The best banh mi in Toronto might be one of freshest and cheapest fast food options out there. The hybrid submarine sandwich is the product of French colonial influence on Vietnam and fits right in with Toronto's cross-cultural culinary scene.

While not a new import to the city (some shops on this list are 25+ years old), the sandwich has seen a recent surge in popularity thanks to a collective new-found interest in global street foods...not to mention they're incredibly delicious and can somehow still be found for under $3 a sandwich.

Here's the list of the best banh mi in Toronto.

See also:

The Best Vietnamese Restaurants in Toronto
The Best Sandwiches in Toronto
The Best Pho in Toronto

Photo by Charles Bodi in the blogTO Flickr pool

Toronto events on Thursday, July 4, 2013

MUSIC | Toronto Urban Roots Fest
She & Him play the Toronto Urban Roots Fest tonight as opening day headliners for this amazing folk and roots music gathering, which will continue throughout the weekend. This small start-up festival features 30 bands like Belle and Sebastian, Neko Case, Arkells, Hannah Georgas and more performing over the course of four nights and two full days. With two outdoor stages at Fort York, TURF is going to operate like a well-oiled machine with organized after parties happening at Horseshoe Tavern and Lee's Palace. Tonight's line-up includes Camera Obscura and Joel Plaskett Emergency with tickets still available through the TURF website.
Fort York Garrison Common (100 Garrison Road) 5PM $50-$70 day pass, $150 4-day pass

PARTY | AGO 1st Thursdays
After a brief hiatus, 1st Thursdays are back at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The after-hours (kinda) gallery party kicks off its summer programming tonight with co-headlining performances by Doldrums and Absolutely Free. New media artist Jeremy Bailey will mix performance art with software in a special piece. In addition to drinks, food and pop-up talks with curators, instructors will be giving interactive iPad art workshops throughout the gallery. Buy tickets ahead of time online as limited amounts will be available at the door.
Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Dundas Street West) 7PM $12 advance $15 door

MUSIC | The Edwards Summer Music Series: Gardens of Song featuring Trent Severn
Toronto Botanical Gardens continues its summer of songs by inviting local musicians to perform amongst the flowers. This week, Stratford trio Trent Severn puts on a concert in Edwards Garden. Featuring artists Emm Gryner on bass, Dayna Manning on guitar and banjo and Laura C. Bates on violin, these three ladies perform an array of folk and roots covers for a pure Canadiana vibe. Stay tuned for next week's concert, which will feature the adorable Darelle London.
Toronto Botanical Garden (777 Lawrence Avenue East) 7PM Free

THEATRE | Toronto Fringe Festival
Performances, actors and playwrights on the periphery of mainstream Toronto theatre circles showcase their work at playhouses across the city during the Toronto Fringe Festival. Now under way, there are several independent plays opening tonight. Interested in modernized takes on classics? Try Elizabeth-Darcy: An Adaptation of Pride and Prejudice or Fuck Shakespeare. Want something in a local setting? Try Fort Isabel opening at Theatre Passe Muraille. With plays from every genre, this year's schedule is packed with short and full-length works at every price range.
Various locations and times across Toronto

MUSICAL THEATRE | Henri Fabergé's Feint of Hart
A punk rock opera that is a coming-of-age, Henri Fabergé's Feint of Hart is the story of a young aristocrat who hosts rock shows that provoke scandal and treason. A collaborative effort by Fabergé Fruits collective, this is a comedy-drama in two parts. Part I will be performed tonight at Videofag with Part II premiering on July 10th. Want to catch both parts together? Videofag has specially scheduled performances happening throughout the first two weeks of July. Tickets are available at Rotate This and Soundscapes.
Videofag (187 Augusta Avenue) 8PM

ALSO OF NOTE:

• The Defector

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Photo of a previous 1st Thursday at the AGO

Rob Ford wants to know how the city might pay for an extension of the Bloor-Danforth line in the hope of securing rapid transit for the east end. The TTC thinks converting the RT to subway will cost around $500 million, Metrolinx thinks it will cost a $1 billion. Presumably Ford isn't interested in an earlier staff report that said dedicated taxes and fees could pay for new transit.

Toronto's ailing Bixi network could find a saviour in a poop receptacle. Cllr. Denzil Minnan-Wong is suggesting redirecting $8 million earmarked for a fleet of new high-tech public toilets to prop up the bike share network. The city is on the hook for the company's start-up loan should it fail. The fancy latrines are part of the current street furniture with Astral but have proved difficult to install. Good idea?

Subway riders on the Yonge line will know yesterday's commute was a total disaster. Signal problems caused delays so bad TTC CEO Andy Byford was forced to personally apologize for the disruption via a special PA announcement. Byford insisted the signals, some of which are almost 60 years old, are safe despite the outage. Were you affected by the outage?

