Everything you need to know about Toronto's free 45-day light festival

For the second year in a row, the historic Distillery District will be home to the Toronto Light Fest this winter.

Designed to entertain and inspire, the light festival will be taking over the historic area from January 19 until March 4 and filling it with light.

Hosted by the team behind the Toronto Christmas Market, the light festival will feature curated light installations and illuminated sculptures created by a number of local and international artists.

Daily Hive had the opportunity to speak with Mathew Rosenblatt, the producer of Toronto Light Fest, who says this year’s festival will feature even more sculptures and installations than last year, offering visitors an even broader range of what they consider “light art”.

Visitors can expect to see close to 25 sculptures and installations spaced throughout the Distillery District this year, each composed of different light elements including iridescent, fluorescent and LED lights. In fact, there’ll even be fire used.

Rosenblatt also added that visitors can expect more heated beer and wine patios during the weekends, in addition to a new food component. This will give visitors the opportunity to enjoy a bite to eat or a drink while they hang outside under the lights.

For those who didn’t have the chance to pay the light festival a visit last year, Rosenblatt says they can expect to have a lot of moments when they find themselves saying “wow” and “cool” before they even realize what they’re looking at.

Visitors will also appreciate that there won’t be any obtuse pieces. As Rosenblatt put it, “you don’t need to be an art major to understand what you’re looking at.”

Finally, Rosenblatt added that the Toronto Light Festival is “meant to be a cool, fun and magical experience that isn’t in any way pretentious,” making it the perfect place to spend an evening with your kids or on a date.

Here are some photos from last year’s run to help set the tone for this year.

Toronto Light Fest

Toronto Light Fest

Toronto Light Fest

Toronto Light Fest

Toronto Light Fest

When: January 19 to March 4, 2018
Where: Distillery District
Admission: Free

See also

• 12 places to see spectacular holiday light displays near Toronto this year
• Canada's largest festival of lights is just 1.5 hours from Toronto (VIDEO)
• This drive-thru Christmas light tunnel is just 2 hours from Toronto