if you’re anywhere in the vicinity of Toronto. Or not. Some highlights from last year featured Al Green, so you must see the Rev (June 19) if you’re tired of being alone, because if anything, he’s still in love with you. Ahmad Jamal will be there (June 23) too! And – A surprising guest, a very old timer in jazz, Dave Brubeck will be kickin it with y’all (July 2) and taking at least 5 minutes to play his signature tune. If you have no idea who he is, you will surely recognize his tunes, and at 88 years old, he will amaze you.

There will be lots of music and lots of artists and venues so the best thing to do is download a schedule and go from there. Get tickets online at www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling 416-870-8000.

For more information: toronto jazz

I Am Elvis
Gladstone Hotel, Toronto
Thursday, May 1, 2008
7-9:30pm
Melody Bar
Free

“* It’s a chowhound’s paradise, with everything from Nigerian to Laotian, Moroccan to Azerbaijani food

* An architectural renaissance is transforming the skyline with additions by Daniel Libeskind and native son Frank Gehry

* Toronto has become one of the most ethnically diverse cities on the continent, with lively neighborhoods, festivals, and restaurants to match

* The Eaton Centre. It’s a big suburban-style mall with all the wrong kinds of shopping

* When to go to Toronto: May, June, September, October”

More here

About DWR from their Site
The Toronto Studio – our first international foray – is an anchor to the revitalized King Street West area. Bordering both the city’s entertainment and fashion districts, our light-filled Studio occupies nearly 5,000 square-feet on the ground floor of a heritage building. The interior architecture includes exposed brick, original beams and high ceilings, all of which create an open, airy space for you to experience the best in modern design. The Studio is within walking distance to the Sky Dome and CN Tower, and offers a welcome respite from the pace of downtown life. Proprietor Clay A. Wright leads a dynamic team with diverse backgrounds in the field of design. Visit the Toronto Studio for personalized service and expertise.

Design Within Reach
435 King Street West (at Spadina Avenue)
Toronto, ON M5V 1K4
Phone: 416.977.4003

“Alberta’s privacy commissioner has ordered a Calgary nightclub to stop scanning patrons’ driver’s licences, disputing the bar owner’s stance that the practice curbs violent behaviour.

Nyall Engfield filed a complaint to the office in August 2005 after his driver’s licence was scanned before he could enter the Tantra Nightclub at 3rd Street and 10th Avenue S.W. He claimed his personal information was collected without his permission.

Tantra and its parent company, Penny Lane Entertainment Group, argued the scanning system was for their customers’ safety and discouraged troublemakers from entering.

In a ruling released Wednesday, Frank Work, Alberta’s information and privacy commissioner wrote: “The organization did not provide any evidence to establish that collecting the complainant’s driver’s licence information, or that of other patrons, is in any way a deterrent to violent behaviour.”

Work ordered Tantra to cease scanning licences because “it has no reasonable purpose for doing so,” and to destroy the information it’s already collected from other patrons.

The Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission said it would…”

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Ba Ba Lu’u
136 Yorkville Ave., Telephone: 416-515-0587

Bovine Sex Club
542 Queen St. W., Telephone: 416-504-4239

Cira
126 John St., Toronto, Telephone: 416-979-0044

Courthouse
57 Adelaide St., Telephone: 416-214-9379

The Dance Cave
529 Bloor St. W., 2nd floor

Devil’s Martini
473 Adelaide St. W., Toronto, Telephone: 416-603-9300

The Docks
11 Polson St., Toronto, Telephone: 416-469-5655

El Convento Rico
750 College St., Telephone: 416-588-7800

The 5th Social Club
225 Richmond St. W., Toronto, Telephone: 416-979-3000

Fluid Lounge
217 Richmond St. W., Telephone: 416-593-6116

Funhaus
526 Queen St. W., Toronto, Telephone: 416-703-4999

The Guvernment/Koolhaus
32 Queens Quay E., Telephone: 416-869-0045

Hotel Boutique Bar
7 Peter St. Telephone: 416-345-8585

Inside
218 Richmond St. W., Telephone: 416-591-0009

Limelight Nightclub
250 Adelaide St. W., Telephone: 416-593-6126

Muzik
15 Saskatchewan Rd., Toronto, Telephone: 416-595-9998

Shallow Groove Lounge
559 College St., Telephone: 416-944-8998

This is London
364 Richmond St. W., Telephone: 416-351-1100

Tonic
117 Peter St., Telephone: 416-204-9200

[source]

Work up an appetite before heading to Li’ly Lounge because their menu is to die for with their bold, international tapas and delectable gourmet meals. It’s one of the best places to chill, to sample great food, listen to good music, dance to an in-house DJ and to meet new people. Oh, and relax with a drink or two.

li’ly Resto Lounge
656 College Street West (College and Grace Street)
M6G 1B8 Toronto ON Canada
Tel: 416.532.0419

Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 6pm to 2am; Mondays reserved for private events

