The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition is back for another year at Nathan Phillips Square. Featuring over 350 participating artists, the fair is as big as ever. The majority of talent is local, drawing from Toronto and smaller cities in Southern Ontario, though you'll also find a few Quebec artists thrown into the mix. TOAE has gotten increasingly crafty over the last decade, so those interested in snagging some local jewellery or ceramics will be happy to know that there's a wide selection of such pieces on offer.

When it comes to more formal art, a quick walk around the exhibition on Friday revealed a hefty dose of landscape and portrait painting. As always, TOAE is a bit uneven in terms of quality. There is, quite frankly, a lot of juvenile mixed media work on display alongside more serious and thought-provoking pieces. Some of my highlights from this year include the work of Brian Harvey (a local painter who's subject is Toronto), Julia Hepburn's vaguely Joseph Cornell-esque box sculptures, Neil Ta's stunning vertical photos, and the various installations that make up the Art Now exhibit near the city hall stage.

Regardless of whether or not you're in the market for original art, TOAE is a pleasant way to check out some art in the open air. The fair runs until 7:30pm today and between 10:30am and 6:30pm tomorrow (Sunday, the 6th). Check here for the full list of artists showing their work.

Photo by lori whelan in blogTO Flickr pool.

Dufferin Street is getting a new park, but the city is still deciding what it will look like. At the latest meeting of the Toronto Design Review Panel, a group of industry architects, urban designers, and engineers who provide advice to city staff on matters of aesthetics, there was little consensus about what the small green space northeast of the underpass should look like.

The scrubby patch of former industrial land at the southeast corner of Dufferin and Peel, which last saw use as a staging area during construction of the new rail underpass, could link directly to an extended West Toronto Railpath and provide a useful counterpoint to the Dufferin Amphitheatre, located on the other side of the tracks.

So far, landscape architects have produced three rough "vignettes" for the unnamed park, which are pictured above.

The panel didn't like the idea of building a shield against Dufferin traffic noise (one of the ideas,) nor did they like the idea of a landscaped roof, because it would make the park feel like a "privatized zone." The concept that appeared to win the most approval imagined a series of landscaped slopes at the north end of the park.

The Carnaby Condos, the new building on the eastern edge of the rectangular lot, which may be under construction without site plan approval, is also an important part of the puzzle, the panel says. During discussions, the group decided the ground floor part of the building that faces the park should be a coffee shop or public art space.

What do you think the new park should include?

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

Located on a non-descript stretch of Castlefield Avenue near the design district, this high end bike shop has been servicing Toronto's race and enthusiast crowd for over 15 years. Here you'll find top of the line bikes from Specialized, Pinarello and BMC (amongst others), Zipp wheels, and the largest selection of Assos clothing in the city. It's a roadie's dream.

Read my review of La Bicicletta in the services section.

The top labels for psychedelic music in Toronto are putting out releases that may differ from your parent's psych on the surface, but when you dig deep these releases are still about getting weird and spaced out with light and sound, and maybe ingesting a buffet's worth of spiritual inspiration.

While Toronto may not be the first place the word "psychedelic" conjures, existing in a small corner of the music community is a vibrant scene that has recently even received attention from influential cosmic bible Arthur Magazine. Unlike cities such as Austin or San Francisco, Toronto's modern psych sound owes little to a retro past - it's more the product of parents gifting children guitar pedals instead of video games (or perhaps both). It's weird, it's mind-expanding, and it's happening right here in Toronto.


Here are five labels that are getting the local psych sounds into your ears.

Optical Sounds
Founded by brothers Richard and Robert Gibson in 2008, Optical Sounds puts out vinyl, cassette, and digital releases by a youthful herd of underground Toronto psych and shoegaze artists. Operating more as a collective flag than a proper label, Optical Sounds is largely a community of friends who constantly gig around town with one another and frequently congregate at Kensington Market's Embassy Bar. Grab their Psych Pop comps for free on Bandcamp.

