It's snowing, which means that you have the perfect excuse to skip drinks with those people that you've been avoiding, and do something you actually want to do, like play Mario Kart on your N64 emulator and, if you're like me, catch a comedy show! Follow me as I walk you through the Star Cup of Toronto's humourous offerings in This Week in Comedy.

MON FEB 11 / ALTdot COMEDY LOUNGE / RIVOLI / 332 QUEEN W / 9PM / $5

Your host for this week's stacked line-up at ALTdot is Graham Kay, who always makes me bang the table (that's how you show you like a performer in Scarborough). If he starts talking about what it was like when a girl called his house when he was a kid, put down your drinks. When Dave Merheje's name is called, again, put down your drinks. When Guy Montgomery's name is called, AGAIN, put down your drinks. Now, I know you probably haven't heard of him, but Guy's NEXT. When I say next, I'm talking about the next dude to get noticed on the Toronto scene. There are a lot of professional, touring comedians that will make you laugh, and more than a few that will make you applaud. However, there aren't that many that will make you double over with laughter. Somehow, ALTdot has gotten three of these kinds of comedians on the same show. Wowzers.

WED FEB 13 - SUN FEB 17 / BRYAN O'GORMAN / YUK YUK'S / 224 RICHMOND W / 8PM / $11-20

Bryan O'Gorman's one of my personal favourites. Not only does he have prepared material that kills, but he can also seamlessly improvise and work with a crowd no matter what the topic. While his presence onstage might lead you to believe he's your typical stoner, you'll soon realize that he's a well-read club comedian. This laid-back style puzzles amateur comedians. He's so laid back that you think, "I could do that." But it's not that easy. Bryan's gotten to that point where he's "...transcended technique so that the art becomes an 'artless art' growing out of the Unconscious" (Daisetsu Suzuki). What the casual observer doesn't see is that he's been honing his craft for over six years, and keeps his wit sharp by hosting a ton of shows and following current events.

THURS FEB 14 / I'M WITH CUPID / COMEDY BAR / 945 BLOOR W / 8PM / $5

Danielle Meierhenry, one of Toronto's newest comedy producers, is celebrating Valentine's Day by presenting a show rife with tales of heartbreak and bad sex. Jy Harris will bring the noise and Diana Bailey the charm, but pay special attention to Jordan Foisy, who's been getting rave reviews from fellow comedians over the past few months.

FRI FEB 15 - SAT FEB 16 / NO KIDDING / THE LOT / 100 OSSINGTON / 15th - 8PM AND 10PM / 16th - 10PM / FREE

These shows are being produced for the TV show No Kidding, which means that the featured comics will be putting forth their best effort and most polished material. Now, sometimes that results in herky jerky performances, but given the experience of the cast involved, that shouldn't be a problem. The comedians featured in these tapings are as follows: Julia Hladkowicz, Casey Corbin, Evan Desmarais, Ryan Maglunob, Faisal Butt, Ben Miner, Martha O'Neill, Brian Aylward, and Amanda Day.

About the Author: This is Michael Jagdeo, and I refuse to write about myself in the third-person. My blog, Diary of a Stand-up Comedian, walks you through the up's and down's (they're mostly downs, really) in my quest to become a killer comic in Toronto.

Before the TD Centre forever altered the appearance and scale of Toronto's skyline, the city was unaccustomed to battles over density and height restrictions. The financial centre was dominated by the Old Toronto Star Building, Canadian Bank of Commerce, and the Royal York Hotel, large stone structures all under 35 floors.

Those buildings were all finished within a year of 1930 and would hold dominion over the city's upper limits until Mies van der Rohe's obsidian towers, angular and modern, heralded a paradigm shift in Toronto's architecture and ignited the area's leasing market.

In the 1980s, the $430 million Scotia Plaza, a gigantic project that aimed to cash in on the flourishing rentals game, attracted a significant amount of press due to its developer's controversial deal to stretch the tower's size at the expense of existing density rules.

The agreement blurred the lines between deal-making and city planning and left a particularly sour taste in the mouth of TD bank, the building's would-be neighbours, who engaged a very public mudslinging match with the complex's developers, the Bank of Nova Scotia, and even Art Eggleton, the city's mayor.

Tower wars had arrived in Toronto.

Unveiled on Oct. 1982, Scotia Plaza was designed to be a giant from the outset. At 66 floors, the building would be second in size only to First Canadian Place, Canada's tallest office building that had been completed 7 years earlier.

The building's colossal size, a staggering twelve times over the zoning limit, was negotiated by the developer, Campeau Corp., who also owned vacant land at Yonge and Lake Shore. There, the company had planned to start construction on a mixed-use building several times higher than the city really wanted.

So, in a controversial move, Campeau was allowed to add 25 extra floors to the top of Scotia Plaza in exchange for reducing the size of its planned Lake Shore development. One of the first groups to publicly cry foul was rival banking group TD.

The first round in a bitter campaign against the project was fought before the city's land use committee. TD argued that Campeau and Bank of Nova Scotia (to use the bank's original name) gained more than $40 million in zoning concessions thanks to its deal with the city. J. Edgar Sexton, lawyer for the owners of TD Centre, likened the deal to a Houdini slight of hand.

The committee wasn't much interested in TD's complaints. They voted 8-2 to reaffirm the city's support for the project, comparing the bank's rabid opposition to "corporate bullying."

At the time, the TD Centre was Toronto's most prestigious office address and the company was working on a new edition to the complex - the building now known as TD Waterhouse Tower - at the same time as the Scotia Plaza project.

Shortly after its defeat at the land use committee, TD published an passive-aggressive attack ad in three of Toronto's daily papers, including the Toronto Star. Though it avoided naming the project directly, the accompanying text accused the city of "abandoning sound planning principles" for "deals and trade-offs" in its approval of Scotia Plaza's density swap and signed off with a pledge to fight the final approval vote at city council.Meanwhile, confident of success, Ontario Premier William Davis, Toronto Mayor Art Eggleton, and Robert Campeau staged a "wrecking ceremony" using a scale model of the project site ahead of the crucial meeting. An editorial the same day worried about the city abandoning its own master plan in order to approve the tower.

Sensing the power of the political momentum building against it, TD attempted to stall progress with its last ace in the hole: the lease agreement to a building on Adelaide St. within the footprint of the proposed tower. In a play straight out of a spirited game of Monopoly, the bank asked a staggering $36 million in compensation, almost 10% of Campeau's estimate cost cost for the entire project.