In the Village, a great kickoff would be to start at Woody’s, a massive complex of bars that is one of the most popular hangouts in the city for many years. (Many scenes from Queer as Folk were filmed here.) Next, check out Babylon Martini and Musique Boutique. Babylon has over 250 types of martinis! Pimblett’s Pub is a cozy joint, and is the oldest gay bar in Toronto. The Volcano Room is a new spot that has become insanely popular. Zipperz is a traditional piano bar, as is Trax 5. El Convento Rico pulls in the Latino crowd, while Ciao Edie is a funky retro bar. Pegasus Bar is an all time favorite, with video games, pool tables and the largest projection TV in Toronto. Remington’s is the place everyone goes to watch cute go-go boys disrobe. Lesbians hang out at Slack Alice, Pope Joan, and The House of Parlaiment Pub. The leather crowd favors The Black Eagle, The Toolbox, and The Barn and Stables.

You’ll also find that another area, called the Queer West Village, has grow in the West Toronto suburbs. It’s a conglomeration of communities where gays are completely and seamlessly integrated into a mixed district. A more tolerant mindset than most others anywhere, there is no discrimination based on sexual identity. You don’t go out there to party. If you’re looking party, go to the Village. You go to Queer West Village for mingling with gay rights and community related issues.

In the summer, you can get an all-over tan at Hanlans Point Beach on Toronto Island, or closer to town on Scarborough Beach.

When Gay Toronto needs to get its dance on, it heads to Fly. This is the big dance club you’ll recognize from Queer as Folk. On Saturdays, it thumps until well after sunrise. 5ive is more upscale and chic. Lust is where people head to on Fridays. On other nights it’s mostly mixed.

For restaurants, go to Zelda’s, an American/Mexican/Italian eatery. It’s massively popular during Sunday brunch, and its bar is one of the biggest gathering places for gay Toronto. Less tread establishments are: Tantra, the V3 Lounge, PJ Mellons, and Byzantium. For a quieter bar scene, head to Living Well, which has been a favorite with the gay community forever. The Looking Glass is another fave, with its four fireplaces and pan-cultural menu. The Village Rainbow is a Village standard establishment. Fire on the East Side’s Southern-inspired menu will not only pique your interest but it’ll also do the same to your tastebuds.

Toronto has several gay B&Bs. A few of these bed and breakfast places are located right smack in the middle of the Village: The Dundonald House, a charming guesthouse owned by legally-married gay couple Warren and Dave; Cawthra Square, a collection of three upscale B&Bs all side by side to each other, and the recipient of several gay travel awards; The Banting House, an Edwardian residence whose guests rave about it’s central location as well as its marvelous gardens. Bears and leather fans can bed down at The Bearfoot Inn. If you’re searching for a transvestite-friendly place, slide on over to the Wildside Hotel. Other unique, gay-owned properties in the immediate area are The Toronto Townehouse, B R Guest, the Toronto Downtown B&B (a luxury B&B), A Seaton Dream, the Lavender Rose, the House on McGill, and the Burwood Inn.

Pride Toronto is Canada’s largest gay event, and takes place in late June. Folsom Fair North is an extension of San Francisco’s famed leather celebration. It takes place in mid-July. [source]

If you’ve ever dreamed of a Guitar Hero battle in the midst of a safari disco dance party, you’re in luck. With its painted jungle décor, basement vibe and some of the city’s hottest weekly events, Tiger Bar is bringing out College Street’s wild side.

If you have no idea where Tiger Bar is on College Street, you’re not alone. Although its parties have been on everyone’s lips as of late, the venue itself is as hidden as a hidden gem could be, with two completely hidden entrances and no signage. One entrance is in the alleyway behind popular brunch spot Aunties and Uncles on Lippincott Street, while the second is tucked inside the brightly lit, cafeteria-esque College Street Diner. In fact, the only way you’ll find it is if you look for the handwritten sign simply stating “Bar.”

But don’t expect Tiger Bar to look anything like the above bar College Street Diner. Tiger Bar is dark and appropriately dressed like a…

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Where and When?
SpeakEasy
8 times a year on the first Thursday of the month
from 8pm-Midnight
The Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen West, Toronto
Admission is “Pay What You Can” ($4 Suggested)

It was voted among The Top 10 Bars List in the World ’07 by Conde Nast. This is what they had to say about Melody Bar:

With walls paneled in rich wood, alabaster lamps hanging from the 10-foot ceilings, fat Romanesque pillars, and an original 1930s wooden bar, the Melody Bar isn’t so much nouveau retro as a rollicking saloon. Weekend karaoke nights have become the stuff of legend, with the host brandishing a giant APPLAUSE sign to stoke the crowd—an interesting hodgepodge of expertly coiffed hipsters, ad execs, pixie punk girls, and dust-caked construction workers.

Could it be their fabulous burgers? Maybe their rockin’ karaoke (Thursday through Saturday)? Or their famous Hump Day Bump Wednesday night party? Go there and tell me about it!

Open 11am – 2am Daily. No Cover.

