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Music, dance, theatre, and performance art headline the cultural calendars in all of Night+Day’s cool cities. We combed through dozens of annual performing arts festivals worldwide, and here are the best of the best.
The Draw: Dancers of all ages show off their soca, mambo, calypso, and jump-up best at the largest Caribbean festival in North America. The Scene: With events at various locations downtown, the weekend-long festival culminates with an annual parade along Lakeshore Boulevard, showing off the King and Queen of Caribana, winners of the annual Steel Band competition, and parade-goers in carnival attire. Attracting people of Caribbean descent from across Canada and the United States, you’ll see revellers proudly displaying flag colors from Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Haiti, and Cuba. Food stalls overflow with spicy Jamaican jerk, T&T–style rotis, and plenty of fruit punch, ginger beer, and Ting to quench your thirst. Hot Tip: Avoid the parade-route crowd crush, and head to De Caribana Lime, on Toronto’s Olympic Island, for Caribbean dancing, music, and food competitions.
The Draw: A wide range of global performers of dance, theatre, and music, with most performances at the lakeside venues of Harbourfront Centre, weekends from June until September. The Scene: Every summer weekend, World Routes celebrates a different global culture, choosing performers from Latin, Asian, Caribbean, Yiddish, and Iranian artistic traditions. Hands-on clinics to learn dance and theatre techniques are available for all ages, and each culture’s crafts, music, and cuisine is featured at the permanent World Marketplace. Hot Tip: Performances are generally free, so plan to be at Harbourfront Centre several hours before a performance so you’re sure to get the best seat at the amphitheatre stage.
Luminato: Toronto Festival of Arts & Creativity June, various venues, 416-368-3100 luminato.com
The Draw: With only two consecutive years under its belt, Luminato has become a showcase for the performing and visual artists with events that encourage partnerships within the artistic community. The Scene: Held in conventional and unconventional performance spaces and galleries for two weeks every June, Luminato’s focus is mixing up different kinds of artistic styles and showcasing the range of multicultural art groups of Toronto. Past festivals have seen performances such as modern dance scored by songwriter Joni Mitchell, a docu-film from director Atom Egoyan, and performers from Muttadi International Drumming Festival. Hot tip: With the myriad offerings during the festival, check out unofficial sources such as Facebook or YouTube to read and see previews of performances.
