For those wishing that Toronto’s summer festival season lasted a bit longer, there’s a brand-new outdoor food and drink festival happening in North York this weekend that will feature more than 50 diverse vendors.

The inaugural Taste of North York Festival is set to take over Mel Lastman Square from Friday, Sept. 8 to Sunday Sept. 10, with the goal of showcasing North York’s diverse culinary offerings.

Organizers say the event will feature dozens of food and drink vendors that highlight the many cultural groups that call North York home, including the Chinese, Korean, Iranian and Filipino communities.

The festival is being hosted by NeighbourLink North York, a local charity and community development organization, alongside food festival operator Street Eats Market.

“The event will feature a massive open-air food market with more than 50 diverse food and drink vendors and more than 500 menu items,” said Sebastian Biasucci, Marketing & Event Manager at NeighbourLink North York.

“Our goal is to showcase local chefs, restaurateurs and catering companies, who’ve all been hit hard during the pandemic and continue to face challenges due to labour shortages and rising food costs.”

The festival also aims to provide local residents with an opportunity to meet their neighbours and learn about local charities, cultural groups and clubs.

“On Sept. 9, NeighbourLink is hosting the ‘Meet & Eat’ where participants can engage with over 20 local charities, non-profits, cultural organizations and clubs including the North York Senior Centre, The Neighbourhood Group and more,” NeighbourLink North York said in a press release.

“They’ll also be able to meet local politicians from all three levels of government. NeighbourLink’s philosophy is: ‘Life is better when you know your neighbours.’ There will be a seating area where over 800 attendees can get to know each other while breaking bread together.”

The festival will also feature live performances in the square throughout the weekend, NeighbourLink says.

“The Toronto Underground Jazz Festival will also have a pop up performance area at the East End of the Square,” the release continued. “There will be live art, face painting, trivia and plenty of other family friendly activities to enjoy over the course of the three-day festival.”

Admission to the festival is free, and Biasucci says attendees are encouraged to use the event as a way to socialize and make new connections with local people and organizations.

“One of NeighbourLink's goals is to alleviate isolation and after the pandemic and being in isolation for so long, this is a great way to celebrate our community,” he said.

“There will be designated community meal times at 2 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. and we’re hoping to get people to engage with icebreaker questions and talk with other attendees. This is also a charity event with the net profits supporting NeighbourLink's food bank and community care programs that support the most vulnerable in our community.”

Biasucci says that since amalgamation, many of Toronto’s festivals have tended to be held closer to the downtown core, but recently, North York and other outlying areas of the city have started hosting more of their own cultural events that give residents opportunities to connect with their community.

“It's really exciting to have these types of events just a stone throw away from where you live and get to connect with your actual neighbours. We called this event Taste of North York because you're not only going to get a sense of the food in the area, but the people, the organizations and communities that make it such a special place to live,” he said.

“North Yorkers already know how great those things are and we hope this event will help the rest of Toronto see that too. There's a whole world north of Eglinton to discover and anyone who hasn't made the short trip up is missing out!”