PEN Canada is staging a high profile benefit on May 4, with an array of Canadian literary and performing arts luminaries, a silent auction and an inaugural chair auction.

Performers scheduled to appear include Cathy Jones (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), David Craig as Napalm, The Magnificent, figure skater Toller Cranston, playwright Andrew Moodie (Riot and Oui), Kate and Anna McGarrigle, a scene from Two Pianos, Four Hands (now playing in New York City), and a segment from Oscar-nominated film director Atom Egoyan's new opera Elsewhereless.

This year's benefit marks the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and salutes China's Wei Jingsheng and Cuba's Ismael Sambra. The evening's theme is Sit Down and Take A Stand.

The PEN Benefit will be held on May 4 at the John Bassett Theatre. Tickets are $50 each. For information call: 416-973-4000.

--By Mira Friedlander
Canada Correspondent