Toronto

Federal government provides $100K in funding for Taste of the Danforth

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People walk on Danforth Avenue in the during the 24th annual Taste of the Danforth street festival on August 11-, 2017. (Photo by Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The federal government will be providing $100,000 in funding to support the return of Taste of the Danforth, according to a Danforth Business Improvement Area announcement Wednesday.

The festival is set to run from Friday, Aug. 7, to Sunday, Aug. 9., along Danforth Avenue between Broadview and Jones avenues, marking its return to Toronto after a two-year hiatus.

“For the first time in the festival’s history, all three orders of government are standing together behind an event that has grown from a neighbourhood initiative created by Greek immigrants into Canada’s largest street festival and one of the country’s most iconic cultural celebrations,” the release said.

In June, the provincial government announced it would provide $200,000 in support, matched by the City of Toronto.

In 2023, the festival said it was cancelling the 2024 event because of a nearly $250,000 shortfall as funding constraints mounted. The festival was also not held in 2025. The BIA has not officially said why there was no festival that year.

According to the BIA, the event is expected to attract up to 1.5 million attendees, the festival first began in 1994.

“The Government of Canada’s participation is also a strong vote of confidence in Canada’s main streets and the independent businesses that bring them to life,” the release said.

With files from CTV News/CP24’s Bryann Aguilar and Joanna Lavoie