Oh, just because the daffodils are gone you thought you’d escaped flower posting? Not a chance, because the West End has some of the most gorgeous irises in the known universe and I can prove it:
Speaking of irises, a new French cocktail bar/restaurant “Iris” is opening this week in Bloor West Village. Check ‘em out!
As usual, our event cup runneth over — there are more “Canada vs. Bosnia” watch parties happening than there are pigeons near Dufferin Station, so I’ve only included the one organized by Councillor Bravo here. I hope you’ve all battoned down the hatches for the World Cup onslaught about to begin (also, obligatory ‘Go Canada!’)
There’s also a flurry of ongoing pride events, a handful of fun fairs, and events recognizing the upcoming National Indigenous Peoples Day.
Oh, and an update about a beat-up bananna. 👇
West End Updates
Man dressed as a banana beat up and unpeeled at a hardcore concert hosted at The Lithuanian House
Bet there’s a headline you’ve never read before.
What could be more West End than a story of a man dressed as a banana at a hardcore show? In fact, this hardcore show was featured in our very own live music section just last week! And Banana Man, if you attended because you saw it in the Raccoon, I’d like to extend our sincerest apologies.
Because a recent viral video depicts some distinctly UN-West End behaviour — the lead singer of the band End It wasn’t a fan of the costume and instructed audience members to literally attack and strip the costume off the poor fellow, claiming he was “attention seeking.” While that claim may be true, it is the opinion of this publication that demanding violence over some lighthearted goofing is absolutely not hardcore.
Is ‘Do West Fest’ suffering from success?
Photo from the CBC
I remember attending my first Do West over 10 years ago as a newcomer to the city. It’s where I tried Trinidadian Doubles for the first time in my life, so I’ll always remember it fondly. But even back then as a much younger and more crowd-tolerant man I thought “huh — this is craaaaazy busy.”
But since then it’s gotten so much busier. Countless Reddit threads spoke of crowd-crush-like conditions that left people feeling unsafe. The organizers response? Send more police. Now, I’m not an urban planner, but something tells me if Do West is to continue (without dangerous crowds) there’s probably going to need to be a more elegant solution.
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I found myself walking down the street the other day proudly sporting my Wallace Barbershop T-shirt (shoutout Deej - real name, link to his actual DJ insta) when it occured to me I’d love to have a West End Raccoon T…and then I thought, wait a tick — do other people feel the same way?! So here’s your chance to let us know if merch is of any interest.
Do you fancy any West End Raccoon merch?
Unaffordable House of the Week
1 Roof Garden Lane…. as the Brits would say; it does what it says on the tin. This is a property in Bloorcourt is described as “a rare live-work loft conversion”. From what I can understand it’s supposed to be both a house and an office for a Toronto based tech founder. Or someone with tech founder energy (hoodie, weird haircut, dead behind the eyes). It’s cool, it’s huge, and it does have that roof garden it promises.
$5.6 million, check it out.
Events
If you have an event you’d like included in a future West End Raccoon, please submit it here.
Thursday/Friday
Les Bandes Portage @ Junction Underground - Thurs 7pm. "Join us for a night of live music and help send youth facing barriers on transformative backcountry canoe trips in Algonquin Park. Tickets are $20." Details.
Soccer Paw-ty! @ REN'S PETS (Liberty Village) - Fri 9am. As long as you're gonna be watching the big game, you may as well do so with your furry friend! Details.
Canada vs. Bosnia at Earlscourt Park @ Earlscourt Park - Fri 3pm. Councillor Bravo is hosting one of the many watch parties this Friday! Come to the park and watch Canada CLOBBER Bosnia. Details.
Junction Comedy Show @ The Alpine - Fri 8pm. Enjoy some chuckles over some cheese and beer! Details.
ROBOT ROCK: Electronica Video Dance Party - Canada vs Bosnia After Party @ Ground Control - Fri 9pm. Reading the title of this event had me feeling like they were trying to activate me as a sleeper agent. Like -- those words have never been written in that sequence before, I guarantee it. Details.
Alt Pride Party @ Bampot House of Tea - Fri 10pm. Not just a garden variety, ho-hum pride party -- an alternative one! With crafts! Details.
Support The Raccoon
Hey you!
If you enjoy reading The Raccoon every week and you’d like to support what we’re doing here, I’ve opened a donation page where readers can make contributions. Any amount would be be very much appreciated.
Saturday
Roncy Flea @ Roncesvalles United Church - Sat 10am. A charming flea in the heart of Roncy, happening every other weekend for the entire summer! Details.
St. Martin's Neighbourhood Fun Fair @ Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields - Sat 10am. St. Martin's invites families to drop by to their garden on Saturday, June 13 for a FREE Fun Fair. Enjoy games, prizes, face painting, hot dogs and juice, a scavenger hunt, and the bouncy castle. St Martin's is one block north of Keele and Bloor. Details.
Swansea Centennial Open House @ Swansea Town Hall - Sat 10am. Open House celebrating the Centennial of the Swansea neighbourhood of Toronto. Including unveiling new laneway name in honour of the event, Toronto History info and cake! Details.
