Toronto Light Festival 2020 - SpiritLive Radio

The Toronto Light Festival is back again for the fourth year in a row, at the Distillery District this winter. With the intention of showing off the art of light, this festival boasts twenty interactive light installations, designed by a combination of local and international artists.

Essentially, this is your chance to bundle up, bring your camera and take some insta-worthy pictures. Plus, all of these lighting displays are accompanied by information about the artists and the meaning behind their work.

Despite this annual event being so popular, it is still free to attend! Now you have no excuses to not drop by. The last day to check out these light installations is March 1st, so reload that presto and make your way to the Distillery District.

My favourite installations of the night were the Firefly Field created by Toer, artists from the Netherlands and Mariposita by Chris Carnabuci. Seeing the Firefly Field felt almost magical as the little lights danced in the dark, of course, reminding me of the iconic childhood phase of listening to Owl City’s Fireflies on repeat in 2009. Mariposita was magical for a whole other reason. The main attraction to the piece is not the lights themselves but the large scale female structure made from wood that is hatching out of an egg. The lights on this piece paired with the mystical music from nearby speakers adds even more meaning and character to this structure, something the other installations don’t really do.

When visiting, remember that almost all of the light installations are outdoors, so be sure to bundle up. If you need to head indoors you can pop into the numerous restaurants and shops that will be open later into the evening. Grab a hot chocolate at SOMA Chocolatemaker, sit down on El Catrin’s big heated patio for some tacos, or even grab a seat at Boku Noodle Bar and order a bowl of ramen to warm you up. The options are seemingly endless!