The Weekend To-Do: Toronto gets a pop-up shop brunch, new music from Edmonton makes us swoon and don’t forget about the Olympics, of course!

Date July 27, 2012

Plippity-ploppity goes the rain, and pippity-poppity goes the shopping. This weekend, when we’re not watching designer-clad athletes dodge raindrops in London, we’re checking out temporary shops across the country. Popping up in unlikely locales, get your wardrobe fix everywhere from frescoed-in-spray-paint back alleys to restaurants best known for their house-music brunch service. But who wants house music when you have the latest band from Edmonton on your Rdio?

Find out what to do this weekend »

Shrines album cover courtesy Purity Ring

Summer Games

Our second favourite Opening Ceremony takes place this afternoon followed by two weeks of mind-blowing athleticism. Beyond the actual sports, there’s the sporty designer fashions—Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani and, of course, the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Purity Ring, Shrines

After making waves online with their song “Ungirthed” last year, Purity Ring quickly become darlings of Pitchfork, opening for Neon Indian’s North American tour and performing at SXSW. Hailing from Edmonton, the duo (Megan James and Corin Roddick) has just released a new album and it’s every bit as dreamy as we could have hoped.

Robber Yard Sale

Karen Walker, Minimarket, Steven Alan, Lover. These brands and more are all on sale—prices starting at $5!—in the back alley yard sale of the three-year-old Queen West boutique, fresh from a namedrop in The New York Times. Beyond goods remaining from Spring 2012 collections, don’t miss your chance to nab some forgotten gems from seasons gone by brought out of retirement.

July 28 to 29
863 Queen St. W., Toronto

Carnival: From Emancipation to Celebration

Get amped for the big events of next weekend’s newly christened Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival at the Royal Ontario Museum’s display of costumes and artwork by world-renowned artist Brian Mac Farlane, six-time winner of Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival.

Opens July 28
Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto

Photography courtesy of jamieleto/Flickr

The xx

Last week, they whet our appetites with their new single “Angels.” This week they’re playing shows in Montreal and Toronto. The September release of Coexist, The xx’s first album since 2009, can’t come fast enough.

July 28 – Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto
July 29 – Metropolis Theatre, Montreal

Gather Pop-Up Shop

Gastown is playing host to 25 local designers, creative workshops, a flash lounge and motion art installation as part of the Gather Pop-Up Shop. Don’t forget to check out their Workshopaholic series, two days’ worth of workshops on everything from social media to embroidery and cocktail mixology.

July 28 to 29
1 East Cordova St., Vancouver

Le Pop!

Torontonians are fiercely passionate about two weekend activities: brunching and shopping. Frugal Fashion Week is combining the two at Le Pop!, bringing the Rosedale-Summerhill aesthetic downtown to Nyood Restaurant. Our top pick is the scalloped eyelet shorts by mega babe Leilanni—in white for a Louis Vuitton carousel look.

July 28, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Nyood Restaurant, 1096 Queen St. W., Toronto