On Friday September 21, the much anticipated Sixth Annual Manifesto Festival of Community and Culture will kick-off its celebration of arts and community culture featuring our biggest and most exciting line-up of Canadian talent. Over a jam packed weekend (September 21-23) Manifesto will bring you a diverse array of Canada’s best talent in music, art, dance, food, and fashion. The festival will launch with the opening of the brand-new Regent Park Arts & Culture Center, featuring artist exhibitions, the Second Annual Floor Awards, local fashion designers and live music performances.
The festival’s second day will bring the Manifesto x Fresh Arts 20th Summit to the Ryerson University Engineering Building. Speakers such as Kardinal Offishall, d’bi young, Jully Black, Director X, Pharoahe Monch, and Shad will lead the full day of panels and workshops.
The Manifesto festival will then cap off with the much anticipated free outdoor concert Live at the Square, at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square. This year’s concert will be headlined by the acclaimed lyricist Pharaohe Monch, as well as homegrown talent including BADBADNOTGOOD, Tre Mission, Raz Fresco, D-Sisive, 7 Fires and Skratch Bastid among others.
The Manifesto Festival promises to once again showcase art, culture, and community in a way that is creative, diverse, and will provide a unique experience for the people of Toronto.
Some of this year’s festival highlights include:
Launch Party and Art Show – September 21, 2012
The Manifesto Festival’s opening night will mark the first opportunity for members of the public to take tours of the newly-constructed Regent Park Arts and Culture Centre. The night will feature artists including Gilda ‘Fiya’ Monreal and Sara Golish, creating pieces in a live art exhibition. A number of display artists including Longboard Living and Jimmy Chiale will also present their most recent works. The Launch Party will play host to the Second Annual Floor Awards, celebrating Toronto’s best b-boy’s and all-stlye dancers. The night will also showcase culinary creations by Big Norm and the Rhyming Chef as well as the new Manifesto Fall/Winter Clothing Collection.
Fresh Arts 20 x Manifesto Summit – September 22, 2012
The Festival’s second day will be an inspiring array of panel discussions, keynote speakers and mentor classes. Notable speakers that will be presenting during the always uplifting So Much Things to Say discussion, including the internationally recognized poet and educator d’bi young, award winning Canadian hip hop artist Shad and the talented New York based hip hop artist Pharoahe Monch. The day also features Kardinal Offishall, Jully Black, and Director X.
Live at the Square – September 23, 2012
The Manifesto Festival’s Live at the Square has always brought tens of thousands of visitors and this year will once again turn Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square into a music and arts playground. With an all-day showcase of music, art and culture this FREE event will feature live performances, Last Dancer Standing–a gripping elimination-style dance tournament, a variety of thought-provoking workshops, creative clothing collections from local fashion designers and delicious food from a collection of Toronto’s best restaurants and caterers will round-out one of Toronto’s biggest and most diverse summer festivals.
For More Information:
Visit our website: www.themanifesto.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ManifestoFestival
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Manifesto_TO
Check out some footage of Rakim performing live at last year’s Manifesto event
