Nearly 12 years ago, a huge swathe of eastern North American went dark during a record-breaking blackout. Instead of descending into madness, Torontonians filled our streets with a sense of community as many joined together to enjoy a night under the stars (you could finally see them from the city).

To commemorate that August 14, 2003 night, Toronto's Lemon Bucket Orkestra is hosting a Blackout Party tomorrow at David Pecaut Square.

With musical performances by local groups including Samba Elegua, Maracatu Mar Aberto and Freeman Dre & the Kitchen Party, the festivities will begin at 9:30 p.m. Lemon Bucket Orkestra is set to play at 10:00. Afterwards, the merrymakers will parade to secret location to continue the celebrations.

While we've faced our fair share of chaotic events (take the 2013 ice storm, for instance) in the past number of years, nothing brought Toronto together like the 2003 blackout.

What do you remember from the 2003 blackout? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Hamish Grant in the blogTO Flickr pool.