Toronto’s summer tourist trade is getting a jump-start from the Luminato festival, a week-and-a-half-long celebration featuring music, art, theatre, dance, film and literature (with the odd acrobat thrown in for good measure). Looking to court the culture-hungry masses more than the fanny-packed tourist set, organizers have booked big names, plus a roster of outré festivities. Here, the skinny on some of the best and brightest.

FLOATING ARTWORKS
What: Local boy Max Streicher will unveil Quadriga: a dozen vinyl blow-up horses hovering above commuters in Union Station. Xavier Veilhan’s Le Grand Mobile, consisting of 25 black PVC spheres, will occupy 440 square metres of BCE Place’s atrium.
Why: How often do you see livestock mid-canter at Union Station?
Who: Confused Bay Streeters and rail riders. The S&M crowd will appreciate Veilhan’s large-scale use of bondage material.
Where: BCE Place, 161 Bay St.; Union Station, 65 Front St. W.; plus other locations.

THE SPIEGEL SHOW AT SPIEGELTENT’NTAVERN
What: A European big top meets high-end bordello (in design, anyhow—think mirrored walls and red accents). Come nightfall, it will showcase some of the fest’s racier content, in a cabaret-style performance featuring acrobats, aerialists and showgirls.
Why: A high concentration of chills and thrills is a rare sight at the demure waterfront. What happens in the tent stays in the tent.
Who: Festival scenesters and hotshots—one of a handful of nighttime programs, this is expected to be the spot for Luminato’s finest to kick back after a long day.
Where: Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W.

NOT THE MESSIAH (HE’S A VERY NAUGHTY BOY)
What: Spamalot co-creators Eric Idle and John Du Prez follow up their Grammy-winning musical with the world premiere of this spoof oratorio, inspired by Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Handel’s Messiah. Idle’s first cousin, TSO musical director Peter Oundjian, will conduct.
Why: The Python alum has been hyping it as “funnier than the Messiah.” Du Prez composed the music for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. Not exactly your run-of-the-mill team.
Who: Classical music buffs seeking to shatter the stereotype that they’re humourless. Comedy fans seeking to counteract the notion that they’re cultureless.
Where: Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St.

BOOK OF LONGING
What: Minimalist composer Philip Glass, an admirer of Leonard Cohen’s works, drew inspiration from the scribe’s most recent book of poems to create this score, which was six years in the making. Glass draws from indie rock, classical and new music circles for his concert-length work, which he will perform on keyboard, accompanied by seven instrumentalists and four vocalists.
Why: The pairing of two cultural icons provides ample opportunity for cocktail chatter. Plus the production has already been booked for performances at New York’s Lincoln Center, so seeing its debut gives bragging rights.
Who: The Cohen cult. The Glass cult. Hangers-on who don’t get the works of either genius, but like to be a part of the artsy in-crowd.
Where: Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge St.

LANGUAGE CULTURES
What: A week and a half of concerts, poetry jams and public art projects, each a tribute to the contributions that three languages—Italian, Portuguese and Spanish—have made to the city’s cultural life.
Why: With a roster of diverse musical acts spreading infectious rhythms, concerts on the cobblestones will be a big draw. Expect giant multi­lingual Scrabble boards, available for public play, to lure the meandering masses.
Who: Those looking to dance in public (at nightly street parties in the central square) without judgment. Cutthroat board gamers. Thrifty music buffs.
Where: Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 55 Mill St.; plus various outdoor stages throughout the Distillery District.

Luminato runs June 1 to 10 at venues across the city. Admission varies. 416-872-1111, www.luminato.com

More Luminato events:
The Walker Project • Constantinople • Luna • The Passion of Winnie (Part One) • Rafael Lozano-Hemmer • Danza Cuba • Petrushka • Kshetram • Spirit Horse • Carnivalissima • Illuminations •