To Note: Holiday Hours
Dec 24 Cafe open until 4pm – Brunch Menu | Melody Bar closed
Dec 25 Cafe + Melody Bar Closed
Dec 26 Cafe open at 8am – Brunch Menu | Melody Bar open at 5pm
Dec 31 Serving bubbly till 3am
Jan 1 Cafe open at 8am – Brunch Menu | Melody Bar normal hours

Melody Bar
Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen Street West
Toronto ON M6J 1J6
416 531 4635

The Gladstone Hotel in Toronto is an urban hotel providing both travelers and Torontonians with a truly authentic experience of the local creative culture. Our historic landmark hotel features artist designed hotel rooms and suites, affordable short-term artist studios, exhibition spaces, and versatile event and conference venues. The hotel also offers great food and drink in the Ballroom Cafe and Melody Bar. Visitors can experience Toronto from within the comforts of the hotel’s thirty-seven artist designed guest rooms, eat, drink, attend art related, social, or corporate events held within the historic landmark architecture, and then step out into the heart of the city’s vibrant art and design neighbourhood.

This isn’t just a place to stay overnight. The Gladstone is more than a hotel. It is a place where local artists exhibit their work and perform and more importantly a place where artists and regular neighbourhood patrons come just to hang out. From cabaret performances to film screenings, art exhibitions to wedding parties the Gladstone hosts events for a vast range of artists, community groups, businesses and individuals.

Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON Canada M6J 1J6
Canada
416.531.4635

Daft Punk – Electroma
The Royal
608 College Street
Toronto Canada
416.534.5252

This is a down-to-earth trip planner comes with very handy Post-it flags for you to mark your favorite pages! Priced at a bargain basement price of $11 (plus some change), you’ll get your money’s worth and more with all of its 336 pages.

Toronto for Dummies

Sky Bar
Government 132 Queens Quay East
Toronto (Yonge St & Lake Shore Blvd E) Canada
Telephone: 416.869.0045

Fresh meals unifying local culinary traditions are served alongside all natural craft brewed beers, award winning wines, and hand picked premium spirits. Original favorites include; the Lamburger, Falafel, Mango Chicken Salad, Moroccan Stew, Porter Beef Ribs, and the Tourtière. Their daily specials include home cooked soups, sandwiches, noodles, and curries.

Entrées are priced between $7 and $14. Opening hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., seven days a week.

C’est What
7 Front Street East
Toronto ON Canada
M5E 1B5
Telephone: 416-867-9499

Sorry to remind you of sad remembrances of things past but how about getting your loved one a trip to Toronto? Give them a travel book and they’ll then wonder why you’ve given that to them for Christmas. Then the lightbulb moment will turn on (hopefully) and you then have to plan your wonderful trip to the largest city in Canada. Here are some suggestions:

1. Lonely Planet Toronto – This comprehensive guide is your entree to its many facets: the culinary scene is as deliciously diverse as its population, the artistic community breaks conventions on a daily basis and its great outdoors are awash with options – from cycling and skiing to hiking and hockey. Socially enlightened, multicultural and uniquely Canadian.

2. Fodor’s Toronto – Skyrocket to the top of the CN Tower, hit the patois for great eats and people-watching, sail on Lake Ontario, wander through the Hockey Hall of Fame, or browse the art at a downtown gallery – Fodor’s Toronto offers all these experiences and more.

3. Top 10 Toronto – Whether you’re looking for the finest cuisine or the least expensive places to eat, the most luxurious hotels or the best deals on places to stay, Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides provide useful information by local experts to find the best of everything at each destination.

There’s a dinner theater and it features revues, comedy sketches and late-night improv sets. Dinner and show packages are available, and Leoni’s Italian Kitchen serves up heaping portions of southern Italian fare, from pastas to fish, steaks and pizzas.

Second City
51 Mercer Street
Toronto, ON M5V 9G9
Canada
Telephone: 416-343-0011
Hours: Sunday to Thursday 8pm – Friday and Saturday 8pm, 10:30pm

“Rejoice, Toronto film fans! Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright has taken up residence here in our fair city and is soon to be taking over the Bloor Cinema with a series of hosted screenings. What’s he bringing? Well, on Saturday, February 28th Wright will be hosting a night of his own work, screening a double bill of Shaun and Fuzz along with an uncut version of his Grindhouse trailer Don’t. The only thing missing is A Fistful Of Fingers, don’t hold out on us Edgar! How to follow that up? Well, the very next day Wright will be presenting – both on 35 mm – a double bill of Shaolin Soccer and legendary gore-fu flick The Story of Ricky! Pig entrails on the big screen! Hurray! As for the rest of the series, there’s still a slot or two to be filled, but here’s the list as it currently stands:

Mar. 8th: 7pm The Wanderers / 9:30pm – The Warriors
Mar. 14th: 9:45pm – Head
Mar. 15th: 7pm Dames / 9pm – Phantom of the Paradise TBC
Mar. 22nd: 5pm – Spaced Marathon TBC
April. 5th: 7pm Five Fingers Of Death TBC/ 9:30pm Drunken Master 2
April 12th: 7pm The Brood / 9pm Last Night “