West End Family Pride @ Dovercourt Park - Sat 10am. West End Family Pride is a free, outdoor celebration for queer families, their friends, neighbours, and the West End 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Details.
Play on Bloor West @ 265 Armadale Ave - Sat 11am. Not that kind of play, Shakespeare! We're talking about tons of family fun, sports, activities, trivia and more....for free! Details.
World Naked Bike Ride TORONTO @ Coronation Park - Sat 11am. This technically falls a little south of the true West End but I simply couldn't leave out the naked bike ride. Plus their tagline is "Less gas, more ass" which is chef's kiss Details.
Indian Road Crescent Fun Fair @ 285 Indian Road Cresc, Indian Rd Cres Junior Public School - Sat 11am. Our Annual Fun Fair! Raising valuable finds for the students at IRC Public School. All are welcome. We have ice cream, baked goods, face painting, bouncy castles, games and our famous Basket Raffle. New this year - a Foam Party! Details.
Ma-Me-Res 2026 Pow Wow @ Dufferin Grove Park - Sat 12pm. "A community festival to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day with dancing, drumming, craft, food & information booths." Details.
Christie Pits Sacred Fire Garden Weekend @ Christie Pits Park - Sat 2pm - Sun 6pm. Join Cree Firekeeper Johnny Moore and the Christie Pits Every Child Matters Sacred Fire community to create pollinator and medicinal gardens to grow our space for honoring and healing the lost children and survivors of residential schools, colonialism and ongoing trauma. Details.
Young Songwriters (Song Experiment Series) @ Tranzac Club - Sat 5pm. "This show will feature youth aged 11-15 from Community Music Schools of Toronto (CMST) performing their own original songs supported by their teacher Cassie Norton on various instruments and their other teacher Ofield Williams on sound and Yoshi Maclear-Wall on bass." Details.
Milk Drunk w/ special guest Paris Matik @ Three Dollar Bill - Sat 8pm. An early evening dance party for millennial moms & company! Details.
House Party @ Danu Social House - Sat 9pm. No, not a HOUSE house party, silly. It's a BAR house party. Details.
Sunday/Monday
June Early Summer Birding Walk in Toronto's High Park @ High Park Nature Centre - Sun 10am. Oh you know I had to shout out a birding walk. Details.
Parkdale Pride @ Parkdale Hall - Sun 11am. Loving the pride, loving the raccoon logo -- I just wish it was human made and not AI :C. Nevertheless come shop with local LGBTQ+ artists and allies, this Sunday! Details.
Toronto Dog Moms X Bloorcourt BIA: Paws Walk @ 750 Bloor St. W - Sun 11am. A walking tour of the city for Dog Moms and their furry friends! Dog friendly stops along the way. Details.
ARTISTS TALKS: Where We're at Now | The Gibson Girls @ Propeller Art Gallery - Sun 3pm. "A group exhibition featuring art by Yael Brotman, Karen Curry, Liz Parkinson, Snaige Sileika, and M.J. Steenberg" Details.
Liam's Double Trouble: The Ice Pirates (1984) & Starcrash (1978) @ Eyesore Cinema - Sun 7pm. Two movies I've never heard of....in SPACE! Details.
Bob Huber Memorial Screening: RED DESERT (1964) - Free Screening! @ Revue Cinema - Mon 6:15pm. A free, memorial screening for one of the legends of the Toronto cinema scene. Details.
Balfolk Dance Social @ High Park Nature Lodge - Mon 8pm. Western European folk dancing with a live band every Monday. No experience necessary. Come with an acoustic instrument at 7pm for the tune workshop, all skill levels welcome. PWYC. Details.
🎵 Live Music Report 🎵
🎵Covet (Math Rock) @ Lee's Palace - Fri 7pm
🎵Keram (Alt/Indie/Electronic/Folk) @ The Baby G - Fri 8pm
🎵Real Lies (Electronic) @ Standard Time - Fri 8pm
🎵Joe P (Alternative) @ The Sound Garage - Sat 7pm
🎵The Flashing Lights (Alt Rock) @ Lee's Palace - Sat 7pm
🎵Dylan LeBlanc (Indie Folk) @ The Garrison - Sat 7pm
🎵Yot Club (Rock) @ The Mod Club - Sat 7pm
🎵All Seeing Eyes (Garage-Psych Rock) @ The Monarch Tavern - Sat 7:30pm
🎵The Beachmen (Surf Rock) @ Junction Underground - Sat 8pm
🎵Drea Lake (Folk Pop) @ Burdock Music Hall - Mon 7pm
Thank you!
Thanks for reading the West End Raccoon, please enjoy our West End Pet(s) of the Week! Submit yours by responding to this email, with your preferred name/nickname/initials and neighbourhood for a chance to be featured. (Calling all bird, lizard and fish people — I like ‘em weird!)
Meet Matt! Brewery cat and defender against pests at Rainhard in the Stockyards. He was adopted as part of the OSPCA's working cat program. Submitted by Anna.
As always, if you know a friend or family member who might be interested, please share the newsletter with them: www.westendraccoon.ca
Hope you folks have a fantastic weekend.
Cam Smonk & Xavier