A Canada Post employee is under investigation after allegedly making an (extremely) blue joke and using a homophobic slur. Rick Kopfensteiner claims the unnamed worker called him a "faggot" after the bizarre exchange in a Yorkville elevator. Kopfensteiner told Xtra the carrier seemed "intoxicated."

It's summer and that means it's almost time for Ford Fest, the mayor's annual BBQ/love-in. Rather than mailing a note or sending an email blast, Ford opted to robocall to several thousand invitees. The event will take place at Thomson Memorial Park near Brimley and Lawrence from 6 to 10 PM.

Finally, a win for Toronto cyclists. The city's executive committee voted in favour of establishing a continuous trail from Brampton to Pickering by connecting existing walking and cycling trails. The Pan Am Trail will cost $2 million and should be ready by 2015. Is this a good legacy project for the games?

The Leafs couldn't swing it for a goal light, but the CN Tower will light pink or blue depending on the sex of the latest Royal spawn when it's released in to the world. The 553.33-metre structure will light up on the hour every hour the evening the birth of the child is announced. It's thought the baby will be born in the next two weeks.

Finally, the Rogers Centre is baseball's home run HQ this summer for reasons no-one seems to be able to explain. Players have slugged 121 homers at the halfway stage, 50 by the Blue Jays. The average is around 82 by the halfway mark of the season. It's possible changes in wind flow inside the stadium, unique temperatures, or big crowds could be responsible. Thoughts?

IN BRIEF:

• 10 injured in crash in downtown Toronto [CBC]
• Parkdale stabbings send 4 to hospital [CBC]
• Family of victim in fatal TTC bus crash files $3.25M suit [CBC]
• Trinity Bellwoods meeting to address outdoor drinking [CBC]
• Long after 'priority' designation, pockets of poverty persist in east Scarborough [Global News]
• World Pride in Toronto: One-year countdown begins [Toronto Star]

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: That Boy/blogTO Flickr pool.

This Week in Film rounds up noteworthy new releases in theatres, rep cinema and avant-garde screenings, festivals, and other special cinema-related events happening in Toronto.

NEW RELEASES

I'm So Excited (Varsity)

Pedro Almodóvar has become so reliable at dishing out solid entries within his own brand of Latin camp melodrama every two or three years that by now he appears to be working on autopilot, so it's no wonder that his latest would take place almost entirely on an airplane (cut to the auteurists in the house; yes, this is Almodóvar's Airplane!). Flamboyant to the point where its mission statement may well have been to be the quintessential Pride weekend film, Almodóvar was clearly striving to return to his Matarazzan roots after a trajectory that saw him steer from humour, toward horror. I'm So Excited may make you want to go out and rent his vintage 80s work, but it's too airy to truly join the ranks of those films (sorry, this film was expressly designed for awful descriptive puns).

Museum Hours (TIFF Bell Lightbox)

Museum Hours sees avant-garde filmmaker Jem Cohem deviate from his materialist experimentation into a pure Humanist drama. Dropping in for some quiet, studied, personal time with a museum guard at the Kunsthistorisches Art Museum in Vienna and an American in town to visit a comatose cousin, Cohen asks us to observe their companionship, and the people and city around them, as we would one of the Brueghel paintings hanging in the museum. "Every time I look at them, I see something new." Like a less rigorous Chris Marker essay, or a more saccharine José Luis Guerín city symphony, the film will make you consider the faces and objects around you a little bit longer.

Also opening in theatres this week:

• The Big Star (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay (Bloor Hot Docs Cinema)
• Despicable Me 2 (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• The Lone Ranger (Varsity, Scotiabank)
• Lootera (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• Twenty Feet From Stardom (Bloor Hot Docs Cinema)
• The Way, Way Back (Varsity)

REP CINEMA

Canada Open Vault: Winston Washington Moxam's From the Other Side & The Barbeque (Wednesday, July 10 at 8:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)

For this Summer's edition of Canada Open Vault, TIFF showcases these two medium-length films by Winnipeg-based filmmaker Winston Washington Moxam (1963 - 2011)." [Moxam] was one of the most prolific and unique voices to emerge from Manitoba in the 1990s. Unlike many other Manitoban filmmakers of Moxam's generation whose tastes tended towards the surreal, Moxam dealt almost exclusively with such pressing social issues as poverty, social justice, race and sexuality." The first film in the pairing is From the Other Side, a 30-minute documentary about poverty and the homeless in Toronto, while the 48-minute The Barbeque is a fiction about a young woman who struggles to rein in her temper as she deals with her ex-boyfriend's racist family during a backyard barbecue.