Mayor Eggleton was so incensed by TD's politicking that he penned a scathing letter to Richard Thompson, head of Toronto-Dominion, accusing the bank of "misleading cheap shots," "media manipulating" and "fear-mongering." Toronto's leader stopped just short of signing his letter with a lengthy raspberry.

Two days later, after a marathon four-hour debate, city council approved the Scotia Plaza by a vote of 12-7 on the proviso Campeau build 200 units of assisted housing and keep the original Bank of Nova Scotia building. In true sporting manner, the ban and Campeau Corp. ran their own advert mocking the style and tone of the earlier TD missive, but the bank refused to lie down on the matter.This wasn't the first time TD had made a fuss over rival banking groups for perceived encroachments on its turf. In 1972, while the paint was still wet on its own downtown offices, the bank fought against the bending of Piper St. northward for the construction of the Royal Bank Plaza because, they said, it would disrupt the entrance to their parking garage.

Despite suggesting it would appeal council's decision at the Ontario Municipal Board, the provincial watchdog with jurisdiction over Toronto's city council, TD quietly dropped its opposition in July 1984.

In the bank's place, Downtown Action, a long-dormant activist organization, took up the quarrel with Campeau. The group consisted of NDP councillors Jack Layton, later a vocal opponent of the SkyDome project, Dale Martin, and David Reville, as well as several others.

"While we don't have the massive economic and political clout of the Scotia Bank and Campeau Corp.," the group said in a press release. "We are inspired by the ancient story of David and Goliath and are hoping that this action will be the stone that brings the Scotia Plaza down to manageable proportions."

Meanwhile, Goliath was busy preparing the construction site. As part of its deal with the city, Campeau agreed to carefully dismantle the historic King St. facade of the Wood Gundy building and rebuild it immediately north on Adelaide. The 1,500-piece, terra-cotta and limestone structure was taken apart, cleaned with brushes, and put together a block north.

The 5-storey structure was originally home to Jon Kay and Son's carpet store; Wood Gundy, an underwriting and bonds specialist, now a CIBC company, carved its name above the door in the 1920s. Ironically, the brokerage firm moved to office space at TD Centre.Then, with the hearing date looming, the non-profit Downtown Action abruptly withdrew its objections to the tower amid rumours of a clandestine $2 million deal with Campeau. The 5-member group had been active fighting housing issues in the late 1970s but had entered stasis prior to the Scotia Plaza saga.

It would later turn out Downtown Action had traded their silence for a $2 million donation to a housing co-operative from the developers. It was a good deal for Campeau - the legal costs and delays associated with an OMB hearing could have set the company back more than $10 million. Still, the closed-door deal left a bad taste in the mouth for those seeking transparency in the city building process.

A meeting by the city's land use committee would later find the NDP councillors "misused" the system, and all this before the building had even risen from its foundation pit. The Star said the payoff cast a "long shadow" over due process in Toronto.TD's last desperate bid to stifle the tower's progress ended when the bank relinquished its lease to its hold-out branch. The fee was never disclosed, though it was definitely much less than the original asking fee. The building was hastily demolished with a wrecking ball though Campeau had asked to use an implosion device to save time (and look really cool.)

Despite being bogged down by delays, the Scotia Plaza project was perfectly timed to coincide with a leasing market boom in Toronto. As far back as 1986 experts were predicting its 1.5 million sq. ft. would in high demand as local companies grew and new ones arrived. One report predicted the market would grow by almost 50% by 1991.It was good, then, that the building was beginning to take shape. The pit excavated for the building's foundation had already become the largest of its kind ever dug in Canada at 23 metres below street level. Then there was the Red Napoleon granite, shipped to North America from Italy and Sweden and stored in a staging area on Unwin Ave. in the Port Lands that would give the tower its unique colour.

At the heart of the work site, two West German-built cranes perched on the podium and rose with the tower, hoisting girders and assisting with concrete pours. The pair were named Falkor and Artax by school children in Europe after characters from The Never Ending Story and helped assemble the unique tubular construction that allowed for something approaching even weight distribution (some skyscrapers rely heavily on an inner core for support.)

The building's stats alone are impressive: 1,496 corner offices, 44 elevator cars, 28,000 exterior tiles, 5,000 windows, and 18,500 lights, all subtly brightened and dimmed automatically by a light sensing computer. A giant 2.95 million litre water tank in the basement circulates water through each floor, cooling in summer and heating in winter much like the Toronto's Enwave system does today.Suddenly, with the building approaching full height, a faulty driveshaft in a construction elevator failed. The knock-on effect sent a car carrying two workers racing at more than 100 km/h toward the top of the shaft. Both were killed on impact and another man caught in the wreck was seriously injured. All work was suspended pending an investigation.

31-year-old crane operator Joe Dowdall, profiled in the Toronto Star two months earlier, underwent emergency spinal surgery. The fallout from the accident would rumble on for months as the families of the killed workers fought for compensation.

The building topped off on Feb. 10 1988 and opened later that year. The co-op housing units promised to the city were, at the time, held up in a building freeze on Queens Quay and tangled up in a land deals in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood. It did, however, go on to earn its owners the money they expected.

Scotia Plaza sold for $1.28 billion in 2012.

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

Images: Public domain, City of Toronto Archives, "Wafers in Cherry Flavor" by yoyoeq/blogTO Flickr pool.

Ever used a gravity machine before? Regardless of whether you're a total novice or a seasoned expert, this gym promises to tone and strengthen you with its mix of gravity machine workouts, yoga, and barre classes, with the help of patient instructors and a laidback atmosphere.

Read my profile of Gravitate Studio in the fitness clubs section.

Photo by syncros in the blogTO Flickr pool

This week in theatre rounds up the most noteworthy live theatre playing right now in Toronto. It includes just-opened shows as well as productions that are about to close.

4.48 Psychosis / Berkeley Street Theatre / 8:00pm / $25-$38
Toronto has an appetite for the plays of Sarah Kane, as witnessed by the widely embraced Blasted, presented by Buddies in Bad Times in 2010. This time around, Necessary Angel, under direction from Vikki Anderson, delves into the subconscious text of the contemporary playwright. 4.48 Psychosis, the last play before Kane's suicide at the age of 28, features no formal characters or stage directions in its ruminations on clinical depression, suicide, and isolation.

Turtleneck / Hub 14 / 8:00pm / 2:00pm / $15
Here's a show that's sure to heat up your cold winter feet. Brandon Crone's Turtleneck pries open the toy trunk to consider a whole collection of sexually-charged topics: pornography, sex addiction, and the upending of gender roles. The play introduces us to a recovering sex addict, Vicki, who threatens to spiral out of control after being introduced to a rehabilitation worker's older brother, who just happens to be sex-obsessed himself.

