Popular Toronto street festival was 'literal hell' this weekend
There was a whole lot of pushing and shoving on the streets of Toronto this past weekend, which left many Do West Fest attendees extremely disappointed.
The massive pedestrian-only affair takes place every year on Dundas Street West, shutting down 16 blocks from Shaw Street to Lansdowne Avenue, and is, unofficially, Toronto's annual summer kick-off festival. This year was no different, with the three-day event taking place from June 5 to 7.
But what was expected to be a weekend-long celebration of music, food, and the arts in Toronto's Little Portugal suddenly turned into an onslaught of treacherous crowds late Saturday night.
Festival-goers quickly took to social media, claiming the Saturday night festivities — which have been known over the years to evolve into one giant block party — were poorly organized and nearly threatened public safety.
One Toronto resident documented her experience on Instagram Reels, saying, "Tonight was weird. I did not expect Do West Fest to be like that." She added that the overcrowding was so severe that people could barely move.
Other users quickly flooded the comments section with their own experiences. "Sooo bad this year! It's usually my favourite festival too," someone wrote. Another expressed their distaste, writing, "It was brutal. Packed like sardines and literally no room to walk anywhere. Truly unsafe. Crowd was outta control. Trash piled up everywhere."
blogTO reached out to the organizers of Do West Fest for comment, but have not received a response at the time of publication. They did, however, put out an official announcement to defend Saturday night's debacle.
Organizers stated that attendance was expected to exceed one million guests this past weekend, thanks to increased word of mouth, and because of that, they "worked closely with multiple city divisions, including Toronto Police. Our request for paid duty officers was nearly doubled from last year, to assist with traffic management, crowd control, and public safety."
Despite these extra measures, organizers say that with "many large events happening this weekend and in the coming weeks, this year police resources were stretched thin, and our request was underfulfilled."
I guess this explains the overwhelmingly negative response to the event.
As more footage of the crowded streets went viral (including a fight that broke out), many Toronto residents thanked their lucky stars that they decided to stay home.
"Yeah, glad I stayed home and had a cup of tea and some biscuits and watch Love Island instead," one user commented, while another wrote, "If you asked me to describe literal hell."
If online claims are anything to go by, Saturday's programming appears to have been cut short due to overcrowding. Someone who worked Do West Fest that night wrote on Instagram that they staffed one of the booths, but "it got shut down early because of the madness."
The user claims that it was extremely difficult for staff to navigate through the event and that "a medical evacuation had to happen, and people wouldn't get out of the way. I've been to this several years in a row, and I've never seen it as bonkers as it was last night. "
And Instagram wasn't the only platform where dishevelled attendees aired their grievances. There was also an outpouring of disappointment on Reddit, too.
One Reddit user described the crowd crush as "scary," noting that "it could have easily gone badly. I hope there is better crowd control next year since this event is only getting more popular."
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by u/LynxMoney8388 from discussion
in toronto
Another user blamed infrastructure and city development for the poor execution of the event, calling for more entertainment-focused venues across Toronto: "I think this is all about the poor city design and centralization of events. We need more places in the city for entertainment and more variety. We pretty much have the old system of 'pile everything downtown.' It's not tenable as the population grows."
Those spearheading the festival have ensured that the Events Committee "is already evaluating this year's event and discussing adjustments for 2027," and is considering changes to the event's operating hours and sound management, on top of improving the overall experience for everyone involved.
Nonetheless, the chaotic scenes have also left some Toronto residents wondering whether the city is prepared for an even busier summer ahead.
As the city gears up to welcome massive crowds for major events, including matches and activations tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, some attendees viewed Do West Fest as a less-than-ideal preview of what's to come. "Just wait till next week when the World Cup starts. Not sure Toronto is ready," one resident wrote on Instagram.
Despite the backlash, some supporters have come to the festival's defence, arguing that this is normal for an event of this scale and that attendees should be prepared for large crowds. Fans have also reiterated that Do West Fest is always bursting at the seams at night, with Sundays generally being quieter in comparison.
It'll be interesting to see how Do West Fest evolves next year.
@shacquanm
