Harvest Festival 2006

For myself and many other Torontonians, the end of summer is officially marked by the passing of Harvest Festival. This annual hippie-raver-burner festival is now hosted at Wholearth Farmstudio, located near Cobourg.

This year the ticket price took a bit of a jump, but the money was put to good use. The Toronto based Zero Gravity Circus kicked off the festival with a mesmerizing 'Lunacy Cabaret' of break dancers, acrobatics, jugglers, clowns, comedians, musicians and lots of fire!

Fotograf.416 fotos: here

After the Cabaret came the long standing Harvest Festival tradition of lighting the massive bonfire. The sheer size and heat of this fire is truly astounding, and very helpful in the cold autumn night. This year jubilation nearly turned to tragedy as the pyramid of fire collapsed, nearly landing on a group of people. Luckily no one was hurt, so we can spare the Burning Man jokes.

The rest of the night is a blur of lights and techno that I can't even begin to describe. It's really more something you need to experience. It's all about the energy and the friendliness and openness of the people in attendance.

Sunday was one of the nicest days we've had this September. Many of the festival goers who camped over night, took full advantages of the weather and went swimming at a near by waterfall. It was a wonderfully relaxing way to end a perfect weekend and goodbye to summer.

Fotograf.416 fotos: here