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billonlogan
Guest
Daily feature at Jilly's.
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bizorky
Guest
A festival for that? Why not.
The Mr. Lifto part of the festival may cause the boys to cringe.
The Mr. Lifto part of the festival may cause the boys to cringe.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
There was a Taste of the Danforth in 2013. It was supposed to be about food, but ended up being about a drunk man who was stumbling around having his picture taken with others.
adma
Superstar
Given that last post before the thread was revived, Rob Ford doing a Mr. Lifto act (or Krista shooting ping-pong balls) is worth consideration...or not...
NorthYorkEd
Active Member
Back in 2000 we visited TOTD while visiting as tourists (was it called "Greekfest" back then?) and loved it. This was our first time back since relocating to TO last fall and it sucked. Couldn't move, kept being pushed, and had no chance to look at anything other than the back of someone's head. It sure smelled good, though.
Other posters have commented on the lack of creativity and the monotonous feel of these festivals, and I have to agree. We were excited to visit the Cultura events here in North York at Mel Lastman Square but after visiting a few found them very cookie-cutter, with mostly sales booths and food tents serving over-priced deep-fried cheap crap (roadkill-quality meats) that the true ethnics probably never touch. What did we learn about other cultures? Nada. (Except half-naked Brazilian dancers are hot.) And the best food we tried was the organic lemonade sweetened with stevia. How cultural and exotic! Lol...
EDIT: I should state that we did enjoy the events and there was some obvious talent and effort present. They just felt more "corporate" driven than culture driven.
Other posters have commented on the lack of creativity and the monotonous feel of these festivals, and I have to agree. We were excited to visit the Cultura events here in North York at Mel Lastman Square but after visiting a few found them very cookie-cutter, with mostly sales booths and food tents serving over-priced deep-fried cheap crap (roadkill-quality meats) that the true ethnics probably never touch. What did we learn about other cultures? Nada. (Except half-naked Brazilian dancers are hot.) And the best food we tried was the organic lemonade sweetened with stevia. How cultural and exotic! Lol...
EDIT: I should state that we did enjoy the events and there was some obvious talent and effort present. They just felt more "corporate" driven than culture driven.
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James
Senior Member
I'd have to agree with the above posts. When I used to go to Taste of the Danforth circa early 2000s, I recall walking in the street and sampling food from various vendors. It was a pretty relaxing and easy-going atmosphere. This year, I decided to go back (after a huge hiatus) with someone new to Toronto, only to discover the place was completely jam-packed with little to no room to walk. The lineups were unlike anything I recall ever before. Some lines were so long I couldn't even tell what booth they were lining up for!
All in all though, despite the sheer size of this event now, it's good to see so many people show up. We were definitely impressed by the number of revelers.
All in all though, despite the sheer size of this event now, it's good to see so many people show up. We were definitely impressed by the number of revelers.
Southcore
Active Member
I skipped TOTD this year for the reasons stated above. It's just too crazy. I felt like Salsa on St Clair has reached this level as well, at least at night (I went during the day last year and found it packed yet still doable).
It's great that people are coming out for these events, don't get me wrong, but maybe it's time for some tweaking. Then again I'm sure the respective BIA's and vendors are loving it so I'm not so sure anything can or will be done. It's interesting though reading the posts from 2006 about the various festivals/events in TO that are new since then as well as existing ones that have grown considerably. If anything, I find it hard to keep up with it all week to week, especially in the summer. A 'nice' problem to have living in the city.
It's great that people are coming out for these events, don't get me wrong, but maybe it's time for some tweaking. Then again I'm sure the respective BIA's and vendors are loving it so I'm not so sure anything can or will be done. It's interesting though reading the posts from 2006 about the various festivals/events in TO that are new since then as well as existing ones that have grown considerably. If anything, I find it hard to keep up with it all week to week, especially in the summer. A 'nice' problem to have living in the city.
christiesplits
Senior Member
As a resident of the area I checked it out Saturday afternoon for a half hour or so - walking a few blocks that would usually only take 3-4 minutes to traverse. I couldn't help thinking that Taste of the Danforth could be a personal/community safety risk. I hazard to guess what would happen if there was a fire, explosion or even a tent collapse. How would Emergency Services work their way through the crowds?
I think they should seriously consider:
a) Letting the festival fill out along Broadview and Pape north and south. With limited restaurants and cafes along those roads dishing out $5 sticks of meat, it could be a good place to put sponsor tents and amusement rides.
b) Extending the festival east, to Donlands, Greenwood or even Coxwell. Jones to Donlands is still fairly vibrant; Donlands to Greenwood is admittedly a dead zone with just a smattering of Halal pizza joints and prostitutes; Greenwood to Coxwell is experiencing some new life with a smorgasbord of packed Ethopian patios, new coffee shops and bars, and some old school Italian cafes. I would not be surprised if the well-organized Danforth East Community Association has proposed such a possibility.
