Family Day events & activities in Toronto 2013

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Family Day is once again upon us in Toronto, and should you want to do something more than merely catch up on sleep (my plan), there's lots to do in the city — particularly when compared to your typical Monday in the dead of winter. While most of these events skew towards the kid-friendly (what a surprise), that's not to say that those without progeny can't have a good time as well.

Here's an overview of what's going on in Toronto on Family Day 2013.

The Auto Show
So the auto industry has lost some of its pomp over the last half-decade or so, that doesn't mean that you can't geek out on the latest concept cars and other vehicular gadgetry on display.

Winter Picnic at the Evergreen Brick Works
A winter picnic sounds a bit like torture to me, but so long as one dresses appropriately it might be survivable — or even enjoyable, if only for the fact that the warm-up process will be all the more special give how close to frostbite you've come. There will be a campfire, skating, a caldron of soup, and lots of people with blankets. Oh, and there are indoor areas too!

TIFF Lightbox Family Day
The Lightbox has been running free Family Day programming for a few years now, and has thus become a hub of activity on the third monday in February. Naturally the films on offer tend to be kid-friendly, but that doesn't mean there isn't entertainment to be had for all. The best part? It's free, free, free.

Patti Smith at the AGO
Along with a whole lot of kids-first programming, Patti Smith's Camera Solo is running at the AGO, which is open on Monday for the holiday. Have a gander at the punk legend's artistic repertoire, which, among other things, consists of photos of other famous people's beds. Bonus: there are not likely to be that many kids in this section of the gallery.

Radiohead Jazz Project
OK, here's something that the kids won't get. The third installment of the Radiohead Jazz Project sees the band's tunes performed by a 17-piece big band before turning it over to Idioteque, a cover band that offers eerily similar renditions of Radiohead's hits and rarities.

Rockstar Live at the Ossington
Karaoke is dead — love live Rockstar Live! The concept is simple. Instead of singing karaoke to songs played on some shitty sound system, participants get to front a real live band. As the organizers say, "This is not karaoke — it's a rock n' roll show starring YOU!"

Etsy and Uniiverse's Craft-a-Thon
If that sounds like too much fun, you could always brush up on your crafts. Just kidding! Crafting is fun too — especially when you're good at it. On the schedule for Monday, knitting and headband-making! You can wear the latter when you perform at Rockstar Live later that day.

Early Monthly Segments: Andy Warhol's kitchen
Show off your intellectual side with this screening of one of Andy Warhol's more bizarre films, Kitchen. Here the artist does what he did so often in throwing the most putatively benign and sanitized spaces under the critical spotlight. Sure it drags a bit, but you'll never look at your own kitchen the same way — and there's booze. So no excuses!

OTHER EVENTS OF NOTE

NOT TO FORGET

Got a Family Day event to share? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Joe Howell