The province and the municipal governments are chipping in $200,000 each to help bring back the Taste of the Danforth, one of Toronto’s most popular street festivals.
Earlier this year, Premier Doug Ford and Mayor Olivia Chow said their governments would help fund the resurrection of the longtime festival celebrating Greek food and culture.
The GreekTown on the Danforth BIA had also confirmed to CityNews at the time that the event was set to return to the city Aug. 7-9.
“Taste of the Danforth is an iconic street festival that attracts visitors from across the city and beyond, generating over 100 million dollars in economic impact,” Premier Doug Ford said in a release on Thursday.
The iconic three-day festival will be returning to city for the first time in three years.
“This festival is one of Toronto’s most beloved summer traditions, bringing people together to celebrate Greek culture, support local businesses, and experience the diversity that makes our city so vibrant. The City of Toronto is proud to partner with the province to support the return of this iconic event and welcome residents and visitors back to the Danforth this August,” Mayor Olivia Chow said in City of Toronto release.
In 2023, BIA officials announced they were cancelling the annual event as of 2024 due to financial pressures and a potential increase of BIA levies to business owners.
The event was cancelled in 2022 due to streetscape challenges, issues adapting to CaféTO patio installations and bike lanes. It was also suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19-related restrictions.
The festival began in 1993 and the organization said past festivals have attracted up to 1.6 million people throughout the weekend the Taste of the Danforth is held.
The City says this year’s event is expected to draw at least one million visitors over the three days.
With files from Nick Westoll, CityNews