The sunny days and climbing temperatures always symbolize one thing for us here in Southern Ontario: Festival season! Living in the GTA, we are fortunate to have a large number of festivals to choose from each year. If your bank account doesn’t look like mine, you may be fortunate enough to attend a few of these festivals each year. For me, I need to be a little more strategic when picking which festival(s) I should attend. This year, my number one choice for Toronto area festival has to be Bestival held from June 11 to June 12, 2016 at new location Woodbine Park, featuring The Cure, Tame Impala, Odesza, Porter Robinson, Dubfire, Tchami, Lee Foss, and many more!
Why Bestival you may ask? There are countless reasons. I have been lucky enough to spend my past year or so travelling for festivals. Having been so spoiled may be a blessing but also may be a curse. I’ve learned that my favourite festivals are those that in addition to the lineup and the stages, have added artwork and other forms of entertainment, such as can be found at festivals like Electric Forest, Harvest Festival, and Bestival; sometimes other festivals and shows just don’t do it for me anymore. Call me a hippy, but what I look forward to the most is not only the artists and productions, but the artistry, the crowd, and the environment that a show like this can have. After watching the 2015 aftermovie, I decided that Bestival seemed to be the best fit for this year.
Enough about that, let’s talk about some specifics! First off, Bestival has potentially one of the most versatile and unique lineups of any major festival in the region. The blend of electronic music, rock, alternative, indie, punk, hip hop, and more, will ensure that there is something for everyone during the weekend. If that isn’t enough to convince you, Bestival has additions they call “beyond the music”, including a blow up church where I’ve heard weddings are held, a costume party and parade, a “day of the dead” cocktail bus (woohoo cocktails!), and even more. This is not one of those sit and stare at a stage for hours festivals, its a whole weekend event that will keep you entertained right through!
This year the festival will be held at a new venue, Woodbine Park. While I did not attend Bestival last year, I had heard of the conundrum regarding the ferries and transportation in general. It appears that the festival directors took this issues very seriously, and made a change. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this improves the transportation (as I think it will!) and that Bestival has found its new home at this location. For Bonus points, this location can be accessed by public transit!
A few more details that I have found that may be useful to know include a tidbit of information for anyone who is not familiar with Bestival. It originated in the UK in 2004, and was brought to Toronto in 2015. While in the UK, Bestival was a strong supported of social and environmental causes, of culture and diversity. From what I have found in my research for this event, the North American festival follows similar principles. Expect to find some delicious food, both vegan and non-vegan, cultural extravagances (Bollywood is significantly highlighted!), people in fancy dress, meditation, and other peace building things as their slogan is “Increase the Peace!”
The festival starts at 12 pm each day, closes at 11 pm on the Saturday, and 10 pm on the Sunday, out of respect for those that have to drag themselves to work the next day. The festival is all ages, but anyone under 16 is required to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. No outside food or drinks will be permitted, which is to be expected; but I have heard the food is quite delicious. Lastly, there are cash bars for the thirsty!
Bestival tickets can be purchased following this link and are available in weekend passes (general admission and VIP), as well as single day passes for each day. You can RSVP to the event page here, check for news, and let us know you’re coming!
Team EDMTOR will see you there!
LINKS:
Bestival Toronto
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Nicole Robertson – EDM TOR