To Myself At 28 / Videofag / 8:00pm / 2:00pm / PYWC
As a celebration of his 60th year, Sky Gilbert takes to the stage to consider some thirty odd years in his role as Toronto's queer theatre icon. But it's not as neat as all that. Gilbert examines his status as the last token gay playwright and peels back the facade to reveal embarrassing confessions. Expect the playwright not to hold back, as witnessed in his damning blog posts on the status on Toronto theatre. Spencer Charles Smith appears alongside Gilbert as a younger version of the playwright.

[Title of Show] / Lower Ossington Theatre / 8:00pm / 2:00pm / $49
It's hard to tell if the description for [Title of Show] is truly what the show is about, or a summary of how the show you're in the theatre watching came to be: "[title of show] is a musical about two nobodies named Hunter and Jeff who decide to write a completely original musical starring themselves and their attractive and talented ladyfriends, Susan and Heidi. Their musical...gets into the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and becomes a hit." I'm thinking this is a musical about making a musical that reaches Broadway (which is probably where they hope THIS musical goes). Oh the metatheatrical possibilities.

Claire, From The Bus / The Storefront Theatre / 8:00pm / 2:00pm / $20
Kjartan Hewitt's Claire, From The Bus grabs hold of our societal fears about the pitfalls of social media privacy and takes things to a new level. Any inappropriate sexts, steamy skype sessions, or accidental Facebook slips that could have befallen Ralph will pale in comparison to the sexual blackmail orchestrated by that girl he met on the bus this morning. Oh, and it just happens to be Ralph's 31st birthday. The show stars Ennis Esmer, Mayko Nguyen, David Reale and Bryn McAuley.

Photo of [title of show] by Carol Rosegg

Toronto has something of a mixed relationship with Canada's national weather phenomenon. We love sledding in Riverdale and Christie Pits parks but tend to fret when too much of the white stuff builds up on the doorstep. This week's dump of snow, despite some ugly moments on the roads, generally went off without much disruption. Here we have some of the snow stats and a look at what the TTC did to mitigate potential chaos.

Away from the snow, the TTC has been quietly maintaining a fleet of vintage turnstiles on the Yonge and Bloor-Danforth lines. The locally-built Canadian Beaver Co. fare collection equipment has withstood decades of saline slush, summer heat, and barging commuters and continues to unfailingly gobble up tokens to this day. Spot one next time you're riding.

SNOWSTORM STATSNow that the dust (snow) has settled on this weekend's bumper storm it makes sense to package up the wild weather in to a series of numbers for posterity. Though it wasn't the biggest snowfall ever to hit Toronto - these vintage pictures show what it looks like when it really snows - it still managed to disrupt plenty travel and work plans. Here is the Snownami, Oblizzerator, Snowpocalypse, whatever, in numbers:

Total snowfall: 30 centimetres
Snow-melting machines: 1
Snow melted per hour: 136 tonnes
Salt trucks: 200
Salt: 12,000 tonnes
Snow workers: 1,900
Vehicle collisions: 350+
CAA calls: 4,000+
Cancelled flights: 800+
Clean-up cost: $4 million
Deaths: 3

KEEPING TRANSIT RUNNING IN A BLIZZARDHow do you keep transit running when all other transportation methods become a treacherous mess? Though it wasn't a faultless few days for the TTC, subway, streetcar and bus services generally stayed on track. Here are some of the measures the Toronto Transit Commission adopted to ensure the system wasn't (totally) caught out:

STORING TRAINS IN TUNNELS: Instead of leaving subway cars in the elements, the TTC stored more than 50% of its rolling stock in underground portions of the network while the majority of the snow fell.

DE-ICING TRAINS In open-cut sections of track, the third rail, the electrified strip that powers the train, tends to freeze up in a blizzard. To combat this, a special train with ethylene gycol (de-icer) dispenser circulated throughout the storm (though it might not have entirely done the trick.)

SPECIAL "STORM" CARS: Idle switches and moving sections of track on the streetcar network tend to get stuck if they're not regularly exercised. To that end, special cars tour every switch, loop, and section of track throughout the storm.

SEND IN THE TROOPS!

It wouldn't be a snow post without a look back at the time the leader of a major Canadian city had to call the army to do the shoveling. And by that I mean Victoria, BC. They did it too! If you're interested in re-living Toronto's balking in the face of the white stuff, here's a blogTO picture post.

"WHAT'S THAT THING" - AN URBAN EXPOSITIONIt's easy to ignore subway turnstiles, after all they're merely an obstacle one must pass through in order to get some place else, but riders of the Yonge and Bloor-Danforth lines should (in my opinion anyway) keep their eyes out and play "Spot the Beaver" on their next trip.

The Canadian Beaver Co. turnstiles are the original barriers installed when both subway lines were still under construction. According to the TTC's Brad Ross, there are two models: the 1954 version on the Yonge line and a later set from 1966 on the Bloor-Danforth. He says "high quality, simplicity of design and mechanics, and good maintenance practices by the TTC over the years" have kept the machines running without fault in some cases almost 60 years.

Though Ross couldn't be certain exactly where the Beavers reside (the one photographed above is part of a cluster at Sherbourne station,) they're definitely still out there. Look for the red manufacturer's plate and textured metal sides next time you ride.

WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK:

• Rob Ford seems to have a way with owls [National Post]
• Toronto is home to Canada's last duplicate paper manufacturer [Toronto Star]
• Councillor Janet Davis moonlights as a crime fighter [Toronto Star]
• Captain John's might become a floating casino [Toronto Star]

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

Images: "Just a Little Bit of Snow" by Ben Roffelsen, "Banking Pavilion" by Badger416, "Rush Hour run in the Snowstorm" by Zirocket/blogTO Flickr pool, Chris Bateman/blogTO

Photo by Dan Cronin in the blogTO Flickr pool

MUSIC | Graydon James & Laura Spink: Mondays in February at the Cameron House
Graydon James and Laura Spink are two members of Toronto's popular folk-tinged group Graydon James And The Young Novelists, known for cleverly written tunes and a fondness for tea. For three consecutive Mondays, this pair will be occupying the front room at The Cameron House and warming up for an upcoming east coast tour. They will be giving the material on the group's In The Year You Were Born album a workout, and possibly throwing in some covers, also. Each week there will be some special guests. Tonight they will be joined by Shawna Caspi, who will surely win everyone over with her guitar, vocal and songwriting chops.
Cameron House (408 Queen Street West) 10PM

