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What's On:
Monthly & Weekly in Queer Toronto
Beaver Cafe, Queer West Village - photo by Inside
Story Toronto © 2007
The Inside Story is one of Gay Toronto's leading media publications, with the hottest happenings in the coolest places
The Inside Story newspaper online since 1996. Did you know out of town visitors can plan an entire trip to Queer Toronto using using the Inside Story? We’re not just an online e-newspaper; we’re a complete resource guide, with detailed listings for: Hotels, B&B, Hostels · Restaurents, Bars, Clubs and other places to hang out · Shopping · Daily, Weekly, and Monthly events, Local and National News. We are a top search result, on most major search engines when using key words such as ‘ queer Toronto’, with a growing number of affiliate links with key websites around the world. The Inside Story enewspaper is committed to promoting the excellence within the Queer West Village arts and culture community, with over 500 listings, which are not exclusively gay or lesbian. Don Quixote, editor: insidestory_toronto@yahoo.ca | Parcel Post & Letters: Box 204, Station C - West Toronto ON M6J 3M9. Phone: 9 am to 9 pm.(7x) 416-551-1709 Subscribe to E-Mail Edition
The Inside Story Newspaper bringing you only the best of Queer Toronto has to offer.
Events - One Day Only - Monthly & Weekly parties, shows and Shotgun reviews Our top entertainment pages average of 42, 000 hits a day! Because our reporters are out in the community every single day of the week, digging up obscure events, news stories, talking to music promoters, theatre companies, festivals, DJ's and community groups to find out what's hot and what's not.
Every Day in the Summer (June to September) - Hanlon's Point Beach As is common for most public nudist-friendly venues, males make up a large percentage of the users of the beach, but women can make up to one quarter of the total on popular weekends. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of families who attend. The Clothing-option region of Toronto's Hanlan Beach, is appropriately nicknamed "Bum Beach."
Hanlan's Beach can be reached most directly by taking the Hanlan's Point ferry at the foot of Bay Street at Queens Quay. Toronto Island Ferry Service cost is $6.00 (return) Adult CAD per adult for a return trip and the schedule varies depending on the day of the week and season. After the fifteen-minute trip, it is necessary to walk or cycle another ten or fifteen minutes along a paved path. The beach is shielded from the path by a stand of natural brush and trees. There are designated wooden walkways through this natural area to ensure that foot traffic does not degrade it. Aside from the cost of the ferry there is no admission fee. It may assist potential first time visitors to know that the beach features: a lifeguard station; emergency telephone; refuse and recycling bins; well maintained washrooms and shower nearby as well a snack bar and ice for sale. Lockers ($2.00 exact change in the form of a 'Toonie'), lounge chairs ($5.00) and umbrellas ($10.00) are available for rent. A volleyball court is situated on one end of the kilometre length of sand, but the beach offers little else in the way of recreation opportunities. Please note that only the designated beach section is clothing-optional. Clothes must be worn in all other areas. www.torontobeach.ca Queer West, Toronto Ontario
Monthly (one day only)
Last Sunday of Every Month - Queer Veggie Dinner Group @ Various Restaurants. A once-per-month dinner social for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi and trans) communities and their friends. The purpose of the group is to provide a social outlet for LGBT people to meet with other Queer vegetarians and to build solidarity within the Queer vegetarian community....Dinner cost between 9-$16.Held on the last Sunday of each month. RSVP Required. Email queerveggiesocial@ yahoo.ca or leave a message at 416-544-9800. Website: TVA events
First Saturday of every month - Bear Night for Husky Hairy Chunky Boys @ Beaver Café Rotating DJ's, Danny B., Will Munro, Bruce Labruce, G. Alex. Spin “dirty bear beats”, hard rock, vintage metal and ’80s classics at Chunk. A night for beefy bears, cubs, butch blokes and chubby chasers. Beaver Café. 10pm. 1192 Queen St. W. 416.537.2768. http://www.myspace.com/chunktoronto | Queer West, Toronto Ontario. www.myspace.com/torontobeaver Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.
