Kiesza, Serena Ryder among artists performing free shows at Panamania festival

Boasting a line-up that includes pop, classic soul, hip-hop, blues, and various styles of Latin music, the incredible 35-day arts and culture Panamania festival happening in conjunction with the Pan Am Games has something for every taste.

​From Friday until August 15, you can catch hugely popular acts like Chromeo, Jann Arden, The Roots, Serena Ryder and A Tribe Called Red, as well as groups from Cuba, Chile and Brazil every night of the week.

The shows, which will happen at Nathan Phillips Square, the Distillery District and the CIBC Pan Am Park, won't cost you a penny.

Here are some free concerts worth checking out:

• Jill Barber.
• Kiesza. 
• Tanya Tagaq.
• BADBADNOTGOOD.
• The Flaming Lips. 
• The Blind Boys of Alabama.
• Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires. 
• Stars.
• Austra. 
• Colin James. 
• Janelle Monae.​

Comedy

Sandra Shamas, one of Canada's most celebrated comedians, presents a new show at the Fleck Dance Theatre July 21 through July 25 about her personal exploration of life after 50 in her show, The Big 'What Now?'

Dance

Emerging dancers from six different countries of the Americas will explore their cultural differences and similarities in a new work at the National Ballet School on July 15.

B-boy (breakdance) crews from across the country battle it out in a round-robin elimination tournament at The Distillery July 21 through July 23 to see who will be crowned Canada's best at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.

Photography & Visual Arts

Celebrated photographers Edward Burtynsky (Canada), James Balog (United States), Sebastião Salgado (Brazil), Cristina Mittermeier (Mexico), Jorge Uzon (Chile) and Gustavo Jononovich (Argentina) "explore the important and tenuous relationship we have with our natural water supplies" in the Water's Edge exhibition at Union Station and Pearson Airport.

Visual artists from the Americas compete in a live art battle at The Distillery on July 24. The winners, as chosen by the audience, move onto the International Live Painting Championship at Nathan Phillips Square on July 25. 

You can also take in Ecuadorian, Colombian, El Salvadoran and Cuban cooking demonstrations at the Distillery District, take part in freestyle soccer and Brazilian marital arts at the Pan Am Park, and exhibition on sports, fashion and technology at the Design Exchange.