WinterCity Festival 2008
Toronto Kicks Off a 14-Day Celebration of Big City Fun
Toronto's WinterCity Festival 2008 kicked off this weekend for 14 days of winter celebrations and big city fun.
Toronto’s winter festival, WinterCity, kicked off on January 25 and runs until February 7, 2008. Now in its fifth year, the Ontario capital better known as the financial engine of Canada, heats up winter with the WOW! Series at Nathan Phillips Square, Warm Up Series at many Toronto attractions and Winterlicious at Toronto Restaurants.
Toronto's celebration of culture, creativity and cuisine boasts so many things to do during the event, WinterCity 2008 is essentially three exciting winter festivals rolled into one.
WOW! Series at Nathan Phillips Square
In the shadow of City Hall, Nathan Phillips Square transforms each weekend, during the WOW! Series of WinterCity 2008, into an outdoor entertainment venue. Enjoy free concerts every weekend from up and coming Canadian bands, Tokyo Police Club and The Weakerthans, and a musical journey with Alice in Wonderland by Netherlands' Theater Gajes who perform this enchanting rendition of the beloved story on stilts.
After the performance prepare to be dazzled by the Nights of Fire. France’s acclaimed fire art troupe, Cie Carabosse, chose Toronto as their North American debut. Just after sunset, watch as Cie Carabosse sets Nathan Phillips Square ablaze with their unique sculptures of metal, clay and fire. The show takes about three hours to complete as each clay pot is individually lit. Once all pots are afire, 1500 burn in unison, transforming the square into one blazing winter setting.
Warm Up Series at Toronto Attractions
When you can’t bear the cold any longer, head inside for world class performances and enjoy special discounts during WinterCity at some of Toronto’s famous attractions including The Bata Shoe Museum, Casa Loma, The CN Tower, the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Ontario Science Centre among others.
On Sunday, February 3, 2008 bring the kids to the Bunch Family Dance Party at CiRCA and dance it up between 2 and 5 p.m. For all those budding DJs, groove over to the “Mix, Match & Scratch” Seminar at Scratch Lab DJ Institute on Thursday January 31 between 5 and 6 p.m and learn how to become a top notch DJ.
Winterlicious at Toronto Restaurants
Take time to dine in style during WinterCity’s Winterlicious, a great Toronto tradition, now in its sixth year. Winterlicious participating restaurants, a total of 130 scattered throughout the city, offer diners a chance to experience some of their finest dishes at attractive prices. Lunch in the prix fixe categories costs $15 or $20 Canadian and dinner costs only $25 or $35 Canadian per person plus taxes and gratuity. For details on restaurants and menus check out the Winterlicious website.
Other Canadian Winter Festivals
Winter gets a little warmer this year during Toronto’s WinterCity festival as well as in many other Canadian cities such as Quebec City’s famous Quebec Winter Carnival, Winnipeg’s Festival du Voyageur, Ottawa’s Winterlude and in Montreal, the High Lights Festival.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
