📬 Issue 15 — Here’s what’s inside:
👋🏽 Ahlan / Hello
Thanks so much to everyone who hit reply to the last issue with event ideas and questions about the newsletter. Keep them coming! I’m also exploring other ways to connect with the khamsa community beyond email.
This week’s issue is packed with 60+ events 🤯. Narrowing it down to just 5 was no easy task, but I did it! Take a look at the highlights, and don’t forget to check out the full list at the very end.
Nassar
Chief Culture Guide — khamsa🖐🏽
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🖐🏽 Five Events Worth Checking Out
🧡 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a time to honour survivors of residential schools, their families, and communities. While not an Arabic event, it’s a day that calls on all of us to reflect, learn, and stand in solidarity.
🌟 Community-led gatherings across Toronto and online
💬 English and Indigenous languages
🗓️ Week leading to Monday, September 30
📍 Local events at Public Library branches, and Indigenous community centers
🎟️ Free
🇵🇸 18th Toronto Palestine Film Festival — 2025
TPFF returns for its 18th year, bringing powerful films, stories, and voices from Palestine and beyond to Toronto. Enjoy premieres, docs, and community events celebrating Palestinian art and culture—in person and online.
🌟 Toronto Palestine Film Festival Collective & guest filmmakers
💬 Arabic & English
🗓️ Sept 24–Oct 3, 2025 · In-person (Sept 24–29), Online (until Oct 3)
📍 TIFF Bell Lightbox & various venues, Toronto, ON
🎟️ Paid ticket & public events
🎭 King Gilgamesh (And the Man of the Wild)
A lively, award-winning play fusing the world’s oldest epic with a modern Toronto friendship! Experience a touching and funny journey that blends ancient mythology with today’s city life, energized by Ahmed Moneka’s Arabic-jazz band and a uniquely Toronto twist.
🌟 Ahmed Moneka, Jesse LaVercombe & six-piece Arabic-jazz band
💬 English / Arabic
🗓️ Sept 13–Oct 5 · Various showtimes (90 mins, no intermission)
📍 Soulpepper Theatre, 50 Tank House Lane, Toronto, ON M5A 3C4
🎟️ Paid ticket — Use discount code: ARABICJAZZ for $35 tickets. KINGSTUDENT for $25 student tickets. Tuesdays is Pay What You Can (PWYC)
🎭 Improv بالعربي: Arabic Theatre Games & Improv Workshop
No experience needed—just come ready to laugh, play, and unleash your creativity! Join a joyful afternoon of theatre games in Arabic, and get a chance to join the very first Arabic Improv troupe in Toronto.
🌟 Fatma Naguib & Ehab Mounir Labib
💬 Arabic
🗓️ Sunday, September 28⋅1:30 – 4:30pm
📍 Crane Creations Theatre Company 2359 Royal Windsor Dr Unit 210, Mississauga, ON L5J 4S9
🎟️ Paid ticket — $15 (3-hour workshop) | Registration by email only - [email protected] | Limited spots available
🥙 2nd Annual Arts of the Middle East Festival (2 Days)
Discover the vibrant sights, sounds, and flavours of Middle Eastern culture at one of the largest festivals of its kind in Canada—a joyful celebration packed with arts, music, and mouth-watering cuisine right in Mississauga’s heart. Egyptian megastar Hisham Abbas 🇪🇬 and Wust El Balad 🇪🇬 headlines this event
🌟 Hisham Abbas, multiple performers
💬 Arabic / English
🗓️ September 26-27
📍 Mississauga Celebration Square, 300 City Centre Dr, Mississauga, ON L5B 3C1, Canada
🎟️ Public event
🌡️ Weekly Vibes Check
🗓️ Full List of This Week’s Events
I did a few tweaks based on feedback I’ve received, and it should be easier now to view the events calendar for this week. With this updated calendar, you’ll be able (inshallah) to view events details when you tap/click on the event, save an event to your personal calendar, and get directions to the event venue.
There are a lot of events this week from book launches, film screenings, DJ sets and more. Enjoy this week’s events!
That’s it for this week.
❌ Spotted an error or want your events added to the events calendar? Just email me.