September, 2005 - Nr. 9
Dick reports...
Ethnic Festivities Galore
Multiculturalism is alive and well in this Mega Metropolis we call Toronto. This is being demonstrated time and time again every year. Since we are building bridges to the other ethnic communities – from our German heritage base – we walk those bridges and showcase other groups in our multicultural community.
In the last issue we covered the Caribana festivities in some detail, with its roots and many wonderful pictures on our website. But the beat goes on with another annual event! This time it is the 12th anniversary of the three-day event known as "The Taste of the Danforth".
Over 12 years ago the president of Krinos Foods had a vision, a concept modeled after the enormously successful ‘Taste of Chicago’ to celebrate Hellenic cuisine and Hellenic culture. He decreed that Krinos Foods would be the sponsor for the next five years - he has stayed with it and Krinos is a big part of this year’s 12th anniversary.
It
started small, with about 5,000 visitors attending in 1994 and had grown to
100,000 attendees in 1995 and to 500,000 by 1996. The Olympic celebrations
last ye
ar
also drew a large crowd.
Going east along the closed Danforth – between Broadview and
Donlands – it was a ‘Volkfest’ dominated by samples of the rich cultural
Greek heritage. About 80 restaurants are participating this year
and
are offering an assorted mix of fabulous "tastes" mostly from tables outside
of their establishments. The emphasis, this year, being a celebration of the
Mediterranean diet and healthy living.
Toronto’s
Greektown – the largest in North America – is a great place to learn about
the Mediterranean diet with the many vegetables, grains, legumes and olive
oil, herbs such as garlic, that are all considered good for you, especially
when combined with the low saturated fat and light-on-meat style of
traditional Hellenic cuisine.
Combining
the ingredients in exciting ways is what a good chef does and the chefs on
the Danforth were tempting visitors with the best they have to offer.
Three stages along the route offered various entertainments from bands and soloists such as Galaxy, Tomi Swick, Liam Titcomb, the TSO Brass Quintet, Band of the Naval Reserve, First Generation, Exodus and many others entertaining from classical Greek to Cuban and other Latin musical selections.
The
beer gardens offered Amstel – the #1 beer in Greece, Heineken and Ouzo, of
course. If you wanted something a little stronger SKYYVODKA – was
offered in various cocktail configurations in a tent and fenced-off seating
area in the middle of the street.
For the young visitors there was a children’s ‘Midway’ with various types of suitable entertainments and even a large (mobile) wall to climb on.
It is the Year 4703…
…and the year of the rooster, according to the ancient Chinese calendar. "Kung Hei Fat Choi" – Prosperity to all! (I am a horse!)
The New Year’s Celebration took place at the Automotive Building on February 4 – 6 this year, but the street festival on Spadina was a recent event – and the next on my agenda.
South
from College Street - for almost four blocks - on the west side of the
street – I was immersed in all things ‘Asian’. It was like a magical tour of
the Orient!
Food
vendors were everywhere and delicious smells of culinary masterpieces
permeated the air from all those barbeque-type ovens in the many tents
sitting on the street.
Bubble
Tea, Tung Tung Egg Rolls, Dragon Beard Candy, dumplings, Korean BBQ, dim
sum, Japanese fish cakes, coconut milk and many, many more mouth-waterin
g
treats were on hand.
But it was not only food items that were presented to the
many visitors to this fourth festival in Toronto’s most prominent
‘Chinatown’. Great
deals
of wonderful fashions plus arts & craft items were available also, some at
almost unbelievably low prices.
You could also get a series of Shiatsu and similar massages - or have your
nails done - in one of the
tents
in the area.
One of the main attractions for the youngsters among the crowd was Scott – from the Zero Gravity Circus – who made magical items from balloons such as animals, headwear, swords etc. to the great delight of his young admirers.
Some
of the entertainment offered were lion and dragon dances, martial arts,
Cantonese opera, youth bands, traditional Chinese music and more.
This
was a celebration of not only Chinese culture and heritage, but it also
included other Asian communities that are thriving as part of the
Spadina-Dundas ‘Chinatown’ experience.
