I was very glad to get introduced to this Scarborough hub. This stretch of Lawrence is blessed with…read moremany options for Middle Eastern (Hallal) and Caribbean cuisine. The Taste of Lawrence festival featured some of the local delicacies. I had some skewers of Hawaiian style chicken, slowly grilled over charcoal flame and lightly basted in semi-sweet sauce. A pineapple garnish tied the skewer together. A taco truck was serving better-than-average, authentic tacos. I got a duo of succulent carnita (pulled pork) tacos with fresh corn tortillas, some pico de gallo salsa and a wedge of lime for the perfect citrusy finish. The festival has two stages. We saw a Brazilian drum ensemble accompanied by a dancer looking straight out the festival in Rio. There was a capoeira demonstration afterwards. There are also a handful of rides and concession stands fitting for a street fair.

Lots of fun for kids and food vendors. Variety of food from juice to BBQ's. I ended up buying…read morehalo-halo in FV Foods.

This is our second year going to this festival and my kids love it! The kids area is amazingly set…read moreup and equipped with tons of entertainment and leisure options for kids. The shows, meet and greets, face painting, train rides, all free and the kids love spending hours here. If you have kids, this is definitely a festival you don't want to miss!

We went on Sunday at 4 pm....it closed at 6. We had to pay full entry ($5pp) but it would be free…read moreat 5 pm. We entered and saw some food and merchandise stalls and some entertainment on the stages. There were rides and a petting zoo. Prices were high...large cotton candy for $8, 2 beaver tails for $15. It was not busy as it was almost over and it was becoming cloudy/rainy. It is a great community event and a great way to see neighbours. We missed the bread and honey and parade and races, but it was still a fun time.

If you have ever wanted to experience the Filipino culture all in one place on one day, you need to…read morehead to the corner of Bathurst and Wilson in North York. Parade, carnival rides, freebies, beauty queens, Filipino street food, beautiful handmade crafts, VIPs, and live bands that's what you'll find at the 3rd Annual Taste of Manila. It's THE largest Filipino Festival in Northern America, did I say it's FREE? Crowded, hot and noisy, it's typical of any festival but when you smell the aroma of cooking meats and you see the variety of Filipino street food (okoy, adidas, kwek kwek, siomai, banana cue....), you'll want to dive right in and sample everything. There's never a dull moment with live entertainment all day long with the appearances of VIPs like Rock Band Retrospect, Actors Xian Lim and Vina Morales, Mutya ng Maynila 2016 Hayley Bowdery, Toronto Mayor John Tory, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. There is definitely something for everyone here. Why not a higher rating? I'm Filipino, I know the culture, I'm used to the food and I'm not into rubbing elbows with VIPs. However I did enjoy eating the food, taking pics, riding the ferris wheel (this is a BIG accomplishment for me since I'm afraid of heights), and collecting freebies (pens, fans, bottle water and even a pretty Toronto pin).

This is a great festival! It really has a great vibe - everyone here is having fun, and everyone is…read moreeating and enjoying themselves, and the music is too loud in a good way. Treat yourself to a genuine street festival and check it out.

Disclaimer: I won 2 complimentary tickets from Yelp Toronto Giveaway. So we ended up just paying…read morefor the food. Love the set up and location of Taste of Toronto. This is the first time I ever been to Fort York. Getting there was easy as Streetcar 509 get me right to the entrance. The ground is spacious and I like the white tent like set up giving it an English Garden gallery vibe. I was expecting the worse since I attended the Saturday Evening Session but was pleasantly surprised that the event was well organized and it was not too crowded. Maximum wait for me was less than 10 minutes for anything. Most of the restaurant vendors did have good time management and kudos for all the kitchen staff working so hard keeping us all fed and wait time to the minimum. We ended up trying Little Sister's Pork Belly ($8), Morimoto Toronto's Uni Carbonara with a bottle of S.Pellegrino ($8) and THR's Lobster Grits ($10). Each dish was well presented with good flavours. There are also a lot of free sampling and tasting in various food vendors, For wine tasting, they are going for $1 each or so. Love the different demo. Getting into Master Cooking Classes were impossible with the limited first come first serve openings but watching the cooking class was just as fun. American Express Lounge was a nice touch from AMEX as it has free samples and free bottle water to keep you hydrated. I would come back next year on a nice day to spend a few hours to wander around and sample some food. The longest line being Richmond Station and Drake. I would suggest to skip those as it really was no point spending your time lining up for food.

Contrary to a lot of reviews below, I absolutely loved Taste of Toronto…read more Our group wanted to try a variety of options, so we pooled our money and loaded it on 1 card. Surprisingly, the wait time to try top restaurants were not bad at all. We pretty much got a taste of every dish at every place. By the end of the night, I was holding my magnum ice cream with a big smile on my face. My friends were all struggling to walk and wanting to roll home instead. The main dish that made my night was: Splendido - "True North Atlantic Salmon Sashimi from Atlantic Canada - Avocado, sesame, race cakes." This dish had the "Wow factor." After having a slice, I was in shock. I honestly could not stop talking about how delicious this dish was that night. I had to get a second order immediately. The sauce had the perfect amount of flavor without being too strong to cover the taste of the freshly sliced Salmon Sashimi. The texture from the avocado compliments the tenderness and chewiness of the Sashimi perfectly. Amazing! What I really like about this festival is that you get a taste of the food from top restaurants around Toronto. I will definitely be trying Splendido shortly in the future. I look forward to Taste of Toronto next year and I highly recommend others to join me as well!

