Word on the street - Toronto

On Sunday, after dropping off The Man at the airport, and drowning our sorrows in a cup of fruitopia, my sister suggested that we check out the Word on the Street festival at Queen's Park. We decided to take the subway to avoid the mayhem that is parking downtown.

Riding the Rocket like a pro already.

What is Word on the Street? From their website:

The Word On The Street's Exhibitor Marketplace offers festival-goers a window into the Canadian literary scene, presenting everything from the largest publishing houses to the smallest niche magazines and everything in between. We also feature a World Food Market at various locations throughout the festival.

There was so much to do and see, it was almost overwhelming. My sister and I, both logophiles, could have happily spent all day there listening to speakers and authors, and browsing all the new and used book stands. However, it's a little difficult to do that with a couple kids in tow. The Boy is a great reader already and goes through 5-7 novels a week [We love our library!] but wasn't all that interested in seeing or talking to authors. The Girl, even less so. The KidStreet seemed geared more towards the younger set, not the 7-9 years that I am currently dealing with. So, while I secretly wanted to wait around to see the Polkaroo, the Kids wanted to grab some pad thai (but only because the hot dog line was too long).

This series is next on our to-read list!

We did manage to score some sweet swag though, including free books! Woo hoo! We got some books signed by the authors too. There were new books being given away every half hour, all along the festival route. it was pretty amazing. I picked one up for the Man about a woman's adventure along the Bruce Trail. Again, my sister and I would have waited happily in every line, for every book, but it just wasn't possible with the Kids. We collected buttons, pens, a bag, book marks, more buttons and even book lights!

One of their favourite booths was the Science Centre (to which we have memberships that are worth every penny). Here's the Boy getting his mind blown by the power of reading:

His head isn't really that big. :)

All in all, a great day walking around Queen's Park circle. The trees provided relief from the light showers and one downpour that we experienced - not nearly enough to dissuade the book lovers of Toronto!

We'll definitely make a note to head out again next year.