Danforth festival treats the senses

[attach]4559[/attach]Greek folk music blasts from a nearby speaker. Large hungry crowds flow slowly from one vendor to another. Lamb simmered in garlic roasts on charcoal grillers.

Welcome to Taste of the Danforth.

“This … event attracts visitors from all over,” said Faiza Ansari, the Director of Operations for the Greektown on the Danforth BIA/Taste of the Danforth. “You get to be Greek for a day and experience a different culture.”

The event, which will be held Aug. 5–7, raked in $30 million for local businesses last year and was attended by 1.2 million people.

“We are expecting the same if not higher results, provided the weather is sunny,” she said.

The rain hasn’t deterred people from flocking to this annual event in the past. In 2009, the festival faced a double whammy. It rained and the city was threatened with a garbage strike. Despite these potential problems, the event still managed to attract one million visitors. Ansari said the festival’s multi-faceted activities are one of the many reasons people are attracted to it.

While the festival offers many traditional Greek dishes, revellers are not limited to Greek food only. Participants can sample dishes from all around the world, including Thailand, Brazil, India, Japan and Mexico.

Equally diverse is the festival’s range of entertainment. Music and dance enthusiasts can choose from three stages offering an eclectic array of performers, ranging from Greek to jazz to the Toronto Symphony Brass Quintet. The festival has also set up a special zone for children.

While the event is popular with visitors, it has suffered from its share of controversy in the past involving problems of financial mismanagement and allegations of questionable cash transactions. These allegations, directed at the Greektown on the Danforth BIA’s board, was the focus of two financial audits, the latest of which, in 2008, revealed the board had not engaged in any of the alleged fraudulent activities. Still, 13 of the BIA’s board members voluntarily resigned.

Ansari, who also reports to the Greektown board of management, said all the past issues have been resolved, but added there are some things that she can’t control.

“The only wild card challenge is the weather,” she said.