More rep cinema this week:

• Model Shop + Lust (Friday, July 5 at 6:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• The Story of a Discharged Prisoner (Friday, July 5 at 9PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Crossroads (Saturday, July 6 at 1PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• A Borrowed Life (Saturday, July 6 at 3:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Donkey Skin (Saturday, July 6 at 7PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Infernal Affairs (Saturday, July 6 at 9:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• The Big Road (Sunday, July 7 at 1PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Two Stage Sisters (Sunday, July 7 at 3:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Sunday, July 7 at 6:15PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• The Old Well (Monday, July 8 at 6:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Singin' in the Rain (Tuesday, July 9 at 6:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Jacquot de Nantes (Tuesday, July 9 at 9PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• The Winter (Wednesday, July 10 at 6PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• A Slightly Pregnant Man (Thursday, July 11 at 6:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Alphaville (Thursday, July 11 at 8:45PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Anime Favourites from the Japan Foundation Film Library (July 8-27; Innis Town Hall)

The Japan Foundation has joined forces with the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI) to present this exciting, free series of classic anime film screenings and lectures on Japanese animation and pop culture. Spreading out four screenings (all on 35mm (!) and all at Innis) and two lectures (both at the Japan Foundation, Toronto), the series culminates in a screening of Galaxy Express 999 at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

For their first screening, they'll be showing the classic manga film Arcadia of My Youth (Tuesday, July 9 at 6:30PM), in which space captain Harlock, the latest in a family of proud aerial warriors, begins his journey to free the oppressed Earth from the despotic Illumidas. For info on the rest of the lectures and screenings, click the above link.

Lead still from I'm So Excited.

The Toronto Urban Roots Festival is about to get underway, and there's a rather special show in store from Arkells on Friday, July 5th. In celebration of the festival's inaugural year, Arkells are performing a special and rare set combining original songs with their Motown Revue. It's a unique gig, and we've got 10 pairs of tickets to give away to the festival on Friday night so you can take it all in.

Read on for a teaser track and all the contest details.

Open for about a month now, this Peruvian restaurant on Lower Ossington serves up a tasty ceviche mixto and has pisco flights in the works for later this summer. But how does it stack up compared to the nearby competition?

Read my review of Ardor Bistro in the restaurants section.

Toronto startup Commission Pitch wants to revolutionize real estate by letting agents compete for your business. The new website democratizes the agent selection process by equipping homebuyers and sellers with all the information they need to make agents easier to choose between and negotiate with.

Co-founded by startup veterans, Chris Silvestre and Paul Sobocinski, Commission Pitch has over 350 agents signed up after having just officially launching last month.

What inspired the launch of Commission Pitch?

Real estate agents are an incredibly valuable resource when buying or selling a home. But finding the right agent is a not always an easy process. And there isn't really a place to find objective data based on their actual performance and prior transactions that you can contrast and compare.

Most people don't even bother interviewing multiple agents, and pricing negotiation is rare. In fact, 66% of homebuyers and sellers signed a contract with the first real estate agent they talked to, and 45% of homebuyers and sellers used a friend or family member.

We created Commission Pitch to help homebuyers and sellers find trusted agents while saving on commissions and fees.

Agent information is online already. How does Commission Pitch differ from going to a brokerage or agent website?

Not all agents have up-to-date transactional data on their website for one. But beyond that our process is completely anonymous for the homebuyer and seller making it safe and easy to find, vet and solicit business from real estate agents.

With homebuyers equipped with more information and negotiating power, how does Commission Pitch help real estate agents succeed?

Commission Pitch lets agents compete based on a number of factors including price and experience. If you are new to the market, you can offer better rates while those that are experienced will use their transactional history as part of their competitive edge. In this way, agents can put their best foot forward depending on the situation.

How do you ensure that the agent information displayed on Commission Pitch is accurate and reliable?

Agents are able to create their profile page but they do not have access to update their statistical data. In order to update this valuable area, agents send over their historical sale information which our team then validates and inputs on their behalf.

For the seller, this ensures that the agent data they are using as part of their decision making process is accurate. For the agent, sending over their data to our team to input rather than spending time filling out a series of forms reduces the effort required to get them setup and started.

What sets you apart from your competition?

Many of our competitors present curated agent results based on their discretion. We empower our buyers and sellers with all available choices that allows them to make decisions for themselves.

In addition, we are the only website which facilitates the entire agent selection process 100% online. Once you have found the agent that you want to work with, you contact them directly from the site.

What is your business model?

