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!

I visited the Secret Stories art event happening right now on until Jan 3rd. Saturday and Sunday…read morethere are some vendors but we went during the week to avoid the crowds. SUCH A NEAT EVENT! We loved every minute of it. They have QR codes you can scan to hear the music to accompany the art (so bring your phone). The only room for improvement would be to put the QR codes to the left of the art pieces so you can listen to it while you're passing by the art connected with the music). The artist did such a beautiful job! So many details and it was so neat to see places you have passed a million times made of paper. The kaleidoscopes were very pretty and a fun touch. I highly suggest checking this very covid friendly event out.

This theatre is so lovely. The staff were extremely kind and organized. The theatre itself was…read morereally intimate, and the seating was comfortable. I was blown away by the show that we saw. I will definitely be going back again.

Always a blast at Screemers! The actors are a lot of fun and really do a good job at being spooky…read moreand interactive. The mazes are so detailed and the rides are unlimited. Having a bar and some shows as well is a big bonus. We come every year and will continue to do so!

What an amazing experience at screemers Canada. Haven't been to one of these in awhile, so it was a…read morepleasant surprise. The theme and setup was all very well done. Got there a bit earlier so line ups wasn't bad at all. Overall a beautiful experience!

Adelaide Hall is a nice bar type live music venue in the heart of the entertainment district. The…read moredoors are located on the west side of Duncan just north of Adelaide, and easy to spot with plenty of signage proclaiming that it's the cover band spot to be on the weekends with live music just like the good ole days! The first time I went was for the NYE party bringing in 2024 and the cover band played 2000's era music which was very well done and had the crowd singing along. Even the owner got on stage and was lead singer for many of the era's tunes using his phone for the lyrics. Hokey but awesome too! This kind of place reminds me of the days before the popularity of EDM, house music, and bars charging money to hear recorded music. With a live band there is more of a focal point to the evening and more randomness in the music, which makes it more interesting to dance to. Check this place out if you're in the mood on a weekend and tired of the typical pretentiousness of many of the bars in the area, and get back to basics where people are playing real instruments and have plenty of talent to share with the public.

Went for a show and ended up being assaulted by another patron. Security wouldn't do anything…read more(wouldn't even have the person who assaulted me move away from me) and after venue management said that security couldn't do anything if "they didn't see it", I suggested pulling camera footage (which of course venue management refused to do). At this point I ask the venue manager if in this situation i should call the cops to deal with it, and she said if that's what l'd like to do then do it. So I went outside and called, and they wouldn't let me back inside the venue because of this. So what I've learned is Adelaide Hall security is there for no reason and won't help when someone is assaulted. Police report made. This place has no business being open when they don't value public safety and actually side with aggressors. No reason not to pull footage. Karma has this place on her list, I guarantee it.

My family and I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I was completely blown away by…read morethis magical, creative, show-stopping performance. I had no idea what to expect going in as this was our first time attending a production. The musical was so beautiful and I fell in love with the costumes, music, acting and set. It is akin to a Mirvish production for kids. I came out with a huge smile on my face! I cannot wait to see more performances at this fantastic live theatre venue. What a jewel for Toronto! This is a special place for kids and adults alike.

What a lovely show venue! I visited for the first time to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…read moreon its opening night, and it was fantastic. Young People's Theatre put on a great show and put together a lovely reception with the opportunity to hear from some of the people behind the show. I can't wait to return to see another show they put on and to learn more about some of the behind the scenes magic!

Great experience! Not as scary compared to Canada wonderland hunted experience. Less jump scare but…read moreimpressed with the decorations. Drinks were watered down. No food to try. Fun experience was there.

Legends of Horror is a yearly event in Oct presented by Captain Morgan on the grounds of Casa Loma…read more It started in 2022. The self-guided tour takes 1 to 3 hours to walk through the entire 2 Km trail, considered a "promenade theatre". The event runs from Oct 3 to Nov 2 in 2024, starting at 19:00 until late. A group of us went on 2024-10-04. A few audience members even dressed up in Halloween costumes. The cheapest tickets are $45 (Oct 3 to Oct 17) or $55 (Oct 18 to Nov 2) when purchased online. They don't allow use of flash photography so they will search you bags for flashes. The trail starts at a gate at the north-east corner of Walmer Rd and Davenport Rd. It traverses the grounds and tunnels of Casa Loma. The first portion of the trail has live and undead horror characters/animals that can pop up at any time. They never touch you and you must not touch them. Then you enter a hall where you can purchase drinks and snacks, with a live DJ to entertain you. After that, there is a 3D projection on the exterior of the castle, bringing the characters of the storyline and walls of the castle to life. Then you go through tunnels with fewer live or undead characters. Family hours are available Oct 18 to Nov 2 (17:00 to 18:30). It is for families with younger children, and less dark. There will be no live/undead characters. There are so many characters and animals to scare you. There are different themes like werewolves, Dracula, Stranger Things, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed it. We took 3 hours. Everything was well-done. Alcoholic drinks cost around $9-$20. Outside food or drinks are not allowed The trail is not wheelchair accessible. There are separate male/female washrooms after the refreshments room. There is paid and free neighbourhood street parking and a paid George Brown parking lots. Review 2024-206