LECTURE | The Best and Worst of Damien Hirst
Dr. Elizabeth Legge from the University of Toronto delivers a lecture of the life and career of British artist, Damien Hirst. Hirst came to prominence in the '90s as the UK movement known as the YBA (Young British Artists) reached its apex, with this artist in the movement's forefront. With work focused on issues of death and mortality, Hirst's groundbreaking piece, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living put both his name, and contemporary British Art on the worldwide radar. Hirst's story has another interesting dimension, as he is also an entrepreneur, and the richest living artist in Britain today. This lecture is one hour, and registration is required.
Bloor/Gladstone Library (1101 Bloor Street West) 7PM

FILM | Woody Allen Past + Present
Kevin Courier's lecture series on Woody Allen concludes this evening at the Miles Nadal JCC. This five-week intensive is a complete survey of Allen's work, arranged into modules that make dropping in for individual lectures ideal. This final installment, dubbed The Long Road Home, focuses on Allen's later films, from Husbands and Wives to Midnight in Paris, examining the works themselves, but also the cultural and historical context in which they were released and received. Come and enjoy and evening out, and expand your knowledge of cinema at the same time.
Miles Nadal JCC (750 Spadina Avenue) 7PM $12

MUSIC | A Silent Film w/ Gold Fields
UK rockers, A Silent Film hit town tonight, for a show with Gold Fields at The Drake Hotel. Although this post-alternative rock band is from Oxford, England, they claim to have "found themselves" when they arrived in the US in 2010. They have toured with The Smashing Pumpkins, Sleigh Bells and others, and are currently touring their Sand And Snow album, released last Summer. Gold Fields, a band from Ballarat, Australia, have a new album that they're currently working, called Black Sun. They are A Silent Film's road mates for this tour, and will get the party started tonight.
The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen Street West) 8PM $15

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR

Yuka at The Drake
Fleurus 2: An Evening of Bent Word
Canada Reads Debates with Jian Ghomeshi
Rock Star Live

MORE EVENTS THIS WEEK

For more Toronto event suggestions, check out these posts:

• This week in music
• This week in food
• This week in film
• This week in fashion
• This week in theatre
• This week in comedy
• Toronto concerts, February 2013

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

Photo by J Wong in the blogTO Flickr pool

Rob and Doug Ford were joined on their weekly Newstalk 1010 radio show this week by Ontario Lottery and Gaming CEO Rod Phillips, who told listeners any GTA gambling facility would be less than 10% gaming and consist of convention, retail, residential and hotel space. Ford also said he'd like to cut the city's land transfer tax by 10%. The show also featured Markham mayor Frank Scarpitti for a chat about stadia.

The City of Vaughan (not Markham...) has apologized for a profane tweet during the Friday's snow storm. The city's official account publicly questioned local "fucknuts" who keep their cars on the street during a snow storm. The question lingered for roughly an hour before the account was temporarily suspended.

Metrolinx is finding support for taxes to pay for new transit if the most recent round of public consultations are anything to go by. According to the Globe and Mail (paywall), a small increase in sales tax is one of the preferred ways of raising the $34 billion required to prevent the GTHA slipping into gridlock. Are small raises on existing tolls the best way of easing the pain?

Police are asking drivers to take extra care this morning after last night's freezing rainfall. A GO bus has already spun out on the greasy Highway 404 road surface and some school busses have been cancelled (list).

The vagaries of Toronto's winter weather make skating on Lake Ontario a little hit or miss. For safety reasons, the city doesn't allow skaters onto the ice between the downtown and the Islands, but it's still possible to have a sneaky game of shinny with a view when its cold enough. Have you skated on the lake?

Councillor Mike Del Grande had his hands full this weekend after snow plows in his Scarborough-Agincourt neighbourhood failed to clear driveway access holes like they're supposed to. No problem, though, Del Grande brought out his personal snowblower and did the work himself. Windrow clearing, as its known, was salvaged in 2011 budget which Del Grande assembled.

Finally, artists Sean Martindale and Adam Krawesky didn't let a pile of fresh snow outside TD Centre go to waste this weekend. The pair carved "CREDIT" with shovels in anticipation of today's warm temperatures and rain that will, hopefully, provide an "opportunity to catch a snow CREDIT meltdown." Nice.IN BRIEF:

• Wynne to name Sousa as new finance minister, sources say [CBC]
• SIU called in after man shot, woman stabbed, in Scarborough [Toronto Star]
• Four wounded by gunfire on CNE grounds, SIU investigating [Toronto Star]
• Ruling on Cadillac Fairview bird-strike building expected Monday [Toronto Star]

FROM THE WEEKEND:

• Sunday Supplement: Snowstorm edition
• Brampton band that couldn't make a comeback (sort of)
• New Chinatown yoga studio lets you pay in joules
• Short run for Psycho Bitch in Kensington ends today
• This Toronto fitness club gets you fit with gravity
• That time Toronto banks went to war over Scotia Plaza
• Party Style: 11 looks from the CFC gala at the Carlu
• This Week In Comedy
• This Week in Theatre

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

Image: "Croft Street Murals at College, Toronto" by Uncle Lynx/blogTO Flickr pool.

With over 31,000 hours of your life spent studying or sitting in class, you would think that all of your hard work as a student would logically lead to securing a high paying job. After graduating in Canada, it's estimated that one in three grads will end up in a low-skilled job. Add that to the ever mounting student debt and the odds are definitely not in your favor once you graduate. Trying to find a way to get ahead, students have been turning to sites like SpringTern to stand out.

SpringTern is a website that connects students with small businesses, start-ups and non-profits to complete volunteer work projects. This benefits both sides, by offering students the opportunity to get real work experience, and providing resources to companies that could use some extra help.

I met up with Ben Wise, one of the co-founders of SpringTern, to get his overview on how SpringTern is trying to help recent grads break into the workforce.

Where did the idea behind SpringTern come from?

The idea for SpringTern came from a combination of personal experiences. Going back 10 years to when I was an undergrad student, like many of my classmates at the time, I struggled to get my first job because I had no real experience. Apparently working as a summer camp counselor isn't very impressive to managers at big companies.

Since joining the workforce, I've had the good fortune of working with a lot of great student interns and have been continually impressed at how motivated and capable they are. So I could see the need from both sides, where students are trying desperately to break into the professional world, and small organizations can greatly benefit from their help. It made sense to me to try to bring those two sides together, and that's how SpringTern came to be.

