SOME UPCOMING EVENTS IN 2016 AND 2017

SOME UPCOMING EVENTS IN 2016 AND 2017  

1^st Fridays Holiday/Birthday Soiree on Friday, Dec. 23, 10 p.m. until… at Fuse Restaurant, 366 Queen St. E., Toronto. Hosted by Warren Salmon (whose birthday is Dec. 24) & Carl Lyte featuring DJ Marlon Mack & Friends. For guest list and tickets, visit https://ff-holiday-soiree2016.eventbrite.ca

Jamaican Canadian Association presents Caribbean Christmas Grand Market on Dec. 23 & 24, 12pm-12am at 995 Arrow Rd., Toronto. Call 416-746-5772 Ext. 249

Knowledge Bookstore Kwanzaa Celebration will be held on Monday, Dec. 26, 2pm at 177 Queen St. West, Brampton. Call 905-459-9875

Caliban Arts Theatre presents “A Blue Note New Years” on Saturday, Dec. 31, 6:30pm at Pero Restaurant and Lounge, 812 Bloor St. West, Toronto. Bring in the New Year with the music of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Herbie Hancock, Art Blakey and more. www.calibanartstheatre.com

Friends of the JCA presents “An Elegant New Year’s Eve Affair” on Saturday, Dec. 31, 7pm at the Jamaican Canadian Centre, 995 Arrow Rd., Toronto. Part proceeds in aid of the JCA Scholarship and Saturday Morning Tutorial programs. Call 647-294-7277/416-708-1438

Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA) & TD Bank present the 17^th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Saturday, Jan. 14, 6:30 p.m. at McVety Centre, 50 Gervais Drive, Don Mills, Toronto. Tickets: $10 advance, $20 at the door. Call 416-605-4724/416-504-4097

The Ryerson Image Centre (RIC) and Black Artist’s Network Dialogue (BAND) present a season of shows titled Power to the People: Photography and Video of Repression and Black Protest(http://www.ryerson.ca/ric/exhibitions/eupcoming/). These exhibitions explore the historical and ongoing struggle for justice between people of colour and police forces representing the state.

On view from January 18 to April 9, 2017, the RIC presents Attica USA 1971: Images and Sounds of a Rebellion; Birmingham, Alabama, 1963: Dawoud Bey/Black Star; Adam Pendleton: My Education, A Portrait of David Hilliard; and From the Collection: Sister(s) in the Struggle. The season launches with a reception on Wednesday, January 18, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Following this, from February 2 to 26, 2017, BAND presents No Justice, No Peace: From Ferguson to Toronto at the Gladstone Hotel featuring the work of artists: Zun Lee, Jalani Morgan and Nation Cheong.

 No Justice, No Peace: From Ferguson to Toronto (http://www.ryerson.ca/ric/exhibitions/NJNP/) positions photography at the forefront during an era of heightened global protests against systemic violence by police. All are socially-conscious photographers whose images evoke the pan-geographic urgency with which their black subjects demand to be seen and heard. Co-curated by Julie Crooks and Reese de Guzman, this exhibition will be on view at BAND’s pop-up gallery at the Gladstone Hotel.

Power to the People: Photography and Video of Repression and Black Protest is co-presented by BAND with generous support from media sponsors, Toronto Star and CBC Toronto.

The Ryerson Image Centre is located at 33 Gould St., Toronto.

Tropicana Community Services presents Neighbourhood Games on Saturday, Jan. 28, 11am-2pm at Tropicana’s Centre of Excellence, 1385 Huntingwood Drive, Scarborough. Call 416-439-9009 ext. 258. sseelochan@tropicanacommunity.org

Ontario Black History Society will hold its Black History Month Kick-off Brunch on Sunday, Jan. 29, 12-5pm at Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front St. West, Toronto. www.blackhistorysociety.ca

Call for Nominations for the 35^th annual BBPA Harry Jerome Awards to be held on April 22, 2017 at the International Centre, 6900 Airport Rd., Mississauga. Deadline for nominations: Jan. 31, 2017. www.bbpa.org

“PASSING STRANGE,” a co-production with Acting Up Stage Company will run from Jan. 24 to Feb. 5 at The Opera House, 735 Queen St. East, Toronto.

Book and Lyrics by Stew. Music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald. Created in collaboration with Annie Dorsen. Directed by Philip Akin of Obsidian Theatre Company.

Starring: Jahleen Barnes, Divine Brown, Beau Dixon, Peter Fernandes, David Lopez, Sabryn Rock and Vanessa Sears.

Passing Strange is a bold coming of age story told through sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. In the late 1970s, a Black teen is driven from Los Angeles to Amsterdam and Berlin in search of himself and a place to call home. 

Fusing punk rock, R&B and soul, and performed at Toronto’s preeminent music venue the Opera House, Passing Strange is unlike any musical you’ve seen before. Winner of the 2008 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical and three Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical, don’t miss the show that has been universally applauded for its originality, authenticity, and powerful score.  

KUUMBA – Feb. 3-4 & 10-11 – Harbourfront Centre

Toronto’s longest-running celebration of Black History Month returns in February, and this time we’re adding a second weekend! Join us for a series of thought-provoking panel discussions and socially driven cultural programming that explores blackness in the 21^st century.  harbourfrontcentre.com

“HOW BLACK MOTHERS SAY I LOVE YOU,” a Trey Anthony and Girls in Bow Ties production written by Trey Anthony and presented by Factory Theatre will run from Feb. 9-March 5 (Previews Feb. 4-8) at Factory Mainspace Theatre, 125 Bathurst St. (at Adelaide) www.factorytheatre.ca

HOW BLACK MOTHERS SAY I LOVE YOU is Trey Anthony’s ('da Kink in my Hair) most hilarious and thought provoking play yet. Daphne, a Caribbean mother, emigrated to Canada leaving two daughters behind in Jamaica for six years. The separation causes disastrous consequences for the entire family who are all searching for love, reconciliation and forgiveness. A tale of a mother, her daughters and their attempts to love each other in less than ideal circumstances, HOW BLACK MOTHERS SAY I LOVE YOU searches for ways to respond to what has been left unsaid.

The 5^th annual Toronto Black Film Festival (TBFF) will be held Feb. 15-19. www.torontoblackfilm.com

2^nd annual Black Diamond Ball presented by TD & ArtXperiential will be held on Feb. 25 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

COBA presents “MOVING BLACKNESS: Identity, Hope & Love” March 23-25, 8pm at Aki Studio, 585 Dundas St. E., Suite 120, Toronto.

Ballet Creole presents “KAMBULE” May 12-14 as part of the Nextsteps Canada’s Dance Series at the Harbourfront Centre, Toronto.

 

The 16th annual RASTAFEST in the Village will be held at the historic Black Creek Pioneer Village August 18th to 20th, 2017. The three-day family festival begins at York University with the Canadian Reggae Music Conference and ends on the north property of Black Creek Pioneer Village with a live Reggae music festival.

Photographer, Nation Cheong (in blue), playing dominoes at artist, Sandra Brewster's installation at the Big on Bloor Festival of Arts & Culture on Aug. 22, 2015. His work will be presented at the exhibition, "No Justice, No Peace: From Ferguson to Toronto," at the Gladstone Hotel from Feb. 2-26, 2017.

Dr. Kenneth Montague, art collector and curator, speaking at Zun Lee's exhibition, "Fade to Resistance," at the Gladstone Hotel on Feb. 5, 2016. Lee, who is the middle, is one of the photographers whose work will be showcased at "No Justice, No Peace: From Ferguson to Toronto" at the Gladstone Hotel, Feb. 2-26, 2017.