$400k injection will help bring back 30-year-old Toronto festival

Earlier this year, the organizers of a long-standing Toronto festival that was cancelled following several years of pandemic-related shutdowns announced it would return, and today, both the city and the province announced significant cash injections to support its revival. 

On June 11, the City of Toronto and the Ontario government announced that they are each investing $200,000 to resurrect the Taste of the Danforth, a festival that took over the city’s east-end Greektown neighbourhood annually from 1993 until 2023 (although the festival was cancelled in 2020, 2021 and 2022). 

The announcement comes a few months after Tony Pethakas, the chair of the Greektown on the Danforth business improvement area (BIA), told news outlets that the beloved festival, which celebrates Greek food and culture, will return Aug. 7 to 9 this summer following a funding injection.

Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow previously announced they would fund the festival at an unrelated press conference in February, shortly after Ford surprised reporters by mentioning he missed the event.

“The Taste of the Danforth is an iconic street festival that attracts visitors from across the city and beyond, generating over 100 million dollars in economic impact,” Ford said in a June 11 statement. 

“Our government is proud to invest in the return of this historic festival so families, friends and neighbours can experience the very best of Toronto’s Greektown.”

In a news release, the city said the festival will return to the Danforth and bring “renewed energy, tourism and opportunity to the Greektown neighbourhood” by drawing up to one million visitors over a three-day period. 

In the release, the city said that resurrecting the festival will help drive traffic to local restaurants and retailers, while also boosting hotels and other tourist attractions. 

At its peak, the street festival was considered the largest of its kind in Canada, attracting over 1.6 million people over three days.

Approximately 1.6 kilometres of Danforth Avenue was typically closed, from Broadview Avenue to past Jones Avenue, for the festival. Greek food was the highlight of the event, but the festival also included free entertainment, dance and music.

Despite the festival returning in 2023 following a three-year hiatus driven by COVID, it was subsequently called off in 2024 when the Danforth BIA voted against a nearly 20 per cent increase in member levies necessary to secure festival funding, citing a shortfall in 2023. In 2025, the event was cancelled again because the usual organizer was unavailable. 

In a release, the city said its joint investment with the province reflects a shared commitment to ensuring Toronto’s festival sector, which has struggled post-pandemic, “remains strong and resilient.” 

The city noted that Toronto, which is hosting FIFA World Cup games for the first time this year, typically welcomes up to 300 festivals a year. The events contribute more than $1 billion to the national economy, according to city officials. 

“This festival is one of Toronto’s most beloved summer traditions, bringing people together to celebrate Greek culture, support local businesses, and experience the diversity that makes our city so vibrant,” Chow said in a statement. 

“The City of Toronto is proud to partner with the province to support the return of this iconic event and welcome residents and visitors back to the Danforth this August. Thank you to Minister Cho and the Government of Ontario for their investment in the return of Taste of the Danforth.”

Lead photo: Sikander Iqbal

– with files from Karen Longwell