People talk about how diverse Toronto is, after all it does have the world’s largest multi-cultural population. I have been to Little Italy, Greek Town and China Town, but rarely do I experience these cultures mixed together at the same time. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Kensington Market, I experienced something I do not see very often…a perfect cross section of Toronto. The streets of the Market were closed off to traffic for Pedestrian Sundays, a street festival in Kensington Market on every last sunday of the month in the summer. How great is this idea?! Kensington is already alive with culture, so why not shut down the streets, throw in some live drumming, accoustic guitar performances, a giant scrabble game, culinary treats from local vendors and a fashion show.

Every ethnic culture was represented. Babies in strollers mixed with belly dancers, while young girls danced to calypso music and a three-year old boy enjoyed a live band performance. 

I always thought that even though we are a diverse city that different cultures only celebrated their own heritage in their part of the city, like Corso Italia or Taste of the Danforth. This however was truly a tossed salad of many different cultures coming together to enjoy a beautiful day in downtown Toronto. That’s what I think makes Toronto so great, is that everyone can get along peacefully, when we are celebrating different cultures at one time.