Saturday, November 19th

DOGS | Winter Woofstock Festival 2011
Alternately humorous and horrifying, Winter Woofstock brings back a crop of primped up and elaborately dressed dogs for the delectation of canine lovers and photographers everywhere. There's no doubt the whole thing is a spectacle, so even if you're not much into dogs, it might not be the worst idea to eat a whole bunch of mushrooms and check the scene out. Guaranteed stimulation!
Direct Energy Centre Halls C & D. 10am-6pm, Saturday and Sunday.Tickets are $8 online.

COMEDY | USA vs Canada Comedy Clash
It's a cross-border comedy throwdown. Four comics from the US and Canada will face-off to see which nation's funny bone has more marrow. Unlike single-comic standup, the competitive nature of this event should ensure that some of the nastier bits of each performers routine will make an appearance.
Toronto Underground Cinema. 8-11pm.

MUSIC | UMA NOTA (meets) FUNKETE!!
It's a big night for the Uma Nota festival, which has already got rave reviews from night one. There will be performances by Boogat, a Canadian hip-hop artists with deep influences from world music (see vid above), the Dos Mundos DJs and DJ Jerus Nazdaq, the latter two of whom are bound to spin some electro-tinged funk and dupstep to the dance floor. Saturday night doubles up as the closing party for the film festival, so expect a packed house.
El Mocambo. 9:30pm, $10.

CHARITY | Tits n' Sass: An Evening of Comedy Benefitting Rethink Breast Cancer
Hosted by Elvira Kurt, whose guest spots on CBC's Q are actually pretty damn funny, this night will feature some serious local comedic talent all in support of Rethink Breast Cancer. Expect lots of irreverent humour and intelligent observations about contemporary life.
Royal Ontario Museum. Doors open at 6:30pm and the bar at 8pm, $25

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR:

• Lyres at the Horseshoe
• Wavelength #529: My Bloody Valentine party
• Shake, Rattle & Roll Presents: BEATLEMANIA!

Sunday, November 20th

PARADE | Santa Claus Parade
Yup, it's that time of year already. Jolly Saint Nick will hit the streets of TO to usher in another holiday season of rampant capitalism and jam-packed malls. This will be the 107th annual edition of the parade, which is quite remarkable given Toronto's former trouble with fun. The key, as always, is to choose your viewing spot early and to dress warmly. The weather is supposed to be pretty good (sunny, 11C), but when you're just standing around, it gets cold fast.
Starts at Christie Pits at 12:30pm. Parade route and other info here.

FILM | Free Scott Pilgrim Screening
What else to say. Here's a film that unabashedly celebrates its Toronto setting, and it's being screened for free! If you're unfamiliar with the flick, I'll let one of our film writers take over on the 411. "Bryan Lee O'Malley's super popular bubblegum-pop-culture-romantic-action-comedy graphic novel about an underachieving twenty-something fighting all the 'evil exes' of his caustically capable gal-pal was a worrisome film to adapt and fans were understandably concerned." Thanks, Danielle!
Toronto Underground Cinema. 9:30pm, Free.

TRANSIT | MOVE: The Transportation Charette
Are you passionate about transit and infrastructure issues? Or perhaps just fed up with gridlock? Either way, this event sounds like a fascinating initiative. "Evergreen and the Institute without Boundaries have organized 10 interdisciplinary teams to address 10 different sustainable transportation challenges based on the future needs of the Greater Toronto + Hamilton Area (GTHA)," explains the event brochure. "They will propose design solutions for 10 geographic locations based on a 2040 time horizon. Drawing inspiration from international case studies and best practices, the teams will explore issues such as energy, environment, health, land use and infrastructure as they relate to a sustainable transportation future."
Evergreen Brick Works, 10:30am, Free.

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR:

• Manifesto & Nujazz Festival present Roy Ayers, Ian Kamau, BadBadNotGood
• The Mouse City Summit

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.

Photo by bigdaddyhame in the blogTO Flickr pool