FUNDRAISER | The Stop for Food Chef Challenge
"Stop For Food" is a month of culinary celebration taking place in TO, with the goal of raising awareness about the importance of "buying local", as well as raising funds for The Stop Community Food Centre, located in the city's West end. Tonight at Parts and Labour, an intense, Iron Chef-style competition will go down: The Stop for Food Chef Challenge, where six chefs will battle it out with all proceeds going to this great cause. The chefs vying for the title of 'champion' this evening are: Matty Matheson (Parts & Labour), Bertrand AlĂŠpĂŠe (The Tempered Chef), Luis Valenzuela (Torito Tapas Bar), Scott Vivian (Beast), Mark Cutrara (Cowbell) and Chris Brown will represent Stop For Food. Come out and eat, and show some support - may the best chef win!
Parts & Labour (1566 Queen Street West) 6:30PM

LECTURE | Graeme Gibson - Echoes of a Working Eden
The Literary Review of Canada presents this special talk with acclaimed author, Order of Canada member, naturalist, and former WWF council member, Graeme Gibson. This is the seventh talk in the LRC's Speaker Series at the Gardiner Museum. Gibson will present some fresh and exciting ideas on our collective need to reconnect with nature, and the consequences of not doing so. According to Gibson, we all possess "an ancient animal memory": presumably from those pre-homo sapien primordial times, and satisfying our inherent need to "reconnect" has great physiological benefits for us, including stress reduction, a boosted immune system, and more. There will be a question and answer period following Gibson's lecture.
The Gardiner Museum (111 Queen's Park) 7PM

BOOKS & LIT | Rowers Pub Reading Series
The Rower's Pub Reading Series carries on with their April gathering tonight. This series takes place on the first Monday of every month and features both emerging and established writers. Tonight, Karen Connelly, whose recent work "Burmese Lessons" was nominated for a Governor General's Award will be reading some of her work. Dane Swan, who is celebrating the publication of his first collection of poetry, "Bending the Continuum", will be sharing some of his verses with you. Adam Seelig, who is not only a director and a poet, but the founder of Toronto's One Little Goat Theatre Company, will be featured in tonight's literary lineup as well. This promises to be an eclectic and interesting evening!
Harbord House (150 Harbord Street) 7:30PM

MUSIC | Feed Me, Teeth, Kill The Noise @ Phoenix
Feed Me is one of UK DJ/producer's Jon Gooch's projects, combining hard hitting electro with dubstep, drum and bass, and other influences. This project has really caught on, with one release being scooped up by TO electro-maven Deadmau5' mau5trap label. Feed Me's most recent release is "Feed Me's Escape From Electric Mountain". Also on this bill is Kill The Noise, Jake Stanczak's production handle. KTN is based out of LA, and delivers his own mix of electro-house, dub step, and drum and bass, and has recently collabed with Korn on their "The Path Of Totality" album, and appeared with them on Jimmy Kimmel Live. This is a great opportunity to catch these two acts on one bill outside of the festival scene, and a nice bonus is that The Phoenix is a great venue!
Phoenix Concert Theatre (410 Sherbourne Street) 8PM $29.50

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR

Representing Toronto: Mapping the Role of the Artist in the City
Clintons Quiz Night is BACK!
Toronto Silent Film Festival & Toronto Theatre Organ Society presents THE ITALIAN STRAW HAT

Photo by PJ Mixer in the blogTO Flickr pool