We should preface this by saying that, yes, we do know that Nuit Blanche is supposed to be about art, and culture, and whatever. But let’s be real, the actual fun is the all-night parties/after-parties/awkward realization that you have no idea whose house you’re at. Unfortunately, the organizers behind this year’s edition of the event decided not to host any exhibits in bars and, consequently, did not push the Liquor Board to keep them open late. Womp womp.
Luckily, that didn’t stop the mavericks behind Toronto’s best watering holes from forging forward on their own. To help curate your crazy on Nuit Blanche, we’ve put together a list of the top four bars open until 4am that are actually doing something cool. If anything, it’ll give you a [war] story to tell on Monday that isn’t just “I got drunk and ate poutine.” #nojudgement
For a full list of bars open until 4am, please scroll down to the bottom of the page.
The Drake Hotel
From sunset on Saturday until sunrise on Sunday, the Drake Hotel will be transformed into a Safe Space. “Safe Space will be a series of site-specific performances and installations that will evolve through the night, with artists’ leading a communal exploration for guests into physical and virtual natures, delving into the graphic artifacts from a pre-bits and bytes world.” If that sounds a little intense for you, we recommend checking out the birthday festivities at Drake One-Fifty or ditching the city entirely for the new Drake Devonshire Inn (a.k.a. Drake-by-the-lake) in Wellington, Prince Edward County.
The Gladstone Hotel
Unleash your inner Japanese businessman by singing and drinking until 4am at the Gladstone Hotel’s Shameless Karaoke: Nuit Blanche Edition. Hosted by Wil McLean, there will be intermittent DJ sets along with a major dance party. Be sure to check out world-famous street artist Shepard Fairey’s new mural ‘Peace Bomber’ on the back of the Gladstone, which is part of Fairey and OBEY’s World Mural Tour. Do it for art’s sake.
Cube Nightclub
For the Nuit Blanche edition of Social Saturdays at Cube Nightclub, the venue will be hosting the works of sculpture artist Joshua Kalfa alongside a set by DJ Chris LaRoque, bottle service, and girls in LBDs until 4am.
The Drake One-Fifty
If you needed any more reason to party this weekend, this is it. Celebrate the one-year anniversary of Drake One-Fifty’s opening during Nuit Blanche this Saturday with an outdoor barbeque, art installations by Lisa Folkerson and Mohommad Rezaei, and –naturally- cake. Bonne fête, Drake One-Fifty.
A selection of other bars open until 4am for Nuit Blanche 2014, courtesy of blogTO:
– Just Desserts
– The Queen Mother
– Cafe Korean Grill House
– Wild Wing Toronto (Queen St.)
– Everest Cafe
– Cube
– Rivoli
– The Beverley Hotel
– Horseshoe Tavern
– Tortilla Flats
– Cameron House
– BarChef
– Velvet Underground
– Rock Lobster
– Bovine Sex Club
– Nocturne
– The Hideout
