Sweetery Festival - sweets and more

SWEETERY

I checked out the 2nd Annual Sweetery Festival at David Pecaut Square on August 21, 2016.  It was the second year but it was the first time I attended.  It had expanded from a parking lot the previous year. Still a very young festival run by very young people so it has a bit of growing to do.
It is an initiative of George Brown College to have some of their advanced Baking students and other Sweets and confection vendors have a dedicated show to showcase their goods.

The name Sweetery is Sweets and Eatery combined as explained by one of the organizers.
The George Brown Students use this event as part of their grading and also the proceeds of the sales of the products go towards a trip to France that they had planned.

David Pecaut Square is a lovely square easily accessible off of King Street West.  With a lovely grassy open area.  You can see from this photo that they set up red and white umberellas for people to sit and have shade.  It looked really nice and had a function which is what I like to see.

 There was all kinds of different treats.  From some of the things in this photo,  shaved ice from ,  Cookie topped Iced coffee, Macarons from Masterchef winner baker Sui from Daan Go.   Also a vanilla custard cake, really great butter tarts from Andrea's Bakery, pizelle and gelato, cookies and other croissants and pastries from George Brown College, not pictured.

I didn't try very many things.  I did try the shaved ice with sweet soy and condensed milk.  It was very light and nutty tasting.  Very popular on the hot day.  I also sampled the fantastic butter tarts and the vanilla custard cake and a bit of a couple of the macarons.

One of my favourite things at the show wasn't even food but food jewellery by Smitten creations.  It was so creative.  I first spotted sushi rings and then saw all the cute dessert rings, necklaces and ear rings.   I bought one with a chocolate birthday cake in a dome.  So cool and I think reasonably priced.

There were also a couple of food trucks and other food vendors there.   One of the other interesting things not in the photo was flavoured marshmallows from I love Puffy Love in flavours like Merry Mojito that could be set up for your next party.

David's Tea also had some great cold tea samples like strawberry flavour on hand to cool you off.

I would love to see this festival grow and become a bit more organized.  There were a few issues with setting up on the sunday morning that I hope they can sort out for next year.

Look out for some of these treats in the city in the future.

3 Themed Food Festivals to check out in August in TO

There is no shortage of food festivals happening in Toronto this summer and here are 3 that aren't general festivals to fit everyone they are more targeted to people that are interested in specific things, foods or cultures.   Last year I attended the Coconut Festival and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to see and try lot's of things and there was some really good food there to sample too.
I also attended Kultura a Filipino Arts Festival which was held at Yonge and Dundas square last year and I can tell you that they needed more space for the long lines for the food vendors so this year they have moved to Nathan Philips Square.  I think it's a much better location for this event.  You can read about my experience at these festivals in previous posts from last year but new to my festival to do list is the Sweetery Festival.  It started last year but I wasn't able to check it out then but I hope to be able to attend this year and take pics of all the sweets from local Bakers.   I am planning on attending all three of these festivals so I will be writing follow up posts on them all.  Here are some more details in case you are interested in attending.  All three of these have easy to get to locations and are free to attend which is why I can recommend them for people that aren't sure if they want to attend,  you have nothing to lose but you may see or try some interesting things.

Coconut Festival

Toronto hosts Canada’s 3rd Annual Coconut Festival & Marketplace

Date:           Saturday, August 27, 2016, 10a.m. – 8pm

Location:    David Pecaut Square, 215 King St Toronto, M5V 3G2

Coconut Festival Canada produces the event to connect all communities to learn about the coconuts’ various health benefits & diverse addictive delicious culinary and lifestyle uses ​with the addition of a Book Drive for an orphanage partner in the Philippines.

 It’s a Free General Admission event featuring ​70 vendors dealing with​ ​coconut in your food choices, wellness program, cleaning, cosmetics, fashion and more from Asia & Pan America.  You can taste and shop for various coconut products including those from local artisans: vegan coconut cakes,​ coconut pancakes, spreads, oils, energy snacks, chips, dips 

Some of the Featured speakers are:

• Sunita Mohan, (Host of Kitty Talk on Omni2 on Saturday) speaking to Good Fats and the Bad Fats because good fats protect your heart, support overall health and help you lose weight. In fact, good fats such as omega-3 fats are essential to physical and emotional health."
• ​​​Kalayaan De Vera;​RHN,​​ will speak about using DIY coconut beauty and home products.
• Kennedy Lodato,​Co-Founder of the Canadian Fitness Education Alliance-​Recovery and Foam Rolling after exercise th​a​t can help flush out lactic acid and reduce soreness.

   Interactive Content:

• ​Edane Padme:​ will be conducting free children’s grass yoga and tea ceremony​                              
• Kelani Dance-a Polynesian dance that is a way of thinking and living.

The festival also provides family entertainment such as; children’s games, coconut bowling contests, hula contests, free yoga, acro yoga, and Polynesian & New Zealand dancers.

What’s new this year is an Eco Fashion Show featuring local designers and artist showcasing their work with the coconut theme in place. ​  

The first 500 attendees receive a complimentary swag bag.

There is a book drive and that partial proceeds from donations and sales of fresh coconuts will go to build a library in an orphanage ​partner ​in the Philippines ages 1-21.

 

Social:

info@coconutfestival.ca    

http://www.coconutfestival.ca  

@cocofestcanada                                                   

#coconutfestTO   

https://www.facebook.com/cocofestcanada.

Kultura Filipino Arts Festival

Canada's only multi-disciplinary Filipino arts festival Kultura Filipino Arts Festival returns to Toronto but it has moved to Nathan Phillips Square this year. 
Date: August 5-7, 2016
It's an incredible celebration of Canada's largest diaspora, featuring a bad-ass food competition. 

Headlining the festival is HATAW Performing Arts dance troupe. Performing on the third and final day of the festival at Nathan Phillips Square (100 Queen St. W.), the world-renowned troupe brings together dance, costume and culture in a display of mesmerizing talent. HATAW joins a lineup on the third day that also includes a live performance stage, a marketplace of Filipino artists and entrepreneurs, and an art battle.
 
Back by popular demand is Kultura’s culinary battle, Kain Kalye: Filipino Street Eats Competition. Guests will have the chance to tour the traditional and nouveau cuisine of the Philippines on the final day of the festival when they sample foods from the participating vendors and vote for their favourite. Participating restaurants include last year’s winner, Diona Joyce of Toronto’s Kanto & Tita Flips, and Chef Daniel Cancino of Lamesa. Kultura will be selling a limited number of Kain Kalye Passports online in the lead-up to the festival with discounted prices for all the participating food vendors.  

Social:
http://www.kultura.ca/
@KulturaTO
Facebook

Sweetery Food Festival Sweetery is a not-for-profit organization that will be hosting a sweets food festival in collaboration with George Brown College Chef School  Date: Saturday August 20 and Sunday August 21  Location: David Pecaut Square (King St and John St). This festival is dedicated solely to all things confectionery to create a local event that will promote and showcase the whimsical world of confectionery and culinary arts in the Greater Toronto Area.  Follow Sweetery Food Festival: Facebook @sweeterytoronto Instatgram @sweeterytoronto Hashtag #SweeteryToronto www.sweeterytoronto.com