| So many festivals to choose from, so little time..... | | | | gloved hands. Some of the music even sounded like |
| This weekend Toronto had so many special events | | | | Irish folk music and the polyphonic harmonies were |
| to offer, there simply wasn't enough time to attend | | | | very pleasing to the ear. This innovative combination |
| them all. Here are just a few samples of some of the | | | | of music, unusual instruments, dance and physical |
| major events offered on the July 7 to 9 weekend: - | | | | performance was highly extraordinary yet extremely |
| Afrofest, a celebration of African culture, located at | | | | aesthetic, and Lelavision attracted a sizeable crowd |
| Queen's Park - The Bud Light Beats, Breaks & | | | | of fans who stayed behind after the performance to |
| Culture ,Toronto's Electronic Music Festival at | | | | chat and find out more about this unique art form. |
| Harbourfront Centre - Italian food and lots of live | | | | Inspired from this creative performance I got hungry |
| music at the Corso Italia Toronto Fiesta - Toronto's | | | | and rode a bit further south along Yonge Street until |
| best known theatre festival: the Fringe of Toronto | | | | I landed at the Scotiabank Jazz Café that |
| Theatre Festival - High-speed high-octane fun at the | | | | featured a sitting area with tables, followed by a |
| Molson Grand Prix of Toronto at Exhibition Place - | | | | variety of restaurant booths that were providing |
| The Canada Dry Festival of Fireworks at Ontario | | | | samples of their cuisine. I ordered a butter chicken |
| Place - The Taste of Lawrence Festival on Lawrence | | | | with basmati rice from the Bombay Bhel restaurant |
| Street East, and - The Toronto Outdoor Art | | | | and sat down to listen for a few minutes to the |
| Exhibition features more than 500 artists at Nathan | | | | pleasant sounds of the Donna Barber Trio. I joined a |
| Phillips Square. The number of choices is virtually | | | | retired gentleman at a table, who looked at my bike |
| endless and with limited time it's sometimes difficult | | | | and started a pleasant conversation about biking in |
| to choose which event to attend. I had a few hours | | | | the city. We both agreed that Toronto offers superb |
| today and decided to hop on my bike to check out | | | | biking opportunities all throughout the city. After |
| the Celebrate Toronto Street Festival, and if there | | | | almost 50 years of marriage his wife had passed |
| was any time left over I would also drop by at | | | | away last year, but he has been working on |
| Afrofest. Equipped with my camera and a big | | | | adjusting to his new life and likes to come out and |
| backpack I cycled in through Toronto's ravine and | | | | enjoy Toronto's outdoor festivals and events. Just |
| park system. On my way in I was able to almost | | | | recently he had attended a free outdoor |
| completely avoid regular roads and enjoy the | | | | performance of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at |
| serenity of some of Toronto's many nature areas. In | | | | Harbourfront. After I had finished my lunch he said |
| Sunnybrook Park huge groups of people were | | | | goodbye since he was going to catch a performance |
| unloading entire regular-sized barbecues from their | | | | at the Big Band Stage. My next stop was at the |
| minivans for a day in the park. Through the tranquil | | | | "Comedy Stop", at a stage featuring the "Monkey |
| tree-framed streets of Leaside I made my way | | | | Toast Players": Lisa Merchant (of "Train 48" fame), |
| west to finally arrive on Yonge Street, just north of | | | | David Shore (an instructor at the Second City |
| Eglinton. It wasn't quite noon yet and the big street | | | | Training Centre) and Carolyn Taylor (a Second City |
| party hadn't yet fully gotten off the ground. A | | | | alumna). Together with several other performers |
| variety of rides were set up for kids and slowly but | | | | they make up an award-winning group of standup |
| surely lineups started to form in front of each | | | | comedians that performs regularly at the Drake Hotel. |
| high-adrenaline attraction. Various restaurants had set | | | | Today they were performing a variety of improvised |
| up booths featuring samples of their menu at | | | | sketches that involved various elements of audience |
| reasonable prices and a big concert stage would | | | | participation. For one sketch two audience members |
| showcase a variety of talent throughout the day. I | | | | had to come on stage and finish the comedians' |
| stopped at the Fit One booth which was going to | | | | sentence on cue. For another sketch two audience |
| hold a cheerleading competition at 12 noon. An emcee | | | | members got to move the comedians' limbs and |
| picked out three moms and three dads from the | | | | bodies to provide the physical backdrop to the |
| crowd. The moms were going to rehearse the Fit | | | | conversation. Finally, audience members got to |
| One Cheer, while the men were learning a brief | | | | choose a location which would fit on the stage ("New |
| sequence of dance steps that would be judged by | | | | York City", I guess if you try hard enough NYC will |
| the growing audience. The three men gave it their | | | | fit on the stage after all) and they had written down |
