The wonderful Toronto small press and creative arts fair Zine Dream celebrates its fifth year this weekend. This year’s event features some exciting growth, with events starting tonight with a launch party at Art Metropole, featuring a performance by former 100 Dollars members Fiver and DJ Strong Like. Saturday will feature a celebration of DIY practices at Xpace (58 Ossington Avenue) from 12pm – 3pm, including a curated library, a zine library and the Boogie Woogie Mix Tape Library – a new project where participants can borrow specially made mixtapes and Walkmans and walk around for a unique experience.
Later on Saturday (3pm – 5pm) at Xpace, there’s a panel discussion moderated by Shannon Gerard, featuring members of the publishing community discussing the ins and outs of their approaches. Participants include Bad Day’s Eva Michon and Blood of the Young Zine’s Dimitri Karakostas, as well as the team behind OCAD U’s student press. And Sunday features the Zine Dream Fair at Tranzac (292 Brunswick), with a host of great exhibitors from all across Canada’s zine and publishing spectrum, with DJs Anna May Henry, Cam Lee and Colin Bergh and music by Fan Fiction, Tim Gilbert, B’ling B’long and Eucalyptus.
Founder Jesjit Gill of Colour Code Printing (who began Zine Dream five years ago with friend Laura McCoy) says that although this year’s event involved substantially more work, it was definitely worth it. “I had more help, especially from (local DJ and promoter) Annie Spadafora,” he says. “As this event grows, I’ll have more time to figure it out, make sense of it and involve more people. With any luck, next year’s event will be even bigger.” This year Gill says he’s especially excited for Saturday’s panel discussion, and cites the Sunday musical performance of Eucalyptus to be unmissable. “They’re incredible,” he says.