1st Thursdays at the AGO

I’ve lived in Toronto my whole life but I’ve never been to AGO until March 3, 2016 last week. For the first time, my husband and I attended their First Thursday event, which I would overall summarize as a late night social in a fancy art gallery. If you’re looking for a good event to bring your group of friends or even a date, to socialize and have drinks and munchies, while admiring art exhibits, then this event is something worth checking out. For only a $ 12 entry fee per person, you and your friends will have a fun adventurous evening at this AGO event.
Pros for this event:
–Multiple bar stations located in different parts of the gallery
–Delicious freshly made munchies to satisfy your evening craving. (Officially called their Late Night Market)
–Lots of fun activities including a live band with awesome music to dance to, art activities, and open access to various artwork (My favorite room was the one with all the sacred Christian paintings.)
–A relaxed environment with very friendly and helpful staff
Cons for this event:
–Long lineups at coat check
–Certain exhibits are not open at this time of the evening such as the house that is attached to the gallery (Will come back during the day to check this out.)
–Slightly on the pricey side. The finger food, for example, costs around $ 5 for a small portion so if you have a big appetite, be sure to have supper before coming here.
Next time, we do want to come back on a Wednesday when entry is free so that we can focus on actually viewing the exhibits without the whole social scene in the way. We might also look into some of their other events too.

In some ways, this is a step up from FNL events at The ROM. There are no lineup issues if you buy your tickets in advance and that’s a good thing in chilly weather! Coat check is $ 1 and bag check is complimentary — good to know if you’re heading here after a long day at work. Drink are $ 7 and food seems to be $ 5 per plate for assorted small dishes. A bit more variety in the food department would be nice, but they have plenty of savoury options if you didn’t make it out for dinner yet.
Although some of the exhibits are restricted, one of the unexpected benefits of visiting the AGO at night is experiencing a full, lively space. Sometimes the gallery feels almost too quiet, so it’s fun to see a crowd moving through. Bathrooms can get a bit full (and a bit smelly), but overall it’s a good night out!

Last night’s First Thursday was fun, because I was with good friends, but terribly organized. First, no schedule with times on it on the site. We got there at 7:25. Line of over a hundred ticket holders to get in at –20. The AGO has two big entrances inside for groups so mystery that they had us outside. Lind moved fast enough and we were in the actual door in 7 minutes. Coat check, which normally I try to skip but parkas and big bags not allowed, was well over ten minutes. Then we lined up to get out tickets scanned. Got a program and finally found out, because of course they couldn’t put actual times on the website, out that the three events we came to see are on the fifth floor and it can only be accessed by elevator. Thirty five minutes on that line with hundreds of other irate people. Finally bailed to Italia nd skipped the beer and cocktail line to get over-​priced Ontario wine which actually wasn’t too bad. Food was fine too. Other installations were interesting but not worth a primary destination. Overall
I would not recommend going unless you get there right on time, with friends, and don’t mind lineups. I have been to Friday Night Live at the ROM and vastly recommend it over this if you are looking for this type of cultural experience. Overall disappointing. Felt bad I’d dragged friends on a cold night.

Having been to both ROM Friday and, now, AGO Thursdays, I can say with certainty that AGO Fridays are slightly better, but not by far. The crowd is older (20’s-60’s) and the venue is more spacious and attractive. Everything else was hit/​miss, depending on your taste. Fancy getting your nails done at the spiral staircase? This is an option.
At the performance stage in the main atrium, there was a group of men/​boys? in white pants and tops donning outrageous wigs and sunglasses, dancing to pounding house music. This is entertainment? For adults? Serious mismatch with the evening’s crowd and its surroundings.
The food selection was odd and ultimately, disappointing. Deep fried mac ‘n’ cheese sticks for appetizers? Your other option is buttered popcorn or a cronut (croissant-​doughnut). They also served pork on a bun. Sounds like no one thought about the logistical eating challenges or taste preferences of its audience. How about a crab cake or mushroom tart to go with that Group of Seven?
The wine is from Ontario. Enough said.
Apart from those observations, the event has great potential (just like the ROM!) but seems to fall short of it. Better food & wine selection would be a start. Music (how about a DJ?) would be next. Please, no more house. This isn’t a King West club, its a MUSEUM!

First we had Friday Nights Live at the ROM now we have 1^st Thursdays at the AGO. What day of the week is another 3 letter abbreviated Toronto location going to claim as the go to place for an evening of «out of the box» socializing? Perhaps Wednesdays at NFB???
The set up for the event is on the first Thursday of each month, for $ 10 ($ 8 for members) you get to roam the AGO in the presence of other artsy trendy folk like yourself with a cash bar and food ($ 8 for a mixed drink or $ 6 for beer). To add a certain flair, there is live music (later in the evening it was a full on concert atmosphere here), there was an oyster shucker (1 for $ 3 or 2 for $ 5), live nude paintings which I tried my hand at (the drawing part. they have a real model to do the nude part) and for some reason a photo studio which will set you back $ 10 to get your picture taken and then have it look aged… anyone with a smart phone can accomplish this in a matter of seconds if they have the right app… so I’m not sure if that is the greatest idea in the world. Sure the pictures look nice but not surprisingly I didn’t see a long line.
Speaking of line ups, the event runs from 6:30 to 11, it was sold out and they had a full on rush line going, unfortunately a friend of mine assuming she could get tickets at the door ended up waiting in line till 7:30 and seeing it not move much gave up on the party. So word of advice: Buy your tickets in advance! Coat and bag check is available for a dollar and get there as early as you can since by around 9:45pm they ran out of tacos which for some reason was the only real hot food item they had… the other options were chips, cookies and spiked snow cones. While the tacos were delicious and customizable with salsa, guacamole, hot sauce etc, the addition of another hot food item would have been welcome, or at least ensure to have enough of the one food item to last the night.
Another feature is the inability to bring food and drinks to almost all areas of the AGO. Understandably you wouldn’t want people eating mexican food balancing a glass of beer to be anywhere near an art installation, which unfortunately means that if you have a drink in hand you’re stuck in a crowded area. Another reason to get there early. so you’re well fed early on leaving you with enough time to wander the galleries.
Now I just pointed out a few points that bugged me about the event, I’m a huge fan of locations such as this putting on a social event and even if you have no interest in drinking or eating the chance to walk the AGO for just $ 10 when regular tickets are $ 20 is a steal! Because while the bar/​music areas are packed the galleries especially higher up are far less crowded. You are also able to go to the special exhibits (in this case Friday and Diego) for $ 10 which is normally $ 5 in addition to your general admission costs but it closes at 9:30 just a fyi.
Overall for a young event (only 2 so far) they do a good job with things they can improve upon especially the food options and maybe providing people in the rush line with a better idea of what their wait times could be. I was unable to walk the galleries as much as I would have liked so I’m definitely going to be back for the next event to see what else they have in store for us.