This weekend, the TTC was packed to the gills (a la rush hour) with over 1 million locals and visitors trooping down (or up as the case may be) to Toronto’s annual Greek Town street festival, Taste of the Danforth. The lively crowd chowed down, beer tented it up, ferris-wheeled their brains out, and sweat profusely down the Danforth from Broadview Ave. all the way to Pape Ave.

As a first-time Taste of the Danforth-goer, I was surprised to find that the famed Greek-themed fiesta was so much more than delicious Mediterranean food (although, don’t worry, I did indulge in abundance!) There were games, rides, haunted houses, circus acts, and all sorts of shops and performers (some that seemed to have very loose links to Greek culture eg. man in Storm Trooper costume).

Whether you left this weekend’s street festival with a sunglass tan on Saturday (oops), or soaking wet shoes on Sunday (boo), you more than likely got your fill of fun, food, and Opa! Here are my top 5 fave Taste of the Danforth moments, and my top 5 not-so-fab moments…

THUMBS UP

1. Cheese and potato perogies (not Greek, don’t care)
2. 10-year-old boy getting brightly-coloured hair extensions
3. Sweet, buttery corn on the cob
4. Ferris wheel ridin’
5. Astoria chicken kebab

THUMBS DOWN

1. A severe lack of Greek music (or music of any kind)
2. Apocalyptic humidity
3. Only actually saw one person giving out food samples when the subway ads read “LOADS and LOADS of free samples”…um, no.
4. Woman in her third trimester working haunted house in long, black, velvet dress in 30-degree heat. Fail.
5. Relegating beer (or ouzo) drinkers to restricted areas sucked any true Euro-feel right out of the day. Ontario laws. I know. I get it.

~ Ali Maldoff