How to visit the Ukraine…
…without leaving Toronto? Easy! You visit Bloor West Village when the annual Ukrainian Festival is being celebrated and join the revellers.
The Parade
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It all starts on Friday – at 6:00 pm and lasts till Sunday evening at 5:00 pm. A vibrant parade, from High Park to the ‘Village’, starts at 11:00 am on Saturday morning and lasts about one hour. This year the Parade Marshal was the Right Honourable John Turner that was leading the many marching bands and ethnic cultural associations in this colourful exhibition. One thing that could not be overlooked was the fact that many, many youngsters were included in this exhibition of Multiculturalism.
The
mandate of the "Bloor West Village Ukrainian Festival Organizing Committee"
is to offer the largest celebration of Ukrainian spirit in the world –
showcasing the best of Ukrainian arts and culture by: Providing an
entertainment experience for the whole family, introducing Ukrainian culture
to the general p
ublic,
creating a tourist attraction that benefits the ‘Village and developing a
strong network of volunteers for the community at large. Which also made
this the largest outdoor Ukrainian Festival in North America for over
300,000 visitors – with many wearing traditional and colourful Ukrainian
dresses and most of the youngsters still speaking Ukrainian. You could see
that they were proud of their heritage!
The organizers did a wonderful job and the many volunteers - with their very visible orange shirts - were all over the area coordinating and helping where needed.
Saturday morning started with the traditional free pancake breakfast for the first 1,000 ‘early birds’. It didn’t take long to finish them off.
More excellent food services offered the traditional Ukrainian fares of Kobasky sausages, Perogies (Varenyky), braised cabbage (Kabusta), cabbage rolls (Holubtsi), Patichok and more.
For
the thirsty visitor introductions to the tasty beers such as Slavutich and
Lvivske, Krimsekt (Sparkling Wine) and Vodkas from the Ukraine were
available in bars tents along the way.
The many vendor kiosks and information booths allowed the guests to soak up some of the rich culture and heritage of the Ukrainian community. Since the Ukraine made the transition from a centrally planned economy into a market-driven one, many excellent products are now being imported from the Ukraine.
Of course, there were the traditional dolls-in-dolls, painted eggs, ceramics and wonderful pottery, clothing, books, paintings and much more – especially at the UkieStore kiosk.
Entertainment
was provided continually on the main stage with dance ensembles and
musicians such as Victor Mishalov on the ‘Bandura’, this wonderful 65-string
instrument that doesn’t know whether it is a zither, a guitar or a bal
alaika,
with a very unique sound that is like no other instrument of this ilk. On
the ‘Youth Stage’ something new happened a
lmost
every 15 minutes, drawing a rapt audience.
Some
of the talents entertaining the visitors were almost ‘out of this world’
with electrifying and often gravity defying dance moves of the various dance
ensembles on the Main Stage.
Many businesses along Bloor Street – between Jane and Runnymede – took advantage of the many visitors strolling by to get some business for themselves as well.
At the southern end of the festival area was a children’s ‘Midway’ with suitable rides and games of skill for the youngsters.
On the following Labour Day weekend the festivities were
continued at the Harbourfront in Toronto. Many of the same vendors and
artists were available again p
lus
cooking and baking demos (Paska) with audience participation – including
‘Borscht’.
‘Hands-on’ Pysanky – Easter Egg Painting – kept the youngsters busy in the ‘Kids Zone Tent’ trying to decorate their own eggs.
The ‘Scythian’ Band entertained hundreds with an impressive performance at the CIBC Stage that had the audience clapping along and dancing in the isles. Well-known Russian tunes, Irish jigs, country & blue grass - even ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. The audience went wild.
Excellent entertainment also by Vika Vasilevich, Zaharava Band, Metelysia Vocal Ensemble, Ruta, Vatra Dance Group, Ephyra Band and many others.
Well, ‘Multiculturalism’ still works in Toronto and many people are working on keeping it that way. As I mentioned last year already: It is an event worth emulating by some of the other ethnic groups as well!
As always,
Dick Altermann
Comments to: dick@echoworld.com
