• The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair kicks off on Friday at Exhibition Place, where it will continue until November 15th. Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will be on hand to officially open the event on Friday morning and if you arrive between 8:30am and 9:45am on Friday you can see the ceremony and enjoy the rest of your day at the fair for free.


• It's the St. Lawrence Market's 205th Anniversary with a few events Friday night and the bulk of the festivities on Saturday.


• Harbourfront Centre is having a free Day of the Dead Festival on Saturday and Sunday.


• It's a big weekend for Film Festivals in Toronto with the Diaspora Film Festival, the Regent Park Film Festival, the Toronto Hispano-American Film Festival, the KinoArt Festival and the Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival all on now or over the next few days.


• On Friday and Saturday The Children's Trunk Show, a sale of "fashion, jewellery and art made by moms and geared exclusively towards kids and families", will be on in the Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery District.


• Looking to dress up and do some good? On Saturday night the annual Fireball gala will raise funds for Sheena's Place, which provides support for those with eating disorders.


• On Saturday night the Amadeus Choir presents a Remembrance concert, "Greater Love Hath No Man", at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.


• There's an early Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Scarborough Civic Centre on Sunday at 2pm.


• On Sunday afternoon the Air Canada Centre hosts Canada vs. World in the Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Classic.


• And from the User-Posted Events for November, winter window displays are up in the Dowtown Yonge area and there's a Battle Strikers Battling Top showdown at the CN Tower on Saturday.

If you're an event planner hosting something this weekend, feel free to tell us about it in the comments section below. For later events, add them to the November User-Posted Event Listings (or the user posted events for December).

Are you ready for the post-Halloween onslaught of in-store Christmas displays? If you'd like to get a jump on holiday shopping without hitting any malls, the first of the annual Christmas Craft Shows in Toronto is coming up tomorrow at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre (250 Front Street West). The CBC Charity Craft Sale is on Thursday November 5th from 9am to 6pm and along with browsing items from dozens of vendors you can feel good about the fact that vendor's table fees are being donated to the Ontario Chapter of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. You can also make donations to the foundation on-site and place an order for a Think Pink calendar.

Visit the CBC Charity Craft Sale website for a list of vendors, or just drop by and browse!

Toronto Community News (the group that publishes various community newspapers with the names The Villager, The Guardian and The Mirror) recently announced winners for their Urban Hero Awards. This year's competition was based around the Etobicoke Guardian and limited to nominees from Etobicoke. Awards were announced in six categories - Arts & Culture, Community, Education, Environment, Health and Sports. West Torontonians who want to learn more about some of the individuals and organizations making a difference in their community can pay a visit to www.urbanheroes.ca to read profiles of the semifinalists and winners.

This week Comedy Bar is celebrating one year as a dedicated comedy venue with a slew of special shows. Tonight for example, Pat Thornton (who can be seen on YouTube performing at the Altdot Comedy Lounge) will begin doing stand up at 6pm and will attempt to keep doing it for 24 hours. The marathon session isn't just in honour of the Comedy Bar's anniversary - it's also part of the Stephen Lewis Foundation's "A Dare to Remember" campaign (find Thornton's donation page in the "Dare to be Funny" section of adaretoremember.com). Five dollars will get you a come-and-go wristband, or follow the live action on Ustream.

Later in the week the fun continues with events such as competitive stand up and sketch shows, improvised "re-imaginings" of three Patrick Swayze films, a free dance party, a video/improv crossover show and appearances by Tim Meadows. To get your tickets in advance or to learn more about the shows on this week and every week at 945 Bloor Street West, visit www.comedybar.ca.

Further Reading
• 'Comedy Club celebrates anniversary with eight nights of laughter' on TheStar.com
• 'Twenty-Four-Hour Hardy-Har People' on Torontoist.com
• 'Tall Poppy Interview: Gary Rideout, Jr.' on Torontoist.com

• Obviously the big to-do this weekend is all things Halloweeny.


• Not mentioned on the aforelinked calendar is a World Literacy of Canada Halloween Day Family Cabaret at the Gladstone Hotel on Saturday afternoon.


• The official opening night of The Toxic Avenger Musical coincides with Halloween (Or there are plenty of other performing arts choices this weekend).


• Moses Znaimer's Zoomer Show for folks who are Baby Boomers and older is on Saturday and Sunday at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place.


• From Friday to Sunday the Baby Time Show brings speakers and exhibitors to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.


• On Sunday the annual Canzine Zine Fair and Festival of Alternative Culture is on at the Gladstone Hotel from 1pm-7pm.


• The International Festival of Authors continues at Harbourfront Centre.


• The Toronto Marlies continue their new season with home games on Friday and Sunday at Ricoh Coliseum, Exhibition Place.

User-posted events this weekend include:

• Saturday's Halloween Monster Concert at Massey Hall.


• Continuing Halloween-themed ghost tours from Tour Guys.


