ATTRACTION: Harbourfront Centre brings ‘The World in One Place’

In many ways Harbourfront Centre epitomizes the best of Toronto, combining physical beauty with creativity and cultural diversity.

The theme for this summer’s festival season “The World in One Place,” doesn’t stray from that winning formula.

Between the Victoria Day long weekend and Thanksgiving there will be more than 20 free festivals and events at the 10-acre waterfront site, which includes several performance stages, patios, parks and galleries.

You can also rent canoes and kayaks on site, or sail away on one of several charter boats that line the waterfront. Visiting boaters can also arrange to dock at one of three marinas for unfettered fun.(Learn more in video below)

The season’s inaugural event caters to the little ones when HarbourKIDS: The Toronto International Circus Festival rides into town for the Victoria Day long weekend.

“There are both performances as well as interactive activities that are family based, so it’s really fun and exciting to see the pro circus performances and then get to try some cool stuff on your own,” said Melanie Fernandez, Harbourfront’s Director of Community and Educational Programmes.

The Canada Day long weekend focuses on live music and dancing.

“We have a four-day festival of activities and it’s all music and dance based and we have everything from the Hidden Cameras to Johnny Clegg and The Airplane Boys and all kinds of social dancing and it’s all free,” Fernandez adds.

All that shaking and grooving is bound to stimulate the appetite and Fernandez says you’ll be able to delve into a vast array of international cuisine at the newly revitalized World Café.

Each week there will be a new set of food vendors from around the world, “so you can take in all the music and dance as well as sample all the culinary options.”

And while the events and food may change from week to week, there’s one constant that keeps luring more than 12 million people to Harbourfront Centre each year — Toronto’s most envied waterfront location.

According to Fernandez, after more than four decades, it’s just getting better.

“We’ve been lucky enough to be part of the first phase of the waterfront redevelopment,” she boasted.

Visitors are already enjoying the expanded public promenade, and a new, wider, boardwalk.

 “Whereas most of the rest of the redevelopment hasn’t happened yet, all the boardwalks have been put in on our site, so it’s very beautiful to spend time with your family and walk the boardwalks.”

Harbourfront Centre’s Summer Season lineup:

HarbourKIDS: The Toronto International Circus Festival (May 19-21)

Harbourfront Centre partners with Zero Gravity Circus to bring you the 10th annual Toronto International Circus Festival, a three-day cultural experience for children and families featuring world-class acrobats, fire masters, jugglers, clowns and more!

NXNE – North by Northeast (June 16-17)

One of the most anticipated music and film festivals in Canada! The 18th annual event will bring some of the world’s most exciting and innovative artists to Harbourfront Centre!

Franco-Fête, Co-produced by la Franco-Fête de Toronto (June 22-24)

For its 30th anniversary, la Franco-Fête de Toronto offers a unique occasion to gather and celebrate the diversity of francophone culture.

TD Toronto Jazz Festival (June 22-30)

One of North America’s premier jazz festivals, TD Toronto Jazz Festival is an event for lovers of music of all kinds.

Canada Day: Going Global presented by CIBC (June 29-July 2)

Canada’s biggest and best four-day birthday celebration features dance, music, culinary arts, comedy, family activities, storytelling, games and film that highlight the contributions of Canadians.

Expressions of Brazil, Co-produced by Southern Mirrors and Puente (July 6-8)

A three-day event showcasing the diversity of Brazilian arts and culture through music, dance, film, cuisine, workshops and family activities.

SoundClash Festival (July 13-15)

Harbourfront Centre’s annual SoundClash Music Award has morphed into a genre-bending music festival that showcases the award’s shortlisted acts, as well as other artists who are pushing the envelope on contemporary music and culture.

Hot & Spicy Food Festival presented by CIBC (July 20-22)

For 15 years, Harbourfront Centre has tempted Toronto’s senses, and this year’s event cranks up the heat as we redefine the intersections between food, music, dance, film and more!

Classical IV: Strings (July 27-29)

Discover how ancient stringed instruments from across the globe can create bold contemporary intersections of sound, with a twist!

Calypso Stars Showcase (July 31)

Experience the sounds, rhythms and cadences of Toronto’s vibrant calypso community! Featuring calypso, steelpan and mas’ (masquerade) – the three core disciplines of Caribbean festivals.

Island Soul presented by CIBC (Aug. 3-6)

Harbourfront Centre’s wildly popular Caribbean festival commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Independence of Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.

Planet IndigenUS, Co-produced by Woodland Cultural Centre (Aug.10-19)

This massive 10-day event, book-ended by two weekend-long celebrations, is the largest multidisciplinary, contemporary, international Indigenous arts festival in the world, celebrating the future while honouring the rich cultural past of the world’s Indigenous peoples.

TELUS TAIWANfest, Co-produced by the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association

(Aug. 24-26)

A three-day culinary arts, music, dance and film fest that sparks a new dialogue on Canada’s multifaceted lifestyles between new immigrants and Canadians who have been here for generations.

Ashkenaz Festival (Aug. 28-Sept. 3)

North America’s premier festival of Jewish and Yiddish culture, featuring the best of the global Jewish culture scene with music, theatre, film, visual arts, literature and more.

Caribbean Tales (Sept. 4-15)

Canada’s one and only forum showcasing the best of Caribbean cinema locally and globally, classic and Creole, digital and celluloid.

Vegetarian Food Fair (Sept. 7-9)

The largest event of its kind in North America offers an unparalleled opportunity to enjoy a diverse cross-section of vegetarian cuisine.

Vietnamese Lantern Festival presented by CIBC, Co-produced by the Vietnamese Women’s Association of Toronto (Sept. 15)

Explore the meaning of the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival through the perspective of the Vietnamese community with a full day of food, entertainment and family activities.

Fortune Cooking presented by CIBC (Sept. 16)

Explore the crossroads of Pan-Asian cuisine and its influence across the globe. Taste the trends, witness the wizardry and savour the sounds!

HarbourKIDS: Folk (Oct. 6-8)

A three-day children’s festival that brings artists, kids and grownups together in a warm, friendly environment, offering endless possibilities for self-expression, cultural exchange, and artistic inspiration.

Season-long Events:

Free Flicks (Wednesdays, July 4-Aug 29)

This summer, explore the theme of the “Rise of the Underdog” through documentary, biographical and cult films. From the steady climb to spectacular falls, the underdog will pick themselves up, dust themselves off and emerge victorious.

Dancing on the Pier (Thursdays, June 28-Aug 30)

The shores of Lake Ontario transform into Toronto’s most scenic ballroom. Live bands, social dance clubs and DJs will have you learning a mixture of dance trends and shared movements from across the world.

Getting There

By TTC: