Toronto festivals will run as planned this weekend as air quality improves
The organizers of two Toronto street festivals set for this weekend say they're now running events as planned due to air quality improving.
Environment Canada lifted its special air quality statement for the city Friday morning, after it had been in place since Tuesday.
The Little Portugal Business Improvement Area told CBC Toronto Friday in a statement that as "the weekend's forecast maximum is for moderate risk and the festival will move forward as planned."
The weather agency predicts a moderate risk to health on Saturday, meaning that people don't need to cancel outdoor activities but monitor for any signs of illness.
The organizers of another street festival set for this weekend say it will look to Toronto Public Health for guidance on any cautionary measures that may be required.
But as of Thursday, the Lakeshore Village BIA's Grilled Cheese Challenge was slated to go ahead Saturday as planned.
Smoke should be pushed north Sunday
CBC's senior meteorologist, Johanna Wagstaffe, said Thursday that people should expect air quality to remain poor until a new weather system arrives in the region Sunday into Monday, bringing rain and winds that should push smoke north.
AnaBela Taborda, the chair of the Little Portugal BIA, says she's praying Mother Nature is on their side.
"This is not an easy thing to plan," she said. Because the festival is supposed to shut down Dundas Street West from Shaw Street to Lansdowne Avenue from midday Friday to midnight Sunday, she added, "We can't just say, 'Well, we'll do it the following weekend.'"
Do West Fest expanding
For those interested in attending, this summer marks the 10th year of Do West. And this year, the festival has expanded, ending at Shaw Street instead of Ossington Avenue, as it has in past years.
The extra space will be used to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Portuguese immigration to Canada, she says.
"There'll be Portuguese food, Portuguese music, Portuguese everything," she said.
The festival will also include the unveiling of a new artwork by the Portuguese artist Artur Bordalo who goes by Bordalo II, who uses discarded material to create sculptures that draw attention to the need for environmental stewardship.
Taborda says it's a coincidence that may now coincide with poor air quality in the city driven by wildfires. An Environment Canada meteorologist told CBC News with climate change, fire activity will likely increase.
"I think it is important that we do reconsider our consumerism and the surrounding pollution," Taborda said.
A battle of grilled cheese
Further west in the city, the Lakeshore Village BIA will be hosting what co-ordinator Meghan Mesheau calls "the cheesiest festival in town." That festival will close Lake Shore Boulevard West from Saturday at 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. on Sunday.
The street festival sees different restaurants and private citizens fill the streets with unique takes on the classic sandwiches. Each competitor gets their own tent, tables and power source to create their concoction.
Then, a panel of judges samples them all to choose a winner.
Mesheau says creations have ranged from brie and apple sandwiches to ones filled with Kraft Dinner.
"It's such a beloved thing. It's hard to find someone that doesn't like a grilled cheese sandwich," she said.
