The Cavalcade of Lights presented by Great Gulf on Saturday, November 30, will mark the official start of the holiday season in Toronto. The event, starting at 7 p.m. at Nathan Phillips Square, will kick off a multi-week celebration of city-wide holiday events and activities.
An annual event for the past 53 years, the Cavalcade of Lights will include the first lighting of Toronto’s 16-metre tall Christmas tree, live music, skating and fireworks. The event will illuminate Nathan Phillips Square under the glitter of more than 525,000 energy-efficient lights and 500 ornaments, sponsored by Toronto Hydro.
Other details/features:
• a pre-show skating party, sponsored by Tim Hortons, with award-winning, Canadian hip-hop icon DJ Mel Boogie at 6:30 p.m.
• Toronto’s original guerrilla-folk party-punk phenomenon, Lemon Bucket Orkestra, on the mainstage, sponsored by Great Gulf
• Nunavut’s radiant young electropop artist, Riit
• Les Oiseaux (The Birds) by les Chasseurs de rêves making magic with lifelike large wooden bird puppets manipulated by stilt-walking knights
• The Queen by Creations in Vivo, an eccentric journey of discovery, freedom and magical movements
• fireworks display from the towers of Toronto City Hall at 9:30 p.m., sponsored by the Toronto Real Estate Board
The City of Toronto is committed to creating an accessible event. Accessible viewing areas and an ASL interpreter will be onsite for all to enjoy this special evening. The complete event schedule is available at https://www.toronto.ca/cavalcade.
Other City-sponsored holiday activities
Beginning of skating season
For the quintessential winter activity, the City encourages people to grab their skates and get out on the ice with family and friends at one of Toronto’s 54 outdoor artificial ice rinks. The skating season starts on November 30. More information (including hours) is available at https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/outdoor-rinks/index.html.
Winter Warm-Up on King Street
Each Saturday (noon to 3 p.m.) from November 23 until December 21, the public can enjoy live music, fun activities, a cozy warming station and more at rotating public parklets along the King Street corridor in the City’s Winter Warm-Up series. The series begins on November 23 (noon to 6 p.m.) at David Pecaut Square parklet with free street curling, collective art making, musical performances, South Asian dance showcase and interactive music-making. More information is available at https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/king-street-events/.
History museums across Toronto
This year, the holiday gaiety continues at the Toronto’s history museums with more than 55 family-friendly events and activities sure to bring out the spirit of the season. Activities focus on food, musical experiences, tours, workshops and more.
The public can participate in hands-on workshops to make holiday season crackers, cards, wreaths, centrepieces or gingerbread houses. The history museums’ holiday programming will also feature a musical adaption of A Christmas Carol, a meet-and-greet with Father Christmas and a Dickens-inspired Christmas feast. The public can explore the Christmas traditions of the past in candlelight or lantern tours at the City’s museums, which will be beautifully decorated for the season.
The full program lineup, as well as details for the events highlighted above, are available at https://www.toronto.ca/holiday. Details are also provided in a Backgrounder under the heading City Events at https://www.toronto.ca/home/media-room/backgrounders-other-resources/.
Quotes:
“Cavalcade of Lights is a 53-year Toronto tradition that brings families together to celebrate the start of the holiday season. This spectacular event includes a great lineup of performances, dazzling fireworks and the lighting of Toronto’s official Christmas tree. I invite everyone to come and join the festivities.”
– Mayor John Tory
“This year, our Toronto history museums are taking residents into the past for family-friendly Yuletide traditions, fun holiday activities and exciting events. I encourage you to take part in their holiday programming to experience the vibrancy of our city’s past, present and future at our history museums.”
– Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson (Councillor Ward 21 Scarborough Centre), Chair of the Economic and Community Development Committee
“Great Gulf is very proud to return as the presenting sponsor of this wonderful Toronto tradition. The 53rd annual Cavalcade of Lights is an incredible event where we join together in the celebration of goodwill and the holiday season, providing an opportunity for Great Gulf to extend a special thank you to the communities we are so privileged to serve.”
– Madeline Zito, Vice President of Public Relations, Great Gulf
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