October's been a busy month for the visual arts throughout the city, headlined by the Leona Drive Project and the Toronto International Art Fair. And along with these major (although sadly short-lived) events, there's been plenty of stimulating shows at galleries across the city, many of which are still running, if only for a few more days.

Here's a roundup of the exciting events I've checked out over the last few weeks and some recommendations for upcoming shows.

I am a huge So You Think You Can Dance nerd, so I was all over attending the So You Think You Can Dance Canada finale again this season in Toronto. I love being tucked into the screening room, perched on the white leather couches and gorging myself on candy and chips in between clapping and cheering on my favourite competitors.

Looking for a Halloween party in Toronto this weekend? Saturday marks the return of my favourite annual holiday but the 31st isn't the only occasion to dress up and have some fun. As the list below attests, there are also plenty of Halloween parties to choose from on Devil's Night (Friday October 30th). Keep reading for my top picks as well as a long list of Halloween parties happening in Toronto in 2009.

Late Night in the Bedroom is now at episode 3. Have you seen it? A side project of a group of friends associated with Whippersnapper Gallery, the web-based video talk show is, just like ArtStars*, trying to create more awareness and dialogue about the Toronto arts scene. It's shot in front of a live audience, originally in an apartment next to the gallery. Cozy.



Episode 3 above was filmed during the recent Manifesto Festival and features a number of short interviews including participating artists Elicser and Roadsworth. Earlier this week I connected with the Producer of the show Josh Barndt to find out more about how things are going so far and what's in store going forward. Here's our Q&A.

When Gunther Von Hagens' Body Worlds came to town in 2005 almost half a million of us went to see it at the Science Centre, and 32,000 alone over the marathon 61-hour final weekend. Visitors were amazed by the full-body plastinates on display, each of them created using the body of a deceased human being who had donated their remains to Von Hagens' Institute for Plastination (IfP).

The process goes like this: the body is dissected and processed so that previously living flesh is replaced with a polymer. After this, the preserved "body" is manipulated into an imaginative pose to reveal elements of our human nature, physicality, or to demonstrate how our internal structures work.

With Nuit Blanche still occupying Toronto's artistic consciousness, I contemplated the usefulness of compiling an art agenda this week. But, after a little thought, I realized that it's quite possible that gallery shows around the city might benefit from the increased artistic enthusiasm the all-night art fest brings to town every year.

Sure these shows differ considerably from the primarily installation-based exhibits at Nuit Blanche, but that's not to say that they're all boring or conventional. On the contrary, these days it's easy to find galleries doing more than just hanging paintings on walls (which isn't necessarily a bad thing either!).