Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine, Bestival’s first overseas headliner says,
Bestival is a festival very, very close to our hearts. Because Rob da Bank put us on our way before anyone else did at the very beginning, so it is a real honour to be here. And it’s kind of a double whammy because Canada did as well! This is a really incredible moment for us, so thank you to Rob da Bank and Canada!
We came, we saw, we went bonkers! On Friday, June 12, 2015 and Saturday, June 13, 2015, the UK’s original, award-winning boutique music & arts festival, Bestival, arrived in Toronto, Canada for its first overseas adventure. The two-day soiree was a huge hit, attracting close to 30,000 fans across the weekend to Hanlan’s Point Beach in the picturesque Toronto Islands to experience Bestival’s world-renowned fantasy and escapism and unique musical treats curated by festival founder Rob da Bank.
Rob da Bank says:
It was definitely well worth the wait.. It took a city as cool, beautiful, oddball, multi-cultural and downright funky as Toronto to persuade us to do our first overseas Bestival but man did we do it! With the same vibe, excitement and energy of one of our UK Bestivals, this was a great debut. We have lots to focus on for 2016 but just wanted to say a huge THANKS to the city of Toronto and its people for supporting our madcap endeavour. viva Toronto
Just like the UK Mothership, the Canadian edition of Bestival featured a strong lineup of bands and DJs set among Bestival’s unique landscape. Bestival Toronto’s main stage welcomed headliners Florence + The Machine and NAS, as well as the likes of Clean Bandit, Caribou, Banks, Wavves and The Cuban Brothers. The Big Top presented by Bacardi offered DJ sets by Flume, Robin Schulz, SBTRKT, ZHU and Lane 8 among others in a tent worthy of a major music carnival, the Bollywood Stage, inspired by colorful India with its neon monkeys and shooting flames bounced to Nicole Moudaber, Jamie Jones, Justin Martin, Paco Osuna and Skream, the Sunday Best Balearic Beach Club, nestled on the water’s edge in Arabian style tents, was the place to get down to the Sunday Best roster like Big Swing Soundsystem, Filthy Jay, Rob da Bank and Bobby Lost, and The Perrier Greenhouse showcased emerging Canadian acts like Ardalan, Matoma, HRMXNY and Pulp Funktion.
Beyond the music there was the legendary Bestival Inflatable Church, the epitome of blow-up brilliance; festivalgoers were ambushed by Bubble Battle Flash Mobs, from Newmindspace, the creators of International Pillow Fight Day; The Mystical Eclipse Clan held court at the Bollywood Temple and danced around the rest of Bestival spreading their glitter-strewn love and magic; The Mini-Bindi Adventure-Box with the bindi-distributing mermaid princess and the craft-tastic Knitting Tent & Yarn Bombing with knitting workshops by Toronto’s Knit-O-Matic, creating woollen wonders for local charity Streetknit. The Dress Up Tent was hosted by Toronto’s favorite vintage store, 69 Vintage, and Canada’s largest costume and party supply store Amazing.ca, was on site with their Amazing Costume Pop Up Shop. There was also the Wellness Area by BodyBeautyMind X Cash Honey, a place for a restorative time-out spa experience, the fantastic Day of the Dead Art-Bus Margarita Bar & Area, some really incredible Day Of The Dead Body Painting, the mariachi band Mexico De Noche, acrobatics and yoga from Acro Buddhas, high-energy ‘hostesses’-with-the-mostesses’ The True Blue Love Crew, Immersive roaming theatre from Frolick Theatre the vividly multicolored traditional Mas band Carnival Revolution, performance art from Meow Mur The Cosmic Cat, rhythm joy from the MaracaTALL Stilt Drumming Troupe, mystery from Lion Dance & The Falun Dafa Waist Drum Team and Increase the Peace Meditation by Lian Hua Charity Arts Group, a Falun Dafa Group.
The overall experience was acclaimed by the press:
In a large part the live music almost seemed incidental, there was so much people watching to do and activities going on…
– Jane Stevenson, Toronto Star, June 13, 2015
Although the sights on the grounds were almost able to compete with the acts onstage, a collection of stellar international acts satisfied by bringing the (mostly) thumpy noise that attendees were itching for. …the first Toronto Bestival was mostly a blast.
– Matt Williams, NOW Toronto, June 14, 2015
It began with hype; it ended with fireworks. Everything in between was pure gold.
– Daryl Keating, Exclaim, June 14, 2015
Full details on Bestival Toronto can be found on the festival’s site: www.Bestival.ca
BESTIVAL returns to its home in the Isle of Wight September 10-13, 2015. More information can be found at www.Bestival.net
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