Toronto’s annual calendar of events is jam-packed with exciting options every month of every year, and October 2015 is no exception. Three such attractions hit the city through the tenth month of the year to kick off autumn with a bang.

Empire by Spiegelworld

Running since September 1st in a specially-erected “Spiegeltent” at the corner of Rees Street and Queens Quay West on Toronto’s revitalized waterfront, Empire is the new smash hit spectacle from German theatrical company Spiegelworld.

After playing to rave reviews across the world, with recent summer engagements in Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa, Spiegelworld brings Empire to Toronto through September and into October. Mixing circus acrobatics, comedy, burlesque, and vaudeville, Empire taps into German cabaret tradition while adding a modern twist of elaborate, eccentric, and spectacular entertainment. With an intimate, 700-seat venue, more mature and seasoned content, and tickets staring at $45, Spiegelworld offers a refreshing and creative alternative to larger-scale neo-circus shows. Patrons in Vancouver can expect to see the show arrive there in February 2016.

For more details, visit the website for Spiegelworld’s Empire.

Magna Carta Canada

Widely considered to be one of the fundamental documents of human rights and proto-democracy in the English-speaking world, an authentic copy of the Magna Carta charter, accompanied by its companion Charter of the Forest, will be on display at the Fort York National Historic Site in Toronto from October 4th to November 7th.

The copies of these historic charters are owned by Durham Cathedral in England and are being shown in Canada for the first time. Drafted by English barons and nobles in 1215 and signed by King John in the same year, the Magna Carta and Charter of the Forest laid down the framework of rights and justice between king and subject and are the first expression of many of the jurisprudence and human rights that are enshrined in the constitutional law of the United Kingdom, Canada, and many other democratic nations today.

Supplemented by interpretive materials, film, and interactive multimedia, this one-of-a-kind exhibition is a must for history buffs and the curious public alike. For more information, visit Magna Carta Canada’s website.

Turner at the AGO

Opening on October 31st and running until January 31st, 2016, J.M.W. Turner: Painting Set Free is the latest blockbuster exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario on Dundas Street West.

Exhibiting over 50 paintings and watercolours by Joseph Mallord William Turner, generally considered to be Britain’s greatest artist, this exhibition organized by the Tate Britain showcases works from the final 15 years of Turner’s long and prolific career, when his landscape art began to take on a dreamlike expressiveness that anticipated the abstractions of modern art. Painted from 1835 to his death in 1851, these canvases are both lovely and powerful testaments to Turner’s mastery of colour, light, and expression.

See the AGO’s website for more details on this upcoming exhibition.