The co-founders of the Bicycle Opera Project: Larissa Koniuk, left, and Nadia Chana.
SummerWorks Performance Festival
The world has ended – film at 11. One of the many highlights of this year's SummerWorks happening of sharp theatre and intriguing events of music is Tragedy: A Tragedy, the American playwright Will Eno's satirizing take on the media and the imagined news coverage on the day the sun fails to rise (at the Lower Ossington Theatre). Just how will the eyewitness news team fare when there is nothing at all to witness? To Aug. 17. $15 to $20 (passes available). Various venues. 416-907-0468 or summerworks.ca.
Taste of the Danforth
On an infamous night one year ago, Mayor Rob Ford's team of handlers lost track of their man. Where was he? He was on the lam. Which is to say that he was loose at the annual street-fair celebration of Greek food and culture. And while it's not known if the mayor will kebob it up this weekend, more than a million other people will. Aug. 8 to 10. Free. Danforth Avenue, east of Broadview Avenue. tasteofthedanforth.com.
The Bicycle Opera Project
There's nothing ritzy when it comes to the way this company tours – it's just plain spokes. But if the young ensemble is unpretentious, the singers and instrumentalists (who bike from gig to gig, putting the cycle into song-cycles) are serious when it comes to their programs of Canadian opera. Aug. 9, 2 p.m. $20. St. Andrew by-the-Lake Anglican Church, Toronto Island; Aug. 10, 2 p.m. PWYC. 550 Bayview Ave., bicycleopera.com.
Chessfest
In a grey-shaded world, there's something refreshing about the black-and-white certainty of chess, an elegant game in which there are no outcomes affected by luck. The brain-taxing contest of strategy is celebrated at a biannual gathering of players of all ranks. The outdoor event boasts a children's tourney, free lessons and a giant board with people-sized pieces. Aug. 10, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free ($5, children's tournament; pre-register at chessinstitute.ca). Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W., annexchessclub.com.
Skateboard Fest
Be nice; clear your ice. The folks who run the Malvern Recreation Centre in Scarborough have put their hockey rinks to good use by transforming the spaces into an indoor skateboard park for the summer. An official opening on Saturday involves a barbecue, demonstrations and all manner of ramp-happy rolling around. Aug. 9, noon to 5 p.m. Free. Malvern Recreation Centre, 30 Sewells Rd. mfrc.org or 416-396-4054.
Brad Wheeler