Toronto Queer Arts & Culture Festival Aug 8 to 14, 2011 August 8, 2011

Grab a seat! Curtain up! Light the lights! The show is about to begin tonight!

– How We're Stretching Queer Boundaries

The Queer West Arts and Culture Community is committed to ushering in a necessary and more contemporary attitude in reaction to the ever-changing threads of fiber that fashion the notion of “queer” in its entirety. The festival will view the complexity of queer identity beyond set places, spaces and community settings and bring diversity to the forefront of all programming. Art and performance will be utilized as the vehicle to show queer identity as a contested space. The Queer West community emphasizes a sharing of space and the exchanging of ideas as a political act, within and outside of the Queer West Village.

Though queers may converge and diverge on particular spaces to create a community, the heart of the festival is to emphasize however different our identities, we all share our humanity. Artists and performers will convey genuine and relative ideas across multi-disciplinary forms to entertain, educate and enlighten.

Now firmly established as a major event, after 11 years within the city's lesbian and gay social calendar the TORONTO FESTIVAL OF QUEER CULTRE has something for everyone, from a film festival to spoken word to a political unConference to classical -1368168436 music, from a ramble in the ART AND DESIGN DISTRICT to a QUEER CABARET whether you're gay, straight, lesbian, bi, trans, queer or confused there's something to inspire, challenge or entertain you.

Monday August 8 -- "What Do Queer Neighbourhoods do for Cities?" - A Queer Urban Space UnConference - Guest Presenters: Professor Catherine J. Nash, Brock University, Michael Went, Co-author of Community Advisory Panel recommendations to Pride Toronto. Michael Erickson, is a high school teacher, community organizer, photographer and sometimes politician. Rebecka Sheffield, a volunteer with Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives Final event of three part series on Queer Neighbourhoods in Toronto. Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre FREE

Wednesday August 10 -- Queer Eyes and Queer Ears - Bicycle Art Gallery Tour & After Party (Visiting 6 different galleries) from 7 PM to 9:30 PM. An average of 29 minutes is alotted to each visit. Begins in Trinity Bellwoods Park and ends at Naco Gallery & Patio. FREE

Thursday August 11 - A Queer Story: A Writing Workshop -- featuring Authors; Farzana Doctor, Vivek Shraya and Zoe Whittall. Where: Another Story Bookshop Address: 315 Roncesvalles Avenue. Start: 7 PM. Cover: PWYC (suggested $5)

Friday August 12 - Alterna-Queer Music Extravaganza -- "240 mind-blowing minutes of Caribana Soca, explosive dance, electrifying rock and a few ballads to bring you down. Tonight we are bringing you Criztal-Jay (A new discovery), Green Splat band (Lesbians love them) , Mark Cassidy (Back by popular demand) and Sista Fista A female fronted indie rock band. Where: Mitzi's Sister Address: 1554 Queen Street West Doors: 7 PM for dinner Show Start: 10 PM Cover: PWYC (with all proceeds going to performers)

Saturday Evening August 13 -- Take back the Dyke Night with Sugar Bush DJ HOME REKHA is back behind her velvet, candle-lit table, playing you those ass-shaking, scream-a-long, grinding, foot stomping tunes. FREE Naco Gallery and Cafe, 1665 Dundas W. Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.

Sunday August 14th, 2011 -- Queer West Fest Smash Words Poetry & Chinese Music Concert Featuring some of Toronto's best known Spoken Word Artists: Phlip Arima (Poet & MC), Criztal-Jay, Duncan Armstrong, Melissa Benner, Philip Cairns, Lishai, Yehuda Fisher, and a Chinese Classical Guqin Music Concert with Juni L. Yeung. Where: The Lula Lounge. Address: 1585 Dundas St. West Doors: 3 PM. Start: 4 PM to 8 PM. Cover: PWYC Minimum $5 (with all proceeds going to performers)

FULL DETAILS - HERE http://www.queerwest.org/queerwestfest_smashwords.php

FULL FESTIVAL DETAILS - http://www.queerwest.org/queerwestfest_official_events.php
- Festival ends-

Official Website: http://queerwest.org/queerwestfest_official_events.php