Enjoy Luminato, Enjoy Toronto's Summer!

0Luminato is a really exciting and important event for Toronto. The reason may be this event indicates the start of summer. Many ads related to it can be seen on TV or newspapers, which aroused my interest in it. I decided to see what Luminato looks like.

Luminato is an annual festival with 10-day art and creativity show held every June. This year is the third. I happened to know that there were 3-day events for free last weekend. That was a good chance to know Luminato for me! I chose to watch the last day's show on Sunday because the finale was the performance by Cirque Du Soleil which is the world's top acrobatics group. It is said the ticket for Cirque usually costs over $200. Wow! Going to the free show would save me a lot of money.

The finale performance was held in HTO Park which is located in the middle of the event venue at the Waterfront. Along Queen Quey West, from the Waterfront to the Music Garden, was the event of 1000 tastes of Toronto sponsored "President's Choice". I had no patience to count if there were 1000 tastes. My only desire was to catch a bite. If there were not long lines in front of every booth and the expensive price of $5 for per item, I would really have done according to the CEO of Luminato's instruction " Eating along the way" from the Waterfront to HTO Park.

The performance was to be opened at 9:00pm. I thought I would be an early bird when I arrived in HTO Park at 7:30pm. But, I was supprised by what I saw. Thousands of people were already there. They had occupied almost all places that can watch the show and sat on their chairs, blankets and even on the road or lawn. I didn't think there would be so many people there. I could feel the attraction of Circus Du Soleil and the enthusiasm of people from every excited and anticipating face. I tried my best to find a standing place and continually change different positions during the whole waiting time. The sky seemed not to cooperate and started to rain. The people still waited there and didn't have any urge to leave. Because of the shower, the performance opened late. But it was really amazing. Although I couldn't understand why they wore such strange costumes and special make-up, I could feel the level of performance was very high. The audience applauded loudly for every thrilling act and some young peole clapped and danced with the rhythm. The performance lasted about one hour and then the crowd poured into bus stations right after that. The ring of streetcars ended a day and started an exciting summer.