Culture in Toronto - Tourism Events

Tourism Events

Toronto's most iconic landmark is the CN Tower. The tourism industry has not fully recovered from a 2003 SARS outbreak, while the strong Canadian dollar and tighter Canadian customs controls influenced by U.S. homeland security paranoia have resulted in fewer US visitors, while tourists from overseas continue to increase.

Toronto plays host to a variety of different events year-round. In September, Hollywood actors, writers, directors and producers descend on the city for the Toronto International Film Festival, which competes with other major film festivals at Cannes, Venice and the Sundance Festival in four Utah locations.

Luminato is a 10-day festival in June featuring over a thousand local and international artists for theatre, dance, music, visual arts, books and film events. In July, Caribana, the largest Caribbean festival in North America, attracts more than a million celebrants for the concerts, the food, the King and Queen of the Bands competition, and the popular Caribana parade. The Ontario civic holiday — called Colonel By Day in Ottawa, Peter Robinson Day in Peterborough and Simcoe Day in Toronto and in most of Ontario — is named after the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe.

The last week of June is Pride Week, where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people gather to celebrate sexual diversity. The week is celebrated with a Pride Parade and a Dyke March, along with various other pro-LGBT events, and rivals similar Gay pride celebrations in Montreal, San Francisco, Sydney and São Paulo. Gay Pride Week is organized by Pride Toronto, a non-profit volunteer organization.