It turned out the day I chose to visit was bitterly cold. It was a shame that this dampened the…read moreotherwise good experience. There were various installations located throughout the Distillery District. Make sure you go down all the little alleyways to see everything. As I was about to leave I heard one of the staff informing a visitor that there was going to be a fire show.

This is the third year of this annual festival running Jan and Feb at the Toronto Historic…read moreDistillery District. The lights come on sundown to 9pm/10pm. It features many different artists from around the world. The exhibits are immersive with some that includes participation like this year's Cloud Swing (where people swing under light clouds). Each show piece is very different in theme and they are different over the years. I've been all three years. For some reason, the nights chosen have always been cold (at least my fingers freeze when taking pictures/videos! Luckily there are shops and restaurants you can enter to warm up.

I have been to Illumi several times before and I'm so happy to see some modifications and new…read moredisplays added. I couldn't enjoy my visit as much this time unfortunately as I was not properly dressed for it and hence managed to spend only 30 minutes, however, I still enjoyed their new Arabian nights theme. They've added a beach bonanza which is great for kids. Would love to come back and explore properly. Dress warm! Incredible display of lights and a fun night out! I've been wanting to check out Illumi for a while & would always see the huge tree from afar whenever I drive by. I have been to a few holiday events in the past to see lights but illumi was an event completely magical and different from the other holdiay events I've been to. I gotta say it's probably even the best one. There are different displays, from an European escape (where you can ride the merry go round) to a section with animals, penguins and igloos. I couldn't say which is my favourite as they're all very good. It is kid-friendly as well and there are multiple photo ops opportunities and spots around you can stop for pics. Dress warm. You can also take a break inside where there's lots of seating space and some food options, as well as some merch for sale. The bubble tea (both hot/cold) were really good and the churros were also tasty. I'm not usually a fan of pretzels but I found the ones there tasty as well. Lots of parking space. Organized and many staff around to assist. Bring your cameras/phones with a full charge, a big and warm jacket to enjoy the experience. Give yourself at least 75 minutes or more. Strongly recommend booking online in advance as well for tickets.

Amazing, amazing, amazing. This is the best light display that I have even seen, bar none. They…read morereally do have amazing displays. This place is had to miss as you can the towering animated tree from miles. The tree is about 154 feet tall and made of 44,000 interactive luminous spheres. The place is huge. It spans about 13.8 acres which is equivalent to 10 football fields. There are 20 million bright lights spread between 13 "magical universes": Jurassic Encounter, The Colorful Animal Kingdom (Animals like snakes, elephants, flamingos, zebras and camels), A Kids Paradise, The Crazy Boulevard (a colorful set of houses with lights synced to music), Magic Lanterns (traditional Asian scenery), The Cavalia Horses, The Happiest Farm , The Europa Place, The Scarlet Spiders, The Tunnel of Love, The Infinite Poles (A North Pole/penguin land), and The Land of Frost. The also have a red lighted tunnel, which I liked but my favorite sections were The Crazy Boulevard and Scarlett Spiders. Yes, it is a bit pricey, but they have a lot to offer including free parking. They also have a limited amount of wagons to pull the little ones, that you can check out for free. They were all gone when I got there. I recommend buying your timed ticket online to ensure your time. You can buy it onsite as well, but you may have to wait if your time slot is full. The displays are very interactive. There are either designated spots for you to stand or you will also see lighted dress to pop your head in, lighted snowmobiles glowing benches, and tractors to sit on, and a bunch of animals to climb on and make great photo ops. I am not sure if the animals were intended to be climbed on, but everyone was doing it and and no one was saying anything about it. There are so many photo ops here. I hope you have a lot of memory available on your phone. I would also recommend wearing gloves that you do not have to take off to operate your phone. My hand froze. It was really cold when I visited. I really like that they had a heated snack bar/gift shop, to sit, warm up and get a quick bite. There is also a heat up room and some very warm bathrooms to warm up in as well. While here you can also visit a food truck, purchase hot and or adult beverages. You will find a carousel in the compound. I did not ride it though. We spent about an hour here and could have easily been here longer if it was not so cold. If I lived in Toronto, this would be an annual event for me. I really, really loved this place. If I could give it 6 stars I would. It is only available to view for a brief time around Christmas and I highly recommend checking this place out.

