This week’s best parties include a 12-hour jam at the Amsterdam Brewery, a pool party at Polson Pier, and an exhibit in celebration of Julyna.
Thursday: Mutts & Co. Variety Store Launch
Paramour, 94 Ossington Avenue. #OSS Free. Doors at 6:00 p.m. (Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. until July 8.)
It’s the season of summer hours—or summer pop-ups at least. Starting tonight, the crew behind Muttonhead Collective —which should be one of your favourite local fash labels—are crash-landing on Ossington with a new variety store concept that’s bursting at the seams with choice goods. You’ll find: jewels, home and foodstuffs, threads for all, and more. Aside from things to buy, there’s something to see, with light-as-air photo installations by Matthew Crisp and sensuality sorcerer Beau Partlow adorning the back of the space. Brandon Olson (of The Black Hoof fame) is making homemade ice cream bars. And there will be Sam James coffee. And, duh, drinks with a different kind of kick. It’s what Muttonhead does best: throwing down with a little chutzpah, because you know this isn’t a yuppie’s general store. (See: a previous Night List entry .) Find out more here , and enjoy a mix by tonight’s music master Para-sol .
PROTIP : Opening tomorrow: Trinity Tuck Shop . It’s a Trinity Bellwoods-adjacent variety store opening on Walnut Avenue, headed by designer Ashley Rowe, 69 Vintage’s countess Kealan Sullivan and Diptych designer Dylan Davies.
Friday: Julyna: The Exhibition
AWOL Gallery, 78 Ossington Avenue, 2nd floor. #OSS
God save the vagina. The other night, I was at a party where a friend pulled up a picture on a BlackBerry (R.I.P.) to show me a human mouth contorted into nine different orientations meant to impersonate/pay homage to the bringer of life. (It was titled, “The Journey of Mike Hunt.” No joke.) It’s part of a new exhibit running this weekend at AWOL Gallery celebrating Julyna , a post-solstice initiative that encourages women to style their pubic hair in order to fundraise and spread awareness about cervical cancer. (It tastes like Movember.) So here you’ll find the kick out: original artwork that’s inspired by “the hair down there.” They’ve asked artists to donate “bush-inspired” work to “shed some light where the sun don’t shine.” Find out more here.
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Friday: Downtown Motown
With various performers. Studio 407, 263 Adelaide Street West, unit 407. #ENT $5. Doors at 9 p.m.
Last time we ran into Laid Bare , the duo of artists and art lovers that curate like gallerists without the space, they were helping launch a sex ‘zine at an upscale swingers club . Now they’re turning their attention to swinging sounds—the ’60s, to be exact. This latest endeavour promises to be “part concert, part dance party, and all fun.” There will be live Motown performances, all your favourite retro hits, and—most importantly—good vibrations. Better yet, wish the LB girls luck as all proceeds with help fundraise their first international exhibit in London, as they continue to spread the message of Canadian goodwill and good art. Find out more here . (And P.S., The Supremes. This song. That is all.)
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Saturday: Birdbath, a new pool party
Music by Mcnair & Clarke, DJ Kempers, Matt William, iKilledKenny, Mandem N Tandem, and PG13. Polson Pier, 176 Cherry Street. #HAR $15. 1 – 7 p.m.
With day parties come pool parties, and I don’t know why I didn’t think of scouting these out sooner. (Um, probably because we’re not in Laguna Beach?) Still, Fit Factory Fitness and The O Course are bringing a new pool party series to Polson Pier that runs every Saturday from now through August. I mean, if you can get past the fact that something with the word “fitness” is behind this—and that you don’t have rock-hard abs—it sounds pretty rad. There’s parking, lockers, towels, and day bed/cabana reservations. (I just pray that doesn’t mean you have to buy bottle service.) Still, I can’t think of a better way to work on your tan if you don’t have outdoor space, hate Bellwoods, can’t stand public pools, and don’t have access to the Thompson. If you’re paying to go, guarantee yourself a good time. And there’s ping-pong. Determine which bathing suit to wear here .
Saturday: Locals Only, a festival of food, music and art Various performers. Amsterdam Brewery, 21 Bathurst Street. #HAR here , $20 at the door. Doors open at 2 p.m.
If pool parties aren’t your thing, head to the Amsterdam Brewery for Locals Only , a twelve-hour marathon of over 15 bands and DJs, mouthfuls of food vendors, and hidden treasure’s from Toronto’s art scene. Main attractions wrangled by Pink Mafia, The New Toronto, and SalaciousSound, including acts on indoor and outdoor stages like Ryan Hemsworth , Nightbox , and Kill Them With Colour . As for food, look for: authentic wood-oven pizza, frites from Jaime Kennedy, plus goods from Waffle Bar and Gourmet Bitches. You’ll be well-fed. As for art, you’ll be in good hands with curation by Everyone Is An Artist . Find the complete line-up and set times here , and check this brilliant Kill Them With Colour remix.