We received tickets for Cavalia Odysseo from friends and couldn't pass up a date night downtown…read more The tents are located towards the water, across from the Gardiner. It was difficult to find a path across, but eventually made it a few minutes before the show started. Hint: Take Parliament Street. Parking is $20 if you park in their lot. I believe I saw some who prepaid for $15. If you don't mind a short walk (or a long walk), there's parking nearby for $10-$12. We found a parking spot for $3 near George St and Adelaide St E. Once you walk in, there is a lot of upselling. You can visit the stables for $20 for children and $30 for adults. There are also printed programs for a price. They also have merchandise on sale, but nothing has a price on it. The show itself is pretty cool. I would say the show is 60% horsemanship and 40% acrobatics. Essentially like Cirque de Soliel with horses. It's amazing how well-trained the horses are. They will come to the riders when called upon, usually with a simple outstretched hand. What's more amazing is that they can control over 4 horses at a time. Having said that, though, there were a few occasions where the horses ran off on their own and you can tell that it was unscripted because the riders will run after the horses. It just goes to show you how hard it is to do what they do. The riders do some crazy things, mostly around mounting and dismounting horses while they're running. The acrobats were really great as well. They definitely showed how skilled and how strong they are. There was a lot of jumping, back flipping, standing on shoulders, and balancing on poles and rings. The acrobats were definitely enjoyable to watch with or without horse involvement. We also enjoyed the music, which was played live. From what we can tell, there was a single, guitarist, violinist, and drummer. There may have been more musicians, but we couldn't see them. The musicians were really good. I thought I was listening to a studio recording until I noticed them playing live. Overall the show was really good and if you like horses then this is definitely the show for you. Prices are pretty high, but horses have to eat too! Don't try to switch seats during the show/during intermission because their ushers will come by and yell at you.

I made the mistake of seeing Odysseo without having a particular fondness for horses…read more The acrobatics weren't nearly as excellent as Cirque du Soleil and the main focus of the show was definitely the magnificent horses. If you are interested in these beasts, then you'll have a blast. But, if you are just looking for a fancy show, you are probably better off going to a Cirque performance or maybe catching a broadway show. SPOILERS BELOW: Choreography (of the humans) was often out of sync, and supposedly symmetric formations often had one or two stragglers. On the other hand, the horses were very cute, and their spontaneity provided some of the most endearing moments of the show. A horse stopping by to drink water from the lake was very natural, and although unplanned, it was sweet. Another horse getting lost on the way off the stage was also natural and sweet. Going into Odysseo I expected to, at a minimum, see the classic formation of two riders side by side on a pair of horses with a third balancing on their shoulders. Unfortunately, even this staple of horse acrobatics was not included. Disappointing.

I attended the 2019 edition of VELD this past summer. As someone who is a huge hip-hop music fan, I…read morelove the fact that INK Entertainment is shifting the festival from predominantly EDM acts towards a more diverse group of performers. The two day festival is held at Donsview Park just north of the downtown core, but there are severe limitations to parking and ride shares so public transportation is the most logical method of getting to the festival grounds. However, given that thousands of people enter and exit the festival at the same time, there are long waits for the subways and busses and it can get very hot and sweaty on a summer night. This years acts were great, I saw performances by up and comers like Tyla Yaweh, Jaden Smith, Rich the Kid, Boogie, Loud Luxury, and bigger headliners like Skrillex who put on a magical fireworks display with his high energy set. I was disappointed with the lateness of headliner Cardi B who lived up to her diva personality, but you can hardly blame festival organizers for the actions of the high profile performers. Looking forward to next years line-up. The festival keeps growing and growing every year.

The experience I had wasn't at the festival. It was with the event itself. I used to have cancer…read moreand just completed my treatments and due to this unexpectedly I got a bone problem. Osteoarthrosis on both my hips that prevent me from walking normally. I brought this to the events attention and no one helped me out and I spent so much money on the tickets. I'm truly upset on how heartless and careless they were towards me who was a fan. I emailed them days before the event. I was so devastated and hurt, but became even more heartbroken when no one helped me out. about the tickets for cared about my situation they couldn't even make an exception for people with my situation