Toronto events: Thursday, March 21, 2013

CULTURE | A Taste of Iceland
Never been to Iceland? Have no idea what it offers? That's probably most people in Toronto so why not try a taste of the country at The Drake tonight, where a four course meal of Icelandic traditional dishes will be served by the resident chef or stop in at the Varsity Cinema's (55 Bloor Street West) free mini film festival celebrating Icelandic filmmakers?

A Taste of Iceland is a city-wide cultural exploration of the small Nordic country with samples of all forms of art and culture available for Torontonians to learn and get a taste of the Norse. If food and film don't interest you, Icelandic artists will be playing throughout the city this week, beginning with a free show at The Hoxton (69 Bathurst Street) by Reykjavik Calling on Saturday. A Taste of Iceland has a full schedule of events and shows available at icelandnaturally.com. The festival runs until March 24th.
The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen Street West) 6:30PM $45

MUSIC | Junction the Dry: A Night of Canadian Music and Canadian Craft Beer
The sounds of music inspired by Toronto's west end Junction neighbourhood will be heard all evening long at Junction Craft Brewing tonight as part of Canadian Music Centre's latest series New Music in New Places. "Junction the Dry", a name clearly based on the Victorian era morality for which the Junction was reputed, will feature the music of contemporary Toronto artists Stephanie Chua and Véronique Mathieu with CMC Associate Composer Emilie LeBel. Further works by Derek Johnson, James Rolfe, Caitlin Smith and Healey Willan will be featured at this Canadian Music Week event.

Added bonus: admission includes three beers. If you're looking to hit up other Canadian Music Week events tonight, also check out Heart at Massey Hall (178 Victoria Street), Cai.ro at The Dakota Tavern (249 Ossington Avenue) and Teenage Kicks at The Horseshoe Tavern (370 Queen Street West).
Junction Craft Brewing (90 Cawthra Avenue, Unit #101) 7:30PM $25

COMEDY | Janeane Garofalo
Working overtime while in Toronto with six scheduled shows, Gen-X icon Janeane Garofalo begins her first two sets of her three-day stand-up stint at Comedy Bar tonight. The comedian/actress/writer who has earned two Emmy nominations for her role on "The Larry Sanders Show" will perform a full hour and a half set, covering topics such as American politics, the stupidity of pop culture and various self-deprecating jokes as is her style. Kids, if you are obsessed with the '90s, you must see this woman live. Tickets available through TicketWeb.
Comedy Bar (945 Bloor Street West) 8PM and 10:30PM $25

PHOTOGRAPHY | Of Center
Gender expression and expressions of masculinity in people who were female at birth are the subjects of Of Center, E. Wynne Neilly's photography exhibit. Hosting the opening reception at Toronto Image Works Gallery tonight, Wynne Neilly's work is a series of straightforward yet bold images of people who identify their masculinity as lesbian, queer or trans. The 2012 Maximum Exposure award-winning photographer also contributes a looped audio component to the exhibit that airs interviews with the subjects of the images. The show is now open to the public until April 8th.
Toronto Image Works Gallery (80 Spadina, Suite 207) 6PM Free

THEATRE | Death Clowns in Guantánamo Bay
Two clowns find themselves facing several obstacles when looking into the deaths of three prisoners in the Guantánamo Bay camp in Death Clowns in Guantánamo Bay. A dark humorous look at torture, politics and cross-cultural relations, this play by director Ashley Williamson uses mannequins, sculptures, and a SWAT team chorus to make the morbid subject matter amusing and becomes interactive during a 20-minute inspection period, when the audience is invited to look through the set for secrets and use their Android phones to help solve the many questions that plague the clowns. The show opens at Studio Theatre tonight. Tickets are available at the box office or through graddrama.utoronto.ca.
Studio Theatre (4 Glen Morris Street) 8PM $10

ALSO OF NOTE:

• The Art of Adaptation
• EMERGE Artist Showcase--Music Week Edition
• Alleged
• Water Docs

MORE EVENTS THIS WEEK

For more Toronto event suggestions, check out these posts:

• This week in food
• This week in fashion
• This week in film
• This week in theatre
• This week in comedy
• This week in music
• Toronto concerts, March 2013

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