Toronto Tourism News

The 17th annual Junction Arts Festival (September 9 – 13, 2009) presents a mosaic of unique visual, dance, literary and musical arts, and performance artists are everywhere, winding and weaving their way in and out of ‘Red Hot Art Spots’ (shops, galleries and restaurants) and on the street; Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September 13.

Performance artists will be found all along Dundas Street West, from Keele Street to Quebec Avenue, and are featured in three categories (exact places and/or times, to be discovered):

• Street Performance Artists; Dance, Performance Art and Comedy
• Traveling Minstrels
• Community Stage

Junction Arts Festival creative producer Michael Menegon states, “People of all ages experience and discover performances, which, in these unique settings, they might not otherwise see anywhere else. This may be the one element that no other festival in Toronto has to offer.”

Street Performance Artists – Dance:

Hercinia Arts Collective – “Urban Growth” is a guerrilla aerial based performance, where roaming acrobatic performers (dressed as plant life) execute parkour-infused dance on found objects/structures.
Gadfly – Head choreographers Apolonia Velasquez and Ofilio Portillo discover the true essence of passion using hip-hop, contemporary, vogue, jazz, B-boyin’, locking, house and acrobatics.
r.a.d. – Festival favourites Random Acts of Dance, return for the third year roaming Dundas West and exposing the crowd to their colourful improvised pieces.
Aaron Water – Performing from New York City to Montreal, Water is an expert in mime, robot and hip hop popping dance and will draw on ballet, martial arts and African dance.
Jay9 Dance Projects – Created by Jannine Saarinen, Jay9 Dance will present “Faerie-Go-Round”; a dance theatre piece involving two performers (whose look is inspired by the artwork of Brian Froud) portraying fun and flighty faeries.
Angola Murdoch – A veteran in movement including capoeira and aerial dance, Murdoch presents “Look Up Theatre”, where the Energy Triplets (using a low-rider bike and each other) are circus acrobats searching to balance the earth.

Note: The dancers will also be scheduled in to perform on the community stage (times, TBA).

Street Performance Artists – Performance Art:

Art Fuzion – While the audience watches, a group of five artists, “Fuzionists”, use the free-style drawing approach and collaborate to create a single, free flowing and improvised piece.
Annie Si-Wing Tung – York University BFA honours graduate Tung paints, while a jazz combo (keyboardist, vocalist, percussionist, bassist) plays and the improvised collaboration demonstrates how artists can influence each other.

Street Performance Artists – Comedy:

Bain and Bernard – Toronto’s vaudeville comedy duo present “Bain & Bernard & Son’s, You’ve Never Seen Anything Like It Show!”


Travelling Minstrels:
Seven travelling minstrels (groups and soloists) perform throughout the weekend along Dundas West in various indoor and outdoor locations;

Doin' Time (duo, Ramblin’ Reg and Five Fingers Pete)
Courtney Farquhar
Samantha Martin
ZimZum (jazz quartet, Colin Flint, Ian Lazarus, Louise Le Coche, Mark Teixeira)
Heather Chappell and Vincent Peets
Maneli Jamal
Adam Wilson and Ayron Mortley


Community Stage:
Located on the Junction City Square train platform (2960 Dundas St. West at Pacific Ave.), community groups perform daily from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – exact group times, TBA;

Fit2Dance
High Park Martial Arts
Hip Kik Belly Dance
Rhythm and Motion (ballroom, tango)
Vivace Studios (Joanne Camilleri belly dance)

Please Note: Further festival details and all artist biography information is available at www.junctionartsfest.com.

Attracting 200,000 visitors in 2008, the Junction Arts Festival (produced by the Junction Forum for Art and Culture) takes place along Dundas Street West between Keele Street and Quebec Avenue, and features five free days of artistry and innovation; Visual Art Exhibits (Sept. 9 to 13), Live Music Concerts (Sept. 11 and 12), and during the weekend – Street Performance Artists, Literary Artists, KidZone, Green Village and Artisan/Vendor Market (Sept. 12 and 13).

The 2009 Junction Arts Festival is generously supported by title sponsor the Junction Business Improvement Area, the Toronto Arts Council and the active involvement from Junction area businesses and residents.

The Junction Forum for Art and Culture (JFAC) is a non-profit arts presenting organization and its main project is the annual Junction Arts Festival. The JFAC Board of Directors, chaired by Councillor Bill Saundercook, consists of dedicated cultural producers, artists, residents, business owners and politicians, all of whom are based in the Junction.

Website: www.junctionartsfest.com