• Performances of Darren O"Donnell's play Over presented by Theatre Caravel.


• And a Halloween party at the PawsWay Pet Discovery Centre.

If you're an event planner hosting something this weekend, feel free to tell us about it in the comments section below. For later events, add them to the user-posted event listings for November.

Does it seem like the clocks "falling back" is long overdue? In 2007 three weeks were added to daylight saving time in Ontario to make sure we matched up with the time change south of the border. Still, it takes some getting used to - I've been out and about at 6am lately, and boy is it dark!

Now the time change is almost upon us, coming up this Sunday November 1st at 2am. Of course it's easiest to set your clocks back before you go to bed Saturday night, to avoid as much Sunday morning confusion as possible.

• For more information on daylight saving time see When Does the Time Change?.

In April the Tony-nominated Broadway musical Rock of Ages will be coming to the Royal Alexandra Theatre. On Thursday, an open casting call for the show will be held on Broadview Avenue.

While this is hardly the first time that a Toronto musical has invited professionals and non-professionals alike to try out for a role (Rent springs immediately to mind, since I went with a friend) it seems especially fitting for a musical based around the music of 80's rock bands such as Journey, Styx, Whitesnake and Poison. For the auditions, they aren't be interested in hearing your selections from musical theatre. Instead the casting call requests that you "please be prepared to sing 16 bars of 1 or 2 brief rock and roll songs from the 80s, with sheet music ... A pianist will be provided - or feel free to bring your own guitar".

If you think you can belt out 80's rock with the best of them, all of the details about the casting call are available at www.mirvish.com/Auditions. If you're just interested in eventually seeing the show, you can already buy tickets from www.rockofagesmusical.com/toronto.

Further Reading:
• 'Rock musical coming to Toronto - and you can audition' on TheStar.com

Tonight at 7pm there's a free showing at the Royal Cinema of numerous short films that were produced with assistance from CTV Television's Bravo!FACT program (Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent). The program covers up to 50% of the cost of new productions up to six minutes in length that fall into a wide variety of categories - dance, music, spoken word, opera, animation, visual arts or drama. The free screening event tonight showcases Bravo!FACT productions that were shown as part of the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and will be followed by an informal reception.

• The Royal Cinema is at 608 College Street (just west of Clinton Street) - The Royal on Facebook
• Visit www.bravofact.com to learn more about the program or to watch Bravo!FACT productions online (Click on "Video Library" to access a list of shorts organized by what film festivals they've played at).

Don't Wait to Comply
It was all over the news this past weekend that Ontario's new ban on using hand-held devices while driving goes into effect today, but there's also been numerous mentions of the "education period" during which Toronto Police, OPP and other Ontario forces will primarily be issuing warnings to drivers who are caught in violation of the law. But the information on the Ministry of Transportation's website about the public education period emphasizes that if your use of a hand-held device endangers others between now and February 1st, you can still face charges of careless or dangerous driving. Police can also issue a summons under the new law during this time, requiring you to appear in court (after the education period, tickets will be simply be issued).

Get All the Details
The Ministry of Transportation's website offers a comprehensive look at distracted driving which includes full information on the exemptions to the new law (calling 9-1-1, turning on or off a mounted hands-free device, longer grace period for some industries), the consequences for breaking it ($500 fine, other charges) and the reasons for having the legislation in the first place. It's a great resource for drivers who want to be sure they're fully informed about how and when they can now use electronics on the road.

Further Reading
• "Employers advised to reinforce cellphone road rule" on TheStar.com

• The Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival began on Wednesday and continues to Sunday.


• The annual International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront Centre is on now and continues to the end of the month.


• The Toronto International Art Fair is open to the public from Friday to Monday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.


• The National Women's Show is also on at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from Friday to Sunday.


• The Toronto Zombie Walk will see the dead rise and wander their way from Trinity Bellwoods Park to Bathurst and Bloor on Saturday afternoon.


• Chocolate Fest '09 continues this weekend with the Chocolate Ball Gala on Friday night and the "tour de chocolat" coupons available on the website good until Sunday.


• The theme for this week's Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington Market is "Halloween! Honouring Our Ancestors".


• And of course other Halloween events continue through this weekend.

From the User-Posted Events for October:

• The Pawsway Pet Discovery Centre is holding breed meet-ups for Schauzers and Bichon Frises on Saturday plus a Doggie DanceFit demonstration on Sunday.


• The 10th World Wushu Championships begin on Saturday at Exhibition Place.


• LucSculpture School and Studios (near Greenwood Station) is hosting a "wellness celebration" - Health, Food, Creativity - on Saturday and Sunday.


• And the Tour Guys begin offering Halloween Ghost Tours on Saturday night.

If you're an event planner hosting something this weekend, feel free to tell us about it in the comments section below. For later events, add them to the October User-Posted Event Listings (or the user posted events for November).