Story & photos by Excel V. Dyquiangco
Like many other countries, Canada hosts a dazzling array of shows and festivals, especially during the summer time. Toronto in Ontario, in particular, is proud to showcase a variety of rich and cultural festivities that celebrate diversity, and enhance the bonds in the community.
From the contemporary taste of food via the rib festival to an overflowing sparkle of theme parks and fiestas, there is no doubt that indeed this is one of the best places to be.
I am privileged to have attended at least three of these well-known festivals in Ontario and frankly, all of them have its charms that tug the heart. These are celebrations that I definitely want to join over and over again.
Eating ribs
One of the first festivals that I was able to attend was the Scarborough Rib Festival, recognized as the premier summer event in the east end of Toronto. Located in the heart of Scarborough in the beautiful and spacious Thomson Memorial Park, at the corner of Brimley Road and Lawrence Avenue, the festival not only offers great and yummy food for the whole family—especially with the mouth-watering ribs as the main course—but also a weekend event that bridges community relations while providing many other diversions.
The main attraction is the 10 award-winning professional Rib teams from across Canada and the United States, plus 23 other food vendors offering delicious alternatives to ribs, including vegetarian items. There are also booths offering arts and crafts, and other wares. For the children and the young-at-heart, the festival also has 15 carnival rides, such as the all-time favorites; the carousel and the roller coaster.
Other highlights include free entertainment and a concert by local bands like the Colleen and the Bleeding Hearts, the Jazz Group and Rockin Mojos. There’s even an Open Mic Karaoke session for kids and adults.
Celebrating Filipino food and music
After the rib festival, I also got to attend one of the most-prized festivals in the Filipino community. A Taste of Manila is the only Filipino food festival in the Greater Toronto Area. Now on its fifth year, the festival that happens along Bathurst Street corner Wilson Avenue serves as an attraction to experience what the Philippines has to offer not only in terms of food, but as well as entertainment, fashion, music, dances, culture and even the distinct hospitality of the Filipinos. However, the festival’s main draw remains to be the opportunity to feast on sumptuous delicacies such as lumpia, lechon, pancit and halo halo.
This year, Filipino personalities who came to grace the event were Iñigo Pascual, Billy Joe Crawford, Jugs and Teddy of It’s Showtime noontime show.
Attending fiestas, games, and rejoicing the end of summer
A visit to Canada would not be complete without a tour of the Canadian National Exhibition, also called the CNE, or the EX, which runs from August 16 to September 2 every year. This festival signifies the end of summer and the beginning of the academic school year.
Located at the Exhibition Place, a 78-hectare site located along Toronto’s waterfront on the shores of Lake Ontario and just west of downtown Toronto, and with approximately 1.5 million visitors each year, the CNE is Canada’s largest annual fair and the sixth-largest in North America. Initially developed as a way for farmers to promote largely their agriculture and technology wares in Canada, the CNE has grown to reflect other shows and attractions, such as a myriad of shopping areas, exhibits, live entertainment, agricultural displays, sports events, casino and a large carnival with rides, games and food.
Perhaps one of the most extraordinary highlights of this festival is the Legend of the Silk Road, a magical maze of luminous lantern installations that has as its theme legends and myths associated with the ancient Silk Road, a network of trade routes formally established during the Han Dynasty of China.
The International Pavilion showcases products from around the world while the Arts, Crafts and Hobbies Building houses crafts, collectibles and unusual items. The Evercare Centre complex holds the international pavilion, a garden show, the SuperDogs performances, and a sand-sculpting competition, plus an exhibit space used for agricultural or industrial displays and a live stage.
The Food Building, on the other hand, houses a large number of vendors from many different cultures—Indian, Jamaican, Spanish, Mexican, Greek, among others. Meanwhile, the Better Living Centre exhibits champions from the agricultural produce competition, along with a butter-sculpting competition. Some exhibits, such as the cat show are also held only for a few days.
With all of these festivals, one thing is clear, though. Canada indeed celebrates unity and diversity that forge people of different colors to come together and get to know each other’s unique culture and traditions. And I feel so blessed to have been a part of these gatherings.
Image credits: Excel V. Dyquiangco