Unlike some of our competitors, we do not work on a percentage of the commission as part of a referral fee. Commission Pitch uses a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, charging the agents a flat monthly fee for unlimited access. Agents can try out Commission Pitch for free trial now and pay only when they are ready to send offers to leads.

Commission Pitch is completely free for homebuyers and home sellers.

What is on the roadmap for Commission Pitch?

We are working on updating the website to make it even easier for homebuyers and sellers to find real estate agents nearby with the use of geo-location. Once implemented, our website should be able to identify the city and even the neighbourhood you are searching from and pre-fill that information into the search box.

Toronto Restaurant Openings highlights the latest restaurant openings and closings in Toronto and also gives a preview at some of the places coming soon. Find us here every Thursday morning.

OPEN NOW

• Everything's For Sale, a 3,000 square foot rooftop patio has opened at 647 King Street West. The cabana-style bar and lounge offers cocktails like Thyme Lemonade by the glass or pitcher and a menu care of The Food Dudes on select nights.
• Pili Pili, a Tanzanian BBQ has opened at 1960 Lawrence East.
• Bistro 896 is now open in the space formerly home to Le Canard Mort at 896 Queen Street East.
• Mr. Pong's at 1576 Dundas Street West is now Scout's Honour after quickie makeover and campground theme-overhaul.
• Vicki'z Vegetarian Eatery opened this week at 421 college and is doing made-to-order Mediterranean inspired wraps, bowls, salads and smoothies, for dine in or take-away.
• The Salted Pig, a new Hamilton-based food truck launched over Canada Day. The pork-centric mobile menu features pulled pork three ways and other salty smoked meats like a ruben made with smoked ham and kraut.

OPENING SOON

• Playa Cabana Hacienda at 14 Dupont Street could be open in time for next weekend.
• Rodney Bowers' Hey Meatball is set to open an east end location at 912 Queen Street East.
• Home of the Brave, a new restaurant from the team behind La Carnita plans to pay homage to iconic, regional American specialties when it opens in the coming weeks at 589 King Street, just above Lou Dawgs. (via The Grid)

OTHER NEWS

• Sauce on the Danforth now boasts an outdoor courtyard patio.
• Christie Pits café and bar, Northwood (815 Bloor Street West) is partnering with Elle Cuisine for a weekend dinner series happening Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in the month of July.

Have you seen restaurants opening or closing in your neighbourhood? Email tips to liora@blogto.com

Photo of the soon to open Playa Cabana Hacienda

Summerlicious 2013 starts tomorrow. Running through July 21st, the annual food event provides one of the best ways to sample dishes at Toronto restaurants with three-course fixed priced menus offered at nearly 200 different spots. Are you doing Summerlicious this year? If so, we want to see your photos and might even reward you for your efforts too.

Check out our contest page for full details on how to participate.

Just a year after shutting the doors, the space formerly home to linuxcaffe has been redone and is on its way to becoming a neighborhood hot spot. The new restaurant offers a full breakfast and lunch menu focusing on locally sourced ingredients and seems capable of meeting almost any dietary restriction or preference.

Read my review of The Bickford Flexitarian in the restaurants section.

Cosplay, an abbreviation of "costume play," is when one dresses up as their favourite character from their favourite TV show, video game, comic, or whatever else. These costumes can be either store-bought or made, but many dedicated fans tend to make their outfits themselves. The results may vary in quality, but even the worst costumes look amazing with the right attitude.

SEE ALSO: Cosplay in Toronto

Most cosplay is for fun, or to show off the fruits of their labour, but there are some who attach a deeper meaning to their hobby. Particularly, there are cosplayers who engage in costumed heroism, battling inequality with kindness and creativity. This movement -which I'm dubbing Causeplay - is becoming more common, and it's gaining steam in our own borders. So let's take a peak behind the Wonderflex mask and see what the GTA's cosplay community does.

FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT

Cosplay For A Cure was founded by a St. Catharines-based cosplay troupe when one of their own was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer last year. With ConBravo mere weeks away, and everyone struggling with the crisis, an idea came to the mind of co-founder Casey Brown: a photo booth where people pay to have pictures taken of themselves and where the proceeds go to the Canadian Breast Cancer Fund.

Being a volunteer-run organization, CFAC's staff members have to pay their own way. Getting set up at a convention can be an arduous process, and CFAC has already been turned down by conventions due to issues of space or the inability to gather registry fees in time. However, at the conventions they were operational, they were a hit. Already, the troupe has made appearances at ConBravo, FrostCon, and the Burlington Toy Show, and are expected to appear at Atomic Lollipop this August.

Community reception has been positive, as the group had raised well over two thousand dollars as of this June. In addition to funds, a black backdrop with fetching red curtains was generously donated for use during photo-shoots.

