City of Toronto issued the following announcement on May 7.

From May through October, the City's fifth annual Cultural Hotspot initiative will celebrate and spotlight the arts, culture, food, events and communities of Scarborough.

"The Cultural Hotspot returns to ignite Toronto neighbourhoods with outstanding local talent and events," said Mayor John Tory. "I encourage residents and visitors to explore how diverse and dynamic our city is through the works and efforts of its artists and the communities that support them."

This year's Cultural Hotspot launches in partnership with My Malvern Week celebrations on May 9 at Malvern Town Centre. Toronto hip hop legends Maestro Fresh Wes, Michie Mee and DJ Baba Kahn will perform alongside the Wexford Gleeks, Lisa Odjig and Bucc N Flvr. This free event will also feature the From the Margins to the Centre photo exhibit, a Signature Project of the Cultural Hotspot that engaged and mentored local youth in photography and storytelling.

Highlights of this year's Cultural Hotspot program include:

• The multi-location and multi-media Scarborough Sign Project, in partnership with Scarborough Arts, a large-scale mobile sign that will display artistic projects curated and created by community members, youth and artists. The project will have six different installations from June through October.

• A partnership with Nuit Blanche Toronto's first exhibition in Scarborough on the "Within" project featuring prominent Scarborough art collective, R.I.S.E (Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere). R.I.S.E will hold workshops from May to September to gather stories for a documentary that will be screened during Nuit Blanche at the Scarborough Civic Centre, accompanied by performances by local artists, on September 29.

• Cedar Ridge Creative Centre, in partnership with Native Child & Family Services, will present an exhibition showcasing photography and pottery by youth participants in the Awakening our Creative Spirit program from June 16 to 21.

• The Cultural Hotspot will be part of Birkdale Art in the Park on June 23 and Scarborough Summerfest at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto from July 13 to 15.

• Multiple unique and intensive youth program workshops including collaborative show choir initiative Hello World, YouthGen, ARTINSIDEOUT, The Baobab Project, Tree of Life poetry project and the Kadara Capoeira Youth Outreach Initiative.

• The Sheppard East Village BIA will bring the internationally-renowned Elmer Iseler Singers into their neighbourhood to conduct two workshops with the award-winning Agincourt Collegiate choir and they will perform together on October 29.

Original source: https://www.toronto.ca/home/media-room/news-releases-media-advisories/?nrkey=EB5985E093043C4785258286004CFFA5