Top Festivals in Toronto

Ohhh Toronto loves a festival. Summer is chockablock full of festivals celebrating food, music, drinks, art...you name it, there is probably a festival for it in and around the city. Here I've compiled my list of 5 favourite Toronto festivals and just so you know, not all of them are summertime deals.

1// Toronto Cider Festival

I'm not a beer drinker so all the craft beer fests usually aren't my scene, but put a cider on tap and I'm there! This end of summer fest has all the hallmarks of a great summer weekend at the cottage at the Toronto Waterfront on Sherbourne Common.

2// Toronto Light Fest

This winter festival arguably kicks off the year of fests by starting mid-January and running for several weeks at the Distillery District. It's an incredible installation of light based outdoor art pieces. Honestly, I really love this event. Cool public art is tops.

3// Historic Distillery District Christmas Market

I love all Christmas markets, but the ones in Europe are really where's it at. Short of a flight to Germany, the Distillery District for the month of November becomes a Christmas wonderland and the closest thing to a true and proper Christmas market on the cobbled streets of the former Victorian Distillery.

4 Taco Fest

Unlike the other fests on this list, this is the only one I have yet to repeat. June is a busy month for festivals and sometimes you just have to pick and choose how you spend your time. But I love tacos and a whole festival dedicated to them is a-okay in my books.

5 Brunch Fest

This festival also in June gives you your fill of breakfast themed foods. I recommend going to a early session to avoid lines and missing out on some favourite brunch items.

A festival is only second to a really good farmer's market, but what have I missed? Any honourable mentions that should be noted?

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Light Fest TO

Did you get to it this year? The Toronto Light Fest has come and gone and it was just as glittery and brilliant this year as it was last.

The Toronto Light Festival is the invention and creation of the same group that organize the annual Distillery District Christmas Market. And although this is only the second year for this festival, it is already one of my favourites which I was really looking forward to.

It ran from January 19 - March 4 2018 starting at sundown. This year my friend and I attended midweek and missed out on a couple of the more interactive installations, but there was still plenty to see. 

Although the Toronto Light Festival is done and dusted, I still wanted to share with you some of the incredible and dazzling installations of 2018. Even the Historic Distillery District itself got in on the action with lighting up some of the fixed installations pieces on the grounds.

I think why I love this festival so much is because with something so simple (a little bit of light), the old Victorian complex is changed into an outdoor art gallery. Filling the alleys with wandering spectators and delighting them with whimsical, interesting, sometimes creepy works of art.

Symbolic Peace, Studio Rosenblatt

Entwined, Charles Gadeken

Pulse Portal, David McCarty

The Bohemian Arch, Davis McCarty

Detail of HYBYCOZO, Serge Beaulieu & Yelena Filipchuk

Gummy Bear Pyramid, Dicapria

detail of the Gummy Bear Pyramid

Not Not Art, Studio Rosenblatt

Perspective, Studio Rosenblatt 

Solar Sail, Davis McCarty

Talking Heads, Viktor Vicsek

The ZOA, Martin Taylor

Guardians of Time, Manfred Kielnhofer

HYBYCOZO, Serge Beaulieu & Yelena Filipchuk

LightPiano 2.0, Kleurbleur

The Electric Dandelions, Abram Santa Cruz

Birds Fly Around With You, Masamichi Shimada

Reaching Through, Jessica Levine

Heavy Meta, The Heavy Meta Collective

Nest, Vikas Patil & Santosh Gujar

What festivals do you most look forward to attending each year?

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Toronto Light Fest

Winter in Canada is long. And cold.

And even when it's mild and short, it's still too long and cold. That's why I like heading to the Distillery District in Toronto. Rather than fight against the season they take it in like a great, big, bear hug and embrace it and encourage one and all to get out there and do the same.

From the Toronto Christmas market, heat fest, and now the Toronto Light Fest to name a few things.

When I first heard about the Light Fest happening in Toronto I was reminded of Lumiere London which I went to last January. I had so much fun at the London event, I knew if this was anything like it, it would be great.

Although on a much smaller scale to Lumiere (as many things are here), the exhibition pieces and light installations were just as fun and inspired.

The Toronto Light Fest is running from January 27 until March 12 in the Distillery District in Old Town Toronto

Sunday to Thursday: sundown to 10pm lights out!

Friday to Saturday: sundown to 11pm lights out!

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