Key artists: B-17s, The BB Guns, The Auras, The Hoa Hoa's, Ostrich Tuning, The Disraelis, Flowers of Hell, Sun Stone Revolvers, Planet Creature
Follow:Facebook, Twitter

Healing Power
Arthur Mag's mention of Toronto's scene was in reference to cosmic son Matthew "Doc" Dunn and his longtime collaborator Mike "Muskox" Smith - and both of these veterans, along with their extended family of cohorts, have put out music on Healing Power. HP were also behind some of 2013's best album artwork, Petra Glynt's debut. If Optical Sounds is home to Toronto's youth scene, Healing Power is its cool, yet significantly more far-out, mother. They've supported local dance artists with their Heart of Toronto CD/party series, and host picnics, monthly Tranzac installs, and more. Read an interview with Healing Power Records here.

Key artists: Matthew "Doc" Dunn, Petra Glynt, Bile Sister, Colin Fisher, M. Geddes Gengras, Not The Wind Not The Flag, Transcendental Rodeo.
Follow:Facebook, Twitter

Reel Cod
Home to some of Toronto's more well-known, yet still mostly underground, psych acts, Reel Cod's roster includes the likes of Fresh Snow, Mimico, The Pinecones, and Mystic Triangle. Based in Kensington Market from 2006-2012 but now located "elsewhere in the city," Reel Cod grew out of a community-driven music and art hub that has blossomed into a full-on label in recent years.

Key artists: Fresh Snow, Mimico, The Pinecones, Village, Conconquidore Truidore, Mystic Triangle, Career, grfnkl, Lanterns, Circus School

Medusa Editions
Medusa Editions, while unfortunately rather dormant of late, is one of the more influential under the radar psych labels in the city. Curated by artist/musician/filmmaker/writer Ayal Senior, Medusa is a unique private press handmade art and music editions imprint, meaning each release is extremely limited and features nifty things like one-of-a-kind cover art and hand-cut vinyl lathes. Having a catalog that includes releases by big US names like Woods, MV&EE and Steve Gunn, Medusa still focuses heavily on the local scene with cassettes by Zacht Automaat, "Doc" Dunn, Not The Wind, Not The Flag, and more.

Key artists: Zacht Automaat, Matthew "Doc" Dunn, Not The Wind Not The Flag, Glass Tomb, U.S. Girls, Fleshtone Aura, Carl Didur
Follow:Twitter

Pleasance
Owned and operated by Deirdre O'Sullivan and James Lindsay, Pleasance Records is not a psych label, per se, but it has put out an impressive list of local psych releases since its formation in 2010 - one could say they have a flourishing psych department. Home to acts like Odonis Odonis, Slim Twig, Das Rad, and Black Walls, Pleasance focuses primarily on vinyl and cassette releases ranging from astral psych to avant-pop to pummeling punk noise. They're also known to book a wicked show here and there in the city, so keep your eyes out. Read an interview with Pleasance here.

Key artists: Odonis Odonis, Das Rad, Black Walls, Astral Gunk, JFM, Moonwood, Slim Twig, Gay, Tropics, Fleshtone Aura, Sexy Merlin, The Ketamines, The Soupcans, Induced Labour
Follow:Facebook, Twitter

BONUS

Inyrdisk
Located a couple of blocks from Healing Power Records, Inyrdisk slinks by as a noise/psych/experimental label with almost 100 releases that's been comparatively quiet during what from all appearances is a noise/psych/experimental revival in Toronto, and so has been missing from a few lists - we'd hate for this to be another. While the focus is often on noise - from the minimal to the screeching - there's plenty of psych offerings to be found. Read an interview with Inyrdisk here.

