We just got word of a rockin’ all-ages fundraising show happening this weekend in Toronto. Check it out:

Hosted by former MuchMusic VJ Hannah Sung, RADIO OPERA: A Benefit Concert for CARE Canada will feature Constantines, Jason Collett, comedian Sabrina Jalees [who was featured in Issue 1 of Shameless and has made you laugh at several of our launch parties] and DJ Rory Them Finest. Money raised will go towards CARE-led youth peace-building projects in East Timor.

WHAT: RADIO OPERA: A Benefit Concert for CARE Canada

WHERE: Lee’s Palace, 529 Bloor Street West, Toronto.

WHEN: Saturday, December 2, 2006. Doors open at 1:30 pm.

HOW MUCH: $16 in advance (at Rotate This, Soundscapes or Ticketmaster), $20 at the door.

I just heard some exciting news that pertains to one of the boxing gyms mentioned in our current cover story:

The Toronto Newsgirls Boxing Club will be taking over the famous Sully’s Boxing Gym as of September 2006… to become the first ALL WOMEN’S BOXING CLUB in Canada!

We are expanding our current classes and boxing camps to include courses such as coaching, mentoring and fitness programs. The Newsgirls Club has proudly been serving the lgbtt communities since 1996 and wants to grow to involve many more communities, reach out to at-risk youth, and partner with the international women’s boxing community such as the South Calcutta Physical Culture Association in India.

Be a part of herstory/history making! Toronto Newsgirls Boxing Club, the first one of its kind in Canada, is asking for your financial support to help us kickstart our dream gym.

For more information, to make a donation and to check out our WISH LIST, visit www.torontonewsgirls.com

There’s also a fundraising event coming up this Friday night at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore, during which they promise to turn the store into “a word-friendly club with lots of ringside action you won’t want to miss!”

FRIDAY AUGUST 11, 9pm
Toronto Women’s Bookstore, 73 Harbord St.
Admission by donation

DJs playing hip hop, r&b, reggae, old school, salsa and more. Live auction at 11pm hosted by the insatiable Boo Watson

Food! Fun! Action!! and LOTS of silk shorts! Drinks for purchase. Wheelchair accessible.

Here’s our party flyer and a sneak peek at the cover of the new issue!

Hello Shameless friends,

How’s your summer going? Hot enough for ya? Well, it’s about to get a lot hotter. Shameless is launching our fabulous summer issue — and celebrating our second birthday — in less than two weeks with an all-ages extravaganza of fun. Please strap on your party hat, climb into your dancing shoes, put on your reading glasses and join us as…

SHAMELESS TURNS 2!

WHEN: Friday, July 21, from 7:30pm to 11pm
WHERE: Gibsone Jessop Gallery, in the historic Distillery District (55 Mill St., Building 4, Toronto)
FEATURING: the kalimba stylings of Laura Barrett, cunt rock from The Whoremoans, a performance by the Fat Femme Mafia and, of course, a big ol’ dance party!
AMAZING LOW PRICE: $5, includes a magazine, all-ages!
DIRECTIONS: At www.thedistillerydistrict.com. We promise it’s not as complicated as it sounds.

WHY YOU SHOULD COME: We’re launching our best issue yet, with a DIY guide to T-shirt stencilling, a feature on why podcasting will rock your world, interviews with indie-publishing wonder Emily Pohl-Weary and CBC radio goddess Patti Schmidt, and a look at what it’s like to step into the boxing ring, put your gloves up and get the workout of your life.

So mark it on your calendar: Friday, July 21! 7:30pm! Distillery District! We can’t wait to see you! Tell your friends!

Hey poetry lovers!

Toronto’s Scream Literary Program is seeking young poets to perform at their I Scream/Youth Scream event in July. They’ve also organized a creative writing workshop, hosted by the lovely and talented Angela Rawlings, for the same day. If you’d like to sign up for either the open-mic or the workshop, contact adele@thescream.ca.

Here are the details:

Sat. July 8th @ the Victory Cafe (581 Markham Street, near Bathurst Station)
2:30pm - Poetry Workshop with Angela Rawlings
4:00pm - Youth Poetry Reading & Open Mic & Prizes

Everyone welcome! Free/PWYC.

This just in from The Miss G Project:

“On June 6th, you and yours are cordially invited to the very big, very bold “Feminist Read-In” at Queen’s Park in Toronto. Be there at 11 a.m. and head out whenever the music stops or the sun goes down.

What’s a Read-In you ask? Imagine your typical sit-in, but without the force-feeding and free love. Supporters of the project from everywhere and anywhere are invited to join us on the front lawn of Queen’s Park to demonstrate for change and to show the government what we want to see in education — feminist and queer-positive literature, and women’s histories.

Bring your books, your blankies, your friends and family. We want hundreds — nay, thousands there! The day will be complete with solidarity-enhancing entertainment to dazzle the eye and warm the heart, including musical performances (more details on that to come), poetry readings (such as from most fabulous up-and-comer Tanis Rideout), and book readings by some of the women authors who matter to us. It will be the fabulous, feminist, education-focused, all-ages, geek-chic, refined but riotous, irreverent-to-the-bone Woodstock of our times.”

So, the lovely Darren O’Donnell sent us some photos of the Haircuts by Children event that I blogged about a few days ago. Seeing the utter concentration in these kids’ faces is reassuring. I bet they’re fine hairdressers (apparently they were well trained beforehand). I’m still not going, mind you. I have too complicated a relationship with my hair. But I totally think you should go. Remaining dates: May 13, 20, 27 and 28.

How often have you looked in the mirror and thought, Damn, I need a haircut — by children? Well, friend, you’re in luck. Today and several other days this month, kids aged 10-12 from Parkdale Public School will be offering free haircuts to the Toronto public.

As the press release says, “HAIRCUTS BY CHILDREN is a whimsical relational performance that playfully engages with the enfranchisement of children, with trust in the younger generation, and with the thrills and chills of vanity.”

Sounds terrifying to me, but a 17-year-old boy once came perilously close to cutting off my earlobe during a home haircut, so perhaps I’m biased.

Click here for dates, times and locations. And if anyone goes for a trim, please send us a photo: submit@shamelessmag.com.

If you’re a girl aged 13-15 who lives in Toronto, check this out: Nightwood Theatre is recruiting for its free Busting Out theatre program, which we wrote about in the Fall 2004 issue of Shameless. The participants of the program will have the opportunity to create and perform a play for public presentation. Professional theatre artists will lead the girls in classes, which include acting, playwrighting, design, movement and clown. And it’s a whole lot of fun, too.

Here’s the info you need to apply:

Program Details:

• Saturday sessions (1pm-4pm) begin on June 3^rd and run to August 12^th, 2006.


• A week-long intensive workshop from Monday, August 14^th to Saturday, August 19^th.


• A public presentation, included in the 23^rd Annual Groundswell Festival, will be performed on Sunday, August 20^th.


• Location: Nightwood Studio (located in the Distillery District, 55 Mill Street).


• Only 14 participants will be selected.

How do you apply?
Deadline to apply is April 30^th, so get ready! Send one page telling us a little about who you are; include where you live in Toronto, and why you want to be part of Busting Out! Also send something artistic that shows us something about yourself (for example, a collage, a painting, a poem, an essay about why you like or dont like being a girl, a photo, or ANYTHING else).

To submit an application or if you have any questions:
Email: anna@nightwoodtheatre.net
Call: 416 944 1740 ext 6.
Fax: 416 944 1739
Mail: 55 Mill St. Suite 301, Case Goods Warehouse, Bldg. No. 74, Toronto M5A 3C4