First Saturday of Every Month - Sticky Fingers @ Beaver Cafe , a dance party for west end lezzies, dykes and queers, spins house, hip hop and electro house by Hollyrock, Le Keek C'est Freak and more. 10pm. Beaver, 1192 Queen St. W. No cover. 416.537.2768.
First Saturday of every month - Big Primpin’ @ Stones Place. Big Primpin' bills itself as "hiphop for ho's and mo's," and attracts art scenesters, hipster kids, anarchist fags and others unfulfilled by both mainstream and underground approaches to dance music. The girls who come get glammed up because they feel safe, the fags go all out even though it's Parkdale, and the straight boys are well-behaved and generally well-dressed. 10pm. Stones Place, 1255 Queen St. W. $5. 416.536.4242. www.stonesplace.ca Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.
First Saturday of every Month - Goin' Steady @ The Boat. How's this for something different? A 1950s-themed party of doo-wop, rock and roll, early R&B and juke joint jazz in a restaurant styled to look like the inside of a boat, thrown by a bunch of young indie kids. Goin' Steady is a charming little party that gets a pretty good turnout considering the absurd concept. There was lots of dancing by the time its filled up, and some people even got dressed up in vintage costumes for the occasion. The Boat (158 Augusta) Kensington Market, west of Spadina, north of Dundas More info: www.myspace.com/goinsteady Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.
Second Saturday of every month. 5 Pin Rainbowlers Club@ Danforth Bowling Alley - A bowling club for gay and bisexual men over 40 and their admirers, bowling since 2002. No experience necessary, from 3 pm to about 5 pm at Danforth Bowl Toronto. A two minute walk from Coxwell ave subway stop. Out of town visitors welcome to join in the fun. Seniors are encouraged to attend these activeties . We have a special discount for those over 55 years of age. We presently have 12 bowlers in our club. This a fun group. The cost is under $10.00 per person includes lane, shoes and two games. Email: rainbowlers@yahoo.ca or Contact Al at 416-244-3077
Second Saturday of every month - Sinthetic Saturday @ The Reverb. I'm a sexy, in your face event, seducing the Queen Street elite at the Reverb every 2nd Saturday of each month!!! BE THERE! Starting April 12th heavy partying, night long dancing, sinthetic deviants, feisty fashionistas, sexy subs, delicious doms, latex, leather, pvc, uv, and anyone who likes to partyyy! spun by DJ Osaze
Second to Last Saturday - Cherry Bomb @ Andy Poolhall CHERRY BOMB. Picking up where SAVOUR has left off, and adding a whole host of new twists, turns, mashes, and creative ideas to the mix, CHERRY BOMB is a new monthly event for women, trans folks, all queers and our friends. It will take SAVOUR's place on the second-to-last Saturday of each month at Andy Poolhall, 489 College Street FREE before midnight . $5 after www.denisebenson.com | www.myspace.com/cherrybombtoronto | Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.
Last Tuesday of every month - Java Knights… …is fast becoming a popular monthly west-end social event to discuss what’s on your mind, …interactive, entertaining and stimulating with topics from sex to politics, …an informal drop-in format that is open to all individuals, …free to attend, with snacks and refreshments available. Java Knights is monthly Queer Schmooze Fest held on the last Tuesday of every month since January 2006 at The Gladstone Hotel - Art Bar: Guest Speakers to Public Forums to Sex Workshops More Details Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.
