Covid 19 cancels events in Toronto until July

Today the Mayor of Toronto announced that all events and Parade permits are now cancelled until July 2020. 

Will the Food, Events and Entertainment and Travel Industries survive the effects of this COVID 19 pandemic?

The last large event that I attended was the Restaurant Canada Show  it is one of my favourite annual shows and I haven't gotten to my blog post yet because there were so many things that I want to write about and need to have the time to do it.   But I mention it now because I had no idea that it was to be the last big event that I would be able to go to at the time and how it would affect all the people that attended that show.  It was only a couple of weeks later that so many Restaurants in the city had to shut down because Toronto is now in a state of emergency and people are told to stay home.  Restaurants had to let their staff go and either convert to pick up or delivery or shut their doors.

With Bloggers Mary Tang (Marys Happy Belly) Jenny Roger (Ice cream and Knishes) and restauranteur Trevor Lui

I worked at Sunnybrook Hospital when Sars hit in 2003 and it affected the Restaurant industry and many restaurants lost money and some closed but not to the extent that it has hit the industry in such a short time frame.  Restaurants workers work long hours for minimum wage or less in some cases and don't have a lot of the benefits some people enjoy. 

I have gotten to know many people in the food, events and entertainment industry over the past 10 years while writing this blog and my heart breaks for them now.

If you have been reading my blog you know that I volunteer for the Toronto Film Festival who's building on King Street has now shuttered until an undetermined time and the next festival could be up in the air at this time.

I also have an events management background and know how hard it is to organize events in this city and how long it takes to organize a festival or even a small event.  It requires many people getting together to plan and execute which is not possible at this time.

For the first time in my life I am working from home.  I am lucky that I can do that at this time but I can't do all of the tasks of my job so I don't know what it will be like when everything is back on track.

The Mayor has cancelled the Pride Parade,  the Hot Docs Film Festival, Comicon, the Juno Awards, the Green Living Show, The Canadian Screen Awards and too many more to mention have been either cancelled for this year or have been pushed to a much later date.

This will affect my blog but it won't silence it because I have been writing about events for almost 10 years but it's not the only thing I write about luckily.   I had already reduced my attendance at events and had less restaurant invites.  I have been spending more time at home cooking my own food and trying to reduce my waste.

But here is the thing that I am concerned about.  What will happen when this Social distancing and State of Emergency has lifted?  Will people go back to life as normal?  Will we lose a lot of great things for good?

While I love the fact that people are now having to embrace cooking at home and you see loads of people making bread on Instagram I also miss meeting up with friends at restaurants or going to food events and meeting the chefs and vendors making the food.

Will they persevere or give up and be forced to do something else to survive?

After Sars lifted there was a huge Concert at Downsview Park.  What will we do this time?

I wish I had unlimited funds to be able to order food from all the places that have been able to adapt and stay open during this time to keep them going.  If you have the means I would urge you to order food every other day maybe.  Build your cooking skills and appreciate the people that cook the food for you.  They may not always be there to make your favourite foods.