Long weekend in Accordion City

Friday (tonight):

Reclaim the Streets party

It’s that time of the year again — the annual Reclaim the Streets party. It’s taking place at Denison Square Park in Kensington Market at 7:00 p.m. tonight.

I’m already behind on all kinds of work that I need to get done, so I’ll leave it to this NOW magazine article to describe the event. I’ll be there with accordion in tow and post a write-up thise weekend.

Monday:

Cherry Beach Sound System

Look closely: that’s Labour Day Monday, not Sunday. The dance party starts at 2 and runs until 10 p.m. Then some of you will have to go to school the following day.

Once again, the Promise party crew is holding another of their DJ parties at Cherry Beach. They set up the DJ booth by a small grove of trees and the dance party area is in a clearing by that grove. To the south is a spectacular view of the lake and to the north is an equally tasty view of Accordion City’s skyline.

This week’s DJ roster:

Caspian Rabone is the head of Polaris Recordings and plays anywhere from dubby blissed-out tech house to hard driving techno. He will be kicking off this long weekend beach party.

Nick Lloyd and Pierre Nick Lloyd and Pierre played a super afternoon set a few weeks back and have been invited to do it again.

Yoshie and Chie are the couple that many of us have seen busking at the subway or in front of City TV with a Sitar and a Digeridoo.

Andrew Allsgood , according to the folks at Promise, “is a dj whose music stopped us dead in our tracks when we overheard it on the sidewalk one time”. He’ll be playing a funky mix of house with jazzy breakbeats in it. Expect a chilled blend of jazzy older tunes and funky house.

Peter Jarvis runs the successful Play Records (who are holding a dubby release party next Thursday). He’ll be playing techhouse.

AMtrak and Dante will close the night dowqn with groovyhouse.

Getting there

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; follow the trail that leads west and look for a concrete pillar with a flashing red light on top. The party will be a few paces past it. If all else fails, 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. The beach is west of the parking lot; follow the trail that leads west and look for a concrete pillar with a flashing red light on top. The party will be a few paces past it. If all else fails, just 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.
• If you’re coming to the party in the evening, bring a flashlight. There’s almost no light on the trail leading to the party.
• 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.