EVENTS
Ontario Oyster Festival 2009
Rodney's Oyster Bar, 469 King Street West
2:00 PM to 10:00 PM
$30 - call 416.363.8105 to reserve
Clear your dance cards for this year's Ontario Oyster Festival. Join us for competitive oyster shucking, eating and related shenanigans. Ticket includes 2 drinks and 6 oysters or a Sri Lankan curry, with additional food and drink available for purchase. Proceeds to benefit Environmental Defence.
[more info]
Ontario Cherry Taste Workshop
Gilead Café, 4 Gilead Place
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
free - email paul@slowfood.ca to RSVP
Join Slow Food Toronto, Not Far From The Tree and the D. Smith & Son Two Century Farm for a cherry tasting. Enjoy Ontario cherries, learn from an LFP-certified farmer how they are grown sustainably, and discover the delicious fruit grown right here in Toronto. We will taste several varieties of delicious local cherries, fresh and poached, and discuss culinary uses.
[more info]
Mexico: Beyond Your Expectations
Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West
various times
free admission
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. (Final day.)
[more info]
Festival of India
Yonge Street (parade) - Yonge and Queens Quay (festival)
Saturday: 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM - Sunday: 12:00 noon to 5:00 PM
free admission
Feed your Soul at the Festival of India. Experience an uplifting weekend of spiritual awakening, blissful singing, dancing, Vedic knowledge, mantra meditation, yoga and more. Take part in the 3,000 year old tradition of Ratha-Yatra and join the parade down Yonge Street with three colorful chariots amidst rhythmic beats of drums, cymbals, chanting and dancing. Enjoy two days of outstanding culture and arts with dramas, dance, music, yoga demonstrations, a free vegetarian feast and much more. (Final day.)
[more info]
Caribana 2009
various locations
various times
some free events - various prices for other events
Caribana is an exciting cultural explosion of Caribbean music, cuisine, revelry as well as visual and performing arts. In its 42nd year it has become a major international event and the largest cultural festival of its kind in North America. As Carnival is an international cultural phenomenon, the great metropolis of Toronto and its environs will come alive as the city explodes with the pulsating rhythms and melodies of Calypso, Soca, Reggae, Hip Hop, Chutney, Steel Pan and Brass Bands. (Continues to August 2nd.)
[more info]
Food!: Sink Your Teeth Into Science
Ontario Science Centre, 770 Don Mills Road
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
various admission prices
Explore the relationship between food and science in a wide variety of mini-experiments and demonstrations throughout the Centre. Learn how we digest food; how worms digest food - vermicomposting; the misconceptions around eating insects; how butter is made from cream; test your lunch box for it’s cooling effectiveness; learn about rotting foods; understand what your food labels are really saying; test real vs. fake flavours; and much more. (Continues to October 12th.)
[more info]
LUNCHES & DINNERS
Summerlicious
various restaurants
various times
various prices
During Summerlicious, 150 of Toronto's top restaurants offer residents and tourists alike the opportunity to sample a wide variety of diverse and innovative cuisine through prix fixe menus. Foodies can dine for a lot less on the specially created lunches and dinners that come complete with promotional prices. (Final day.)
[more info]
OUT-OF-TOWN
Field Trip to Mapleton's Organics
bus departs/arrives at Broadview Subway Station on Erindale Avenue
10:30 AM to 5:30 PM
$45 for adults - $30 for children 6-12 years - free for children 5 and under
Field Trip is an opportunity for 'city folk' to get out of the city and into the field, to get to know where our food is grown and who is growing it. It's an opportunity for farmers to show and explain how food is grown and raised, and for them to talk with and listen to their urban consumers. It's a way for open dialogue to exist between consumer and producer so that we can all benefit from the growing season and our local agriculture. Each trip is unique with a different focus and objective.
[more info]
Niagara Farm-to-Table Series: Chef Eric Peacock
Château des Charmes, 1025 York Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake
4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
$50 - call 905.262.4219 ext. 26 or email michele@chateaudescharmes.com to reserve
Celebrate Niagara’s freshest bounty, produced locally and brought directly from the farm to your table by pioneering chefs of the Niagara Farm-to-Table movement. Each experience will feature a vineyard walk with Michèle Bosc and discussions with a local food purveyor, culminating in a delectable tasting created by a featured chef and paired with a Château des Charmes wine.
[more info]
MARKETS
Downsview Park Merchants & Farmers Market
Downsview Park, 40 Carl Hall Road
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Goody's Natural Market
beside the Grenadier Restaurant, High Park
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
MyMarket Liberty Village
"Green P" Parking Lot #224, corner of Liberty Street and Atlantic Avenue
9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Square One Farmers Market
Square One Shopping Centre, Northwest Parking Lot (near Zellers), Mississauga
8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