| best and the winning contestant added a few | | | | a variety of phrases that the comedians had to |
| additional flashy dance steps to his performance and | | | | integrate into their performance which featured a |
| definitely managed to charm the crowd. Then the | | | | scene involving a hot dog vendor in New York City. |
| ladies came on the stage and they got to perform | | | | The show was very much along the lines of "Whose |
| their cheer as a group and then individually. Again, the | | | | Line Is This Anyway?" and the crew's improvisational |
| winner would win a prize for their performance. With | | | | talents were quite impressive. Now it was time to |
| the amateur portion of this contest complete, two | | | | cycle further south so I went past Bloor Street, |
| young men and a young women came on to show | | | | where the sidewalks on the east and west side of |
| off their acrobatic cheerleading act. The two guys | | | | Yonge Street really started to fill up with regular |
| kept twirling the girl around, lifting her up so she | | | | shoppers and weekend revelers. I went west on |
| would stand upright on their hands. They had had | | | | Wellesley until I hit my final destination: Queen's Park, |
| several years of training for this performance. It was | | | | which was hosting "Afrofest", Toronto's celebration |
| time for me to move on, and as I pushed my bike | | | | of African culture and music. The festival is in its 18th |
| on the sidewalk, I saw three generously proportioned | | | | year and is now officially North America's largest and |
| "ladies" doing poses and hamming it up. At one point | | | | longest running African music festival. The audience |
| one of them fell over with her legs up in the air, and | | | | was very colourful and virtually every ethnic group in |
| an audience member was asked to join in to help her | | | | Toronto was represented in the audience |
| up. I am not quite sure if they were indeed ladies, | | | | somewhere. A big stage was designated for the |
| but the members of "Cie Colbok: "Niki" have been | | | | feature performers and several other areas were set |
| enchanting crowds at street festivals in France, | | | | up for drummers and other musicians. A multitude of |
| Germany, Spain, Great Britain and many more with | | | | booths was selling African clothing, arts and crafts, |
| their flirtatious clowning around. My ride on Yonge | | | | and a big area was dedicated to children that |
| Street, usually one of Toronto's busiest streets, was | | | | featured dance performances and a variety of arts |
| extremely peaceful and tranquil since the majority of | | | | activities for children. Young ones were receiving |
| motorists had decided to avoid the Yonge Street | | | | body paintings and a huge food court served a |
| corridor altogether due to the street closures of the | | | | variety of tasty African and Caribbean delicacies. I |
| Celebrate Toronto Street Festival. It's a strangely | | | | had a chat with several women from Congo who |
| empowering feeling cycling down one of Toronto's | | | | were sitting together peeling and cutting plantains. |
| main thoroughfares without having to worry about | | | | Right next door several young girls who originally |
| getting pushed off by sometimes inconsiderate | | | | came from Zambia and were selling their local |
| drivers. St. Clair was the next festival location and the | | | | delicacies at a stand. The crowd had spread out their |
| Scotiabank Big Band Stage was going to feature a | | | | blankets on the lawn and the festival was truly an |
| variety of jazz, big band and even operetta music. I | | | | event for the whole family. By about 4 pm it was |
| happened upon the highly unusual and innovative | | | | time for me to head home and I started cycling east |
| performance of "Lelavision", composed of Ela Lamblin | | | | on the Danforth. Traffic was fairly light, I guess many |
| and Leah Mann - two musicians and performance | | | | people were glued to their television screens to |
| artists from Seattle. When I arrived they were | | | | watch the Soccer World Cup finals between France |
| wearing drums on their heads, hips and knees and | | | | and Italy. Sure enough, at about 4:30 pm I started to |
| were performing a playful drumming act with one | | | | hear horns honking, people screaming with joy and |
| another. Shortly after they pulled out an instrument | | | | crowds streaming out of some of the cafes and bars |
| called the "Violcano", a cone-shaped metal drum | | | | on the eastern part of the Danforth: Italy had won |
| equipped with strings, apparently a mixture between | | | | the World Cup!!!!! Hundreds of people were coming |
| a viola and a volcano. The two artists played the | | | | out into the street, cheering, chanting "Italy" and |
| instrument with strings, plucked it and even climbed in | | | | waving flags. Proof after all, that Toronto's vibrant |
| and out of it, adding an element of physical | | | | multicultural mosaic is alive and well, and everyone is |
| acrobatics to this unusual way of producing music. | | | | invited to party.... |
| Finally, they played the "Longwave", a horizontal harp | | | | Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a web portal for |
| with strings that are not plucked but brushed with | | | | unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. |