Key artists: Man Made Hill, The Pink Noise, Wolfcow, Bile Sister, Voidfolk, Brian Ruryk, Toddler Body, Doom Tickler, Kapali Carsi, Wizard Of, Matthew "Doc" Dunn
Follow:Facebook

To maximize your psych bang for your buck, find many of the above labels on Wyrd Distro.

Top 5 written by Sam Davis. Photo: The Hoa Hoa's via Facebook

Free events in Toronto this week stack live music and outdoor film screenings, but there's a little something for cat lovers, photography lovers, and peace lovers - same thing? No, not always: when I was a small child a photographer's daughter found me in a closet during hide and seek, threw her cat at me, and closed the door. I never got over the trauma, and here I am today, barely making ends meet and trolling our events hub for free things to try to make contact at.

Here's how to practice bridging the gap to terrifying otherness for free in Toronto this week.

Free Live Showcase
Catch the retro feel and smooth soul classics (this is my radio voice) of the St. Royals' 9 piece band for free at the Drake this Monday. July 7, 10:30pm, The Drake Hotel Lounge (1150 Queen St. West).

Project Wild Thing outdoor screening at Fort York
On Wednesday you can check out the David Suzuki Foundation's Homegrown National Park Project's free screening of Project Wild Thing. It's free, as is the live jazz, but bring money for drinks and snacks if you like. Wednesday, July 9, 7pm. Fort York, (100 Garrison Rd).

Music in St. James Park: KC Roberts & the Live Revolution
Free music in the outdoors by some local funk favourites, 8-piece KC Roberts & the Live Revolution. Thursday, July 10, 7pm, St. James Park (120 King Street East).

Speaker Series on SEX&HIPHOP
If you're going to do a lecture, do it right. Do a lecture on sex and hip hop. F-You: The Forgiveness Project are presenting. Thursday, July 10, 6:30pm, Manifesto (37 Bulwer St).

DCP x TUPF: Pop-Up Gallery & Festival Closing Gala
The TUPF Toronto Urban Photography Festival is winding down, but they're going to shoot that last exposure like they mean it with a photo shot, raffle/giveaway, and of course, alcohol (which isn't free). At aarty with the photogs it's best not to forget to work your angles. Friday, July 11, 6:30-11pm, 180 Sudbury Street.

Pan Am One Year Countdown
One year until Toronto is flooding with Pan Am tourists. Celebrate it? There will be a life-size foosball machine on site. Friday and Saturday. July 11-12, Nathan Phillips Square (100 Queen St West).

Cultura Festival
Why do anything indoors? (I say this to my boss in a whiny voice - ineffective.) Cultura Fest is back at Mel Lastman Square July 11, 18, and 25. Performers, art installs, and film screenings are all free. Mel Lastman Square (5100 Yonge Street).

Los Van Van in Toronto free concert
Cuban band Los Van Van has a long history, and they'll be at City Hall for free on Saturday. July 12, 8pm, Nathan Phillips Square (100 Queen Street West).

Fancy Feast Cat Show
Hey internet, check out some fancy cats! They will be doing cat things. It's catapalooza by the Harbourfront. Don't throw cats at children. Saturday, July 12, 12-5pm, Purina PawsWay (245 Queen's Quay West).

MAKE IT
Free gig with Steely Chan, No Luck Club, LAL, Stop Die Resuscitate, maaskant, Yola Beru, and Bruno Capinan. That's Chan, not Dan. Saturday, July 12, 8pm, Westjet Stage, Harbourfront Centre (235 Queens Quay West).

2 Year Anniversary at P&L : SAT.JUL.12
Happy Birthday, Parts & Labour! The celebration is only free until 11pm, and there will be swag. And cupcakes. It's $5 after 11, by the way, so don't be late. Saturday, July 12, 10:30pm, Parts & Labour (1566 Queen St. West).

Time for Peace in Toronto
Are you like, into peace? RSVP for an invite see hear International ambassador for peace Prem Rawat live. Feel the peace. No cat throwing here. Sunday, July 13, 7pm, Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (1 Front Street East).