So why do what they do? Beyond the personal connection, CFAC fights because they have to. "We do this to bring the information to younger crowds," Casey Brown explained at Anime North 2013, "Young people think they're pretty healthy, but cancer rates are rising among people in their twenties and thirties. Nobody should have to deal with this, because it affects everyone. So, do not let a doctor say you're too young, because in the end no-one is."

And to those who are fighting, they offered these words of encouragement: "We noticed in our friend that attitude is important. Having a positive attitude can go a long way when it comes to kicking this thing in the ass, and if we can come together and cure one cancer, then we can cure them all."

HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO

Inspired by charity groups like The East Coast Avengers in the US, The Toronto X-Men came together with the vision to create a cosplay-themed charity organization, using superheroes as their base. Though only active for half a year, the Toronto X-Men have hosted two food drives in High Park and Allan Conservatory for The Stop and The Daily Bread Food Bank respectively, and Wolverine dog-tags were raffled off at the Burlington Toy Con, with the proceeds sent to the Canadian Hero Fund.

But, why the X-Men? "We were thinking a lot about superhero teams and we realized that many of them are populated by gods," Toronto X-Men CEO 'Rogue' explained at their Father's Day Drive, "A lot of heroes are as far from the average person as possible. The X-Men are different. They're superheroes, but they're scraping the bottom just like the rest of us. Plus, there's the fact that they do try to accept everyone and anyone, bringing people together into one big family."

This superhero business is taken very seriously. Joining the Toronto X-Men is a formal process, with paperwork to fill out, field tests conducted to see how potential new members work, and regular team meetings held to provide feedback and plan new events.

Most importantly, the biggest requirement for joining these X-Men is not a question of brute force or complete control of your powers, but how good you are with the little people. As said by Rogue: "Our events are very child-friendly, so you have to be good with kids. We have an image to maintain. We're playing kids' heroes. We can't be caught smoking or being a jerk to someone, because that's going to have an impact on them. We have a precedent to set."

The Toronto X-Men were last seen showing their support for Toronto's LGBT community at the Pride Parade. No word yet on whether or not they'll be taking out the Master Mold being built under City Hall.

SERVICE WITH A SMILE

Six years ago, cosplayers Yumi and Jordan had won the award for Best In Show at Anime North a second time. While celebrating their win, they decided it was time to shift gears. Japanese pop culture enthusiast Yumi started following the rise of Maid Cafes across Japan, watering holes for Japanese geeks where patrons are served and entertained by cutesy girls in maid costumes, and began thinking about creating one.

"We'd seen a few pop up across North America but we hadn't seen anything truly authentic to the Akihabara experience," Yumi and Jordan explained in an e-mail interview, "Within the last six years of operation, we have been to Japan four times researching maid cafes and even had the great fortune to meet Hitomi, who is arguably Japan's top meido. And we wanted to do it for a good cause, so we decided to adopt Anime North's charity of choice Sick Kids Hospital."

Thus, Anime North mainstay Cafe Delish was born. Proceeds from seatings go to Sick Kids, but each maid also designs personalized pins to sell, donating their earnings to the Japanese Relief Effort and The World Wildlife Fund. Cafe Delish quickly became popular among anime fans, with tickets selling out faster and people lining up for longer. So far, Cafe Delish collected over $10,000 for Sick Kids, and sent $1000 to the JRE and WWF each.

According to Yumi and Jordan, however, the biggest problem Cafe Delish faces is not the issue of fundraising or seating, but how to explain the premise to newcomers. "Many people thought of French maids when we told them about the maid cafe. We were even asked if our event was an adult event, when in fact it's quite the opposite. The premise of a maid café is to be able to relax, to be treated almost as if you're being welcomed home, to be served delicious food and desserts, play games, and be entertained with song and dance."

STILL, THERE'LL BE MORE

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Many Causeplayers and geek fundraisers can be found across Toronto and the GTA. This is the glory of a community, the ability to come together and help out one another in times of need. And who knows what's around the corner? Could a Toronto Doom Patrol emerge to raise money for disabled children's programs? Will the Ontario Science Centre one day get their exhibits funded by a Clone War Re-enactment Society?

Whatever happens, cosplaying or not, Toronto's geek communities are telling the world that we can be heroes for just one day.

This weekend marks the inaugural edition of the Toronto Urban Roots Festival, more succinctly known as TURF, being held over four days at the Fort York Garrison Commons.

While Toronto has no shortage of options for the music-loving festival-goer this summer, be it the joyous communal vibes of last month's Arts & Crafts Field Trip, the college rock-leaning Riotfest later in the summer, or the island paradise of Wavelength's ALL CAPS! festival, TURF offers a unique experience compared to other events of the same ilk within the GTA. Here are five reasons to check out this new festival.

