Photo: "Sunset on Queen St." by Medmoiselle T, member of the blogTO Flickr Pool.

Events on Toronto's Radar for MONDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2010... lovingly handpicked from blogTO's events calendar.

FESTIVAL | Fireside Culture Week
Fireside Culture Week lights up Parkdale for the next seven days, offering up live performances, gallery shows, and art workshops at venues along Queen St. between Dufferin and Roncesvalles. There's tons to do in the trendy west end neighbourhood as part of the fest, but highlights include Canadian Comedy Award's Best Male Standup Winston Spear at the Snowball Gallery on Tuesday. On Saturday aerialist Natalie Sullerton will take to the sky for a high-flying display of dance and fireplay, and all week vintage store Take Me Back is exhibiting Life With Mimi, a photo essay about life in Parkdale. The festival kicks off tonight with a party at the Snowball Gallery featuring performances from the Lady Luck collective and rapper Najjah's World.
Queen St. between Dufferin and Roncesvalles, various venues and times
Opening reception: Snowball Gallery, 1690 Queen St. W., Free, 7 pm - 11 pm

FILM | North Korean Film Series: A State of Mind
Living in one of the most secretive countries on Earth, little is known about the private lives of North Korea's citizens. But the North Korean Film Series lifts the veil on the self-styled Worker's Paradise to give us a rare glimpse of life inside the communist dictatorship. The film screening at tonight's edition of the series is 2004's A State of Mind, which follows two young gymnasts and their families in the lead up to the Mass Games, North Korea's nationalist display of force and the largest and most elaborate human performance on Earth.
The Garrison, 1197 Dundas St. W., $5, 7 pm

MUSIC | Leatherface at Wrongbar
UK punk band Leatherface are one of those anomalies in the music world; a band that is hugely influential but that few people have ever heard. The band's 1991 album Mush is considered by some to be one of the best punk albums of all time and Hotwater Music and the Dillinger Four both list Leatherface as an influence. In their 22-year career the band has never played in Canada before, making tonight's show at Wrongbar a must-see for Toronto's punk bands. These guys probably aren't coming back.
Wrongbar, 1279 Queen St. W., $20, 8 pm

BOOKS AND LIT | The Emergency Response Unit Chapbook Launch
You've got to hand it to the folks at indie publishing house The Emergency Response Unit. At a time when printed books seem headed for the dustbin of history courtesy of the average human being's inability to read anything that isn't backlit by a touch screen, not only have they decided to publish works by local authors, but they're publishing poetry. If entering a genre with such narrow appeal seems like entrepreneurial suicide, TERU have a few things on their side, including a strong commitment to tactile beauty which renders each publication a work of art on the outside as well as the inside. Their latest chapbook features poems from Aaron Tucker, Cameron Anstee, David Brock, Jacob McArthur Mooney and Elisabeth de Mariaffi, and they mark its launch with a party and reading at Magpie tonight.
Magpie, 831 Dundas St. W., Free, 7:30 pm

COMEDY | Pirate Video Cabaret
Long-running Clinton's comedy show Pirate Video Cabaret is a variety show for the 21st Century, merging live stand-up and sketch comedy with Youtube-style video shorts. PVC began way back in 1998, and became known as an artist-friendly environment that welcomed experimentation from local comics. The show went on hiatus in the middle of the Aughts, but was revived at the end of last year by multimedia comedian Simon Fraser. Tonight Fraser presents the PVC's Olympic Show, with Air Farce's Alan Park, Andy Boorman, Alana Johnston and more.
Clinton's Tavern, 693 Bloor St. W., $5, 8:30 pm

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