Festival of India

July 15, 2023

July 16, 2023

Free

Downtown & Toronto Islands, Toronto

Website

Events Description

 

The Festival of India will bring South Asia’s most endearing spiritual culture to the heart of downtown Toronto in a contemporary, exhilarating, and family-friendly fashion. I

Proving that spirituality need not be far removed from society, the Festival of India will bring enchanting rhythms to Yonge Street on Saturday, where thousands of revelers will hand-pull three magnificent 40-foot tall floats in a grand parade. The procession will be accompanied by a fervid menagerie of drumming, singing, and dancing all the way from Dundas Square to Queens Quay. This vibrant parade, traditionally known as Ratha-Yatra, is actually a way of commemorating an age-old tradition of celebratory processions still annually held in the ancient Indian city of Puri, Orissa.

The festival then shifts over to Centre Island for the remainder of the weekend where festival-goers will find a massive, tented outdoor pavilion and multiple vendors and stalls with soul-enlivening music, yoga, meditation workshops, a free vegetarian/vegan feast, a main stage with arts and culture showcase, a South Asian Bazaar, a fun-filled kids area, cooking demonstrations, and more.

On Sunday, bespeaking a rising awareness that yoga isn’t just about form-fitting pants, the Festival of India will present the Annual Yoga Meltdown. Celebrated as a “festival within a festival”, Yoga Meltdown is one of Toronto’s first free, outdoor spiritual yoga exhibitions. This unique event provides all yoga enthusiasts, from the simply curious to hardcore yogis, with a chance to explore yoga in a distinctively holistic way. With free outdoor yoga classes led by yoga studios from across the GTA, vegan cooking demonstrations, mantra meditation seminars and more, this mini-festival promises the public a rare opportunity to unwind and revitalize themselves amidst the splendor of Centre Island.

Who is it for?

All ages – Family

Free

WHEN & WHERE

 
July 15th and 16th, 2023.

Parade
Saturday, July 15 | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Begins at 11 am at Yonge and Asquith, north of Yonge and Bloor near the Toronto Reference Library. follows Yonge St to Queens Quay E, ends at Queens Quay E & Freeland St

Toronto Centre Island
Saturday, July 15 | 12:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Sunday, July 6 | 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

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