toronto's Radar for WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 7, 2009... lovingly handpicked from blogTO's events calendar.

BOOKS AND LIT | Toronto Book Awards Reading
The winner of the Toronto Book Awards won't be announced until October 15th, but tonight the five finalists come together to read from their nominated works at the Gladstone branch of the Toronto Public Library. How competitive do you think these guys get? Will Austin Clark shout down Maggie Helwig mid-simile? Will Mark Osbaldeston start throwing chairs if he's not allowed to fully articulate his counter-factual vision of unfulfilled urban planning? You'll have to show up to find out.
Bloor/Gladstone Public Library, 1101 Bloor St. W., Free, 7 pm

GALLERY | BMO 1st Art! Exhibition
The BMO 1st Art! Exhibition at MOCCA opens tonight and celebrates the best of Canada's recent visual arts graduates. This year over 200 artists from across the country entered the open competition and local boy and OCAD grad Alex Kisilevich came out on top. Kisilevich's winning photographic series "...and then you die" was inspired by his grandmother, who saved her only good dresses for a special occasion and consequently they were still hanging in her closet when she died. Kisilevich's photos are haunting and vivid, and represent some of the best up and coming talent in the country. Runs til Novemeber 1.
MOCCA Gallery, 952 Queen St. W., PWYC, 11 am - 6 pm

MUSIC | Monotonix w/ the Little Girls and the Two Koreas
Israel is known for exporting many things, including religious fervour and heated political debate. But the country has also produced scorching garage rock in the form of Monotonix, a hairy trio from Tel Aviv. Promoter Dan Burke continues his quest to bring talented international acts to local dives, and tonight the Israelis will be joined by recent Paper Bag signees the Little Girls and Toronto indie institution the Two Koreas.
The Velvet Underground, 510 Queen St. W., $10, 9:30 pm

THEATRE | Extreme Theatre/ Théâtre Extreme
Chances are there's a federal election coming up in the next few months, but who can stand to wait til then? This play from Francophone theatre troupe Théâtre Francais de Toronto gives audiences a chance to go to the ballot box just for the fun of it. Audiences vote for one of several actor-candidates in this satire of contemporary Canadian politics, the action of which takes place at all the locations familiar to political hacks, including press conferences, back rooms and cocktail parties. Mostly in French (bring your dictionary?), runs til Sunday.
Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 rue Berkeley, $33, 8 pm

CLASS | Learn to Sprout
With signs of the imminent decline of Western civilization all around us, it's pretty clear we're all going to have to start fending for ourselves. The first thing you should do to prepare for the impending collapse is learn to grow your own food, and the handy folks at the Centre For Social Innovation will be glad to show you how. The Learn To Sprout class will teach you how to grow both earthgrown sprouts like sunflower, wheatgrass, and pea shoots, as well as hydroponic plants like alfalfa and broccoli.
Centre for Social Innovation, 215 Spadina Ave., $40, 7 pm

FILMS | Special Effects 101 for Indie Filmmakers
Out of all the art forms to break into, filmmaking is one of the most difficult. You need equipment, crew, actors, not to mention talent. It's all the more difficult if the movies you want to make aren't minimalist quarter-life crisis pics but sci-fi extravaganzas complete with aliens and space ships and Wookies. This class from the invaluable Toronto Writers' Centre is hosted by special effects veteran Marc Lougee and will teach you how to create the best possible special effects on a limited budget.
Toronto Writers' Centre, 627 Bloor St. W., $40, 7 pm

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