COMEDY | Eddie Izzard at Massey Hall
When he began his career as a comic and actor thirty years ago, there were lots of things standing between Eddie Izzard and success. For one thing, he's dyslexic and can't work from scripts. For another, he's a cross-dresser, and not in the hilariously theatrical Dame Edna way, but in the often misunderstood "this is who I am" kind of way. But the Englishman has won over fans on both sides of the Atlantic with his rambling stream of consciousness style, and has translated his stand-up into a successful acting career, earning roles in Ocean's Twelve and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. He was even paid one of the highest honours a British comedian can receive when John Cleese called him the lost member of the Monty Python troupe. Izzard comes to Massey Hall for a two night stand this weekend, and returns again at the end of the month.
Massey Hall, 178 Victoria Street, $40.95 - $61.95, April 30, May 1 and May 30, 8 pm

GALLERY | David Trautrimas - Spyfrost Project
Belleville born visual artist David Trautrimas specializes in digital techniques that are uncommon in the world of fine arts. In his latest exhibition, the Spyfrost Project, he uses digital imagery to recast ordinary household objects as giant military outposts on a fictional landscape, reflecting Trautrimas's interest in how the Cold War produced many of the technologies we take for granted today. You wouldn't think a massive cheese grater would be a powerful image, but Trautrimas's imagined structures are quietly ominous like an eerily calm day at a tense border crossing. The show debuts in Toronto tonight, before heading to the DNJ Gallery in Los Angeles inn the summer. Runs til May 30.
LE Gallery, 1183 Dundas Street West, Reception 7 pm - 10 pm tonight, Gallery hours Wednesday to Friday 12 pm - 6 pm, Saturday and Sunday 1 pm - 7 pm

MUSEUM | Prowling for Owls
Planning to hit the town looking for hooters tonight? If so, the Royal Ontario Museum is the place to be. The ROM wraps up its Nature Month program this evening with a presentation by Mark Peck on where to find owls in your own neighbourhood. According to Peck, an 25-year veteran of the ROM's ornithology department, the end of April is prime owl-viewing time with the usually reclusive birds' mating cycle drawing them out into the open, so keep your eyes peeled and your ears tuned for that tell-tale "hoot hoot." The lecture is part of the museum's Slice of Life series of workshops, talks, and podcasts designed to help Ontarians appreciate and conserve the province's biodiversity.
Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Free with museum admission ($15 child, $19 student, $22 adult), 6 pm

ART FAIR | 17th Annual Beaches Studio Tour
Twenty four local artists in the trendy Beaches neighbourhood will be opening the doors to their homes and studios this weekend for the 17th edition of the Beaches Studio Tour. For the next three days, visitors to the East End can take in new pieces made by the area's creative types including oil paintings, handwoven clothing, jewelry, photography, and textile art, and will also get an opportunity to meet the artists face to face and explore their workspaces. Participating artists include ceramic experts Thomas Aitken and Kate Hyde, abstract painter Ruth Elizabeth Hayes, photographer Charlene Serdan and handbag hawkers Saracino Designs. Runs til Sunday.
The Beaches (near Queen Street and Kingston Road), Free, Friday 6 pm - 9 pm, Saturday 10 am - 6 pm, Sunday 11 am - 6 pm

FUNDRAISER | The Yellow Party
Bikes and beer usually don't mix. But if you're looking to party for a cause tonight, make an exception and head to the Steamwhistle Brewery to help raise funds for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. The annual cycling race from Toronto to Niagara Falls in June has raised over $14.5 million for cancer research so far, and Steamwhistle has entered its own team into the race this year. So you can either help fight cancer by entering yourself in the grueling 132 km race, or you can help fight cancer by showing up at this party and drinking Steamwhistle's beer. All you have to do is wear something yellow. Not much of a choice is it, especially because you're so lazy. Have fun, have some drinks, and don't ride home.
Steamwhistle Brewery, 255 Bremner Blvd., $15, 8 pm - 10 pm

MUSIC AND FILM | Film Jam
The Film Jam is a semi-regular multi-disciplinary party that brings together musicians, filmmakers and other artists to enjoy their crafts. The jam returns to the El Mocambo tonight with a line up that includes pop songstress Sherry Lynn, gonzo rockers the Starship Experience, local alt collective the Proxy Set, and a preview of a new movie by upstart Toronto production company Landed Entertainment called Piece of Mind. The evening will also feature a performance by the poet Human Manifestation, who says he writes poems about "the female race." Sounds sexy.
The El Mocambo, 464 Spadina Avenue, $10, $8 with non-perishable food item, 8 pm

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Photo: "Firefighter" by Josh Jensen, member of the blogTO Flickr Pool.