How does SpringTern actually work?

The website itself is straightforward and works in a similar way to a traditional job board, but with a focus on short-term projects that can be done remotely. As a company looking for some student help, you create a company profile and submit your work-project to our public listings page through the online form. This is like a regular job description, where they set out the expectations of what the project will require and when it needs to be completed.

Students simply browse through the project listings on our site and apply to any that offer the type of work experience they are looking for.

Once a company and student connect, it's left to them to manage the project in a way the works best for their specific needs.

Who pays for the service? Or is it free for everyone?

It costs $45 for companies to post a project listing on SpringTern, while non-profits get a reduced rate of $25. We also offer bulk discounts and free credits for referring other organizations to the site. At the same time, SpringTern is completely free for students.

Who do you feel is SpringTern's biggest competition?

There are a lot of sites out there that target students with career resources and traditional internship opportunities. This includes other Toronto-based companies like TalentEgg and CareerLeaf, multinational giants like LinkedIn and Monster, and local career counselors at universities and colleges across the country. But we believe that our focus on short-term, remote projects offers a unique proposition to both companies and students. In fact, many of these organizations see the value of our unique approach and are willing to partner with SpringTern to help their users take advantage of this extra service.

Why would companies use SpringTern instead of one of these other sites?

Many companies don't have the need or the resources to bring on a full-time intern. SpringTern gives these companies an easy way to get the help they need for a specific project. Also, since most projects on SpringTern are done remotely, companies don't need to go through the hassle of setting someone up onsite and are able to tap into a much larger talent pool.

There seems to be fairly passionate opposition against the "unpaid intern" or "work for free" mentality. What's your stance on the whole debate?

This is a very tricky debate and I don't think there is a clear 'right' answer. Whatever you may think of it, the reality is that lots of companies offer full-time internships (i.e. 9-5 for 3-4 months) that are unpaid and students regularly take on these roles in order to gain work experience. In some industries it is almost expected that entry-level employees have done one or more unpaid internships as part of 'paying their dues.'

But, given the financial hardships that most students face with the rising cost of tuition, taking an unpaid internship is an awful lot to ask of them. I think this is actually one of the advantages of SpringTern. While the roles are unpaid, they are generally pretty short so that students can get that professional experience they need to break into the workforce full-time, without volunteering too much of their time.

What are the next steps for SpringTern? Any big plans you can share?

I know a lot of startups talk about getting investment and new funding rounds, but our priority is really just to reach more and more users. We think we offer a service that solves a real need on both sides - small business that need help to get more done and students that need real world work experience.

Over the next 12 months, we will be focusing on making as many people as possible aware of SpringTern as an option to overcome these challenges. As long as we're able to reach more users and make them happy, then I have confidence that success from a business perspective will follow.

By elevating ping-pong from a fixture of 1970's rec rooms and local community centres to the centrepiece behind a King Street hotspot, SPiN Toronto has already proven they can win with an eclectic formula. Enter the Plywood Collective, a group of local artists who have selected the upscale ping-pong lounge as an ongoing venue for their massively popular themed exhibitions.

Plywood is made up of seventeen Toronto-based artists, most of whom share a style that appears equally influenced by graffiti, commercial illustration, and iconic images from high and low pop culture. Each member has their own thriving independent practice, and therefore views the collective as an opportunity for experimentation within a specific framework: original works on plywood, based around a chosen theme.

For their last exhibition, the group focused their attention on villains, with subjects ranging from classics like Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter, to modern icons like No Country for Old Men's Anton Chigurh and the perm-sporting Big Worm from Friday. This time around, good was allowed to triumph over evil, and the heroes were given their due.

"Heroes" is now the fourth group show the Plywood Collective has held at SPiN, and while it seems like a peculiar choice of venue for an art show, it fits in nicely with the group's mandate: "The media is the message and the event is our medium. We're taking down the barrier between the experience of being at a social event and the consumption of an artistic message."

And thus, that night's artistic message was consumed alongside flying ping-pong balls and underscored by the beats of DJ Brendan Canning (of Broken Social Scene fame). It made for a great opportunity to mingle, but ultimately the viewing portion of the night suffered. The communal picnic tables that crowd SPiN's "Social Room" made it hard to navigate, and errant balls provided a tripping hazard for anyone not paying close enough attention.

Frustratingly, work was also hung directly beside the playing tables, which meant viewers were forced to wait for suitable breaks in the games before getting any closer to the actual pieces. But once you were able to actually to see it, there really were some exciting pieces on display. Sure, the straightforward Spiderman and Wolverine were pretty obvious choices, but several of the works delved deeper into the dregs of pop culture, with great results.

Bowman's sexy and stylised take on Clarence and Arizona from the cult hit True Romance was a great fit for the film, and SPAZZ's portrait of Bill Murray's Venkman from Ghostbusters was definitely a crowd pleaser. Jason Mamone's Thelma and Louse was a great shout out to SPiN co-owner Susan Sarandon, though it did appear unfinished.

For me, the strongest pieces were those that incorporated elements of the hero's personality or back story, rather than simply replicating their famous poses. Nik Dudukoviv's ink and digital drawing of a particularly hirsute Charles Darwin was stunning in its detail, and his near god-like appearance seemed to play on his singular significance in altering the trajectory of Christianity in the modern world. Dudeman also shone, with a suitably earthy take on beloved environmentalist David Suzuki.

With the back room packed for most of the evening, it's clear that SPiN and the Plywood Collective have hit on a winning formula. So, concert in a bowling alley, anyone? I think we could make some serious money on this. Let me know.

Photos by Matt K

This Week in Music rounds up the latest news, releases and concerts coming to Toronto.

IN THE NEWS

Wavelength Music Festival announces expanded lineup

This Thursday, Feb. 14th, the Wavelength Music Festival: THIRTEEN gets underway. The show's lineup, which includes Doldrums, Do Make Say Think, Cookie Duster, Lullabye Arkestra, and many more, was announced back in January. This past week, the show's organizers announced a series of all-ages in-store events. These events will include live performances, interviews, and talks, taking place at several independent music shops across the city. The festival runs through the 17th, and it's shaping up to be an awesome little event.

