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| - Gotta give props to the Harbourfront Centre for always keeping things interesting, diverse, and FREE!!
I discovered the Harbourfront Centre in high school when I came for the Canada Day celebrations and found out about their summer weekend festivals (e.g. Hot & Spicy Food Fest, Francofete, Iranian Fest, Ritmo y Color, etc.). Always bustling with energy and lots of performances (music, dance, theatre) as well as cooking demos, a market area, crafts for the kiddies, film screenings, art exhibits, etc. Where else would I have the chance to see Indonesian shadow puppets or try a free flamenco class? I have been to some awesome free outdoor concerts here over the years, including Feist, Esthero, K'Naan and Patrick Watson. The programmers and curators here really do a great job.
Most people probably only come here in the summer, but there's also a lot going on year-round. Some things I have checked out included Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations, Vegetarian Food Fest, International Festival of Authors (Douglas Coupland gave a talk about Marshall McLuhan), Ontario Dance Weekend (every January). The skating rink is nice in the winter and on selected Saturdays there's a DJ! Admittedly, it's much quieter (sometimes dead) in the off-season, but it rewards anyone willing to explore.
You can definitely come here and make a day out of it. The gift shop has some great stuff and then there's the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery next door. Food options are the only thing that is a bit weak... There's the nearby Queens Quay Terminal that has a Sobey's, Il Fornello, and Watermark Irish Pub. In the summer, the best thing is to just grab something from one of the stands (e.g. churros!) and have a picnic, possibly on H20 beach.
For free cultural happenings and Canadian content, the Harbourfront Centre can't be beat!
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