Trend of called-off Toronto events continues with another big cancellation

Most Toronto residents will (hopefully) have fond memories of all the things they got a chance to experience in the city this summer, especially our staple annual food, culture and music festivals that people look forward to year after year.

But, amid all of this season's goings-on, T.O. has seen a worrying number of event cancellations, culling the list of traditional warm-weather must-do activities down significantly for 2025.

And another was just added to the chopping block.

First, we had the announcement that the city's maple-fueled Sugar Shack TO festival — a late winter happening that had taken place for seven consecutive years along the waterfront — was being suspended.

Usually orchestrated by Water's Edge Festivals and Events in collaboration with Redpath Sugar, this year's iteration was apparently no longer possible thanks to funding constraints — a combination of a decline in sponsorship monies and increased production costs.

A few months later, in May, there were rumours that Kensington Market's infamous Pedestrian Sundays were likewise no longer a go for 2025. The area's BIA swiftly confirmed that at least the first seasonal installment of the much-anticipated monthly street fest would not be taking place.

The organization wrote in a social media post that they were pressing pause to "reimagine Pedestrian Sundays in a way that truly reflects the heart of Kensington — celebrating culture, community, and creativity in a safe and inclusive space."

It also noted ongoing concerns surrounding unpermitted vendors and overall safety, as well as "a shift away from the festival's original spirit. The post garnered 307 likes, but had commenting disabled. (Thankfully, the editions scheduled for later in the summer still carried on.)

Next up came the loss of a far bigger gathering: Taste of the Danforth, which was long considered the biggest street fest in the country, and one of the first major food-focused events in Toronto, having been inaugurated in the early 1990s.

After opting not to host the event in 2022 despite being technically permitted to under COVID guidelines at the time, and then cancelling it full-stop for 2024, the Greektown on the Danforth BIA yet again put off the ginormous party dedicated to Greek food, performances and more last month.

The key reason for shelving things for two years in a row was, apparently — as is the case for many on this list — funding issues, along with struggles planning a street fest around new bike lanes and curbside patios, and other resource insufficiencies.

Toronto's fair woes for 2025 didn't end there, either; just 12 days out from when it was due to take over Markham Road in Scarborough, Toronto's Tamil Fest 2025 was canned, with organizers simply stating on their webpage that they would instead be seeing patrons next year "with renewed energy and celebration."

The revelation came just days after the Taste of the Danforth news, and was closely followed by yet another cancellation, and then another: Oktoberfest and Little Jamaica Festival, both postponed because of, you guessed it, a lack of cash, among other reasons.

The most recent in this long line of unfortunate deferrals of well-attended, once-reliable yearly celebrations is the Geary Art Crawl, which was due to take place over two days later this month, but was recently put on ice as organizers "stepped back."

"The truth is that producing a festival like this, especially without big sponsors, a BIA or corporate backing, is a delicate balance. This year, unstable funding and major park construction along Geary tipped that balance in a way that made September unrealistic," the team informed fans in a recent Instagram post.

In previous years, the art showcase was listed as being funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Department of Heritage and the City of Toronto.

Like Oktoberfest, Tamil Fest, Sugar Shack TO Festival and others, they hope to return in 2026, but in the spring rather than the fall, with a tentative date of March 7-8.

Partly to blame are lower attendance numbers post-pandemic and amid the current economy, along with greater demand for a scarce (and stagnant) pool of government grants and sponsorship opportunities.