PANAMANIA, presented by CIBC TO2015's 35-Day Arts and Culture Festival Unprecedented in Scale!

TORONTO, July 10, 2015 /CNW/ - PANAMANIA, presented by CIBC, begins its 35-day run as the arts and culture festival enhancing the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games experience. Unprecedented in scale, PANAMANIA features more than 1,300 artists in 250 performances and exhibitions across Toronto starting today and running until August 15. The festival showcases the diverse cultures and artistic excellence of the Americas through music, theatre, dance and more, with free and ticketed events.

Major music headliners scheduled to perform free outdoor concerts during PANAMANIA include
Grammy Award-winning, Latin Grammy Award-winning and Juno Award-winning artists, such as The Flaming Lips, Calle 13, Wyclef Jean, Serena Ryder, The Roots, A Tribe Called Red, Janelle Monae, Café Tacvba, Stars, Brigitte Boisjoli, Chromeo, Jann Arden, ChocQuibTown, Death from Above 1979, Lila Downs, Lights, Luciano, Dragonette, Colin James, USS, Marie-Pierre Arthur, Tanya Tagaq, The Barra MacNeils, Marianas Trench, Whitehorse, Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires, Kiesza, Austra, Radio Radio and more.

PANAMANIA will span the Greater Toronto Area with these four programs:

• PANAMANIA Presentations (July 10–August 15, free and ticketed): Featuring national and international performances and exhibitions, including 28 original new works commissioned by the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Organizing Committee (TO2015) that have their world premieres during PANAMANIA. The diverse spectrum of music, theatre, dance, visual arts, comedy, circus and fashion feature distinguished award-winning artists, including Robert Lepage, Sandra Shamas, Edward Burtynsky, Veronica Tennant, Mustafa the Poet, Rick Miller, Crystal Pite and more.
• PANAMANIA Live @ Nathan Phillips Square (July 10–26 and August 7–12, free): Bright and energetic design elements envelop the Square, which features daily live music and entertainment programming that culminates with nightly concerts on the main stage and fireworks, co-produced with the City of Toronto. Victory Celebrations, presented by CIBC, honour medal-winning athletes nightly at 7 p.m.
• CIBC Pan Am Park (July 11–25, free): Experience the ultimate street party in the heart of the largest sport competition cluster on the grounds of Exhibition Place. Daily programming includes live music, interactive sponsor activations, food and fun for the whole family.
• PANAMANIA Live @ The Distillery District (July 11–25, free): Take in the sights, sounds and tastes of the Americas while strolling the cobblestone lanes. The Distillery District, located next to the CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Am Athletes' Village, will be a hub of activity during the Pan Am Games. There will also be multitude of ticketed PANAMANIA presentations at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.

PANAMANIA has been financially assisted by the Community Celebrations Fund, a program of the Government of Canada and the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, a program of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, administered by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation, and the City of Toronto.

For the full PANAMANIA schedule and ticket information, please visit TORONTO2015.org/PANAMANIA.

Great tickets are also available to many sport competitions, including beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, rugby, gymnastics and soccer. Tickets are available at TORONTO2015.org/tickets.

SOURCE Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games

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