Another food festival to attend to! Pretty nice, there are two sections (one on either side of…read moreharbourfront) with jewellery and food stand vendors. I went on Canada Day weekend and there were Pirate Ships, outdoor games (garden chess, jenga, ping pong), live statues and even a kids obstacle course! The event is not packed, in fact, the vendors were still setting up around 12pm, but it was probably because it was raining that day. The only reason I came here is to try the Teppan Ice cream ($6). They come in 5 flavours (mango, lychee, matcha, taro and oreo) with the choice of chocolate syrup or condensed milk as Topping 1, and peanuts, chocolate or sprinkles as Topping 2. I got the taro ice cream with peanut toppings. First time eating Teppan ice cream (stir fried ice cream that is rolled), it is much thicker than regular ice cream. It is gooey and holds its shape longer; it tastes milky and almost like coconut? Interesting taste; I thought it would be fluffy, but I'd try it again, perhaps a different flavour.

Occurring six non-consecutive weekends until October, Waterfront Artisan Market features a variety…read moreof vendors from "Thai Style Ice Cream" to organic honey to handmade fashion jewelry. Their website is pretty good and lists all the vendors and which weeks they are scheduled to be at the market. Some vendors are there all the weekends but most are just there a few weekends here and there. Much like my review of Celebration Zone during the Pan Am Games, Toronto's waterfront doesn't get utilised as it is done with other major city with lovely waterfronts. Things like this market needs to happen more, no matter the weather. We have a beautiful waterfront and it should definitely be used more.

What can you say? Even without the World Cup and weather that would dampen any spirits, ITALFEST…read morejust kept moving on. Nice! The Yelpers were treated to a break in the weather with a few spots of sprinkles. After a little wait, our festival guide arrived. It was a pleasure to have Mr. Anthony Petrucci - President of Palma Pasta, be our festival representative. Anthony took us around the grounds and introduced us to several places. Let's list them off shall we? First stop...Mario San Francescos Catering. A full service catering service that is 30 years young and still going strong. Anthony introduced us to one of the owners (I believe she was Mrs. Fiore) and she provided us with Veal and Chicken on a bun. Which was greatly appreciated by all. It's always difficult to have hot and fresh food at a venue like this, however, as caterers they obviously have that talent mastered. https://mariosanfran.com/ Then off to Palma Pasta (est. 1985). Anthony is President of Palma Pasta and he is passionate about the food and his people. They cater, have retail products, and operate hot tables and kitchens. Had a sampling of the penne and meatballs. Delicious! https://palmapasta.com/ Ciao from Pizza Nova! Our tour continued to take out pizza. Who doesn't love pizza? I've been going to Pizza Nova since I was "single digit" years old. Not going to tell you how long ago that was! Anthony calls them the best franchise operations, because they really do use the best ingredients. A true testimonial is that his Family Nights have pizza from Pizza Nova. I have to agree. Between the big franchises, Pizza Nova is my favourite. https://pizzanova.com/ Ahhhh...Lemon Heaven! Who hasn't seen some kind of large fruit POS? After having some good food, we need to wash it down. There is something about a nice lemonade. Lemon Heaven uses freshly squeezed lemons. You can have it classic or you can flavour it as well. We all had a serving of their classic lemonade, and I for one was extremely grateful as I was really thirsty! http://www.lemonheaven.com/ Last stop on our food tour...FIRED UP! Fired Up is what they call a backyard grilling company. They operate out of Port Credit/Mississauga. I've seen them a few times when I have done the Stagger of Fame up and down Lakeshore Road. A sampling today was their Ribs and Mac'n'Cheese. The MnC was "Ri-don-culous"-(Guy Fieri) and the Ribs were better than Ribfest. http://www.firedupbbq.com/ Now for some history. I did not know that Mississauga had such deep roots with the Italian community. Being a Toronto boy, it was college street and then up to Woodbridge. That is all I knew. At the heritage part of the tour, we got a lesson on Pier 21. The pier in Halifax that immigrants, coming in by ship, landed in Canada. Anthony's grandfather and father (I believe) came via Pier 21. We had two ladies from Pier 21, now a historical museum, introduce us to their fascinating work. https://pier21.ca/ More information about the Brickyards and the Italian spirit was presented by Heritage Mississauga. Again, the information that they were able to gather about the shaping of the community was wonderful. https://www.heritagemississauga.com/ Thank you very much Yelp for getting me to go on a grey soaking day to get some culture. Personally want to thank Mr. Anthony Petrucci for his time, passion, and great insight into the lives of his community. Well colour me Green/White/Red and let's go again next year! CHEERS!

It was an amazing event despite the heavy rain and T-storm before the start of the food tour…read more Special thanks for Aisa being patient with all of us coming from afar and our tour guide, Anthony, who was the organizer. We started off near the VIP area and headed to On A Bun where we were treated to veal and chicken sandwiches. They were excellent and the owner told her story of her business. Next, we had some awesome pasta with meatballs. We stopped off for some pizza from Pizza Nova for some samples. In the middle, we had some lemonade from a franchise owner that operates during the summer months at festivals. Last, we had some mac n cheese with some ribs. To finish our tour, we heard some history about immigrants coming to Pier 21 in Halifax and also stories of families who settled in Mississauga. It was definitely a good experience.