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Toronto events and festivals

Wow, this is big news.

www.thestar.com

Taste of the Danforth cancelled over funding

The GreekTown on the Danforth BIA on Tuesday opted not to raise their levies to help fund the street festival 2024.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

I walked the Taste of the Danforth last summer, and definitely noticed a drop in crowd size, especially compared to the crazy large crowds from 10-15 years ago.

I'm curious what, if any, role the cost of mandatory security features played in their decision. Since the Yonge Street and Nice truck attacks, there have been additional security precautions in place for large street festivals, including more police, private security and anti-truck barriers.

As a side note, I've heard from Danforth shop owners that the Greektown BIA is quite a stuffy bunch, and very resistant to change. I'm curious if alternatives were proposed by the city and Fletcher but shot down. During the Destination Danforth project and Bike Lane pilot, the Greektown BIA was definitely the most resistant to the lanes compared to the other BIAs along the Danforth.
 
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christiesplits said:
Wow, this is big news.

www.thestar.com

Taste of the Danforth cancelled over funding

The GreekTown on the Danforth BIA on Tuesday opted not to raise their levies to help fund the street festival 2024.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

I walked the Taste of the Danforth last summer, and definitely noticed a drop in crowd size, especially compared to the crazy large crowds from 10-15 years ago.

I'm curious what, if any, role the cost of mandatory security features played in their decision. Since the Yonge Street and Nice truck attacks, there have been additional security precautions in place for large street festivals, including more police, private security and anti-truck barriers.
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To quote the article "A source told the Star there were also concerns that the festival had lost its roots in celebrating the Greek neighbourhood, that non-restaurant businesses did not benefit, as well as concerns about lower turnout due to the cost-of-living crisis"

Honestly, the festival got far away from its roots in the past decade when it became a glorified street festival akin to Buskerfest. In the 90s, it was all about Greek food and Greek culture. More recently it has been about street performers, musical acts and cheap promotional booths.

As well, it has become stupidly overpriced. I remember years ago when you could get a souvlaki stick for a buck but now that same stick is 5, 6 or more dollars each!

In a way I am sad to see it go but it is not the same festival it was when it started.
 
Richard White said:
To quote the article "A source told the Star there were also concerns that the festival had lost its roots in celebrating the Greek neighbourhood, that non-restaurant businesses did not benefit, as well as concerns about lower turnout due to the cost-of-living crisis"

Honestly, the festival got far away from its roots in the past decade when it became a glorified street festival akin to Buskerfest. In the 90s, it was all about Greek food and Greek culture. More recently it has been about street performers, musical acts and cheap promotional booths.

As well, it has become stupidly overpriced. I remember years ago when you could get a souvlaki stick for a buck but now that same stick is 5, 6 or more dollars each!

In a way I am sad to see it go but it is not the same festival it was when it started.
Click to expand...

Yep, once you remove the Hellenic influence, it becomes just another street festival. In my stroll through the festival last year, I actually didn't find the food prices too bad, considering inflation.

If I led the BIA, I would try and tie in an event with the Greek Independence Day parade. The street is already shut down, there are tonnes of Greek people in traditional costumes, and there's a great energy along the strip.
 
christiesplits said:
Yep, once you remove the Hellenic influence, it becomes just another street festival. In my stroll through the festival last year, I actually didn't find the food prices too bad, considering inflation.

If I led the BIA, I would try and tie in an event with the Greek Independence Day parade. The street is already shut down, there are tonnes of Greek people in traditional costumes, and there's a great energy along the strip.
Click to expand...

I will say this however.

Street Festivals are going the way of the dodo not just with the Taste of the Danforth but things like the Jazz Festival, Buskerfest, etc.

I remember years ago when Woofstock and Buskerfest used to close down streets but now they are relegated to a park. Previously the Jazz Festival used to shut down Queen St East for days straight but now it is only at night with through traffic permitted.

Keep in mind that it is not just about the changing nature of the festivals but also cost. Traffic management and road closures come at a very steep price. Furthermore, there is security and other overhead costs which require mass amounts of funding.

In alot of cases, it is simply not economical to have these large festivals anymore.
 
Meh, there's way too many of them, and they've all become generic to the point of being indistinguishable from one another. It's akin to a traveling circus - you see the same vendors at different festivals, so what's the point? I grew bored and irritated by them years ago, but kept going occasionally because it was an easy way to kill a few hours as cheap entertainment for the kids (as long as you refuse to get sucked into impulse spending, which I was fairly good at for the most part). The highlight for me was checking out babes 😄
 
I believe this is the second year where the City of Toronto is hosting New Years fireworks on the waterfront, not at Nathan Phillips Square. As someone who was around Union Station last year at NYE, I hope they do a much better job with crowd control.

www.toronto.ca

City of Toronto’s New Year’s Eve celebrations return to the waterfront with fireworks and pop-up performances

News Release December 19, 2023 The City of Toronto is gearing up to host the biggest fireworks display in Canada to ring in 2024. On Sunday, December 31 at midnight, residents and visitors to Toronto are invited to countdown to the New Year and witness a free 10-minute, high-altitude fireworks...
www.toronto.ca www.toronto.ca

News Release

December 19, 2023

The City of Toronto is gearing up to host the biggest fireworks display in Canada to ring in 2024. On Sunday, December 31 at midnight, residents and visitors to Toronto are invited to countdown to the New Year and witness a free 10-minute, high-altitude fireworks show synchronized to music, visible from anywhere with a view of the city’s inner harbour and also livestreamed online.

Designated viewing areas for the fireworks include:
  • Sherbourne Common, 61 Dockside Dr.
  • Toronto Music Garden, 476 Queens Quay W.
  • Harbour Square Park, 25 Queens Quay W.
  • Sugar Beach Park, 11 Dockside Dr.
  • Little Norway Park, 659 Queens Quay W.
  • HTO Park, 339 Queens Quay W.
  • Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W.
Click to expand...
 
No bouncy castles, 1970s tribute bands, or beer garden (last year there was a guy wandering around smoking crack, yelling and screaming, I assume not part of the official program) but I'll put it here since they do call it a festival.
https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/spring-bird-festival/ (Colonel Samuel Smith Park)
BirdFest(1).JPG
BirdFest(2).JPG
 
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What doesn't have a "festival" these days?? 🤣

I'd be down for a booty shorts festival.
Richard White said:
Personally I want a nudist festival.
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In theory, I totally agree, but we all know much to our chagrin that all the people who would most gleefully participate are the very ones who should never be seen nude (or sporting booty shorts!).
 
It's kind of a surprise to read that the tennis stadium at York U (now Sobeys Stadium, formerly known as Aviva Centre, and Rexall Centre) will be used again this summer for a series of entertainment events. This was tried once before, apparently unsuccessfully, in the summer of 2011, under the name of Black Creek Summer Music Festival.
https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2024/01/news-roundup-january-19-2024.55064
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/art...ith-new-concert-venues-to-the-north-torontos/
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/new-concert-venue-slated-to-open-in-the-gta-this-spring-1.6677960
It seems like strange timing to now try this again. I'm not sure what would make them think it would turn out better this time. I suppose the subway now going all the way there is a plus, but as the article suggests, there may now be more competition than before with the Woodbine casino venue also open.

Edit (28 Feb 2024) : The announcement for "The Bowl at Sobeys Stadium" happened back in early December 2023. I am unable to find evidence of any upcoming event happening there aside from the tennis tournament in August, so I have doubts about whether there will be any concerts when most of them for this summer would have tickets already on sale by now.
 
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