The top 10 parties in Toronto for September 2016
The top parties in Toronto this September don't all revolve around TIFF. Don't worry. If you're not a fan of film fest fiestas and all the networking and gawking that goes at them, there's plenty of opportunities to dance the night away without a pesky celebrity getting in your space.
Here are my top picks for parties in Toronto this September.
Baregyal (September 4, Mod Club)
Selectors, Lissa Monet, Jayemkayem, Dre Ngozi, Kyeazy and Mars Foerever, spin a party for for WOC, which calls for Black Women, WOC, binary non-binary, and respectful men to celebrate. It's an inclusive dance party billed as a "non-stush bashment," and if you don't know what that means, you don't know what you're missing.
Horse Meat Disco (September 3, Coda)
Whenever UK Disco crew Horse Meat Disco sends representatives from the DJ collective, it's an event. They are masters of disco and tend to create legendary sets wherever in the world they land. Locals Scooter McCreight and Kris Steeves open the night.
Electric Island (September 4-5, Hanlan's Point)
I've you've never been to an Electric Island party, now's the time! The final two days of the season have arrived and the lineup is killer! It's the kind of dance party you can jump into and go full out or sit back in the grass and whispering trees and just take it all in. There are also good food trucks and libations.
Wet Banana (September 8, Remington's)
There are a lot of TIFF parties, but none of them are as non-pretentious and wild as this one. That's mostly because it happens in a men's strip club on Yonge Street. Now in its second year, Wet Banana is a dance party on the second floor of Remington's where dancers come up and visit (regular shows keep happening on the ground level). Open 'till 4a.m.
Business Woman's Special: Hello Dolly! (September 10, Round)
Dolly Parton is finally in town at a cool venue (i.e. not a casino) and to help celebrate post-concert, there's an after party at Lipstick and Dynamite, but it's the following night that the folks at BWS go all out with Dolly party and soon-to-be legendary performance from Fay Slift.
Beam Me Up: Four years of disco (September 10, The Piston)
A Digital Needle and Cyclist celebrates four years of disco dancing at the Piston! Or really, their amazing musical existence in the city in general. Beam Me Up is the city's premiere disco party with rare sounds from all over the planet. These boys will push your dance floor buttons.
A Club Called Rhonda (September 15, The Drake Hotel)
The entire Drake hotel is transformed into a "pan sexual palace," with two stages and three floors of pure party from the L.A. party pusher. Expect to take Friday morning off thanks to this one with multiple DJs, performances and sexy people.
Surface II (September 24, Artscape Sandbox)
Five galleries gather under one roof to show you what they've got, while DJs from the Bedroomer Collevtive - Silky Conrad Ĺojko, beat sampras, Kare and Internet Daughter - spin. It's an event celebrating the independent gallery movement.
Forms Festival (September 29, The Great Hall)
Endless City's Forms Festival happens at the newly renovated bottom level of The Great Hall on West Queen West. Forms is a fest of emergent culture that celebrates artists and thinkers who take risks and challenge convention. This night is a wild collection of electronic DJs Sergio Levels, Laurel Halo , Kara-Lis Coverdale , Jeremy Gara, and Brigitte Bardon't.
MORE Boy Problems: a Carly Rae Jepsen Queer Dance Party (September 30, Gladstone Hotel)
A few months a go, two guys threw a Carly Rae Jepsen dance party at The Steady, and it was such a huge hit they've had to move it to the Gladstone. If you're a fan of Jepsen's perfect, Polaris Prize nominated album, the B-Sides release or just the pop darling in general, this is the place to be.
Did I miss a wild party you're excited about in September? Let us know in the comments.
Photo of Electric Island by Hector Vasquez.
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