Edgefest 2009 - Year two of pouring rain

It helps when you know what you're getting yourself into...or so they say. The Edgefest concert was held at Downsview Park for the second year in a row on June 19, 2009. More than 17,000 people turned out to hear Metric, AFI, Alexisonfire and Billy Talent rock the stage in the pouring rain. Maybe it was the music or maybe it was the fact that it poured rain for Edgefest in 2008 too, but people didn't seem to mind - there's nothing like a good mudslide to prevent concert-goer's spirits from dampening anyway. Overall, the show was good, and music was loud, and the beer was plenty.

One year later...

Well, it's been quite some time since I last posted; having been "too busy" seems an unjust excuse though an accurate summary of the pace of life these last few months.

January 2009 marks two milestones of particular significance: 1) It has now been one full year since I joined the never-a-dull-moment pace of the Toronto events industry as the Event Coordinator at Downsview Park, and 2) January marks the close of my latest and longest event to date - Trail of Lights (http://www.trailoflights.ca), Canada's largest walk-through holiday light show - after 34 consecutive evenings.

2009 is already shaping up with many exciting events and festivals - some I am planning, some I am planning on attending. My experiences with both will be featured here.

Wings and Wheels Heritage Festival - May 24 & 25, 2008

This year's Wings & Wheels Heritage Festival, held in association with the Toronto Aerospace Museum, brought a showcase of aviation history, live fly-overs, and an automotive show-and-shine show to Downsview Park.

Working on this festival gave me a great opportunity to celebrate the heritage and history of the park as a military air force base. Wings & Wheels was a great festival for families and air plane enthusiasts alike.

Check out: http://www.torontowingsandwheels.com/ for more information about next year's show.

My Profile in Biz Bash Magazine

For anyone who subscribes to Biz Bash Toronto's events magazine, check out the bottom of page 14 - I'm on it. I was contacted by the magazine in the early winter to be featured as a "new face" in Toronto's events industry and my profile appears in the spring/summer 2008 issue.

Check out my profile in the PDF version of the magazine: http://www.bizbash.com/toronto/reporter/bbto_esr4.1_c1-21.pdf

For anyone unfamiliar with Biz Bash, check out the website: http://www.bizbash.com/toronto/. The site is updated daily, sometimes more than once a day. The content is lively, relevant, and extremely comprehensive of the Toronto events industry.

Any take your experience with Biz Bash one step further, if you haven't already, and subscribe to the magazine. In my opinion it's the best Canadian events publication and a great event planning reference resource. And best of all, it's free. Click here to subscribe: https://www.cambeywest.com/biz/biznew.asp

Earth Day - April 20th, 2008

Next in the line up of events I'm planning at Downsview Park is Earth Day, Sunday, April 20, 2008 from 11:00AM - 4:00PM and is free for the whole family! Rain or shine.

This public festival draws well over 5,000 people a year by offering opportunities for the public to help create a sustainable community for future generations.

This year's even includes:

• The Green Pavilion - food, crafts and products by eco-friendly vendors and exhibitors


• The Recycle Yard welcomes your donations to Goodwill and iRecycle (used computers and other technology)


• Interactive exhibits by Creepy Crawlers, Earth Rangers and Citizen's Environment Watch


• The Kids Area - arts and crafts, origami, buskers, face painting and more!


• On the main stage the best in up-and-coming enviro-focused Canadian artists Delta Folk, the Funky Mamas and GreenTaRA

If you are looking for a corporate or community team-building activity for your coworkers or community group, join the Team Green Challenge on Earth Day and register to plant trees in the park's Canada Forest. Tree planting teams can compete to be the "largest group of planters" or the "most spirited group of planters".

Click below to download a Team Green Challenge registration form!
http://www.pdp.ca/media/ED_teamregform.pdf

For more information about Earth Day at Downsview Park or to register a team for the Team Green Challenge, visit the Downsview Park website at: http://www.downsviewpark.ca/ or contact me at 416-952-2222 or info@pdp.ca.

Blog Your Event

Check out http://blogto.com/events/. It's a fairly comprehensive Toronto events calendar and community features website that allows users to post and advertise events, and find out what's happening in the city's arts and entertainment scene.

Perhaps the best feature about this blog, setting it apart from the majority of the community calendars on the web, is that it's linked to a Facebook application - allowing for opt-in targeted event marketing. Posting your event on blogto.com connects your information with a network of Facebook users looking to find out what's happening in Toronto.

One down...

Check out the City TV press coverage of my first PDP event:

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_19454.aspx

Hockey not your thing? Check out my next event in this year's line up - Earth Day at Downsview Park, April 20th, 2008.