Another popular Toronto street festival has been cancelled last minute, and residents are devastated.
Little Jamaica Festival, which was slated to take over Eglinton Ave. W. for a celebration of Caribbean culture from Aug. 30-31 has been cancelled. On Thursday, the local BIA announced that the event had been scrapped due to funding and permit challenges.
“We know how much this festival means to our community, and this was not an easy decision,” the BIA said in an Instagram post.
“Our community spirit remains strong, and we’ll continue working towards future celebrations.”
CITY SAYS ORGANIZERS DID NOT MEET REQUIREMENTS AHEAD OF DEADLINE
In a statement to Now Toronto, the City of Toronto confirmed that it did not issue a street event permit for this year’s Little Jamaica Festival because the organizers failed to meet the application requirements by the submission deadline. The requirements include submitting detailed plans for the site, traffic management, and security for the event.
“City staff worked closely with organizers to explore alternative options, including moving the event to different locations or dates to ensure sufficient time to organize an event of this size,” the statement shared, explaining that the event organizer did not pursue these alternatives.
“The City recognizes the cultural significance of Little Jamaica Festival and the contributions it has made over the years,” the city continued, adding that it remains open to continuing to work with the festival organizers for future event dates.
Several other festivals, including Taste of the Danforth, Tamil Fest, and Oktoberfest, were also scrapped this year, citing funding issues as one of the main reasons for the cancellations.
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The city shared that the festival received $15,000 in support through the City’s Cultural Festivals Funding Program. That money must be used by March 31, 2026.
Now Toronto reached out to the Little Jamaica BIA for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.
WHY IS LITTLE JAMAICA FEST SO IMPORTANT?
Anyika Mark is a community organizer and coordinator for the Little Jamaica Community Land Trust, an initiative looking to take private property off the speculative market and keep it in community control. She explained that there are two reasons that the festival is important: culture and economy.
“It’s a buildup of Caribbean traditions, it’s a buildup of Black culture in general, it’s about Black people being celebrated in the public spaces [by] having a cultural festival that represents us,” Mark told Now Toronto.
“But then also to be circulating money through our communities into local economies, and specifically to Black local economies as well. When people come to the neighbourhood, they spend money in our stores,” she explained.
It also allows festival attendees to discover new businesses and services to patronize, something that won’t happen this year now that the event has been cancelled.
“I think this is going to have a big impact on our local businesses, because they won’t get that opportunity to meet new people and for new people to meet them.”
Mark says that while it’s disappointing to see Little Jamaica Fest cancelled, it’s exciting to see other Caribbean-centred events throughout the city, like Taste the Caribbean and Afro-Carib Fest, which still give Caribbean people in Toronto the opportunity to celebrate their cultures.
“If we had to cancel [Little Jamaica] festival this year and then next year its quality is better, and we can put more money into it, and more money is coming in from it, then I would rather that,” Mark shared. “I would rather us do something that we know is going to be amazing instead of something we know that isn’t 100 per cent the best for the neighbourhood.”
Mark shared that she’s optimistic that the festival will return bigger and better than ever for 2026, adding that in her experience, the city is supportive of initiatives that support the Little Jamaica neighbourhood.
“The city has been playing an incredibly big role in supporting Little Jamaica, from councillors to division staff. I think that there’s a lot of reparative work being done,” Mark explained, adding that she knows this firsthand because she’s on the ground doing this work with city officials.
“I’ve had some really incredible conversations with folks at the city about how excited they are for the land trust,” she explained. “We’re trying to make sure that it all flows, and that we’re really preserving the neighbourhood in a tangible way.”
The cancellation of the Little Jamaica festival is deeply disappointing, City Councillor Josh Matlow told Now Toronto in a statement.
“I’m asking the City of Toronto to work with the Little Jamaica BIA to find a path forward to host a successful festival next year.”
Now Toronto reached also out to City Councillor Mike Colle for comment but did not hear back from his team ahead of publication.
HISTORY OF LITTLE JAMAICA
Located on Eglinton Ave. W, running from Keele St. to Marlee Ave., Little Jamaica is a Caribbean cultural enclave, home to many immigrants from the islands who have made Canada their home. Mark says the neighbourhood started booming in the 1950s, when the West Indian Domestic Scheme, an immigration program for Caribbean women, opened up.
With a large influx of Caribbean folks coming to Canada, particularly Toronto and Montreal, Mark says that by the 1970s, Toronto would have the largest Jamaican population outside of Jamaica, New York and London. With them, these Caribbean newcomers brought vibrant culture and community, solidifying the neighbourhood as a place for the community to thrive.
“When folks were coming into the country, there were limited jobs for us. I mean, the domestic scheme was all about servitude. It was all about having folks come to serve other people,” Mark explained, adding that in order to take back their autonomy, many people started their own businesses.
“They became entrepreneurs, they opened up restaurants, they opened up barbershops and salons. They had vinyl stores. There were music venues, anything that you can think of,” Mark explained.
She says that it’s important to remember that these businesses are not just spaces to buy and sell goods, they’re also spaces for community building.
“It’s about mentorship, it’s about entrepreneurship and fostering that among young people. It’s about refuge. Like, I feel like there are so many young men in our communities that go to their barbers and look to them as father figures or mentors, and Little Jamaica was really like the staple for that.”
“It became a place of safety as well, a space of belonging. That’s how Little Jamaica came to be.”
And it’s easy to see why the neighbourhood is still popular today, as the Caribbean population in Canada is still booming. In 2022, there were 774,515 people living in Canada who identified as Caribbean, while 249,070 of those people identified as Jamaican.
RESIDENTS REACT
Online, residents have shared a slew of reactions over the festival being cancelled, with many frustrated by the news.
“Gutted. We had a time last year. What can we do as a community to support and help so that next year it’s a go?” one resident questioned on Instagram
“The Toronto Festival of Cancelled Street Festivals,” a Reddit user joked.
“This city has really taught me not to get attached to anything because it will be closed by next Tuesday.”
“The Little Jamaica Festival was actually awesome last year. Definitely represented by Caribbean culture, unlike most of the other festivals around the city. Sad to see it was cancelled last minute.”
While others are suggesting that people in Toronto should still show up and show out for the businesses in the area.
“The community should still go out and support the businesses in the area!” one Instagram user shared.
“Sad news, but community should still support businesses with or without [the] festival,” another added.
