It’s just over a month since the Luminato Festival ended in June but the events are still vividly clear in my mind. Looking over these photos, this year’s festival was another big success with such a variety of events for the public to enjoy. The 10 days of the festival went by very quickly, and while I was taking photos for most of those days, it’s hard to believe that there are so many other events that I wasn’t able to see. The variety of events is what always attracts me to the Luminato Festival.
The grounds at David Pecaut Square were always packed, and that’s a nice thing to see. The added artificial turf was a nice touch this year!
Perhaps the mayor doing a karaoke song with the festival’s artistic director was the highlight of that day, as the crowd loved every second of it.
During the evening hours, the lights lit up the square making for an even grander festive mood that I saw many people enjoy.
These panels created by acclaimed Brazilian artists Regina Silveira added a very colourful touch all day and night long, and drew many people underneath it to rest and enjoy.
The multitude of events at Luminato Festival is always a crowd-pleaser: The New York Times‘ TimesTalks brought in Nelly Furtado, St. Vincent, and Charlotte Rampling; there was a cabaret series at the Festival Shed; David Collett’s Basement Revue was always a crowd-favourite; and then there were performances like Apocalypsis, bringing in 1000 performers, and David Byrne’s Contemporary Color, bringing color guards to the forefront.
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No matter rain or shine, there would always be a crowd at David Pecaut Square, the hub of the festival. With free outdoor concerts, why wouldn’t there be?
The final weekend did bring in a lot of rain, but the Brazilian block party was still a lot of fun with bands and audience members soaking it all in under the festival tent.
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Of course, the festival wouldn’t be complete without the help of volunteers! There were no shortages of volunteers to help you navigate this festival, and it’s always a pleasure to be able to photograph them in action as well. The Youth Volunteer Photography Program, which I also taught this year, had many of them think creatively to get some fun photos for the festival.
The festival brings many unique photo opportunities, which are always a good challenge, and that’s why I love coming back to this festival year after year. For those of you who would like more information on the Luminato Festival, you can check out their website at www.luminatofestival.com.
As always, I leave you with one last photo, which is one of my favourite shots that I took within the 10-day extravaganza. This photo was taken within the Air Canada Centre at an angle that really makes the venue seem so grand. You can see the stage and performers including all the audience members enjoying the Contemporary Color performance.
For my post-festival wrapups from prior Luminato Festivals, you can check them out here: 2013, 2014.