Huge Middle Eastern food festival coming to popular Toronto landmark next month

If Toronto is known for one big thing in the summer, it's lively food fests across the city. 

If you need another one to attend, one of the biggest cultural events of the season is back soon. Taste of the Middle East is transforming Nathan Phillips Square into a wonderland of delicious eats from July 4-6, and you won't want to miss it. 

Taste of the Middle East has been going strong for eight years and never disappoints when it comes to the array of food lined up, right in the heart of downtown Toronto. 

The three-day event welcomes over 90,000 visitors annually and features more than 100 vendors offering a range of flavourful experiences. 

The food lineup is representative of diverse Middle Eastern culture, so expect to find food like shawarma, falafel, manakeesh, and so much more.

In addition to the food offerings, prepare for a full entertainment schedule ahead, too, with more than 60 live performances on tap for the weekend. 

Taste of the Middle East first launched back in 2018, when founder Hamsa Diab Farhat wanted to celebrate Middle Eastern culture and make it more accessible to Toronto residents. 

The Lebanese-Canadian entrepreneur and event planner is also the executive director of the Taste of the Middle East Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that promotes Middle Eastern arts and culture throughout the province. 

Farhat said in 2018 that the event is a "beautiful fusion of the delicious food, vibrant dance and energetic music that the Middle Eastern culture is known for."

"We want everyone to experience the feeling of hospitality and the inclusiveness that is at the heart of our culture," she said. "To come together to celebrate each other, to eat good food and to help others while doing so in itself is a truly genuine human experience."

Taste of the Middle East is free to attend and volunteer-run, promoting community and inclusivity, whether you come from the Middle Eastern diaspora or not.