Photo: "Castle Frank" by nathan.leghiehn, member of the blogTO Flickr Pool.

Events on Toronto's Radar for THURSDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2010... lovingly handpicked from blogTO's events calendar.

ART | Toronto Art Expo
Canada's largest indoor exhibition dedicated to contemporary art takes up residence at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the next four days, displaying the works of nearly 300 artists from 14 countries. You could make the argument that a show like this is simply art in bulk; the Costco of visual art if you will. But the Toronto Art Expo has a little more prestige than that (its official patron is Michaelle Jean, our honourable governor general), and is a great venue for this country's artists to present and sell their work to the public and collectors alike. The expo opens tonight with a performance from the Korea's Jeng Yi drum and dance group and the famous Whirling Dervishes from Turkey. You won't find them in the aisles of Costco. Runs til Sunday.
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front Street, Adults $12, Students $8, Thursday 6 pm - 10:30 pm, Friday 11 am - 9 pm, Saturday 10 am - 8 pm, Sunday 10 am - 7 pm

PANEL | Face the Critic
Critics can be maddening. Pontificating from behind the protection of a byline, they can make or ruin careers, infuriate fans, and leave you furiously writing late-night letters to the editor that never seem worth sending in the light of day. Tonight the Drake gives you a chance to confront your tormentors with Face the Critic, an evening of open dialogue with Andrea Carson, Leah Sandals, and RM Vaughan. The three critics will present works they love as well as those they love to hate and invite you to bring your own to discuss what stinks, and who deserves to say so.
The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W., Free, 7 pm - 10 pm

ARCHITECTURE | View Points: Inside the City
The Harbourfront Centre's View Point Series convenes a panel of bright architectural minds tonight to discuss how constructed space shapes communities. Prominent Canadian architects Michael McClelland, Graeme Stewart, Helena Grdadolnik, and Joe Lobko hope to provide some insight into the inner workings of a city while also describing the installations they've created for York Quay's architectural space exhibition, Community Centred. The event will be moderated by Canadian Architect editor Ian Chodikoff.
Lakeside Terrace, York Quay Centre, 235 Queens Quay West, Free, 7 pm

MUSIC | Extra Life w/ Tropics and LAN Party
Extra Life singer and guitarist Charlie Looker is a veteran of New York's underground scene, having worked with current indie darlings the Dirty Projectors and served as a core member of the experimental Zs. Looker's performances range from jagged acoustic ballads to full-on metal assaults, and if I were the owners of Senegalese restaurant-by-day/concert venue-by-night Teranga I'd board up the windows, because this guy has the sonic power to shatter them. Extra Life headline a bill that includes the Slim Twig-fronted Tropics and guitar/drum duo LAN Party.
Teranga, 159 Augusta Ave., $8, 9 pm

PARTY | Bad Day - Rita Liefhebber Finissage
Indie art mag Bad Day throws a New York Fashion Week homecoming party for up-and-coming Toronto designer Rita Liefhebber tonight. Kensington's Double Double Land is rapidly becoming a reliable destination for a good time, and tonight is no exception with seminal writer, photographer, and arty porn director Bruce La Bruce providing the soundtrack for what should be an unpredictable evening in the cramped space. La Bruce will be joined by Rory Them Finest, who I hear the kids think is pretty "with it."
Double Double Land, 209 Augusta Ave., Free, 8 pm

WORKSHOP | From Seed to Table: Eating and Growing Green
Spring is just around the corner, and if you're looking to enhance your backyard food garden this year, you might want to check out this workshop with author and organic gardener Janette Haase. Haase and her husband have been living off the land since 1986 when they built a farm in Eastern Ontario. Once she moved to Kingston, however, Haase was unwilling to give up her homegrown vegetables and dug up a small part of her front lawn. The experiment was so successful she's been eating from her home garden ever since and even built a root cellar in her basement. Haase will share her tips for organic urban gardening tonight and hopefully will give some help to those of us with the un-greenest of thumbs.
High Park Public Library, 228 Roncesvalles Ave., $40, 6:30 pm

GALLERY | Keepsakes of Memory
Oakville-born artist Sonya Spilkin may be young, but she's already racked up some impressive awards including the Suzanne Rivard le Moyen prize in 2009. She opens a new show at the East End's Gallery MP tonight that combines photography and painting to explore themes of family, memory, and collective and personal histories. Hooray for young talent! Runs til March 25.
Gallery MP, 1875 Leslie St., Opening reception: Free, 7 pm - 10 pm

For full listings, head on over to our events calendar.

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO calendar, contact us directly, or use our handy Facebook app.

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.