CityStay
Active Member
A butter tart festival? That's really stretching the definition of the word 'festival'.
They used to be known as 'bake sales'.
Looking forward to the Rice Crispy Square Festival!
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Mayor John Tory's Toronto
- Thread starter MetroMan
- Start date
They used to be known as 'bake sales'.
Looking forward to the Rice Crispy Square Festival!
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Too bad the police would raid any children selling lemonade drinks for a
Towered
Senior Member
In Toronto, that is a monumental accomplishment. These half-assed street festivals perfectly reflect our civic culture, where mediocrity is not just accepted, but celebrated. People will stand in lines for hours on end for the dumbest crap. I can't wrap my head around it.
Butter tart festivals are super trendy these days. The one in Midland has dozens of varieties. I actually don’t like butter tarts, but the festivals are a huge draw.
CityStay
Active Member
I'll never understand the lineups. I hate lining up for anything and I won't do it unless it's unavoidable (have tickets, must line up to get in). I swear you could be giving away one loonie per person and easily generate a 3 hour lineup. It's a uniquely Toronto thing. I don't know anywhere else where a free cupcake or slice of pizza will result in hours-long lineups around the block.
As for the crappy street festivals - you've been to one, you've been to them all. It's as if the BIAs have never experienced one in another city, just looked at pictures on the internet. I think the organizers should go to Montreal to see how they're done. Massive medium or small they really know how to put on a festival.
CityStay
Active Member
I imagine it would be a big deal in a hamlet like Midland. I checked out the Queensway and it looked like a glorified bake sale in a park. And my 4 features of a lousy festival were all present:
1) Bouncy castle
2) Cheesy bands
3) Overpriced food
4) Drinking stockade
My Rice Crispy Square Festival will be much better and to guarantee a huge crowd I'm going to charge a $25 entry fee - $35 Gold, $50 Platinum VIP!
adma
Superstar
Not even restricted to festivals, as such things a What-A-Bagel's free bagel days prove.
zang
Senior Member
Like Transformers and Adam Sandler movies, they keep making them because they draw people, regardless of quality.
I am in Boston. Huge line ups at pastry shops, so no it’s not just a Toronto thing.
zang
Senior Member
Lineups are a sign that convenience has been knocked from the top of our desired values. It's at least part of the reason why–in the age of Amazon Prime and Big Box failures—quality independent stores and small local chains are doing better than they have in a long time.
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ShonTron
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I'll stand up for street festivals - to a point. I'd agree that there's not enough variety, and there's too much of the same thing. BIAs like them because they draw potential customers, and many merchants like the opportunity to have a sidewalk sale to draw customers and sell-off inventory. Many restaurants can offer expanded or one-off patios. They get people out and about.
The other vendors selling trinkets, cellphone cases, phone plans, etc. - as well as the snack vendors - are there partly as they pay the BIA to be there. They help defray the costs of police and security the city requires. For the less moneyed BIAs, they're a necessary evil.
And don't discount the appeal of bouncy castles and flat rides to kids. They're easy to set up (especially important under streetcar wires). If they get the parents out too, they're likely to spend money.
I'd love to see some more variety - Hamilton's art crawls are neat, and Supercrawl is huge. There are some missed opportunities at some of the BIA street festivals for more unique offerings and art displays and performances.
The other vendors selling trinkets, cellphone cases, phone plans, etc. - as well as the snack vendors - are there partly as they pay the BIA to be there. They help defray the costs of police and security the city requires. For the less moneyed BIAs, they're a necessary evil.
And don't discount the appeal of bouncy castles and flat rides to kids. They're easy to set up (especially important under streetcar wires). If they get the parents out too, they're likely to spend money.
I'd love to see some more variety - Hamilton's art crawls are neat, and Supercrawl is huge. There are some missed opportunities at some of the BIA street festivals for more unique offerings and art displays and performances.
TrickyRicky
Senior Member
Most of our street festivals are overgrown neighbourhood festivals. When you have kids and elders in your circle of care the crappier the street festival the better. I’m actually not joking. Poor attendance is a big plus.
Towered
Senior Member
I genuinely LOL'ed at this, because it's so true! People will actually pay big money here and wait in endless lineups in horrific weather to do it. The stupidity is boundless.
Towered
Senior Member
This phenomenon seems to have gotten so much worse in Toronto over the years. Alongside a dramatic population increase, perhaps one of the causes is that the cost of living has gotten so ridiculous in this city that people automatically flock to anything "free", no matter how useless, like vultures to carrion.
Look at the insane lineups a few weeks back at every Mandarin restaurant on Canada Day because of the free meal - standing in line for hours with no guarantee of even getting in on a holiday in absolutely gorgeous weather just to save 25 bucks? It's sad and pathetic.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
There would have been free hot dogs at the Queen's Park Canada Day celebration, until Doug Ford cancelled that one.