Long Winter series expands into March

As Canadians, we're used to the harsh, long winters that usually run from November to April every year. The Long Winter series of shows, developed by local hardcore punk legends Fucked Up, has served as a way of combatting the winter doldrums with monthly evenings of music, art, films, readings, and more. The February show usually concludes the annual series, but this year, the band is developing a show for March. Details haven't been released yet, but it promises to be something special. The February show took place last Friday, Snowmageddon be damned, and by all accounts, a great time was had by all.

THIS WEEK'S HOT TICKETS

MONDAY FEBRUARY 11 / THE MACCABEES / THE MOD CLUB / 722 COLLEGE / $20 / 19+

English indie rockers The Maccabees will take the stage at the Mod Club tonight alongside Reputante. The band got their unusual name by supposedly opening a copy of the Bible and picking a random word. And while their name has religious connotations, lead singer Orlando Weeks maintains that the band is not religious in the least. Regardless, they have a very strong and unique sound, and the band (and this show) is more than worth your time.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 16 / PASSION PIT / THE KOOL HAUS / 132 QUEENS QUAY E / $41.75 / ALL AGES

You've undoubtedly heard Passion Pit's massive hit single "Take a Walk," whether it was on the radio, in a commercial, on SNL, or in any number of other mediums. And while it's a very good tune (albeit very played out at this point), the band has much more (and stronger) material in their arsenal. Their 2012 album, Gossamer, is outstanding from start to finish - if you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommend it. The tickets to this show are somewhat pricey, but Brooklyn duo Matt and Kim are also on the bill, so it's well worth it.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17 / BON JOVI / AIR CANADA CENTRE / 40 BAY ST / $28 - $186.50 / ALL AGES

Bon Jovi is an artist that has always divided audiences, but his longevity can't be denied. And, let's face it - the man has had a string of outrageously catchy songs throughout his career (you can't deny the glory of "Livin' on a Prayer" and "You Give Love a Bad Name"). This tour, the band's fifteenth, is in support of their twelfth studio album, What About Now, but you can expect a healthy dose of older classics, too. We'll have a review of the show posted next Monday, so be sure to check back.

RECENTLY ANNOUNCED CONCERTS

• CRYSTALYNE / TATTOO ROCK PARLOUR / MARCH 23 / 6:30 PM
• TEGO CALDERON / SOUND ACADEMY / APRIL 12 / 9:00 PM
• THE LUMINEERS / DANFORTH MUSIC HALL / MAY 2 / 8:00 PM
• THE LUMINEERS / SOUND ACADEMY / MAY 3 / 8:00 PM
• FUN. / DOWNSVIEW PARK / JULY 6 / 4:00 PM

WHAT WE GOT UP TO LAST WEEK

• Brampton band that couldn't make a comeback (sort of)
• How to enter the ether at a Toronto concert
• Tracking the birth of reggae culture in Toronto
• Telephone Explosion Records on how to stay awesome
• Spice Girls tribute band takes over the Great Hall
• Event space above SPiN hosts new night market

Photo of Fucked Up courtesy of mehan on Flickr

Chef Eric Wood's latest venture ties two passions together: food and culinary training. After a successful run at Fabarnak, the chef is eager to continue to make his mark in the city by equipping emerging chefs and new talent in the kitchen. For diners, that still means a menu driven by Wood's creativity and global influence at his latest outpost: Hawthorne Food + Drink. Here, Wood recites his culinary mantra and shares his prediction for the next food trend to hit the city.

Did you always want to be a chef?

I did. I wanted to be either or a chef or a marine biologist. I don't know why I chose chef; instead of fixing animals I decided to cut them up and eat them. For a brief stint I wanted to be a lawyer, but the chef thing stuck. I think it was the restaurant business; it wasn't so much the standing there, chopping, sweating and being miserable, but it was the glitz. From an early age I started cooking for my family, and I just loved how you'd make something and people would go crazy for it. I think I've always been a bit of a character; I used to act as a kid, so there's something about the entertainment factor. I like to make people happy.

Now that you've been in the business for a while, how has the entertainment factor evolved?

I think I keep getting smaller. I'm not a native Toronto guy; I'm originally from Edmonton and I've moved all over North America to work. I've worked for really big restaurants and resorts, but the entertainment for me is really this intimate space I'm in right now. I really like knowing my customers, my regulars. Because there's so much training, and so much work with developing, I get really entertained by new cooks learning something and getting that 'aha' moment. There's something really amazing about that.

What does food activism mean to you?

I think so many people focus on sustainability of food. I'm really into that. We buy local, and I always have, and I don't need to have a t-shirt all the time that says I support my farmers, because it's just the right thing to do. But there's another part of it; the sustainability of skill, and about people that really care. We're at a tipping point; there are a lot of franchises out there that are training people to be Red Seal chefs, and that used to mean something. But now it just means you've worked at Wild Wings and went to school three times. They've loosened up. So for me, food activism is about training that skill set, like the knowledge of how to pick vegetables, how to pickle and how to cure, how to pay attention to ingredients. That's the sustainability that I'm focusing on.

Who was your most influential mentor?

I had the distinct pleasure to work under the tutelage of Michel Richard and some of his chefs in the States. That changed the whole way I look at food. I've always looked up to chefs like Gastón Acurio, who's an amazing chef out of Peru that no one even knows about here. I believe Peruvian food is going to be what hits next here. Good Peruvian food will blow your mind. We're doing it here soon.

You tend to explore global flavours and take the fusion route. Is Peruvian food your newest obsession?

I've been to Peru three times in two years because my sister lives there. But also, the food's amazing. I love how we're getting back to this idea where we're viewing foods that have natural parallels. Peruvian food is a great example because it's a natural parallel of local ingredients which are indigenous to the area, being applied with modern technique and cultural inference.

There's a massive Asian influence on Peruvian food that you almost can't believe that you see it. They have this dish called "causa" which is essentially ceviche on top of cold potato, so it's like sushi, but done in a completely different way. So I think we're going to see that; for me, what's next is applying hyperlocal ingredients to an international technique palate.

Is there any fusion cuisine that just doesn't work?

It's not about things that don't go together; it's about understanding where the ingredients come from first and you find natural parallels. The only reason that fusion goes wrong is when you're looking for the wrong outcome; when you're looking to just be clever as opposed to treating the ingredients right.

How did Hawthorne Food and Drink come about?

Hawthorne's an interesting thing where we exist in this grey area of "social enterprise." What that means to us is that we're operating a first-class restaurant where we're always bringing in trainees. I think every chef is a trainer by nature, and now I view myself as more of a curator than a creator. As a chef, if you want to be able to take time off and have a life, you have to learn how to develop people.

