From July 20th to 21st, 2024, Bloordale will feature outdoor murals, window displays, public installations and other projects that encourage visitors to the area in a safe manner, adhering to the protocols our government and health officials have stated. Celebrate local with concerts and art workshops, along with a participatory component to create a community tapestry which will be displayed publicly.
Public spaces meet more than one community need. We are excited to present an alternative community event that celebrate community-building, local businesses and the diverse arts and culture of the area. Calm down zones, less vendor crowding and environmental installations are a focus this year to emphasis the community, its creators and the local shops which makes us great.
Made possible by the Bloordale BIA, BIG on Bloor is free and open to everyone.
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The BIG on Bloor Festival of Arts & Culture is an exceptional community and city-building Festival presenting hundreds of culturally significant events, activities, displays and exhibitions. Organized by BIG (Bloor Improvement Group), the Festival is a summer event presented along a car-free stretch of Bloor Street West between Dufferin and Lansdowne to celebrate local arts, culture and community. It has drawn up to 100,000 people.
The Festival both encourages and sustains participation by creating a context for working on a positive common goal (
Historically, the neighbourhood was bounded by rail lines, factories and areas that remained “dry” until the year 2000. In addition, there had been a racetrack where the Dufferin Mall is now located. The effect of all these things was drawing disruptive elements to this working-class neighbourhood. The situation was further exacerbated by the building of Dufferin Mall, which diverted pedestrian traffic away from Bloor Street.
The BIG: Bloor Improvement Group was formed as a coalition organization, which included an alliance of 26 different local organizations, three levels of government, social service agencies, residents groups, cultural producers/artists and small business owners. These organizations and individuals came together to coordinate a concerted effort and find ways to celebrate Bloordale’s rich diversity–rather than address its social ills–by bringing focus to the culture of this area, with the aim of strengthening the community and create better connections between the people (a contemporary mix of Portuguese, Caribbean Italian, Bangladeshi, Latin American, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Burmese, Chinese, and Vietnamese populations) and their
Much has changed in the years since the events, which provided the impetus to form BIG and by extension, the BIG on Bloor Festival. Bloordale has emerged as a community of note. The festival has succeeded in bringing new business owners and residents to elect Bloordale as a neighbourhood to live/work in because its public community spirit now defines it.
The festival has raised the profile of Bloordale in a way that indicates who we are within the city: a vibrant and thriving, engaged community. It reaches well beyond Bloordale, to become a microcosm representing the magnificent diversity of the GTA.