Serena Ryder and Wyclef Jean Headline Opening Weekend of PANAMANIA

PANAMANIA, presented by CIBC, the 35-day arts and culture festival for the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, has announced Serena Ryder and Wyclef Jean as the Opening Weekend Headliners of the FREE festivities at PANAMANIA Live @ Nathan Phillips Square today, July 11.

A multiple Juno Award-winner and platinum recording artist who recently recorded the TORONTO 2015 official song "Together We Are One," Serena Ryder will bring her eclectic mix of folk, pop and rock to the stage for an energetic performance.

A powerful pop cultural force for over two decades, ten-time Grammy nominated Wyclef Jean has written, performed and produced music as both a solo superstar and as founder and guiding member of the Fugees, selling over 72 million albums in the process. His latest single is "Divine Sorrow", which he wrote and produced with superstar DJ/producer Avicii. Wyclef's innovative and eclectic palette will light up Nathan Phillips Square.

The Opening Weekend line-up includes diverse live performances from 12pm to 11pm: Saturday, July 11: Gypsy Kumbia Orchestra, Joaquin Diaz, Lula All Stars, The Heavyweights Brass Band, Radio Radio, Grand Bateria and Brass and Systema Solar. Sunday, July 12: Indian City, Soul Motivators, Federal Lights, Chin Injeti, Jill Barber, BADBADNOTGOOD and Death From Above 1979.

PANAMANIA Live @ Nathan Phillips is presented daily from July 11 to 26 (Pan Am Games) and August 7 to 12 (Parapan Am Games) and is co-produced with the City of Toronto. Each day's free festivities will include live music and entertainment, Victory Celebrations presented by CIBC, and fireworks.

Unprecedented in scale, PANAMANIA will feature more than 1,300 artists in 250 performances and exhibitions across Toronto from July 10 to August 15. The festival will showcase the diverse cultures and artistic excellence of Ontario, Canada and the Americas through music, theatre, dance and more, with free and ticketed events.

PANAMANIA Live @ Nathan Phillips is one of four major programs of the festival. The three others are:

- PANAMANIA Presentations (July 10-August 15) FREE and Ticketed - Featuring 40 national and international performances and exhibitions, with 28 commissioned world premieres, presented across Toronto.

- CIBC Pan Am Park (July 11-25) FREE

- PANAMANIA Live @ The Distillery District (July 11-25) FREE Great tickets are available to many sports competitions including beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, rugby, gymnastics and soccer. Tickets are available at TORONTO2015.org/tickets.

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 PANAMANIA schedule and more information, visit TORONTO2015.org/PANAMANIA.

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