Grassroots Festivals Are Good

Speaking with the fest's creative director Jeff Cohen (co-owner of iconic Toronto venues Lee's Palace and the Horseshoe Tavern, as well as local promotion mecca Collective Concerts), he's quick to focus on the fan-oriented approach to the festival's design as what will make the TURF experience a singular one. Before owning the Horseshoe, Cohen used to sit on the Board of Directors for the legendary Mariposa Folk Festival, which held a temporary sojourn in Toronto city limits at Ontario Place from 1991-1995. That classic of Canadiana lore has paved the way for what is, surprisingly, the first two-day+ music festival in the city since Mariposa returned to its original home of Orillia.

But with the city of Toronto finally providing the needed support on a municipal level to stage these kinds of events in the city, Cohen hopes that TURF's grassroots approach will be the first of many to come. And the most important thing - the talent - is certainly present. Not to be confined by any of the words in their moniker, be it Toronto, urban, or roots, a look at the lineup presents an eclectic who's-who of folk, soul, and indie on a local, national, and international scale.

The Bands

Glasgow's ambassadors of twee, Belle & Sebastian, share a Sunday bill alongside Hoboken, NJ's finest Yo La Tengo, with Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet's collaborative Whitehorse sandwiched in between the two. Saturday night sees a more punk-influenced lineup at Fort York, with back-to-back sets from Frank Turner, the Lowest of the Low, the Hold Steady, and Flogging Molly. And if that's not enough diversity for you, Hamilton's beloved Arkells will be performing a special Motown cover set on Friday night, in addition to their originals (and we've got passes to give away! See below).

The More Multi-Day Music Festivals, the Better

Cohen took part in a 2011 study by Music Canada on Toronto's music scene, the findings of which showed, predictably, that the city suffered for lack of a multi-day music festival at the scale of Austin City Limits or Montreal's Osheaga. He mentions legislative changes at the provincial and municipal levels, concerning liquor and sound ordinance, as being significant in getting TURF off the ground, as well as a new wave of forward-thinking city councilors friendly to live music. With such unanimous support, now seemed like the right time for Cohen to launch his idea. "If you're going to sit and complain about what's wrong with the Toronto live music scene," he says, "you're eventually going to have to look the issue in the eye and ask 'well, what can I do to help?'"

The Food

The bulk of the festival's attractions will be held at Fort York over two full days (Saturday/Sunday) and two evenings (Thursday/Friday). In addition to the stacked music lineup, there will be a number of other attractions at Fort York, including local food truck offerings, including Caplansky's, Per Se Mobile, Feng's Dumplings, and Big Fat Burrito, to name but a few.

The Aftershows

There's a host of official TURF aftershows at both of Cohen's venues, with hogtown heavy-hitters like the Sadies and the Wooden Sky, as well as some excellent bands not playing the fest proper (Thursday night's Charles Walker/Atom & the Volumes show at the 'Shoe is sure to be a highlight).

Overall, the rigorous involvement of Cohen and the city should prove to set up the first year of TURF as one of the events of the summer in Toronto. He notes that as of late "there's a movement going on in City Hall, where they're finding reasons why these types of things can exist, instead of why they can't... this is just an evolution of that, and will hopefully be one of many in the years to come." With Toronto having the third-largest live music market in North America, it's alarming that this type of thing hasn't been staged more often - now, hopefully, it's here to stay, red tape be damned.

Tickets to each day of the festival are still available at local retailers, as well as online at http://torontourbanrootsfest.com/tickets/. If you'd like to win tickets to Friday night, featuring the Arkells, Fitz and the Tantrums, Justin Townes Earle, and JD McPherson, remember to check out our giveaway.

Photo of Belle and Sebastian by mehan on Flickr

Municipal politics in Toronto have long since taken on a circus-like atmosphere, and it looks like some city councilors are finally waking up and smelling the crack coffee. In the wake of Peter Milczyn's departure to run for the provincial Liberals, Ford is now losing his BFF on council, Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday.

Holyday will run as the PC candidate in the provincial Etobicoke-Lakeshore byelection. Milczyn will be his opponent in the same byelection, which is one of five about to happen across the province. Both men were previously on Ford's executive committee.

Currently, the Conservatives have exactly zero seats in Toronto, and the party is hoping Holyday can bring back a bit of clout — not exactly a ridiculous line of thinking by any means, as Holyday was the last mayor of the former city of Etobicoke. That said, the spot has been held by the Liberals for the past ten years. Laurel Broten, the former education minister, has just resigned, leaving the position open for contest.

Will Rob Ford miss the presence of his possibly soon-to-be former Deputy Mayor?

