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President's Choice® 1000 Tastes of Toronto™
Join the city's top chefs as they prepare gourmet street food for only $5. A carnival of cuisine!
FREE EVENT
New Waves Festival
Innovation and invention at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.
FREE EVENT
R. Murray Schafer’s Music for Wilderness Lake
In celebration of his new work The Children’s Crusade, Luminato screens R. Murray Schafer’s acclaimed Rhombus collection Music for Wilderness Lake, which traces the development and performance of a piece of environmental music.
FREE EVENT
Raphael Mazzucco
His work has graced such magazines as ELLE and Vogue. Now we've commissioned Canada's renowned fashion photographer to capture the spirit of the Festival.
FREE EVENT
RedBall Project Toronto by Kurt Perschke
Having made headlines in cities from Barcelona to Chicago, something big and red comes bouncing into Toronto on its global trek. Experience your city through the imagination and vitality of RedBall.
FREE EVENT
Nederlands Dans Theater Celebrates Jiři Kylián
This sensational film features the Nederlands Dans Theater commemorating their extraordinarily successful liaison with supreme dance co-ordinator Jirí Kylián with three astounding ballets: Birth-Day, Bella Figura and Sleepless.
FREE EVENT
National Bank Yorkville Festival - Brazilian Guitar Marathon
Lose yourself in Latin America – right here in Toronto – as the Duo Assad, Yamandú Costa, Luciana Souza featuring Romero Lubambo and other guitar masters take you on a day-long tour of their country’s hottest sounds.
FREE EVENT
Why Fiction Matters
On this panel, four leading lights from the world of letters will discuss why stories matter.
FREE EVENT
The Urban Playground
Many people think of art as something to admire in galleries - but what happens when art comes out to play? Kurt Perschke, creator of the RedBall Project, joins members of the Toronto collective OpenCity Projects and the artists of the Luminato Box to discuss ways in which art can engage with public space.
FREE EVENT
Jiří Kylián’s Car Men
Exactly 20 years separate Jirí Kylián's solo Silent Cries and his black-and white film, Car Men, made in 2006 in collaboration with Dutch filmmaker, Boris Paval Cone.
FREE EVENT
Light on Your Feet
Come dance with the stars - and the moon too!
FREE EVENT
First Night with Randy Bachman
Randy Bachman rocks Yonge-Dundas Square! It's our free opening-night party - and you're invited!
FREE EVENT
Shadow Notes by Danny Clinch, Ralph Gibson and Andy Summers
An unprecedented exhibition in the heart of Toronto presenting the work of Danny Clinch and Ralph Gibson, two photographers obsessed with music, and the photos of Andy Summers, a musician obsessed with photography!
FREE EVENT
Six String Nation Portraits
As part of this year's Guitar Festival, Luminato presents a series of portraits by Doug Nicholson at the Roots flagship store in Bloor St. This exhibition is a small sample of the much lager Six String Nation project conceived by Jowi Taylor.
FREE EVENT
Tono: from Seed to Stage
A documentary on the creation of Red Sky Performance’s Tono, a three-country project speaking to the tribal identities of indigenous peoples and their shamanic history.
FREE EVENT
The World of Slide Guitar with the Derek Trucks Band
The Derek Trucks Band headlines this free all-star celebration of slide guitar styles from around the world.
FREE EVENT
Tony Oursler
Enter the surreal realm of one of the most controversial multi-media artists on the world scene today.
FREE EVENT
Urban Playgound double Feature Roadsworth and RedBall Project
A look at two visual arts projects that have transformed the cities in which they are placed.
FREE EVENT
Yiddish Theatre: a Love story
Enjoy the Yiddish theater experience of Zisele? Enter the funny, larger-than-life world of Yiddish theater with this doc about Zypora Spaisman, the woman who kept the oldest Yiddish theater in the U.S. alive.
FREE EVENT
The Traveling Blues with Taj Mahal, Harry Manx and many more
Around the world in 12 bars: A stellar line-up of artists, including the legendary Taj Mahal, explore the global diversity of a familiar genre.
FREE EVENT
The Luminato Artist Lounge
Drop into our Artist Hub in the Hard Rock Café just off Yonge-Dundas Square. That’s where you’ll find our house band, Raoul and The Big Time (NOW magazine’s Best Blues Artist of 2007), along with guest artists from other Guitar Festival events. It’s open to the public, so hang out, rub shoulders with the stars – and hear some great sounds!