CPFF Days of Summer: Mr. Hulot's Holiday a night of seaside flicks
Christie Pits Film Fest is screening Jacques Tati's Mr. Hulot's Holiday in honour of Bastille Day. Summer vibes rule the nights' short film selections - and the food and beer vendors, if you can afford it. The screening is PWYC, so chip in a couple of dollars (or French francs). Sunday, July 13, 7:30pm, Christie Pits Park (779 Crawford Ave West).

• Elvis Mondays at the Drake
• Foosball Battle Royale, Monday, Disgraceland
• Art Gallery of Ontario free evening, Wednesday, 6-8:30pm.
• IFOA Weekly, free for supporters, students, & youth under 26, Wednesday, Harbourfront Centre
• Skin of My Nuts Comedy Show, Thursday, Sonic Espresso Bar
• Canadian Opera Company's Free Concerts series
• While nearly all art galleries in the city are free to enter, it's worth noting The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) is always PWYC.
• The ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) offers discounted tickets on Fridays ($10).

Do you want everyone to know about your kinda random free or pay-what-you-can event? Submit it to our event section. (You can also submit your for-money events here, greedy-pants.)

Photo via Cultural Festival on Facebook

Want a cocktail ring that lights up whenever you get a text message? How about a bike light that projects an image of a cyclist on the ground as you ride so motorists can see you coming? A brand-new Toronto-based site is devoting itself to all things startup-related - including an array of gadgets unavailable anywhere else.

The Blueprint launched last month as a showcase for "the most well-designed technology and the stories behind it". For tech insiders, that means an online magazine focusing on the business of hardware entrepreneurship.

Non-gearheads: ogle an array of gadgets you didn't even know you wanted, including a few (like the aforementioned Ringly smart ring, or the iPad-compatible Drop kitchen scale) available for exclusive preorder.

If you want to check this stuff out for yourself, they're throwing a launch party on Monday night.

Photo by jethros_tale in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Today in Toronto it's a good day for music: catch the retro feel and smooth soul classics (this is my radio voice) of the St. Royals' nine piece band for free at the Drake, or see July Talk play TURF's club series at the Horseshoe. Wychwood Barns will also host the Sound Travels fest for all you sound artists/hackers out there. Then Trampoline Hall is bringing Can-lit back to The Garrison, while at TIFF, Bruce LaBruce's Gerontophilia is "queering the May-December courtship of Harold and Maude" at 7:10 and 9:20pm tonight. For more events, click on over to our events section.

• Music: Free Live Showcase: St Royals (Drake Hotel)
• Film: Gerontophilia (TIFF)
• Music/Art: 16th Annual Sound Travels Festival of Sound Art (Wychwood Barns)
• Lit: Trampoline Hall (Garrison)
• Music: July Talk (Horseshoe)
• Theatre: Fringe Festival

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

Photo from Nathan Fleming / July Talk on Facebook

Toronto has a new mecca for those sensitive to gluten, nuts, soy and other common allergens. Nestled next to Type Books across from Trinity Bellwoods, this new food store has a mix of fresh baked goods, sweets, drinks and pantry items perfect for a quick bite or to take home to the pantry.

Read my profile of Feast in the grocery section.

Just a ferry ride away, the Toronto Islands are the perfect escape from the city offering an astonishing number of summer activities and the absolute best vantage points to appreciate the skyline. We challenged our readers to share their favourite photos from across the lake and the above pic from Maria Mollard made the biggest splash, landing Mollard a Pure Leaf Real Brewed Kit for her entry.

Check out all the submissions in our Toronto Islands stream.

Former Queen St. shop Deluxe and online store Sewnmates have combined forces to open a collaborative space where Love of Mine boutique used to be. The store, which stocks women's clothes, shoes and accessories, has a classic feel with a healthy dose of funk.

Find out more in my profile of Collab Co. in the fashion section.