All five byelections are scheduled for Aug. 1.

Photo by Mike Barber on Flickr

People who want to live in the Yonge and Eg area have long been discouraged by the overwhelming lack of condo developments in the area, and have often been forced to choose another hood to call home. (Jk, jk...). Anyway, now 2221 Yonge is being added to the mix, with units already for sale. So far, the beauty of this project, which is going up in an indisputably over-saturated market, is that condos start at $199,990, which is a somewhat affordable option for home ownership in the city.

From what the renderings have to say for themselves, 2221 Yonge boasts a somewhat lackluster, condo-towery design. The architects did deviate from that a bit, though, skewing the sixth and seventh floors to allow for more sunlight on the rooftop terrace, which is a major selling point. There's also a truckload of amenities listed below which make 2221 a worthy spot to consider.

SPECS

• Address: 2221 Yonge St.
• Floors: 56
• Total number of units: 560
• Types of units: Studio, one bedroom, one plus den, two bedroom, three bedroom
• Unit sizes (in square feet): 386 to 997
• Ceiling heights: 9'
• Starting prices for available units: $199,990
• Maintenance fees: $0.54
• Developer: Tower Hill Development Corporation
• Amenities/building features: Fitness club featuring yoga/pilates studio and men's and women's changing rooms, two media and gaming rooms, wet spa, fully-equipped chef's kitchen as part of the building's entertainment facility, 24-hour conceirge

THE GOOD

The developers of this project treat humans like little flowers. Like plants, we need light to thrive and be happy and these condos do the trick. Each of these units is outfitted with floor-to-ceiling windows and garnished by a private balcony, which provides for optimum exposure to the life-giving sun. This place is key for sun-worshippers.

Also, the list of amenities at 2221 Yonge is pretty glorious. It's almost enough to make me jump ship and sign up for condo living. This pup features a wet spa with "three separate experience plunges," including a warm pool, a hot pool and a massage pool. There's also a sauna, steam rooms and "private treatment rooms" (sex club, anyone?) to "help nurture downtime in a Zen-like environment." Developers have also put an emphasis on the building's terraces, which will have private spaces as well as room for entertainment. They'll feature cabanas, barbeques, and dining areas, too.

Not only that, but the project is affordable, and right on the subway line.

THE BAD

From the renderings I've seen, the units themselves look like they're going to turn out to be quite shoe-boxey. The counter space is minimal (the kitchen looks like it was built for dolls) and the living space is on top of the kitchen. Though they're not ugly or devoid of personality by any means, these condos are very much "units" from what I can see.

The other major downfall is that you'll be living in condo city. Yonge and Eg is cluttered with condo buildings as it is, and so the neighbourhood isn't the most diverse when it comes to usage or architecture. There are certainly more interesting neighbourhoods to look at—and live in—in this city.

OUR TAKE

This is not the worst of condo developments. While your pad may turn out to be fairly basic (and that presumption is only made based on available renderings), you'll have all of the extras you could possibly ask for, as well as comparably generous green space. 2221 Yonge is worth a more in-depth look if you're on the hunt for affordable options.

Read other posts in this series via our Toronto Condos and Lofts Pinterest board.

Photo by mikenits in the blogTO Flickr pool

Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday, one of Rob Ford's closest allies, will run in a provincial by-election against fellow city councillor Peter Milczyn for the riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. If successful, either Holyday, who's running for the PCs, or Milczyn, representing the Liberal party, will be forced to quit their seat at council. Ford said earlier this week he would be out "banging on doors" for Holyday.

Speaking of the mayor, singer Jenny James has written a song about him for this weekend's Ford Fest. Called Mayor Ford (The World Will Remember), it starts "Mayor Ford the tax payer's Lord..."

Toronto Zoo's three aging elephants won't be getting a ride on a military airplane as planned. Instead, the zoo board plans to send the giant pachyderms on transport trucks to a sanctuary in California around 11 Oct. The ideal moving temperature is 20 C and special mist jets will be used to keep Toka, Thika and Iringa cool on their 4,100 km road trip.

A public meeting to discuss a looming police crackdown on public drinking in Trinity-Bellwoods Park brought out people on both sides of the debate. Some neighbours reported people urinating in the park and on their property while others said the $125 fine should be scrapped and the rules about enjoying a drink relaxed. In the last two months police have made five arrests and handed 105 tickets. Where do you stand?

For sale: One Yorkville condo previously occupied by one careful rapper. Drake, he of the four Juno awards, is selling his $4.2 million Toronto pad after successfully flipping his homes in Miami. The three-bedroom, 3,600 square-foot apartment is on the 22nd floor of a building on St. Thomas St. and includes three bathrooms and two heated balconies. Worth it?

