After its wildly hyped debut last year, Toronto’s has become a must-see (must-listen, must-do, must-talk-about-around-the-water-cooler) event. This year’s Luminato, held June 6 to 15, is even bigger than the first, with approximately 50 celebrations, theatrical productions, literary events and musical works spread out over 10 days—and over the entire city. Various themes permeate the programming: the slippery codependence of fact and fiction; art in an age of conflict; and the influence of South Asian and First Nations cultures.

Like Toronto’s other big-ticket cultural events—the Toronto International Film Festival, Nuit Blanche, the International Festival of Authors—Luminato’s choices are, to the uninitiated, somewhat overwhelming. But we’ve taken some of the guesswork out of it. While part of the festival’s charm is in its blurring of borders both national and artistic, we’ve made sense of this embarrassment of riches by devising three itineraries based on specific neighbourhoods. (In keeping with the Luminato spirit, however, these boundaries are themselves rather loose.) While many of the festival’s events are worth travelling to in their own right—the Canadian premiere of the all–South Asian casted A Midsummer Night’s Dream, for example, or Laurie Anderson’s much-anticipated return to Toronto—you’ll be able to easily enjoy Luminato’s ample pleasures simply by staying in one spot.

Guide to Queen Street events >>
Guide to waterfront events >>
Guide to Queen’s Park events >>

Plus, David Balzer decodes Luminato’s public art offerings >>