I stopped in at the Kensington Festival of Lights on Friday night. I started off with a traditional empanada. (That's just my tradition for when I visit Kensington market.) Finding the action wasn't too difficult. Follow the sound of the drums and look for the pulsing crowd.

I arrived after the parade had already passed. Most people were filling the park, surrounding some action in the centre. I could see people's heads bouncing around. As I wandered around the outside of the circle of people, the action really started to take off in the middle. A fire built up. It got bigger.



The crowd was excited. People were standing on top of a building (a washroom?) on one side of the park. I was really hoping they would not start dancing. They didn't.



I slowly walked to the north side of the park where I was nearly beamed in the head by a kid on a swing. Who's looking for people on swings in a dark park? I'm not complaining though. I liked the fact that every swing was being used, and kids seemed to be having a good time at this event.

As I reached the street, three tall white creatures came gliding by. At the same time, a man was walking down Augusta beating a huge drum to a good beat. The two groups met at the intersection, which led to an impromptu dance session by the stilt-walkers. Very impressive.



Soon afterwards, I found some friends. We stopped in at a crowded cafe for some food, drink and music.

The whole thing was energetic, interesting, colourful, participatory and unpredictable. It was what any good street party strives to be.

Labels: festival, kensington, solstice, toronto