Toronto Police will issue a report on "doorings" at its next board meeting. It's not clear what it will say, the cops don't count unions of cyclist and car door as collisions, but perhaps it things will change going forward. Should Toronto police track more bike accidents?

A permanent memorial to the victims of Air Canada flight 621, a deadly 1970 air crash near Pearson airport, will be officially dedicated on Sunday. The peace garden marks the site of a farmer's field in Brampton where the jet crashed, killing all 109 passengers and crew on board moments after a failed landing attempt. More on the crash and the airport here.

Finally, Toronto developer Sam Crignano wants the crumbling hulk of Captain John's Restaurant moved as soon as possible. Crignano's Pier 27 condos are approaching completion next to the disused ship, and he says work on a new promenade could be held up. Meanwhile, "Captain" John Letnik is still sleeping on board. Should authorities act soon?

IN BRIEF:

• 2-year-old girl dead after being left alone in bathtub [Toronto Star]
• Motorcyclist killed after crash in Scarborough [Toronto Star]
• Bob Rae moves to U of T [Toronto Star]
• Detroit Tiger Justin Verlander sings barbershop in Toronto [Toronto Star]
• Justin Verlander, Tigers mow down Blue Jays for series win [CBC]
• Andrew Harris, Lions hold off Argonauts in home opener [CBC]

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Davoud D./blogTO Flickr pool.

The photos of the week collect each of the editor-selected photos of the day into one post for a contest to be decided by our readers. Sponsored by Posterjack, the photographer whose image receives the most votes will be awarded with a voucher code for a 24"x36" poster print of their work.

All the rules and fine-print can be found in the original announcement post on the blogTO Flickr page. One thing to add, however, is that the voting period ends at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, after which the winner will be contacted with the good news.

For those photographers whose images are featured below, please feel free to give us a little information about your shot — i.e. where and when it was taken — in the comments section. Who knows? Maybe your description will sway voters in your favour!

Lead photo by George Hornaday.

2.
Photo by mikenits

3.
Photo by Charles Bodi

4.
Photo by Jeremy Gilbert in the blogTO Flickr pool

5.
Photo by scott3eh

6.
Photo by Matthew MS

7.
Photo by Mike Falkner.

Breakout Toronto Bands features local artists that we think you should give a listen to.

For an interview that started out with an offensive game of Cards Against Humanity and a collective lesson about the meaning of the word "smegma," this band somehow still managed to play it cool.

Who are they?

When was the last time you went to a show where the musicians were probably too young to actually be in the bar? This all-female, indie rock band from (you guessed it) The Beaches are that band. Ranging from sixteen to eighteen years old, Kylie Miller (guitar), Jordan Miller (bass guitar and vocals), Eliza Enman-McDaniel (drums), and Leandra Earl (keys) joined forces only six months ago to form The Beaches, a formidable rock band that draws heavily on The White Stripes, Patti Smith, and all-female rock bands like Haim.

While The Beaches is a new project, Kylie, Jordan, and Eliza have been playing together for years - which also makes sense since two of them are sisters (see last name: Miller). With another member, Megan Fitchett, they formed a band called Done with Dolls, whose teeny, pop-rock music videos played on stations like the Family Channel. As they grew up, the ladies decided to take their music in a more mature direction.

"It was different when we were in grade nine," Eliza explains. "[The way our peers saw us] was more of a negative thing because our school has a very... hip, alternative kind of feel (we go to Rosedale). So we're in this mainstream band that's on Family Channel and we got this kind of hate for that. But I think over the years it's turned into a positive thing. Now we're playing the kind of music that people who go to our school want to listen to."

Thus began The Beaches.

They sound like...

That band you hear once and think are pretty good, but then find yourself humming their tunes later that night. Their songs are hooky, maybe a little angsty, and completely danceable (or moshable, depending on your preference).

Does it make it that much more awesome that they are only in highschool? Well, yeah. But they also play super good, rock-steady music that has an anthemic, rough edge. Like Japandroids, but with slightly more pop.

Hear them/see them...

You can check them out on their website, but if you're keen to see them live (with parents moshing in front of the stage), they've got three shows coming up this weekend: Vans Warped Tour (Toronto, July 5) or opening for Mother Mother in Windsor July 5th and St. Catharines July 6th.

With a trip to London (England) in their sights ("Loner" was picked up by clothing company FCUK for one of their commercials), these ladies are bringing The Beaches from Toronto to the world.

This new pop-up retail concept just landed at Ossington and Argyle. Though it's corporately run, it's got a few tricks up its sleeve to fit right in.

Read my profile of PopUp 120 in the Fashion stores section.