The best hummus in Toronto is far superior than anything available from a grocery store, and while it's easy enough to whip up at home in a food processor, there is something inherently social about hummus - how it's swiped up with hand-torn pita and shared amongst a spread of mezze.

These aren't just ho-hum hummuses, either. The chickpea puree offered by these restaurants is shown a lot of love; a drizzle of olive oil, a dash of paprika, maybe a flourish of chopped parsley. It isn't just a condiment - you'll find it featured as a filling snack and could even do as a meal, especially when loaded up with warm olives, shawarma or chicken skin cracklings.

Here is the best hummus in Toronto.

See also:

The Best Falafel in Toronto
The Best Shawarma in Toronto
The Best Baklava in Toronto
The Best Kosher Restaurants in Toronto

You just might learn something when you order at Signs, a new restaurant opening at Yonge and Wellesley on July 16. Specifically, you'll pick up a couple of signs in ASL: The restaurant employs mostly deaf servers, and customers will be encouraged to order in sign language using a provided cheat sheet.

Owner Anjan Manikumar told the Star he was inspired to create the restaurant after learning a few signs to communicate with a regular customer at a Boston Pizza he previously managed in Markham. The restaurant is an effort to create jobs for deaf Torontonians - a 1998 survey found that 37% of deaf Canadians were unemployed - as well as educate the city's hearing population.

As for the food: expect a "contemporary menu with a blend of Canadian and international food" featuring a selection of game meats. Here's how to sign "rabbit" - it may come in handy.

PintxosTO was held this past Sunday in a parking lot off Wellington St.. The festival, devoted to Spanish-style snacks, attracted 800 hungry attendees ready to gorge themselves one tiny skewer at a time. The lineup of participating restaurants included a who's who of Spanish restaurants in the city, including Marben, Cava, Bar Buca, Patria, Barsa Taberna, Portland Variety, Salt Wine Bar and of course, Bar Isabel, who seemingly showed everyone else up by bringing half a dozen different nibbles and a cocktail bar.

Check out all the two-bite treats in our gallery from the event.

Summer's the perfect time to revamp your wardrobe - while you're doffing those layers, why not ditch them for good? Instead of heading to the nearest chain store for a shopping spree (though you might want to do that anyhow - more on that in a moment), there are plenty of unique and awesome ways to reinvent your wardrobe.

Here are 10 fun ways to get a new look this summer in Toronto.

Go to a clothing swap
Strapped for cash? No problem! If you have enough items to get rid of from your wardrobe, they could be your ticket into a clothing swap. Most swaps have a required minimum (usually around 10 items), and your goods should be in good condition and seasonally appropriate. But if you have nice things that you're simply bored of, this is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to a new wardrobe. Some great ongoing swaps include Nathalie-Roze & Co.'s Uber Swap series, Swapsity, and Toronto Clothing Swap.

Get stuff for free
If you have nothing to swap, then try the Really Really Free Market at Campbell Park, near Lansdowne Station. You just show up and pick anything strikes your fancy. Goods have to be clean and in working condition so you won't have to sift through junk, and you might even find a useful free service for your makeover, like a haircut.

Visit a pop-up shop
There are loads of fantastic pop up shops all around Toronto in the summer - you just have to make sure you're quick enough to catch them. Oak + Fort offers high-quality minimalist selections at reasonable prices on Queen West, while neighbouring Wildfox is a unicorn-loving sweatshirt wearer's dream. Meanwhile, PopUp120 is a rotating pop up shop with such joyous things as a $20 rack. For more pop-up ideas, check out our list of fashion events this summer in Toronto.

Give your lashes a makeover
How about doing something that shaves time off your morning routine and makes you look great, like some brand spankin' new falsies? Or maybe an eyelash or brow tint? There are several new lash-focused salons popping up on the radar that are worth a visit. Wax & Lash is conveniently located downtown on Yonge Street, while mid-town's Privilash also offers makeup lessons to get the most out of your new peepers.