While I respect that a lot of people make a living off the summer festival circuit, I agree that there is the feeling of sameness to all the supposedly unique cultural events. Vendors especially.
They all have the same ice cream trucks, old guy selling glow sticks and flashy necklaces, Pepsi Taste Test, inflatable food stand selling $5 corn on the cob, Tiny Tom's Donuts (I agree they are pretty awesome), kid with an ice bucket selling $2 bottles of water, the Elvis-or-similar painted "statue," Budweiser girls, mobile carnival rides I wouldn't ride if my life depended on it, and of course, the incessant cries of "Where is the bathroom?" and "Is there any place to sit?" from the overheated masses.
I think they should seriously consider:
a) Letting the festival fill out along Broadview and Pape north and south. With limited restaurants and cafes along those roads dishing out $5 sticks of meat, it could be a good place to put sponsor tents and amusement rides.
b) Extending the festival east, to Donlands, Greenwood or even Coxwell. Jones to Donlands is still fairly vibrant; Donlands to Greenwood is admittedly a dead zone with just a smattering of Halal pizza joints and prostitutes; Greenwood to Coxwell is experiencing some new life with a smorgasbord of packed Ethopian patios, new coffee shops and bars, and some old school Italian cafes. I would not be surprised if the well-organized Danforth East Community Association has proposed such a possibility.
While I respect that a lot of people make a living off the summer festival circuit, I agree that there is the feeling of sameness to all the supposedly unique cultural events. Vendors especially.
They all have the same ice cream trucks, old guy selling glow sticks and flashy necklaces, Pepsi Taste Test, inflatable food stand selling $5 corn on the cob, Tiny Tom's Donuts (I agree they are pretty awesome), kid with an ice bucket selling $2 bottles of water, the Elvis-or-similar painted "statue," Budweiser girls, mobile carnival rides I wouldn't ride if my life depended on it, and of course, the incessant cries of "Where is the bathroom?" and "Is there any place to sit?" from the overheated masses.
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adma
Superstar
Well, a better way to fix the crowd problem is for the crowds themselves to be more self-aware, i.e. in certain tight situations, chatting and lingering and dawdling in the middle of de facto "circulation space" is a recipe for pedestrian gridlock. So, stop being narcissistically boneheaded, and move aside, or move forward...
whatever
Senior Member
Or maybe the thing to do is to start deliberately overlapping the festivals. Have Salsa on St. Clair run concurrently with Taste of the Danforth. They're multi-day festivals so people can still do both if they want, but it also spreads the festival-going crowd out across multiple locations.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
They do that with the Roncesvalles Polish Festival on Roncesvalles and the Bloor West Village Ukrainian Festival on Bloor West. Both on the September 13-15, 2013 weekend.
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Ex-Montreal Girl
Active Member
I have been a regular since 1996, before they started closing the street and it was a sidewalk festival. I always avoid Saturday nights because it just gets insane. As a resident, I use the back lanes behind the restaurants to get around when it's crowded. My favourite times are the early afternoons.
The biggest circulation problems with TOTD:
The concert stage at Logan, where a bottleneck always forms. The other stages, at Jones and Broadview, are fine.
The VIP tent near Pape. Another bottleneck.
No discernible "lanes." It has reached the point where lanes are needed. In other words, westbound one way, east bound the other.
Dogs. I love dogs. But I feel terrible for them there.
Beer gardens block traffic. They need to be on the side streets. Most residents flee the area that weekend anyway.
Rides for the kids. REALLY? Are they necessary?
I can appreciate that it raises a lot of money for the TEGH but it has simply gotten out of hand in terms of being too commercial.
JasonParis
Moderator
I haven't gone since the 1990s myself. Any appeal in cheap, good food is completely lost due to the unwieldy crowds. Most of Toronto's street festivals suffer the same general problem, but none to this extent admittedly.
Jonny5
Senior Member
Sounds like the Cabbagetown festival this year. Pretty much all of that was there, even the inflatable corn stand. Also rounding out the excitement were the Toronto Water taste test, way too many politicians, and an oddly large number of Canadian Forces recruiters (their booth had at least a dozen guys working it when I walked by). The only really unique thing I saw was from the local Hindu temple, who put on quite a show.
JasonParis
Moderator
It's a weird conundrum to have so many successful street festivals, yet they are all basically an ever-so-slightly different version of each other.