First Friday of every month - DJ Will Munro's Peroxide is Back @ The Beaver. Remember Peroxide, the old new wave party that rocked Kensington Market’s Club 56 four years ago. Club 56 is dead,. DJ Will Munro, made a copy—Xerox. Deemed the “successor” to Peroxide, the alternative bash, now held at the Beaver, plays “electro, cold wave, new romantic, synthpop and minimal elektronik” for a hot underground crowd. DJ Solvent joins the queer-to-straight mix tonight. www.myspace.com/solventcity | Beaver Cafe 10pm. 1192 Queen St. W. No cover. 416.537.2768. Monthly.| Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario. www.myspace.com/torontobeaver
Weekly Events (one day only)
Every Sunday - DJ Deko-ze Sunday Mass @ The Comfort Zone Four-hours set of non-stop deep, dirty and delectable house. With rotating DJs Nathan Barato, Carlo Lio and more. 12 midnight to 4am. Comfort Zone, 480 Spadina Ave. $20. www.deko-ze.com Queer West, Toronto Ontario
Every Sunday - Dance Party by Girls for Girls @ Bovine Sex Club. Pink Mafia launches Thunderpussy, a new weekly with resident DJs Hollyrock and Le Freak C’est Keek . Launch features DJ Shoot.Speed.Kill (Tabloid/Sport Pig) and a special all-female Sunday night staff, lead by bartender and promoter Chloe Van Len. Bovine Sex Club, 542 Queen Street West (416) 504-4239, No cover. 10pm doors. bovineclub.com | there's more Lesbian events in the Gay Toronto's Queer West, than anywhere else in the city.
Every Sunday- Girls Night "Bush Party" @ The Beaver Café. Girls night out featuring various guest DJ's spinning hip-hop, R&B and “booty” beats for punky, or country and western for the lip-locking ladies. 10.30 pm. Beaver Cafe - 1192 Queen W. 416-537-2768 ( a gay and lesbian bar without the label) | Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.
Every Monday - DJ Shannon at Manic Mondays @ Dance Cave.Shannon spins disco, old school, Goth, industrial, punk, ska $2.75 drinks before 4 midnight are the perfect start to your work week. An alternative for the already alternative queer. 10pm. The Dance Cave (Lee's Palace), 529 Bloor St. W. at Bathurst No cover. www.djshannon.com 416-532-1598 | Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.
Every Monday - Miserable Monday @ The Beaver. Beer-sippers, coffee gabbers and artistic peeps chill at the Beaver at Miserable Monday’s, a special tribute night to all things Morrissey with DJ Kevin. 10:30pm. 1192 Queen St. W. near Dufferin No cover. 416.537.2768. Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario. .www.myspace.com/torontobeaver
Every Monday - DJ John Britten’s “open format” @ Andy Poolhall Where Steamwhistle, Amsterdam Blonde & other select beers are $3.50, while martinis max out at $5. Pool is half-price, tunes don’t cost a dime. 7pm. 489 College St. No cover. www.andypoolhall.com4 16.923.5300. | Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.
Every Tuesday - Crag Crux Climbers @ Joe Rockheads. Providing queer fun, rock-climbing with 22,000 square of indoor walls. Meets every Tuesday 7:30 pm at Joe Rockhead's at 29 Fraser Avenue (south of King just east of Dufferin). The group also meets outdoors at Milton area, the Collingwood area, and at Lion’s Head on the Bruce Peninsula. At Easter and Thanksgiving, there’s generally a trip down to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. All levels welcome; all you need to know is how to belay using a gri-gri and how to tie a figure-eight knot. No club fees: see www.joerockheads.com for gym fees.
Every Tuesday - Is Medley Tuesdays @ The Crosstown. Wit your appetite with hip-hop, rock, r ‘n’ b, soul and fusion with Fruit Loopz alum DJ Kamplex and DJ MadScientist. 9pm. Crosstown, 178 Bathurst St., 416. 362.7677 Free. www.myspace.com/kalmplex1 | Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.
Every Wednesday - Hump Day Bump @ The Gladstone. Throwing a weekly Wednesday-night queer party in the Gladstone Hotel 's karaoke bar might've seemed a bit of a long shot, but by now Hump Day Bump's become enough of an institution that it's in no danger of going anywhere soon. The crowd is a mix of dykes, art fags, trans-folk, art scenesters and Queen West hipsters, and most weeks it's a sweaty dance party. Gladstone Hotel, Doors 9pm. 1214 Queen St. W. at Dufferin. No cover. 416. 531.4635. ww.gladstonehotel.ca | www.myspace.com/96306433 Queer West, Toronto Ontario. .