Pop by a new Ten Spot location
Finish off your new look with a little mani-pedi and a Charlie Chaplin (if you don't know what I'm talking about, look at their shop window). The Toronto chain of waxing and manicure salons, with locations all over the GTA, has a new spot (har) that recently opened in the Annex, and another coming soon to Yonge and Eglinton. They're consistently voted as the best place for getting your bits waxed and painted, and it's pretty much a guarantee there's a location near you.

Be the first in town to wear a clothing brand
Tired of looking like everyone else and want to get the edge on some fashion trends? Hit up newcomers like Parloque and Room 29, both of which offer hard-to-find international designer items, some of which are sold nowhere else in the city (such as New Zealand menswear brand I Love Ugly at Parloque).

Line up for a capsule collection
You'll actually have good reason to hit up H&M if you have a thing for balloon animals, as their collaboration with artist Jeff Koons (featuring balloon-dog handbags) will be released on July 17. Roland Mouret and Banana Republic pair up in August with a 25-piece collection, while Joseph Altuzarra for Target will be available late summer on September 14. (Then there'll be plenty of polite shopping to tide us over until things get ugly with Alexander Wang for H&M come November.)

Get your old clothes fixed up
Sometimes you just need to take something that's past its prime and make it new again, and repairing your old favourites doesn't mean forking out the big bucks either. The Toronto Clothing Repairathon is a public event where volunteers fix your clothes for free (yes, free!) while teaching you how to take better care of your duds. The Repair Café is a similar monthly gathering, but you can also bring electronics, furniture, and small appliances that need a little TLC while they sew your favourite top back together. They even have a 3D printer on site to make new parts.

Shop for Toronto-designed beachwear
For a city that lives under snow and sleet half the year, we sure know how to make up for it with fabulous swimwear. Brands like Bather act as a bridge between the beach and street wear for the menfolk, while Reese brings all the sex appeal a non-European beach can handle with sheer bikini tops. Cascata Blu is also great for more traditional solid-colour bikinis and tribal patterned covers.

Get a custom piece made
There's no better time than summer to get a custom piece of clothing made - you need less fabric and the cuts are often simpler, making it more affordable. You could also customize a vintage piece that needs to be brought into the current century. Labl's Elizabeth Oliveira is a designer in addition to a seamstress, making her a great choice for the fashion-conscious, while Fashion by Pearl focuses on more formal wear - so you can have one-of-a-kind summer wedding attire.

Thanks to Growers Cider for sponsoring this post.

For more fun things to do this summer, check out our Toronto Fun Guide.

Writing by Esther Rogers. Photo via Wildfox.

New events in Toronto this summer mean projects from some of Toronto's favourite event promoters (Pedestrian Sundays, Long Winter, Mansion, Young Lion's Music Club) as well as some newer faces. A few cool new dates have already passed like Pride's Nuit Rose take on Nuit Blanche (which we hope returns next year) and the Distillery's Bacardi Festival, but there are still plenty of novel events left to attend this summer.

Here are our picks for the top new events taking place in Toronto this summer.

Otherland
The promoters behind Mansion's Happy Endings parties in Chinatown (and more) and Foundry are about to launch Otherland, a club series in the newly revamped Tattoo that promises to share its love for "something different" and fill a gap in the city's music scene with their DJ/live bookings. Going by this mandate and past events, at the opening night July 25 dance and electronic fans should expect anything but a generic club district vibe. The 25th's line up is Model 500, Jeremy Greenspan, Gingy B2B and Kevin McPhee in Room 1, and Members Only and more in Room 2. Check out the full summer line up and dates here.

