#NotACottagePerson

On summer weekends, when half of Toronto it seems is up north at a cottage on a lake, we have the city to ourselves. As a result, a number of activities have become not-to-miss summer traditions. This is by no means an exhaustive list, just some of my favourites. If you have others to highlight, please leave them in the comments section!

Jazz Festival: At the start of summer, the Yorkville neighbourhood becomes ground central for all manner of jazz music, and I do mean jazz defined very broadly, including blues, funk, hip-hop/rap and genre-bending improvisations. The festival line-up always includes famous headliners (this year, Diana Ross and Norah Jones, for example) but also lesser known but amazingly talented performers from Toronto, Canada and beyond. Stand-outs for me this year included Grammy award-winning vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, accompanied by Sullivan Fortner on piano, whose voice I'd put in the same league as Sarah Vaughn's and Ella Fitzgerald's - and Montreal-based Milla Thyme, whose fusion of soul, hip hop, and jazz contains calls to action for social justice. A great feature of the festival is the literally dozens of free outdoor concerts on offer, taking over the Village of Yorkville Park and on the first weekend, two stages set up on a pedestrian-only stretch of Bloor.

Shakespeare in High Park: Some years the pay-as-you-wish productions are stellar, sometimes a little lackluster, but they're always entertaining and loads of fun. We pack up a blanket and a picnic dinner (typically curried chicken salad, caprese salad, elote, mixed berries, pre-mixed gin and tonics in a thermos, a couple of cans of Fresca and a bottle of wine) and arrive about an hour before the show to get a good seat (pro-tip: don't forget the bug spray!). Two shows on alternating nights are on offer each season, and this year's Measure for Measure and Much Ado About Northing are both excellent. There are still a few weeks left to catch them before they close on Sept 1.

Dusk Dances in Withrow Park: Celebrating its 25th anniversary of bringing contemporary dance to public spaces, Dusk Dances is a wonderful evening for dance lovers and skeptics alike. Often featuring world premieres and specially commissioned works, the innovative program involves having the audience move around the park to view each dance in a different setting. Professional and amateur dancers perform work that ranges from humorous takes on love to emotional pleas for a peaceful world.

Fringe Festival: For 10 days in July, in over 35 venues across the city - from conventional theatre spaces to pubs and churches - the Fringe Festival features over 150 productions, including solo shows, multi-media performances, ensemble theatre, improv and cabarets. The shows can be hit-or-miss, but for less than the price of a movie ticket (with all proceeds going directly to the performers), flipping through the program (printed or online) and choosing which to see feels adventurous and fun. (Pro-tip: follow NOW Toronto's and Mooney on Theatre's real-time reviews).

Summer Music Festival: This classical music-focused festival provides a platform for established and emerging musicians to share their talents through free and ticketed concerts in and around Yorkville and the University of Toronto that include both music by famous composers of the past and new music by some of the most exciting contemporary composers active today. The festival had two innovative features this year that really stood out for me: first, for a number of ticketed evening concerts, they offered the chance to sit in on a rehearsal earlier in the day for free - a fascinating opportunity to see the "behind the scenes" dynamics between the performers and how they approach preparing for their shows. Second, the final day of the festival (a Saturday) featured a series of fabulous free one-hour concerts that started at 10 am and ended at 6 pm.

Summerworks Festival: On now through August 18, this annual summer festival celebrates new works of theatre, dance and music in intimate, general admission settings. Striving to be as accessible and inclusive as possible, Summerworks shows are often created and performed by women, LGBTQ2S individuals and people of colour, and "pay what you decide" ticket prices start at $15 ($13.50 if you purchase an 8-ticket pass).

This year, I'm especially looking forward to two shows: Rochdale, a new play about the legacy of Rochdale College, Toronto’s greatest experiment in cooperative housing and alternative education written by celebrated playwright David Yee, winner of the 2015 Governor General’s Award for English Drama, directed by Factory Theatre’s multiple award-winning Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino and performed by the graduate class of York University’s Theatre Department and Audible Songs from Rockwood, a song-cycle based on case files of people incarcerated at Rockwood Asylum for the Criminally Insane between 1856-1881 that songwriter Simone Schmidt spent two years combing through.

Yeah, it's hard to leave the city in the summer!