Yesterday was the 26th annual Kensington Market Winter Solstice celebration. It's a real grassroots, no corporate sponsorship event that feels like a neighbourhood party. The streets in Kensington Market close down and it feels like a good segment of Toronto comes out.
There's a parade to a bonfire site, and everyone is welcome to join in with noisemakers, lanterns or whatever.
I arrived early, an hour before the 6:30 PM start. A woman I was talking to was attending with members of a sailing club to take part in the parade but didn't seem to understand the concept. I told her this was the longest night of the year. She said, "Oh yeah? Did it say that on the news?"
Anyway, here are some photos.
Click on the photos to enlarge them.
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| People starting to gather on Augusta St, Kensington Market, Toronto. December 21, 2015. A small booth was selling paper lanterns. |
Crowds were pretty large by 6:30 PM. I usually don't arrive until around then, but being early, I had a good spot on the street this time, and got to understand the "theatrical" flow of the event, the loose narrative, if you will. The crowd gathers, there's a little show, and then a parade that everyone is welcome to join, to a bonfire at a park. We start in darkness and in end in light.
After a crowd had gathered, and at around 6:30 PM, the intersection (the actual intersection, that is, right on the road) of Augusta and Nassau was roped off. A woman announced the start of the event. There was some singing by an indigenous group, with drums, and then "clowns" did some stuff with fire.
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A clown performed some fire breathing on a ladder,
Kensington Market, December 21, 2015. Beginning... |
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| Middle of the fire breathing.... |
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| ...and the thrilling conclusion. |
The bands started playing, and the procession to the bonfire site started.
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| One of the bands at the Kensington Market Solstice Celebration. Not sure if the outfits are supposed to be something, but I like the fake buffalo fur on this guy. Note the size of the crowd. Good fun. Toronto. December 21, 2015. |
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| Again, I'm not sure if these costumes are supposed to be something, but it sure is kind of pretty, and good repurposing of CDs. Kensington Market, Toronto. December 21, 2015. |
Along the procession route, there were all kinds of theatre groups performing and adding to the show.
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| A children's theatre group. Note the people just poking out of their homes. Kensington Market. Toronto. December 21, 2015. |
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| Shadow puppets along the way towards the bonfire site. Kensington Market. Toronto. December 21, 2015. |
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| Giant puppets in the parade, on the way to the bonfire site, on Dundas St W. Toronto. December 21, 2015. |
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| More giant puppets. The Winter Solstice celebration. December 21, 2015. |
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| Near the bonfire site. More playing with fire. I assume its symbolic of the rebirth and return of the sun. Toronto. December 21, 2015. |
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| The bonfire site. Winter solstice celebration. Toronto. December 21, 2015. |
I didn't stick around for the actual bonfire because it was rainy and misty, and being so far from the actual fire, I couldn't see much and I realized it was unlikely I would get taller in the next half hour.
Still a fun event if you're in town for it, and the first time that I had a chance to see more than the tail end of it.
