Saturday, July 31:

CARIBANA | Caribana Parade 2010
It's a Caribbean carnival on Toronto's lakefront today as the annual Caribana Parade dances its way along Lakeshore Boulevard. Over a million people are expected to attend the event, which is so big it takes close to six hours for the whole procession to pass you by. It's a spectacle that really is indescribable if you've never seen it: outrageously lavish costumes, even more outrageously sexy men and women and relentless steel-drumming. The whole thing kicks off inside Exhibition Stadium, but if you'd rather not pay the $20 for the privilege of a front row seat just park yourself on the side of the road and let the carnival sweep you away.
Begins at Exhibition Place, moving East along Lakeshore Boulevard, Free, 10 am - 6 pm

GALLERY | Will Munro: Total Eclipse
We all know that Will Munro's legacy is indelibly marked on the Queen West community, but it's testimony to how important he was to this city that even the rarified culture of the AGO has been touched by his passing. Today the gallery opens a posthumous retrospective of his art that includes multidisciplinary work like quilts, silk screens, and hand made copies of posters he made to promote the many events he threw over the years. The show will be on display until September 26 in the Young Gallery, the AGO's free exhibit space, and opens next Saturday night with (what else) a party.
AGO, 317 Dundas Street West, Free

STAR WARS RE-ENACTMENT | LED Lightsaber Battle
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... wait, wait, I can't. I can't do this, I'm sorry. It's too nerdy. I'll spare you all the references to Tatooine and the midi-chlorians and just tell you that tonight in front of the ROM people are going to be pretending to fight each other with lightsabers. For, like, hours. It's too late to reserve yourself a lightsaber from organizers, but if you're even remotely interested in going I assume you already own one. What? There are 700 people attending this thing already? Unbelievable.
ROM, 100 Queen's Park, Free, 9 pm

SPORTS | Pillow Fight League #48
That this is the 48th edition of the PFL is a testament to the somewhat unlikely success of Toronto's girl-on-girl grappling league. It turns out these ladies can get pretty nasty with a couple of cushions in their hands, and people really like to watch. Tonight's throw down goes down at PFL headquarters and will see appearances from you favourite PFL personalities including Kitten Kaboodle, Bobbi Pin, Dinah Mite, and the ever-dangerous Apocalipstick.
Trash Palace, 89-B Niagara Street, $10 advance, $12 at the door, 9 pm

FASHION | Chosen Ones Vintage Sale
107 Shaw's top-notch monthly vintage sale returns this weekend, offering up snazzy and hard to find pieces for your perusal. The featured vendors this month are Bobby McGee Vintage, Tomorrow Never Knows, LAB Consignment, Andrew Gunn, Sunday Girl, and Shoebox Vintage. It's a two day sale but it's super popular, so you might want to show up early unless you want to end up picking through the leftovers.
107 Shaw Gallery, 107 Shaw Street, Free, Saturday and Sunday 11 am - 6 pm

PARTY | Down Low and Bad Taste
Time for your weekly dose of dirty hip hop, and it don't get much dirtier than these two parties at 751. The double-decker dive bar is hosting two filthy rap parties tonight, with Down Low shaking the floorboards upstairs and Bad Taste packin' em in downstairs. Upstairs will be a little on the cute side (lots of R. Kelly, apparently), but at Bad Taste it's straight up gully rap all night courtesy of Scott "Scotty Pil" Pilgrim and Patrick "Patty Mac" MacGuire.
751, 751 Queen Street West, $5, 10 pm

Sunday, August 1:

FILM | Pasolini's Trilogy of Life
Fans of Italian auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini (I know they're out there somewhere) cleared their schedule months ago to take in this special triple screening of the director's entire Trilogy of Life. It's probably would have been more aptly named "the Trilogy of Sex", as all three films (The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales, and The Arabian Nights) openly revel in the carnal act of love, something Pasolini clearly saw as essential to full and happy life. Grab a companion, settle in for a long night, and try to keep your hands to yourself.
Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas Street West, $10.14 each, $5.90 for students, The Decameron 4 pm, The Canterbury Tales 7 pm, Arabian Nights 9:15 pm

BENEFIT | Free the Hikers
Spending a year in an Iranian prison is a terrifying prospect, but this weekend marks that harrowing milestone for three Americans backpackers. Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Josh Fattal were arrested last year on the Iran-Iraq border while they were on a hiking trip. They've yet to be charged by the Islamic republic, and it's unclear why they've been detained at all except for the fact that they're young Americans. The Gladstone hosts a benefit tonight as part of a global day of action calling for their release, featuring a photo exhibit, short film screenings, and a performance from The Free Play Duo. All proceeds go to Free the Hikers.
Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West, donations accepted, 7 pm

PARTY | Rockabana
It may be Caribana weekend, but rockers need a little love too. Thankfully Tattoo Rock Parlour is serving up $2.50 drinks before midnight and $4.50 bottles thereafter to make sure that the jeans and tshirt crowd can get their fill of partying in tonight. It's a long weekend too, so no excuses that you have to be at work in the morning. Soundtrack of the night is loud rock, predictably.
Tattoo Rock Parlour, 567 Queen Street West, $10, 10 pm

Continuing:

FESTIVAL | Island Soul
The endless parade of summer festivals at Harbourfront continues this weekend with Island Soul. Coinciding with Caribana's closing weekend, the festival began Friday and showcases Caribbean culture with four days of music, dance, and food. Saturday night's headlining performance by the "Queen of Roots Reggae" Ifrica is a huge draw, and on Saturday and Sunday afternoon some of the world's best steel pan players will hammer out their distinctive sound. If you're a lady who wants to look the part as well, join a head wrap workshop.
Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queen's Quay West, Free, Saturday and Sunday 12 pm - 2 am, Monday 12 pm - 6:30 pm

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Photo: "Old City Hall" by philiew, member of the blogTO Flickr Pool.