Toronto: Big on Bloor Festival July 21 & 22 2012

From a media release:

BIG ON BLOOR FESTIVAL: CULTURE WORKS / ART WORKS / WATERWORKS
– GO BIG OR GO HOME – THERE’S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE – JULY 21-22, 2012

On Bloor St. and in various venues from Dufferin - Lansdowne
Saturday, July 21, 2012 1-9 pm, Sunday, July 22, 2012 12-6 pm
Free! All-ages welcome


“Culture is a vital way to build and sustain engaged, healthy communities which is why festivals like BIG on Bloor are so important.” ~ Andrew Cash, MP (NDP Member of Parliament for Davenport)

TORONTO
– The Bloor Improvement Group proudly presents the BIG ON BLOOR FESTIVAL, a multi-disciplinary and diverse community event where there is something for everyone to enjoy. From floating helium sculptures to reshaping a 24-foot line of clay, to  “Walk on Water Balls,” there is a wide range of activities, performance art and entertainment to discover. Toronto’s finest artists, musicians and craftspeople take over Bloor Street from Dufferin to Lansdowne on Saturday, July 21 @ 1-9 pm and Sunday, July 22 @ 12-6 pm.

BIG on Bloor is an original and innovative festival that features a number of projects and showcases over the two-day event. Culture Works, curated by festival organizer and artist Dyan Marie, is an initiative that will promote some of Canada’s most important cultural institutions, organizations and collectives to bring their programming to the street and enhance Toronto’s cultural scene.

Now in its third year, the Bloor Alternative Art Fair (BAAF ), is an annual showcase of contemporary art, performance and interactive art, as well as art institutions, collectives, galleries and art educators. Side by side, established and emerging talented contributors bring a vibrant mix of art practices to Toronto’s Bloordale Bloor Street.

And what would a festival be without a stellar lineup of musicians on hand. There will be two main performance stages and smaller stages in the schoolyard at Dufferin and Bloor. Local venue Duffy’s Tavern will present the Margueretta Stage with local musicians and as well, there will be a main stage called The NestlĂ© Stage located in front of the Bloor Collegiate at 1141 Bloor St. West. Other performances will be offered in various locations and as parades, busker stations etc.

CULTURE WORKS HIGHLIGHTS:

Artist IAINBAXTER& presents “& To The Sky” floating sculptures made of helium bubbles in conjunction with works currently on view at the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) entitled IAINBAXTER&: Works 1958-2011. IAINBAXTER& will be at the festival to discuss his work.

Canadian Stage will present A Midsummer Night’s Dream photo booth. Get dramatic and play dress-up at the Canadian Stage booth. Pick from the most outrageous, fun, and fancy costumes in their theatre wardrobe, then pose for a photo with your friends and family. Dress up in period costume on Sunday and have your photo taken and sent to your e-mail address.

Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Arts
invites everyone to reshape a 24-foot line of clay (weighing literally one ton) into their own creation with the help of ceramic artists working side-by-side with festival-goers of all ages.

The Textile Museum of Canada invites you to sew, glue, draw, knit together material to make your own flag. Explore ideas about flags with Richard Mongiat and offer him suggestions and ideas for a Bloordale flag.

Ontario College of Art and Design University – Being asked so many times, “Why can’t you paint pretty pictures?” three artists toy with the notion of what their ‘ugly’ work would look like in ‘grandmother’s house’.

The Art Of The Danforth (AoD) is a free, multi-disciplinary, public art experiment that unleashes both large and small site-specific art projects into the community and lets them mix, mingle, and transform on the streets.

Clay and Paper Theatre – David Anderson and team has the Day of Delight meet the Night of Dread in Bloordale at 1242 Bloor Street’s new Can Opener Gallery.

Toronto Public Libraries
will offer story-telling on Saturday organized by the Gladstone Public Library.

TransCultural Exchange has, for more than 20 years, been uniting the world through art. They will do so again at Toronto’s BIG On Bloor festival. To mark the 10th anniversary of its unprecedented “Coaster Project,* for which 99+ artists staged 99+ exhibitions throughout the world and then gave the over 10,000 artworks away for free, TransCultural Exchange is inviting the original artists, newcomers and festival-goers to make, contribute and take-away an art work. After all, the best things in life are free. Can’t be there? You can still participate http://www.transculturalexchange.org/coasterproject/2012project.html

Toronto Zoo – Join in for some WILD animal encounters and educational artifacts. Don’t forget your camera because the Zoo Mascot Explorer BearTM will be on hand for the fun!

MUSICAL PERFORMANCES BY:
Honey Novick and the poetry group from Savards
Arashido Taiko – Japanese drumming group plays traditional & original songs
Andrew Cash – Juno award-winning singer/songwriter and MP Davenport riding
The Horables – Traditional Klezmer music, polkas, ragtime, gypsy dance & Django style jazz
The Pairs – Toronto-based trio’s original compositions are a unique fusion of pop, rock, psyche country and blues
BrouLala – Improvisatory voice, using ear-catching grooves, exotic turns, and unexpected vocal twists
Cassandra Henry – Enchanting R&B singer/songwriter
AHI presents his BLUEBLACKmusic, the deepest of all Blues.
The Starfires – Spontaneous, engaging sonic experience - trad, rock & jazz forms
And many more!

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