Harbourfront Centre takes audiences on a free world tour in just 69 days this summer with 10 World Routes weekend festivals, from Canada Day through Labour Day. From Nigeria to Mexico and Taiwan to the Caribbean and South Asia, these festivals present top Canadian and International artists in music, food, dance, visual arts and film. World Routes will also feature Indigenous artists from around the globe at the largest Indigenous art festival in the world - Planet IndigenUs. World Routes, presented by RBC, events are experienced by more than two million visitors each summer - making it one of Toronto's top destinations.

All events are FREE and suitable for all ages. Visitors can also shop and eat at the International Marketplace and at The World Café nestled alongside an extensive waterfront boardwalk. More summer events like Summer Music in the Garden and Franco-Fête are also listed below. Harbourfront Centre is located at 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, Canada. For more information the public can call 416-973-4000 or visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com.

World Routes Events Include:

Canada Day (July 1)
In the spirit of history and family, this festival celebrates what Canada has to offer with live music and family events from noon until midnight.

This year Amnesty International celebrates the culture of Canada's refugee communities with performances and exhibits.

The Hot Spot (July 3 to July 5)
This new festival explores culturally innovative trends from around the world with hot Nigerian music and much more.


Beats, Breaks & Culture (July 10 to July 12)
Presented by NOW Magazine
The sixth edition of one of North America's top electronic music and culture festivals plugs into powerful currents of urban dance and modern musical expression.


Mexico: Beyond Your Expectations (July 17 to July 19)
In the 100 years since the Revolution, and in the 200 years of the Independence, Mexico has emerged as a fertile crossroads of North and South American culture with its own ancient and renewed identity. Mexico's artistic vitality is celebrated at this new festival with a contemporary multidisciplinary showcase of the country's numerous regions and traditions.


Canadian Voices (July 24 to July 26)
Canada has a rich history producing some of the world's best singer-songwriters. This new festival highlights emerging Folk, Hip-Hop and Rock musicians.


Island Soul (July 31 to August 3)
A kaleidoscope of Pan-Caribbean culture represented through food demonstrations, dance and music from renowned Reggae, Creole and Calypso artists.


Zaika: A South Asian Food Festival
(August 7 to August 9)
Coproduced with The Weekly Voice
Experience the diversity and regional specialties in South Asian cuisine today alongside the song, dance and films that make South Asian culture a sensory delight.


Planet IndigenUs (August 14 to August 23)
Coproduced with the Woodland Cultural Centre
The planet's largest contemporary Indigenous arts festival features exhibitions and events at organizations across Toronto and Brantford all summer long - culminating with two weekends of music, film and performing arts events by international and Canadian artists at Harbourfront Centre (August 14 to 16 and August 21 to 23).

TELUS TAIWANfest: A New Journey
(August 28 to August 30)
Explore the evolving Taiwanese concept of marriage through multicultural and cross-generational perspectives. Artists directly from Taiwan and Canadian artists of Taiwanese heritage are showcased in music, visual arts, culinary arts and fashion events.

Hot and Spicy Food Festival
(September 4 to September 7)
Presented by NOW Magazine
The 12th edition of this festival features local and international chefs dishing up hot, sweet and spicy cuisine in demonstrations and workshops.
Live music and dance enrich the smorgasbord of events which include the International Iron Chef Competition, the Red Hot Market and Toronto International Firefighter calendar chefs!

More Summer 2009 Events
at Harbourfront Centre:

Franco-Fête 2009 (June 19-21)
Discover the passion, emotion and joie de vivre of French Canada at the 28th annual Franco-Fête, Toronto’s one and only French music and culture festival. This three-day event celebrates Canada’s rich and diverse francophone heritage featuring an incredible line-up of artists and an array of activities the whole family can enjoy.


The Power Plant at Harbourfront Centre - Universal Code (June 13 to August 30)
This summer, Universal Code charts responses of contemporary artists to ideas of the universal. The artists in Universal Code explore the intricate relationships between our evolving understanding of the cosmos, scientific and biological knowledge, cultural belief systems and global power relations. Curated by Gregory Burke, director of The Power Plant, Universal Code coincides with the international year of astronomy, and will feature works by respected international artists which include: Gabriel Orozco, Cerith Wyn Evans, Henrik Hakannson, Michael Snow, Mircea Cantor and many others.


York Quay Centre Visual Arts
(June 27 to September 13)
Planet IndigenUs exhibitions ALTERNATION and Shaping Stories showcase innovative aboriginal visual arts in multiple mediums. For ALTERNATION, curator Ryan Rice (Mohawk, AB) brings together artists from across Canada and the US to explore thematic shifts in traditional and contemporary Indigenous cultures and societies in photography, video and mixed.

Participating artists: Terrance Houle (Blackfoot, AB), Hannah Claus (Mohawk, QC), Tom Jones (Ho Chunk, US), Mark Igloliorte (Inuk, QC), George Littlechild (Plains Cree, BC), and Jewel Shaw (Cree, AB). Shaping Stories features works by Michael D. Massie; an artist of Inuit, Metis and Scottish heritage who combines traditional Inuit imagery with Western art influences and techniques to produce contemporary works in silver, stone and wood.

Known for stunning teapots, his work has been shown in North America and Europe, including the National Gallery of Canada. Shaping Stories is copresented with the Spirit Wrestler Gallery (BC).


Summer Music in the Garden
(June 28 to September 20)
The Toronto Music Garden celebrates its 10th anniversary of outstanding free performances in a unique setting, and popular garden tours. Stay tuned for the full announcement of the 2009 Summer Music in the Garden concert season!

Summer Music in the Garden returns to the Toronto Music Garden with a new season of free classical music and dance all summer long! Summer Music in the Garden showcases an eclectic array of music and dance performances that complement the beauty and calm of the Toronto Music Garden, and the music of composer Johann Sebastian Bach that inspired it. Summer Music in the Garden presents over 20 free outdoor concerts and dance performances over the course of the summer, taking place on Thursday evenings at 7pm and on most Sundays at 4pm. The popular 45-minute free guided garden tours led by volunteers from the Toronto Botanical Garden return for another season, taking place on Wednesdays at 11 am from June 3 to September 30, and on Thursdays before every concert at 5:30 pm from July 2 to September 10.

Self-guided 70-minute audio tours (English only) hosted by Yo-Yo Ma and Julie Moir Messervy are also available for a rental fee of $5 (free rentals for children.) Admission to the park and all its programming is free. The programmes that take place in the Toronto Music Garden are produced by Harbourfront Centre in partnership with City of Toronto Department of Parks, Forestry and Recreation. Summer Music in the Garden is curated for Harbourfront Centre by Artistic Director, Tamara Bernstein, and made possible through the generosity of Parks, Forestry and Recreation, Toronto Culture, and Margaret and Jim Fleck. The Toronto Music Garden is a City of Toronto park, located on the city’s waterfront at 475 Queens Quay West (water’s edge side), between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue. It is wheelchair-accessible and open year-round.