Upcoming Toronto events

Thursday, August 22

Pan con Queso at the Lava Lounge (507 College Street West). A Latin band worth checking out.

Friday, August 23

Rooftop party. Someone named Carol — a friend of my friends at the Promise party crew — is organizing this one. It’s on the rooftop of the Queen Street West clothing store called XOXO, near the corner of Queen and Soho, which is acroos the street from the Black Bull tavern (the one with the large patio across the street from the parking lot beside the BamBoo club). I don’t know who’ll be DJing this one, but I’ve been to an earlier rooftop party at this venue and the DJs were fantastic. You’ll also be treated to an amazing view of the city. The party starts at 11:00 p.m. and runs until the wee hours; you enter the party by going down the alleyway beside XOXO and up the fire escape (I love parties where you have to enter via the fire escape).

Sunday, August 25

Cherry Beach Sound System. The nice folks at promise are hosting yet another free dance party at Cherry Beach this Sunday, from 2 p.m. until 10 p.m.. They’ve been holding these all summer, and they’ve been a lot of fun.

This week’s featured DJ is Blissom, a.k.a. Steph Lefrancois, who’s come to Toronto for the week from France. A veteran DJ from a number of Promise parties over the past couple of years, he makes percussive jazzy breakbeat-ish house music for Spot Recordings. His DJ sets cover a lot of musical territory, from african rhythms to jazz to latin to house to techno. This is expected to be his final performance in Toronto for a good long while.

Getting there by car:

Go east on Lakeshore Boulevard until you’re just past Parliament Street. Turn south down Cherry Street all the way to the parking lot at the end. The beach is west of the parking lot; just follow the music.

Getting there by bike:

Just follow the Martin Goodman bike trail east of downtown until you hit Cherry Street and turn south. Follow Cherry Street to the parking lot at the end, then turn west and follow the music.

Other stuff:

• Bring lunch, kites, frisbees, beach balls, your friends, dogs and — if you have them — accordions.
• Please don’t bring more than you plan to take back out with you – leave no trace.
• It gets chilly later in the evening down by the lake. Bring something warm that you can throw on if you’re staying late.
• This is just a beach, not a dance club — bring sunscreen, bug spray if you’re staying into the evening and if you want something to sit on, you’ll have to bring it.
• This is a word-of-mouth event. If you know someone who will like this type of free outdoor event, please let them know.

The bad weather backup plan: If the sky’s looking grey that day, call the emergency update line at (416) 323-0361.