Weekend events in Toronto is our guide to events happening this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Here's what's happening in Toronto this August 17-19, 2012.

FESTIVAL

York Eglinton International Street Festival
A multicultural community arts festival that sprawls across Eglinton West and showcases the many diverse cultures of Toronto, the York Eglinton International Street Festival will attempt to fill your belly, eyes and ears with the arts and entertainment of every culture. Running all weekend, this street festival is a free carnival with rides, a petting zoo and dancing to performances by Michie Mee, Gerry Thompson and Mountain Edge Music, from Oakwood Avenue to Dufferin Street. Join the international market for tastes of the world - from the Caribbean to Europe to South America.
Eglinton Avenue West (Oakwood Avenue to Dufferin Street), August 17-19, 2012 11AM start time Friday and Saturday, 12PM start time on Sunday Free

ENTERTAINMENT

Canadian National Exhibition
The signal for the end of summer has arrived with the opening of the CNE. Get ready to grease your bellies with deep-fried butter and ride the Polar Express until you feel sick as the usual suspects make their way into town with rides, food and games that make Toronto's largest fair what it is. This year, illusionists, acrobats and ice skaters are added to the list of concert performers like The Arkells, The Darcys, Don McLean, Nick Carter, 3OH!3 and Tea Party. The air show--a CNE stand by--happens each day on the Labour Day weekend. The CNE closes September 3rd, and don't forget to check out our preview.
Exhibition Place (210 Princes' Gate), August 17-September 3, 2012, 10AM $12-$16

Bike Rave
If the name isn't self-explanatory, this is all you need to know about Bike Rave: it is a DIY rave on bikes. Bike Rave begins at 8:30PM tonight with riders meeting at Christie Pits to pimp their bicycles in glowing lights and ride through the city listening to the same soundtrack. To participate, all you need to do is download the playlist from megashares.com or dropbox.com and mount speakers to your bike so you can ride in sync with other ravers. Riders will press play at 8:50PM so don't be late.
Christie Pits Park (Bloor Street and Christie Street), August 17, 2012, 8:30PM Free

Feast in the East 16
Feast in the East returns for its 16th instalment with another night filled with music, food, and art. This time, your ticket gets you a dinner from Anni Spadafora, and tunes courtesy of synth musicians Tezeta, Joseph & The Mercurials and Ostrich Tuning. Best of all, the dinner's free with an advance ticket.
Polyhaus (388 Carlaw Avenue), August 17, 2012, doors at 9PM, tickets are $7 in advance or $10 at the door

FILM

X-Men Master: Gordon Smith
The Canadian Film Gallery aims to display the achievements and history of the Canadian film industry through exhibitions of greats like Gordon Smith. Opening this weekend, X-Men Master: Gordon Smith will display the works of the special effects and make-up artist from Ontario who has worked on films like Cronenberg's Dead Ringers, Adrian Lyne's Jacob's Ladder and several Oliver Stone productions. The awesome exhibit is free and runs until March 31st.
TIFF Bell Lightbox--Canadian Film Gallery (350 King Street West), August 17, 2012-March 31, 2013, 12PM Free

Backyard Cinema: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
Everybody's favourite little alien makes his outdoor big screen debut at Cawthra Square Park tonight for a screening of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. This popular Spielberg film about an outcast who finds an alien and helps him return to his home planet is classic '80s nostalgia, which will bring the 20-somethings out in droves. Arrive early to guarantee a spot and don't forget your blankets and Reese's Pieces.
Cawthra Square Park (519 Church Street), August 18, 2012, 9PM Free

For more film listings, check out our This Week in Film and This Week in Rep Cinema posts.

MUSIC

Queen West MusicFest 2012
Queen West MusicFest is an outdoor indie music festival right in our own backyard (Trinity Bellwoods is like our backyard, right?) This Saturday, performers including Skydiggers, Lazybones, Ian Blurton + Huron = Happy Endings, and Jessica Mitchell will play the stage front at QWMF with discounted beer on tap and food by Lou Dawgs and Hero Burger for sale. Admission is free and any proceeds from the event go to MusiCounts and Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation.
Trinity Bellwoods Park (155 Crawford Street), August 18, 2012, 12PM Free

For more music listings, check out our weekly Hot Ticket post.

FOOD

National Student Food Summit
Meal Exchange is an organization that gives to food banks across the country, providing them with emergency food supplies for the 2.7 million Canadians that rely on them each year. This weekend, Meal Exchange hosts a summit at the University of Toronto that will feature workshops, seminars and speakers, discussing and strategizing about hunger problems in Canada. Field trips to local organizations combating the issue will be a part of the weekend with a focus on student life accessibility to food being broached. The event is free to register at studentfoodsummit.ca.
Hart House (7 Hart House Circle), August 17-19, 2012, 9AM Free

For more food news and events, check out our This Week in Food post.

FASHION

3rd Annual Designers' Closet Autumn/Winter 2012 Preview
Talented local designers debut their autumn and winter lines at the 3rd annual Designers' Closet event in the Distillery District this Saturday evening. Showcases by Beaucoup Creative Team, Anna Fora and Jomanda Allicock will begin the evening with Q&A sessions to follow. Trend forecasting showcases, runway shows, drinks and food are all a part of this evening with up-and-coming Toronto designers.
Arta Gallery (55 Mill Street, Suite 102), August 18, 2012, 7PM $25

For more fashion events, check out our This Week in Fashion post.

THEATRE

SummerWorks Festival 2012
The SummerWorks Festival continues this weekend with more challenging and thought-provoking plays, including Ajax (por nobody) and Terminus. For what to watch, check out our Summerworks preview and our festival review.

For more theatre listings, check out our This Week in Theatre post.

COMEDY

The McComedy Show
Sketch comedy duo Shannon McDonough and Michael McLean present their latest show The McComedy Show live at The Flying Beaver Pubaret this Friday and Saturday night. In addition to sketches, they will perform stand up and feature comedic short films with guest appearances by Paul Bellini of "Kids In The Hall" fame, Shelley Kidwell, Marilla Wex and Jennifer McAuliffe. Only you can help these comedians quit their McDay Jobs by showing up to laugh a little at The McComedy Show.
The Flying Beaver Pubaret (488 Parliament Street), August 17-18, 2012, 7:30PM $10 advance, $15 at the door

For more comedy events, check out our This Week in Comedy post.

ARTS & CRAFTS

The Second Annual Bloorcourt Arts and Crafts Fair
Spanning 12 city blocks and attracting over 100 vendors with an expected 10,000 attendees, the 2nd annual Bloorcourt Arts & Crafts Fair is going to be a glittery explosion of activities and arts. Local vendors will sell their handcrafted goods in one of the city's largest sidewalk sales along with new elements like performances, patios, rides and games. Bloor Street will become a pedestrian street between Montrose and Dufferin for the event so guests can enjoy a long walk as they shop.
Bloor Street West (Montrose Avenue to Dufferin Street), August 18, 2012, 11AM Free

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.

Lead photo by jer1961 in the blogTO Flickr pool, band photo courtesy of the Skydiggers