FREE EVENT
Six String Nation Portraits - Luminato Festival Artists
"Put ten Canadians in your mind who have helped to define Canadian Cultural identity to ourselves and the world. I'll bet half of them are holding guitars."
FREE EVENT
Tales of the Uncanny
After 90 years, Canada finally gets its chance to see one of the seminal masterworks of cinematic horror - with cutting-edge accompaniment by Robert Lippok, Owen Pallett and Do Make Say Think.
FREE EVENT
The Genius of Lenny Breau
This feature-length documentary encompasses a story of one of the "true great geniuses of guitar", whose life ended abruptly and mysteriously in Los Angeles in 1984 at the age of 43, inspiring 5 O'Clock Bells (being presented June 10-13).
FREE EVENT
The Great Canadian Tune - A Guinness World Record Event!
Help get Toronto into the Guinness Book of World Records!
FREE EVENT
The Art of Children’s Books
The Canadian Children's Book Centre, dedicated to nurturing and promoting Canadian literature for young readers, partners with Luminato in presenting an engaging panel on the art of creating children's books.
FREE EVENT
Lepage: Breaking a Leg
Director Robert Lepage has given us some of the most exciting Canadian theatre of the last decade including this year's North American premiere of Lipsynch.
FREE EVENT
Communication | Environment by David Rokeby, Germaine Koh, Luminato Box
Unexpected encounters with art will take you by surprise, let you see the invisible and challenge your notion of inside and outside space.
FREE EVENT
Contemporary Communication Shorts
Luminato 2009's exploration of Contemporary Communication is reflected through 11 short films from Bravo!FACT that examine where we are and where we might be going when it comes to language and new media.
FREE EVENT
Family Dance Party
Kids can play too! In association with BUNCH, Toronto’s expert on art and culture for families, we invite the whole family to this special Sunday afternoon event celebrating the music of the guitar. Come enjoy family dance sessions, guitar jams and guitar-inspired creations and crafts.
FREE EVENT
Goran Bregovic
Luminato at Yonge-Dundas Square culminates with a rare musical event: a free concert by Goran Bregovic, musical superstar of the Balkans.
FREE EVENT
Closing Weekend Celebrations: Featuring Cirque du Soleil® - June 12-14
Come down to the waterfront for a weekend of wonder as Luminato’s 10 days come to an end – this free event created just for us by Cirque du Soleil®.
FREE EVENT
Cirque du Soleil®: A Thrilling Ride Through KOOZA
Cirque du Soleil presents A Thrilling Ride Through KOOZA, a captivating documentary that looks at the creative process of KOOZA, the latest critically acclaimed touring show from Cirque du Soleil.
FREE EVENT
Animated Films Based on Children's Books
A series of films based on your favourite children's stories from Robert Munsch, Kwan Ming and others!
FREE EVENT
Animated Poe - a quadruple feature of animated Poe films from around the world.
A quadruple feature of Poe films that have been animated from around the world.
FREE EVENT
Children's Books and Illustrations
From beautiful picture books to challenging novels for young adults, come celebrate the best in Canadian kid-lit.
FREE EVENT
Gothic Toronto: Writing the City Macabre
Come hear some of Toronto's best authors as they wield their poisoned pens over
different areas of our city.
FREE EVENT
each hand as they are called by Reena Katz
each hand as they are called has been postponed indefinitely and will no longer be part of Luminato 2009.
FREE EVENT
Lunchtime Conversations
A free series of lunchtime tête-à-têtes with Luminato artists at the flagship ROOTS store at 100 Bloor Street West. Seating is limited, so come early!
FREE EVENT
Blurring Boundaries: The Interface Between Communication and Theatre
Social networking may be cool, but is it art? Can the medium be more than just a message?
FREE EVENT
Six String Nation: Jowi Taylor Book Launch
Join writer and broadcaster Jowi Taylor as he shares stories about his Six-String Nation Guitar built literally from pieces of Canada’s heritage, including material from the roof of Parliament to seat number 69 in Massey Hall.
FREE EVENT
Guitar Festival @ the Luminato Reel
Five diverse films that pick up on the themes explored in Luminato's Guitar Festival. Artists featured in these films include Daniel Lanois, Derek Trucks, Dave Matthews, Yamandu Costa and Romero Lubambo.
