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Taste of the Danforth has overgrown

M

MetroMan1000

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I was at Taste of the Danforth and I must say, it was a very unpleasant experience.

There were so many people there that the streets were simply just packed, people were bumping into me at every turn and I couldn't move at my own pace.

The actual purpose of the festival was defeated: being able to taste different food along the street. The lineups were unreasonably long. Most places required at least a 20 minute wait.

Was Taste of the Danforth always like this? How could this be resolved? Making it longer wouldn't really help and you can't control the amount of people who attend.

I know I won't be going again.
 
I went when it first began, for two or three years. It was a small street festival with free samples of food and drink ( that's why I went! ).

But now, like most locals, I head for the hills.
 
It's been like that for at least three years now. I haven't been since 2003 for that very reason.

I'm not sure what the answer is.
 
I haven't gone in perhaps 3 years for that very reason. It's a great gig, but waiting in line for food or drink for at least 20 minutes and getting pushed through crowds just isn't fun for me. I don't know what the answer is to solve this problem, they can't go much further east or west and I doubt neighbours on streets south & north of the Danforth would appreciate the festival expanding up their streets. I guess it's a victim of it's own sucess at this point.
 
The answer may be to hold more street festivals in the city so people don't feel starved for one by the time the TOTD rolls around. Maybe that would spread the people out a bit.

New York is awesome for street festivals, see the summer schedule here, and Montreal certainly has Toronto beat in that department as well. Toronto's a growing city, there should be more frequent summer fairs to reflect that.
 
I biked down on Friday afternoon after I visited a friend at O'Conner/Pape. Fortunately for me, I arrived before 6 so I was able to get some of the first samples without even lining up.

Had some good baklava, btw!
 
I totally agree Ganj!

There was also a Chinatown Festival this weekend, but I just stumbled upon it. I don't think it was advertised very well even though half of Spadina was closed. Perhaps it'll compete with TOTD as its stature grows over the years.
 
The answer may be to hold more street festivals in the city so people don't feel starved for one by the time the TOTD rolls around. Maybe that would spread the people out a bit.

New York is awesome for street festivals, see the summer schedule here, and Montreal certainly has Toronto beat in that department as well. Toronto's a growing city, there should be more frequent summer fairs to reflect that.


I don't think the problem is the lack of festivals, but scheduling and advertising. Taste of the Danforth has really taken off, but there are many other good ones that are far less known and attended. I went to the Corso Italia Street Festival, which happened to be on the same weekend as the Yonge Street Festival. Not the best move. The Salsa On St. Clair Festival is great (went last year), but again, not very well advertised.
 
This weekend had a few festivals/events. I went to the hot and spicy food festival at Harbourfront, the Chinese Lantern Festival at Harbourfront and the Dragon Boat Races at Sunnyside. The TOTD was way too crowded last year, so I am skipping that but I am going to the AIDS conference at the convention centre. I think there is a lot to do this weekend. Actually every weekend in Toronto gives you lots of options. I wouldn't mind more festivals in Toronto, it's always good to increase your options. Next weekend is the Fetish Fair on Church st so I hope a few UT boys will be out in latex or lace. (depending on where their kinks lie) :lol
 
There was also a Chinatown Festival this weekend, but I just stumbled upon it. I don't think it was advertised very well even though half of Spadina was closed. Perhaps it'll compete with TOTD as its stature grows over the years.

Exactly...another example. I think the various organizations that run these festivals should coordinate things with the city or a central body so you don't have festivals overlapping like this.

The Chinatown Festival has the potential to be huge...shouldn't have to compete with Taste of the Danforth.
 
I was there today at 1230, the lineups were rather reasonable, fast food service length. Things were somewhat crowded by the time I left at 1430, but even then it wasn't overly so.

e.guy:

I was volunteering at the AIDS conference yesterday - the lineup for the registration at 1200 was insane. There was bit of a logistics issue as well, but all in all, it was a nice experience for me.

Next weekend is the Fetish Fair on Church st so I hope a few UT boys will be out in latex or lace

Be careful what you wish for.

AoD
 
We've had a number of weekends when there was so much going on that it was difficult to choose. I wanted to go to TOTD but wanted to get to the spicy food festival and see the Queen's Quay improvements as well; in a weekend with an otherwise already busy schedule, I didn't get to either. :( Again, the problem may be more of marketing and publicity of all the events.

It is so easy to criticize. It should be acknowledged that the "problem" that is the subject of this thread is one of the success of an event that just keeps growing.
 
Perhaps the answer would be to hold it over a long weekend and lengthen its duration. I haven't gone to TOTD due to overcrowding for several years.
 
New York is awesome for street festivals, see the summer schedule here, and Montreal certainly has Toronto beat in that department as well. Toronto's a growing city, there should be more frequent summer fairs to reflect that.

Wow, I thought we had a lot going on here!
Every weekend since about mid-June there seem to be at least 3 or 4 "festival" events around town. On several occasions I've had a hard time choosing what which two I'd like to attend most.
Toronto.com does a pretty good job of listing most everything in advance if you want to know what's going on and like to plan ahead.
 

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