CULTURA FESTIVAL 2012

Mel Lastman Square becomes a World in the Square for Six Friday Nights

Free Admission

Presented by John Filion, in partnership with North York Arts, an initiative of Toronto Arts Foundation, the 2012 Cultura Festival presents free Friday nights of entertainment filled with exciting musical performances from around the world, cinematic programming, international culinary experiences, family entertainment and buskers.

The Cultura Festival is an annual celebration of culture in North York. Cultura celebrates the diversity of Toronto and the GTA by showcasing unique artistic talents, musicians, dancers, buskers, family-friendly drum circles and international food vendors. Each festival evening closes with a featured film, displayed on a large screen.

Cultura began in 2010 as the brainchild of John Filion, who sought to showcase the usability of public spaces; specifically Mel Lastman Square outside of the downtown core, while simultaneously promoting the arts in an open air and publicly accessible venue. Since this time, attendance has grown from 12,000 to close to 20,000 visitors in 2011.

MAIN STAGE MUSIC PERFORMANCES STARTING AT 7:30 PM EACH NIGHT

This year's Cultura Festival main stage will feature music from Quebecois Folk, Soca, Calypso, South Asian, Banjo Jazz, Blues, Flamenco, Chinese and Persian traditional performances.

To date, the confirmed main stage music line-up include:

Friday, July 6
David Rudder opens the 2012 Cultura Festival with the sounds of Calypso. Since Rudder's rise to fame in, he has been praised by music critics around the world and is known as modern Calypso's most innovative songwriter.

Friday, July 13
Autorickshaw is a musical group on the cutting edge of cultural fusion as contemporary jazz and funk rub shoulders with the classical and popular music of India. Formed in 2003, Autorickshaw has become one of the most intriguing acts on the world music and jazz landscapes, garnering two JUNO nominations for World Music Album of the Year.

Friday, July 20
Le Vent du Nord is one of Quebec's favourite folk bands. They have received several prestigious awards, including a JUNO, and have fans across the country and around the world. Le Vent du Nord plays music that brings any crowd to their feet!

Friday July 27
Jayme Stone, a JUNO Award-winning banjoist, performs music inspired by folk traditions from around the world. The repertoire includes a movement from Bach's French Suite, a Moorish sword-fighting dance and Stone's lush, edgy originals.

Friday, August 3
Silk Road, headed by Qiu Xia He playing the pipa and Andre Thibault playing flamenco guitar, pioneered Chinese-Western musical fusions and earned a JUNO nomination, two West Coast Music Awards, two Canadian Folk Music Award nominations and countless enthusiastic reviews.

Friday August 10
Sarv Ensemble, a popular traditional Persian music ensemble returns to the festival for an encore performance. Drawing inspiration from diverse classical and folk traditions across Iran, Sarv Ensemble presents both in traditional contexts as well as in collaboration with artists from different traditions and disciplines.

OUTDOOR FILM SCREENINGS STARTING AT 9:00 PM EACH NIGHT

The outdoor film screenings include the best in mainstream, world and Canadian cinema.

To date, the confirmed film screening line-up include:

Friday, July 6
Hugo
(2011, 126 minutes)
An Academy Award-winning movie about an orphan who discovers a mystery about Paris in the 1930s and the origins of cinema.

Friday, July 13
The First Grader
(2010, 120 minutes)
Set it a mountain village in Kenya, the film tells the story of an eighty-four year-old veteran. Determined to learn to read and write, he enrolls at a local primary school alongside six year-olds.

Friday, July 20
One Week
(2008, 94 Minutes)
A Canadian film about a young teacher who decides to drive a motorcycle across the country instead of undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of cancer.

Friday, July 27
Life in a Day
(2011, 90 minutes)
Director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) and producer Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator) team up to offer this candid snapshot of a single day on planet Earth. Compiled from over 80,000 YouTube submissions by contributors in 192 countries, Life in a Day presents a microcosmic view of our daily experiences as a global society.

Friday, August 3
Rio
(2011, 96 minutes)
Set in the magnificent city of Rio de Janeiro and the lush rainforest of Brazil, the comedy-adventure centers on Blu, a rare macaw who thinks he is the last of his kind. When Blu discovers there's another – and that she's a she – he leaves the comforts of his cage in small town Minnesota and heads to Rio.

Friday, August 10
The Artist
(2011, 100 minutes)
Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break.

For more information about additional programming at the festival starting at 5:00 pm, please visit www.culturafestival.ca/schedule.

The Cultura Festival gratefully acknowledges the generous support of its sponsors and partners:

Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Zip Car, Toronto Centre for the Arts, Canterbury Place, Now Magazine, Toronto Public Library, Gibson House, Global Café, Hotel NoVotel, Entripy, Reel Canada, Dispatch Talent, Random Acts of Dance, Finding Rhythm Drumming and Percussion, Little Monsters and Cheshire Unicorn Productions.

Mel Lastman Square
5100 Yonge Street
North York, ON
M2N 5V7