The Toronto Islands are getting all fired up for the long weekend with an annual festival that’s going to be pretty magical! Kick off the long weekend with a spectacular summer tradition: the Ward’s Island Fire Parade.
Happening for one night only on July 31, the parade is on its 39th year and encourages all Torontonians to participate in this celebration of light.
The lantern-lit parade will wind through the Ward’s Island community all the way to the beach, featuring puppets, stilt walkers, live music and of course, some fire. This longstanding tradition is created by Shadowland Theatre, founded by a collective of Toronto Island artists that now has a studio in Parkdale, and so the week leading up to the parade is a workshops and residency week for visual artists, theatre artists and community members to join in and create their own lanterns, puppets costumes and short puppet and theatre works.
Lantern-making workshops run on Sunday, July 26 from 2–5 p.m. and Tuesday, July 28 from 7–9 p.m., while rehearsals for the parade are happening on Thursday, July 30 from 6:30–8:45 p.m. and Friday, July 31 from 2–5 p.m.
Performers, participants and volunteers should register in advance online!
It all culminates on Friday at 8:30 p.m., when everyone will come together for a dazzling parade. Every year has a different theme, and this year’s is particularly apt. Titled Fight or Flight, the outdoor theatrical extravaganza will follow a story that might sound familiar: Mother Earth is under threat from Big Plans by Big Business; can she protect our waters, parks, wildlife and homes? A recent proposal by Premier Doug Ford about bringing long-haul jets to Toronto Islands’ Billy Bishop Airport might come to mind.
After the spectacle, participants are encouraged to go for swim on the beach, have a picnic and enjoy Ward’s Island. You can get to the island by taking the ferry from Jack Layton Terminal.
For another unique festival happening in Toronto this summer, click here.