We're bringing in people for two to three months to help them get jobs. It's unique because we're doing everything ourselves; we're able to help them out with something like butchery. And for people who want to transfer from pastry to the hot kitchen, they can come over and work part-time where we can give them the line skills to do that.

Where would you like to see the restaurant go from here?

I have grand aspirations of us growing into a couple of other locations, but not necessarily under the banner. The more space we have, the more people we can train. We're pretty busy right now, and our whole thing is trying to remain relevant and really true to the neighbourhood. I think that was missing: a neighbourhood restaurant.

So many people, when you live downtown, find offerings that are okay but expensive, or very low quality. Some of my friends nearby were going to Parkdale every night for dinner. I think there's this big resurgence in the downtown core, and I want to be part of that.

What's next for you as a chef?

I'm loving this. This is the second restaurant I've opened in Toronto and it's done pretty well. Fabarnak was really good for us, and I love what we accomplished there socially. I love the social aspect of it; I think restaurants by nature are community centers. I love the fact that I get to share some of the best moments of people's lives with them. I've done what I wanted to do with the whole "chef ego" thing, and now it's about building an industry.

Where are you when you're not in the kitchen?

I'm preparing for a wedding, so that's taking up a lot of my time. I'm getting married in March, so I spend a lot of time at Michaels and tying a lot of things with ribbons. I live in the east end, so I go to the beach a lot, and generally try and see as many movies as I can. I tend to have my own seat at the Fox, where I kind of just curl up.

RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS

Most underrated ingredient? Ginger

Best culinary tool? Hands

A chef that inspires you?Gastón Acurio

What's one dish you can't live without? Dumplings

Favourite Toronto restaurant?Allen's

What would people be surprised to find in your fridge? I'm obsessed with fruit juice

One food trend that needs to end? Tacos

For more chef profiles, visit our Toronto Chefs Pinterest board.

Photos by Morris Lum

Valentine's Day is around the corner in Toronto. Are you ready? Do you have game? Don't worry! You don't need it. Just pick the right restaurant and your (prospective) mate will think that you're pretty hot shit. And, hey, if you've left it to the last minute — not to worry. The list below includes a number of places that you're sure to get into, despite any putative lack of organization.

So! Before you bust out the Leonard Cohen and the leather thong, here are some Toronto restaurants where you might warm up your partner with wit, wisdom and whimsy.

SPECIAL MENUS (with limited reservations available)

Restaurants all over Toronto will offer special menus for Valentine's day, but if you're reading this now in the hopes of securing a reservation, the pickings are decidedly slimmer. As of "press" time, the restaurants below all had some availability remaining on the big day.

• Cafe Belong— Three courses ($60 / $75 w/ wine), five courses ($90 /$115 w/ wine)
• Crush Wine Bar— Special prix fixe menu ($65 / $100 w/ wine)
• La Societe— $65 prix fixe menu
• Mildred's Temple Kitchen— $48 prix fixe, February 13-16
• Origin Liberty Village— $45 three course prix fixe dinner
• Globe Bistro— Three course "lover's menu" for $49

ROMANTIC

A brightly lit all-night diner could be the most romantic place in the world if you've really connected with someone, but the following are the types of places that do their best to foster an intimate vibe. For more conventional lists of this sort with the same old restaurants, Google "romantic restaurants Toronto."

• Ici Bistro This tiny, high end bistro offers spot-on service and refined takes on French classics. You'll want to linger over your wine (the list is short but excellent) to soak up the atmosphere.
• Campagnolo
  Quite possibly the best "rustic" Italian fare in the city, the room might get a little loud for hushed verbal foreplay, but the food should be enough to set the mood.
• Weezie's
  This Corktown bistro tends to fly under the radar, but the cosy room is the perfect staging area for an intimate night. Menu highlights include a pitch-perfect mac & cheese, scallops browed in bacon fat, and lovely steak frites.
• Delux
  Known for its Cuban brunch, Delux is anything but a one trick pony. Come evening, the French-influenced menu shines with juicy roast chicken, molasses glazed pork belly and fork-tender veal cheeks. The low lit room is meant to be enjoyed as a pair.
• La Palette
  One of Toronto's classic French bistros, if the horse tenderloin doesn't get you in the mood, then the throwback interior will. Try the escargots.
• Lolita's Lust
  I guess I just like small rooms and warm lighting. But what's not to like? Here you'll also find some great seafood and and local beef.

FOR BIG SPENDERS

For some, Valentine's Day is an occasion to go all out in an effort to impress his or her sexual partner. In 68% of such cases, the meal outperforms the subsequent tryst. But, hey, food!

• Jacobs & Co. You could do worse than the city's best steakhouse when planning a romantic dinner. If there's one concern it's that after the dry-aged beef, the sex later that night might come in second as far as sensory experiences go.
• Canoe
  It's a big money view, that's for sure. But the whole experience at Canoe, from the food to the service, gives off that sense of "special occasion." So don't skimp, this is a once a year type place for most of us.
• Splendido
  Still one of the city's destination dining spots post-David Lee, you'll want to bank on luxuriating here for much of the evening. There's even a special Valentine's Day menu that'll run you $200 per person with a wine pairing.
• Sushi Kaji
  The sushi is some of the best in the city, so do the tasting menu, look impressive, and get laid. Simple as 1, 2, 3 — if you've got the money.
• North 44
  Mark McEwan built his empire off the back of his work at North 44, and the same attention to detail is still readily on display, even if the restaurant no longer generates the type of buzz that it did a decade ago.
• Via Allegro
  A wine lover's paradise. Ditto for whisky connoisseurs. This is not the place to skimp on the drink — or the food, for that matter. The Italian-based menu may feel like it's from five years ago, but that doesn't matter a lick once you start eating.

NO RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

OK, so you've left your Valentine's preparations to the last minute, and now it seems like there isn't a single restaurant in the city that'll take your money. Not so! Some of Toronto's best restaurants eschew the reservation system, so there's still a chance to save some face. My personal top pick? Head to the Black Hoof, put your name down, walk across the street to Cocktail Bar, order three Manhattans, head back across the street, get carnivorous.

• Black Hoof / Raw Bar
• Hawker Bar
• Guu Izakaya / Guu SakaBar
• Khao San Road
• Pizzeria Libretto (Ossington)
• Foxley
• Goods & Provisions

ALTERNATIVES

While most of the below establishments would be considered bars, not only do they each offer food menus (to varying degrees), but they're every bit as intimate as the restaurants listed above. As an added bonus, you also don't need a reservation to get in.

