The Taste of the Danforth is Canada’s largest street festival attracting over 1.3 million every August. This annual 3 day weekend event commemorates all of Greece’s glory. Some visitors base their entire summer vacations around this festival. For those who do, Toronto furnished apartments are the best choice, offering convenience of your own place, at comparable hotel rates.
During the 3 day fest, Danforth Avenue between Broadview and Jones closes for traffic, allowing memories to be made for more than 15 blocks and over 2.5km of Greek entertainment, fun, and food. From souvlaki to mezes, authentic Greek cuisine is presented at the outdoor patios of several restaurants.
There is something for everyone to do, from a Kids Fun Zone, offering a variety of activities for children’s enjoyment, to beer gardens for adults. Economically priced quality food served from stations flood the sunny streets.
Here’s a little festival history:
- The Taste of the Danforth was modeled after Chicago’s street festival, The Taste of Chicago
- The festival first started in 1994 where it drew an attendance of 5000 people.
- In 1995, the festival jumped to 100,000 attendees
- By 1996 the Taste of the Danforth was so large that the street had to officially close for the festival to accommodate over 500,000 visitors!
Greek Town is located roughly between Chester and Jones Ave on Danforth Ave. Over 450 businesses are positioned in this area and each contributes monetarily to the encouragement and adornment of the community. Blue and white honorary signs flank the street poles in this neighborhood, making it easy to identify when you have arrived.
In the early 1970′s, Canada welcomed thousands of Greek citizens. Many members of the community made their way to the Danforth. Greek Town on the Danforth is the largest Hellenic business community in North America and indeed is the third largest in the world after Greece and Melbourne, Australia. In 1994, the Taste of the Danforth was created making it the largest Greek festival in the world outside of Greece.
Excited? The hours are as follow:
- Friday, August 5th: 6pm-12am
- Saturday, August 6th: 12pm-12am
- Sunday, August 7th: 12pm-8pm
*There is a number of municipal public parking lots (all with Handicapped parking spaces) located within one block north and south of Danforth Avenue. Parking on residential side streets during the festival is extremely limited and illegally parked vehicles are vigilantly tagged and towed away. Taking public transit may be the easiest and most stress free way to go.
E-mail: info@tasteofthedanforth.com Phone: (416) 469-5634 Fax: (416) 469-8200