$15.00
An Evening With Neil Gaiman
Join the author of Coraline for the Canadian debut of his new novel, The Graveyard Book.
$15.00
Robert Lepage in Conversation
Come hear Robert Lepage in an intimate conversation with Graham Sheffield (Artistic Director of The Barbican Centre) as he talks about his life, career, and his incredible production of Lipsynch.
$15.00
Darwin Exposed: Natural Selection and Sex - 150 Years of Getting It On
An evolutionary event celebrating the 200th year of Darwin's birthday. Join Jay Ingram of Discovery Channel's Daily Planet and music guest Raoul and the Big Time.
$15.00
Panel Discussion: Shadow Notes
As part of Luminato's celebration of the guitar, come hear rock star, writer and photographer Andy Summers, and photographers Ralph Gibson and Danny Clinch, as they talk about their exhibition in Yonge-Dundas Square - and discuss process, inspiration and the world as seen through the lens of a Leica camera.
$15.00
World Voices in Fiction
2008 Man Booker Prize winner Aravind Adiga, and award winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, are among the acclaimed authors making their first Canadian appearances in our celebration of global literature.
$15.00
Gothic Fiction with Patrick Mcgrath, Sarah Langan, Monique Proulx
Be sure to attend the first opportunity in Canada to hear Patrick McGrath read from his new novel, Trauma - and join Sarah Langan and Monique Proulx to explore the fine line between the serene and the surreal.
$15.00
Kevin Breit Guitar Tour
In-demand session musician, Kevin Breit, leads a one-hour tour of his favourite guitar store, Capsule Music
$35.00
Addicted to Bad Ideas: Peter Lorre's 20th Century
Join the mosh pit! Never before seen in Canada, this multimedia punk-rock spectacle shows us life through the eyes of one of the cinema's most sinister stars.
$35.00
5 O'Clock Bells by Pierre Brault
Sold out during its Ottawa run, this critically acclaimed one-man show on jazz legend Lenny Breau makes its long-awaited Toronto debut as part of our Guitar Festival.
$40.00
The Children's Crusade composed by R. Murray Schafer
Acclaimed Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer explores the purity, innocence and passion of children who wanted to change the world.
$45.00
Goran Bregović - Alkohol: Official CD Release Party
Alkohol is the first Goran Bregovic album released in North America.
$45.00
A Poe Cabaret: A Dream Within A Dream
Words and music to haunt your dreams – including Canadian and world premieres.
$20.00 - $200.00
Carmen
There has never been a Carmen like this ground-breaking, genre-bending re-conceptualization by provocative Italian choreographer Davide Bombana.
$35.00 - $45.00
Continuous City by The Builders Association
All the world really does become the stage in the Canadian premiere of an acclaimed new multi-media theatre experience that dissolves the boundaries between the local and the global.
$35.00 - $45.00
Tono by Red Sky Performance
Featured as part of the cultural programming of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this new dance creation brings together the Indigenous cultures of Canada, Mongolia and China.
$40.00 - $50.00
Nevermore by Catalyst Theatre
Be among the first to take this dreamlike theatrical trip into the bizarre world of Edgar Allan Poe, master of suspense, fascination and dread.
$50.00 - $60.00
Zisele by the Beit Lessin Theatre
Bring your whole family to this delightfully high-spirited celebration of yiddish culture, starring the original Israeli cast - appearing in north America for the very first time!
$59.50 - $79.50
Three Girls and Their Buddy
Four stars of contemporary American music - Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller - launch the 2009 Festival together as part of their Three Girls tour - one night only at Massey Hall!
$59.50 - $79.50
The Canadian Songbook: A Tribute to Neil Young's Live at Massey Hall
Relive a milestone in Canadian music history.
$60.00 - $80.00
Nederlands Dans Theater: Shoot the Moon, choreography by Lightfoot Leon Wings of Wax, choreography by Jiři Kylián The Second Person, choreography by Crystal Pite
One of the world's premier dance companies makes its first visit to Canada in 14 years - and its first ever to Toronto.
$75.00 - $125.00
Lipsynch directed by Robert Lepage
Fresh from critically acclaimed presentations in London, Madrid and Sydney, Robert Lepage's sensational new epic makes its Canadian debut - the must-see theatre event of the year.