Every Wednesday -- Central Spa’s (Bathhouse) "Wild Wednesdays." All shapes and sizes are welcome to enjoy the wet/dry saunas and video lounges. With cheap lockers and even cheaper rooms all day long, you can afford to drop the soap. 11am-2am. 1610 Dundas West at Brock, two blocks past Dufferin, north corner. $5 lockers, $10 Rooms. www.centralspa.ca 416.588.6191. | Queer West Village, Toronto Ontario.
Every Wednesday - Rainbow Voices of Toronto @ St Luke's United Church. Rainbow Voices of Toronto is a non auditioned. Mixed, community chorus dedicated to building bridges between the diverse LGBTT and S communities through music. We sing everything from Broadway to Bach and everything in between and our members come from across the GTA, Peel and York region. Membership fees cover expenses such as music and rehearsal space, but no-one is turned away who is financially challenged, and there are no auditions! For more information call 416-925 XTRA ext. 2166 and leave a message, email info@rainbowvoicesoftoronto.com or check out our website to see what we have been up to at www.rainbowvoicesoftoronto.com. Our rehearsals are Wednesdays, 6:45 pm to 9:15pm at St Luke's United Church, SE corner of Sherbourne at Carlton, (side door down the back to the parlour)
Every Thursday - Reg Hartt's Queer Cinema @ 463 Bathurst St taste in films is probably more obscure and interesting than many Canadian film journos. That said his lineup for Cineforum's Queer Film Festival includes a historical doc (The Celluloid Closet), a hot Off-Broadway revue (Naked Boys Singing) and a hyper-sexual odyssey (O Fantasma) to name a few. Every Thursdays 7pm & 9pm. 463 Bathurst St. $20 or $10 for under 24. Call 416.603.6643 for more info.
Every Thursday - Comfort Zone. With rotating DJs Deko-ze, Sydney Blu, TK and Nathan Barato spinning everything from dark and pumpin’ house, sexy tribal, progressive and deep dirty house. 11pm-6am. 480 Spadina Ave. $20. 416.763.9131.
Every Friday - Synchro @ Andy's Pool Hall . Resident DJ's Denise Benson and Andrew Allsgood set fire to the floor with indie, old-school Classics at Synchro. 10 pm. Andy Poolhall, 489 College St. $8 b4 11pm, $10 after11 pm www.denisebenson.com | Little Italy - Queer West Toronto.
Every Friday - Formula One Fridays @ T’s Lounge, Mississauga’s only Gay Bar. This sleek lounge draws no attitude from the city and laidback suburbanites. 9pm. 1001 Meyerside Dr., Mississauga. No cover. www.tslounge.ca 905.565.0114. About Gay Mississaguaga
Every Friday - House Nation @ Stone Lounge Mixed crowd adorn The Stone Lounge's downstairs floor where resident DJ Matt Schaefer and guests make this hotspot a destination for Friday nights. 10pm-3am. 783 College St. Free. 416.535.7888. Queer West, Toronto Ontario
Every Saturday - Sensation Saturdays @ T’s Lounge (Mississauga's only Gay Bar) Spinning retro, disco, top 40, and club anthems, , Missisauga’s hidden queer gem . Try martinis from The Big ‘O’, Acid Drop and Buttery Goodness to fill your fruit and voddie desires. 8pm. 1001 Meyerside Dr., Mississauga. No cover. www.tslounge.ca 905.565.0114. Gay Mississauga, Ontario
Every Saturday Shake a Tail @ Clinton's Tavern Queer West Toronto's loudest 60's dance party! This is the dance where you may shimmy, shake, jump, wag, howl, and sing, but you WON’T stand still! It's always a little odd to see a room of 20-somethings going nuts for music recorded 40 years ago, but the dance floor is full and the queer kids are coming out, so they must be doing something right. The sound is somewhat like some mod parties, but it's less Britcentric and more open musically. You can hear old R&B, psych rock, soul and pop throughout the evening, and there's a pretty good balance between "golden oldies" hits and dusty obscurities.Clinton's Tavern, 693 Bloor Street West, Phone: (416) 535-9541 Doors at 10pm. $5.00 Cover www.myspace.com/shakeatail | Queer West Village Toronto, Ontario.
