| rev:text
| - I'm a big Nuit Blanche fan and have been going every year since it started. Although a lot of people hate it on it, I rather enjoy what it brings it in our city every year.
I did a student exchange in France for a year, and although I think Toronto is the best city in the world, I think something we really lack here (and in North American in general) are events that everyone can enjoy (i.e. events that aren't based on a certain ethnicity or sexual orientation), that are free, and bring people out of their houses and away from their TV/computer screens to socialize with their fellow citizens. It is especially important for young people to have events like this that don't (necessarily) involve drinking. Yes, there were people getting intoxicated, but it was also quite nice to see the streets full of young people after 2am that were doing something other than stumbling home drunk after a night of binge drinking.
Yes there are drunken idiots and people who aren't respectful, and those people should be called out, but that's also part of life. When you have an event that appeals to all different demographics, you're going to get all kinds of people out.
Unfortunately, I do have to say that I was unimpressed by the quality of the exhibits this year. Other than the globe exhibit near Spadina and the maze near the Black Bull, I found most of the exhibits to be uninspiring. I'm not sure if there wasn't enough funding this year or if the artists weren't as good, but the lack in quality compared to previous years was noticeable.
However, when I was getting food and on my way home at 5:30am, it made me smile how full the streets still were, and how happy people seemed to be to just be out and and enjoying their city at this strange hour.
I love Nuit Blanche and am looking forward to next year already.
|