Modern Man
If you need some brushing up on how to perform masculinity, this new convention has got it covered with a host of male-themed entertainment and fashion-related booths. The idea is to create the "ultimate guys night out," which could sound enticing or boring depending on what type of guy you are. You can expect cocktails, food on sticks, free shaves, an outdoor cigar lounge, and plenty of prototypical male activities. Your $39 ticket gets you three drink samples and access to all the eats (first come first served). July 11th, Roy Thompson Hall.

Annex Flea
While the long awaited Annex Flea first launched during this past winter, vintage lovers and those seeking homemade goods will find these new digs at the Honest Ed's parking lot one more excuse to slather on sunscreen. Or tanning lotion, if you're flirting with death. Bonus: if you lost your shades at last night's party, one of the flea's fine vendors will have some fancy ones on sale with your name on them. And maybe some shoes, since you lost those somehow. I won't even touch on the fact you also lost your shorts. The next outdoor Annex Flea is July 27.

Construction
For the past two years Long Winter has thrown program-stacked music/art parties at the Great Hall about six months of the year (it's a damn long winter). Construction is Mike Haliechuck (Fucked Up) and Mark Pesci (Just Shows)'s smaller, more laid back summer edition of Long Winter, and shows, still all PWYC and all-ages, hop between Smiling Buddha and Double Double Land. July's show features Toronto bands Absolutely Free, Doomsquad, and Anamai at Smiling Buddha July 11. Watch their Facebook for more events.

TIME Fest
TIME took a three year break, so it's not brand new (here's a 2009 poster featuring Crystal Castles and A-Trak) - but a jump from Sound Academy to the Fort York Garrison Common means this fest is going to be a totally different experience - plus I can't remember anything that happened more than one year ago. July 19's one day line up will probably be more fun than Grove was last year - all I remember about Grove is they wanted to give me a free outfit in exchange for hanging out at Grove and tweeting about said outfit - no thanks? Death Grips will be a big loss for TIME (unless you hate yelling), but Grimes, Smith Westerns, Kaytranada, Charli XCX, Majical Cloudz and more are still on the bill.

Taste of Toronto
Not to be confused with Toronto Taste, this is the big one. After taking London, Milan and Moscow by storm, this global food event makes its first appearance in Toronto at Fort York on July 24th to 27th. The highly anticipated festival will bring together 20 big-name restaurants for lunch and dinner sessions featuring special menus and starter-sized tasting plates. General admission is $30 for the culinary showcase promising demos, an interactive tasting room and an artisan marketplace.

Heart of Toronto
Toronto's throwing some decent dance parties (see Otherland above), and Heart of Toronto's CD/party series proves we're also set up in the recording department. Last fall saw the first Heart of Toronto compilation feature some lesser known local musicians not known for making pure dance music - at least in the way TO projects Azari & III or, I guess, Deadmau5 are - including Tenderness, Prince Nifty, Jennifer Castle, Princess Century (Austra), Petra Glynt and Man Made Hill. The next HOT party is July 26 at Double Double Land with David Dacks (The Music Gallery) and Daniel Vila spinning only Toronto produced music.

Young Lions Long Weekend
Building off the success of last year's Young Lions Softball Classic, the Toronto event promoters are back with a bigger event for the August long weekend this year. Taking over all three baseball diamonds in Trinity Bellwoods on Saturday August 2nd, the idea is to hang with friends, meet new people, and be happy that you're not off at a cottage. Along with the softball festivities (which don't require you to be a sporting superstar), Young Lions promises additional programming over the long weekend to expand the event beyond the baseball diamond. They're keeping mum about plans so far, but we naturally expect a musical component to be added to the mix. More details here.

Kensington Market Art Fair
Toronto's newest outdoor art event, the Kensington Market Art Fair is hosted in conjunction with Pedestrian Sundays. Curated and run by Keep Six Exhibits, the relatively small fair (26 artists are featured at each event) is an excellent addition to the every busy street festival. The work on offer, which is by local artists, is well documented on the event's website, so you can scope out some of the artists in advance. Upcoming fairs will take place on July 27th and August 31st.

