Free events in Toronto this week will warm you up with a sweaty carnivalesque art and music bash, a feminist comic book signing, and chilling tales of Toronto dating. Kosa Kolektiv are throwing a holiday celebration, and art fans will want to check out 8-11 for a very unusual art show.

Here's how to avoid calls from the family you can't afford to visit this week in Toronto.

1. 416 Dating Stories told live (December 8, The Garrison)
If you're a fan of True Stories Told Live, the newest voyeuristic tell-all at the Garrison is focused on the horrors of dating in The 6. Not enough Drakes to go around, if you ask me. Doors are at 7:30pm.

2. Bitch Planet Launch Party (December 10, Silver Snail Comics)
On Wednesday comic fans can witness the birth of a new with the launch of Bitch Planet #1 from Image Comics. The comic, set in a women's prison in outer space, is a play on the exploitation genre. Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro will be signing copies.

3. Long Winter: Year Three / Volume Two (December 12, The Great Hall)
All-ages carnival Long Winter is PWYC, so dig some money out from under the cat and head through the cold to the Great Hall's sweat box for music by Sean Nicholas Savage, Army Girls, Animalia, Man Made Hill and more, plus art installs, DJs, talks and more.

4. Winter Folk Fair (December 13, St. Vladimir Institute)
Celebrate the holidays with Eastern European arts group Kosa Kolektiv this weekend for a family friendly celebration including an art show and live music. While the craft workshop will cost you, as will the goodies at the bazaar, there's also a PWYC singing workshop.

5. Besides, Your Neighbours (December 13, 8-11)
That odd Spadina gallery 8-11 is collecting "images documenting the results of interactions with the direct neighbour of an art space," which should make for a good showing of Toronto kitsch and random oddities.

Also check out these regular free events

Elvis Mondays (Mondays, The Drake)
Toronto's longest running indie showcase, William New's free show has put thousands of bands on stage. It's at the Drake Underground every Monday.

Free Nights at the Horseshoe (Monday/Tuesday, The Horseshoe)
The Legendary Horseshoe has a storied history, and hosts free indie rock shows in the early week with Shoeless Mondays and Dave Bookman's Nu Music Night on Tuesdays.

Free Evening (Wednesday, AGO)
The Art Gallery of Ontario's free evening runs from 6-8:30pm. It can be a little crowded, but sometimes the people watching is as good as the art (sometimes).

CINSSU's Free Friday Films (Fridays)
Though the Innis Town Hall is still under construction, you can follow the Cinema Studies Student Union for reliable Friday night movies and solid picks at Isabel Bader Theatre and/or Alumni Hall 100.

Canadian Opera Company (Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre)
September through to early June, catch free classical shows at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts "most Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon, and some Wednesdays at noon or 5:30 p.m."

MOCCA (Monday - Sunday)
While nearly all art galleries in the city are free to enter, it's worth noting The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) is always PWYC.

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