One sure sign of summer in Toronto is the annual Taste of Little Italy festival that takes place at the end of June. This is one of several downtown Toronto neighbourhood festivals that Torontonians and tourists look forward to every year; other popular festivals include:
- Pride Toronto (June)
- Beaches Jazz Festival (July)
- Taste of the Danforth (August)
- Caribana (August)
- and now also the Dundas West Fest (early June).
Sometimes all the road closures and general disruptions can be annoying to downtown dwellers (like me!), but these festivals really foster Toronto’s amazing cultural diversity. Plus there’s always delicious food!
Back to the Taste of Little Italy, which takes places along College St. between Bathurst and Shaw. This area is still known as Little Italy, even though many of the original Italian businesses and residents have moved North to Woodbridge and other neighbourhoods. I live in Little Italy, so I decided to take a little stroll to the festival with my two little girls. We stopped to listen to live music, watched some carnival games, and ate a bunch of ice cream and other food. Unfortunately the bouncy castles weren’t inflated. A great family afternoon in Little Italy!
I snapped a few highlights below. I forgot to take a picture of my 4 year-old daughter with melted popsicle all over her dress. A sure sign of summer! 🙂