Out in Toronto: Aug 18-24, 2016

Choice events in the city this week


Thursday, Aug 18

Cruising the Dog Days of Summer Art Opening

Everyone could use a little more filth on their walls. A Men’s Erotic Network hosts an art show featuring erotic, male-focused works by Pansy Ass Ceramics and various international artists. DJ Phil V provides the beats and Beardoncé performs.

7pm. Glad Day Bookshop, 598 Yonge St. For more info, visit Facebook.

Credit: Courtesy Pansy Ass Ceramics

Judy’s Getting Married

The terrifying and beautiful Judy Virago — performer and a founding member of the disturbing drag collective House of Filth — is getting married and leaving the country to travel Europe for a while. She’s having a real ceremony, and then a fun fake one at this local bar including some of her housemates.

9pm. The Beaver, 1192 Queen St W. For more info, visit Facebook.

Credit: Courtesy Kieran Meyn

Friday, Aug 19

Arabian Knights: Arabic Dance Party

The fun and still relatively new Middle Eastern queer dance party returns, and this edition celebrates the launch of the recurring event’s new website. It’s all Arabic music, drinking and dancing. And you definitely don’t need to be Middle Eastern to come and enjoy yourself.

10pm. Club 120, 120 Church St. club120.ca

Saturday, Aug 20

Purplelectricity Prince Party

Prince has passed, but the Prince-themed party continues. This edition celebrates the 30th anniversary of his movie Under the Cherry Moon and album Parade. It’s a video dance party with prizes and DJ Doctor Baggie spinning hits from the pop star’s entire career.

10pm. Miss Thing’s, 1279 Queen St W. For more info, visit Facebook.

 

Monday, Aug 22

Tipsy Knitting

Now you can do it the way most grandmas probably do it — slightly drunk. This unlikely event, a boozy knitting (or other crafting) drop-in, takes place in the venue formerly Byzantium, and is organized by Glad Day Bookshop (which hasn’t quite moved in yet, but is still hosting events in the new space).

6–9pm. Bar 499, 499 Church St. For more info, visit Facebook.

Singular Sensation BackDoora Awards

The illustrious, vaguely butt-themed, annual awards ceremony, the BackDooras, returns. It’s the time of year when Jennifer Walls’ Singular Sensation event — where amateur crooners sing their favourite songs with a live band — gives out awards. This year there’s a red carpet (broadcast live on Facebook) and special guests Gavin Crawford and Bruce Dow.

9pm. Statler’s, 487 Church St. statlers.ca

Credit: Courtesy Rebecca Northcott

For more event listings, visit dailyxtra.com/lgbt-events.

Jeremy Willard is a Toronto-based freelance writer and editor. He's written for Fab Magazine, Daily Xtra and the Torontoist. He generally writes about the arts, local news and queer history (in History Boys, the Daily Xtra column that he shares with Michael Lyons).

Keep Reading

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10’ delivers a wildly entertaining finale—after a waste-of-time semifinals

It’s hard to figure out just what producers were thinking with this merge format
Andrea Gibson, left, and Megan Falley, the subjects of the film "Come See Me in the Good Light," pose for a portrait during the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in Park City, Utah.

Andrea Gibson helped me see life in the good light

Gibson’s poetry about queerness and mortality taught thousands of people how to reject apathy and embrace life
Collage of greyscale photos of a sofa, chair, shelf and the lower bodies of two people, against a purple and pink background

We need queer gathering spaces more than ever

The 11-part series “Taking Space” explores where we go next as the lights of gay bars dim

Summer 2025 is all about the moustache

OPINION: But never forget that a silly little moustache will always be a little bit gay