• Midfield Wine Bar— Tapas-style menu, dimly lit, bubbles. 'Nuff said.
• Bellwoods Brewery— A bit boisterous, but if you like beer...
• Wallflower— Wonderfully intimate space with a small dinner menu. Good cocktails.
• The Yukon— Ditto!
• 416 Snack Bar— Fun, Toronto-themed menu in a small setting. Good drinks list.
• The Comrade— The slick, deco-ish interior is perfect of the just drinks crew.
• Riverside Public House— Avoid the high tables in the middle, and you're gold.
• Kitch— If you're alone tonight, go here. The female bartenders are hawt.

Do you have suggestions for Valentine's Day restaurants? Add them to the comments below.

The trouble with plowing the streets (now there's an opening) is that the snow tends to get pushed into giant drifts that obstruct the curbside lane. Drivers trying to find a spot to park then have to squeeze into small gaps, often further from the sidewalk than normal, and flirt with causing an obstruction to a passing streetcar.

This weekend was a particularly bad example. The rail was blocked on practically every major route - Dundas, King, Queen, Carlton - sometimes all at the same time. In some cases cars were towed, other times vigilante riders took matters into their own hands and shifted the scofflaws manually. In total, the TTC calculates its streetcars were delayed a total of 45 hours from Friday to Sunday.

To combat this, the city could have declared an official snow emergency and activated bylaws that prohibit all parking and stopping on major transit routes. There aren't any set rules on what constitutes such an emergency, only that a "significant" amount of snow must fall within an eight-hour period. Regardless, nothing happened, but the problems of this weekend speak to a larger issue when it comes to keeping transit moving.

As I wrote a few weeks back, Toronto has already tried banning street parking and much of the core is still off limits during rush hour. Expanding restrictions beyond has been something of a contentious issue but it might make sense to tweak the existing rules so transit doesn't grind to a halt in the face of wonky parking.

In Toronto, it would be easy to frame any discussion on the removal or restriction of parking spaces as another salvo in the "war on the car," but perhaps we should take a step back, look at the numbers, and see what the city can really do to ensure transit moves smoothly all year round.

As the problem repeated itself over the weekend, Toronto police acted quicker to tow cars that were blocking the rail. Having a vehicle impounded typically costs between $150 and $230, though it seems to vary depending on which company carries out the work.

Officially there were 102 stoppages between Friday and Sunday caused by autos parking afoul of the rail, to use the official term. According to the TTC's Brad Ross, the incidents delayed streetcars by an average of 25 minutes.

Should tow trucks be assigned to streetcar routes in the immediate aftermath of a storm or is educating drivers about parking next to windrows the answer? Should there be bigger fines for drivers that block streetcars? Add your thoughts below.

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

Image: "Roncesvalles Traffic Chaos 3" by jer1961/blogTO Flickr pool and Twitter.

Last week vodka was the style of choice at the Thompson Hotel. Grey Goose kept things strong and loose with the launch of their first new flavour in five years: Grey Goose Cherry Noir.

Check out all the looks in our Style section.

The best restaurants for a business lunch in Toronto have you covered when it comes to ambiance. These spots are pros when it comes to serving business patrons, leaving screaming babies and hokey dish names to the guys next door. Many of these restaurants offer smart wine lists and sophisticated seasonal menu options (allowing you to show off your food and drink savvy, of course) and let you book a lunch table ahead of time to avoid a last-minute business lunch scramble.

Here is the list of the best restaurants for a business lunch in Toronto.

See also:

The best wine bars in Toronto
Private dining in Toronto
The best event venues in Toronto
5 under-the-radar event venues in Toronto

There's nothing quite as tasty or filling as a falafel or burger after last call. From where to sit down for a late night meal of bacon and eggs to the best places for a burrito at 2am we've got late night eats covered when it comes to our latest poll. We've got 12 categories to vote in. What are you waiting for?

Take the best of poll here

Voting is open until end 1pm this Thursday February 14th.

Photo by DroolingCow in the blogTO Flickr pool

ART | We Made This
A panel of Spanish and Canadian artists sits down at the Design Exchange this evening to discuss the artist's place in the global community. Examining the roles that location and nationality contribute in an individual artist's work and state of design, Hector Ayuso (Spain), Eduardo del Fraile
( Spain), James White (Canada) and Ron Gervais (Canada) will use Ayuso's book "WeMadeThis.Es" as a starting point for discussion of post-digital creative culture. The ticket price includes admission into Stefan Sagmeister's The Happy Show. The event is free for DX members.
Design Exchange (234 Bay Street) 6:30PM $15

FILM | An Evening With John Singleton
The director of Boyz n the Hood, Shaft, Poetic Justice and Four Brothers sits down for a Q&A at TIFF Bell Lightbox tonight in celebration of Black History Month. The first black and youngest director to ever earn an Academy Award nomination back in 1992, Singleton will discuss his twenty-year career and the black experience in Hollywood cinema. Tickets can be purchased online or at the TIFF Bell Lightbox box office with all proceeds going toward the Canadian Film Centre's Diversity Scholarship Fund.
TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West) 8:30PM $20

THEATRE | Heart Strings--The Musical
Set in early 1900s Ireland, Heart Strings is a musical about the arrival of an Italian apprentice at the Cosgrave home. Bearing a special anniversary gift, the apprentice's arrival reveals the many lies, loves and corruption surrounding the family. With original music and lyrics by Chantel Pike, the production is directed by Reynold Nathaniel and premieres tonight for a brief run at The Annex Live.
The Annex Live (296 Brunswick Avenue) 8PM

MUSIC | Live & Local
Bands, artists and independent vendors gather at Mod Club tonight for Live & Local, a sort-of marketplace with live performances by, as the name implies, local bands. Synth-loving, power pop band FIRExFIRE performs first at 8PM followed by bluegrass fivesome Union Duke, before indie rock showpieces Vonelle and Air Marshall Landing hit the stage. Eon Sinclair from Bedouin Soundclash will play a DJ set under the name Soul Proprietor while artists and vendors sell their work and wares. A student ID or advanced planning and purchasing will get you a discount, otherwise it's $20 to get inside.
The Mod Club (722 College Street) 7PM $15-$20

ALSO NOTEWORTHY:

• XAO Speaker Series: Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
• Free Film Screening: Switch

MORE EVENTS THIS WEEK

For more Toronto event suggestions, check out these posts:

• This week in music
• This week in food
• This week in film
• This week in fashion
• This week in theatre
• This week in comedy
• Toronto concerts, February 2013

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