Craft Beer Cruise
End the summer in style with Toronto newest beer event, a cruise with a host of craft brewers on the River Gambler. Yes, beer and boats is a dubious combination, but given that you won't be steering, all you have to do is make sure that you don't fall off the side, which should be straightforward enough. Your $39.95 ticket gets you a mug and five 4oz samples (you can buy additional samples individually) to try over the course of the three hour-long cruise through the Toronto Harbour. Participating breweries include Left Field Brewery, Junction Craft Brewing, Great Lakes Brewing Company and the Kensington Market Brewing Company (to name only a few). September 13th, one cruise at 3:30pm and a sunset offering at 8:00pm.

Thanks to Pure Leaf for sponsoring our summer adventures. For more things to do this summer, check out our Best of Summer page.

What did I miss? Add more new events to the comments.

Writing by Aubrey Jax, Derek Flack and Liora Ipsum

Photo via Taste of Toronto's Facebook page

The Toronto Urban Roots Festival's second year was less rainy and muddy than last, though it would have taken more than rain to dampen the spirits at the three day takeover of Fork York Garrison common this weekend. Neutral Milk Hotel, Gogol Bordello, Jenny Lewis, Jeff Tweedy, July Talk, Deer Tick, Violent Femmes, The Strumbellas, and more played to crowds who prefer their indie rock deeply rooted and their festival gear muted (compared last weekend's Digital Dreams fest, anyway).

From the audacious to the truly down-home, here are 50 grassy memories from TURF 2014

Something's lurking in High Park's West Pond. Something reptilian. Something definitely not native to Canada. Local resident Teghan Stadnyk, whose backyard faces the small body of water also known as Catfish Pond, says she saw what appeared to be a caiman--a type of reptile related to the alligator--swimming in the shallow water around 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

"Me and my friend were just hanging out and he saw something and was like 'oh my gosh, is that a crocodile,'" she says. "We just went and sat and watched it for half an hour and it stood just still for a while and then swam around and made some biting motions. It's pretty fascinating--I've never seen anything like that before."

Caimans are a type of amphibious carnivore native to Central and South America. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica: "The largest of these species is the black caiman, a potentially dangerous animal attaining a maximum length of about 4.5 metres. The other species normally attain lengths of about 1.2-2.1 metres, with a maximum of about 2.7 metres in the spectacled caiman."

Stadnyk says the creature was about the size of an adult's arm, but it has vanished since last night's heavy rain.

"I've seen a beaver [in the pond] before but nothing as unusual as this so I think maybe someone did probably just drop a pet and it grew--a whole lot."

UPDATE: CAIMAN CAUGHT. Toronto Animal Services and the Toronto police marine unit have safely bagged the beastie. It will be taken to a reptile sanctuary and later placed a new home. It's safe to go back in the water... for now.

Here's the video.

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

Photo of a different caiman by Lea Maimone

The High Park caiman, an alligator-like reptile spotted by a Toronto resident yesterday, has been caught. Earlier this evening, the Toronto Police Marine Unit and staff from Reptilia were called to the west end of the park to hunt down the creature, who probably wouldn't have fared so well in the pond over the long term. While smaller than Big Blue, the caiman's presence was understandably mysterious enough. The likeliest theory is that the roughly 80 centimetre long reptile was a pet that grew too big and was subsequently dumped in the pond by its dimwitted owner.

The search and rescue mission (which has more than a few ducks quacking more easily tonight) took roughly an hour, and eventually came to a conclusion as Reptilia facilities manager Lee Parker snuck up behind the creature and snatched it up. The caiman will now be kept at Reptilia before the zoo attempts to find it a permanent home elsewhere. It's a happy ending for the misplaced reptile, though I'll continue to believe that there is a far larger creature hiding away in Catfish Pond for which the caiman was a convenient cover.

Photo by lucasimages.ca in the blogTO Flickr pool.