Last call for TIFF freebies: What you can still score on Festival Street today

Today is the final day to load up on freebies from the vendors and kiosks on TIFF Festival Street — on King and John streets — where you can get a cute tote bag from Intrepid Travel to carry your small packet of Lavazza ground coffee, full-size Asian snacks and a full-size Ferrero Rocher chocolate bar. But, and it’s a big but, you have to be patient. Most of the lines are long.

The Ferrero Rocher line moves quickly, as does the line for the tiny sandwich of new Nutella Peanut, but the Nongshim line for a tiny cup of Shin Ramyun noodles and a free packet to take home can take as much as an hour.

There are also some games for prizes. The Korean Cultural Centre Canada’s “All About K-Culture & Travel” activation has four big block things you toss to win coins for the claw machine. And if you weren’t successful at grabbing one of the Korean snacks — I got sweet potato chips — they give you a snack anyway.

In the Art Market, on John Street, there is a Canadian Film School booth where you toss a giant inflatable die to get the category choice, guess the movie and pick a pen or sticker. I picked music films, and the multiple-choice answer was the name of The Tragically Hip documentary. At another booth, Workman Arts, which puts on the Rendezvous with Madness Festival focused on mental health (Oct. 22-Nov.1), you can do a little arts and crafts by making a button. 

Another long line was Tubi’s mood-sensing activation, with aura readings, mood-tiered treats and collectible merch included. And a Toronto Tempo women’s basketball team booth with a game to win prizes.

Beware: a lot of the booths require you to sign up for their mailing list, but no biggie; that’s what the unsubscribe button is for. They are all legit brands and cool film companies or not-for-profit organizations.

Lavazza is there all week, until Sept. 20.  Yes, the line is long, but if you tell the staff you don’t want your photo taken, they let you just grab a sample of its Cold Brew or Qualità Oro Ground Coffee and give you a small vacuum-sealed packet of ground coffee, big enough for a small French press — maybe two cups.

The other big score is Ferrero Rocher, also there until the end of TIFF, where you just stand in line for about eight minutes and get a full-size chocolate bar.

Note that if you are going to a film at Roy Thomson Hall, last year I got my full-size freebie  of caramel corn confiscated, so they might do the same with the chocolate and any food or drink. Other theatres will allow you to take them in.

Also, on John Street, just north of King — and not a sponsor of TIFF — there was a Nescafé table handing out full-size bottles of their espresso coffee concentrate.

More information on Festival Street, which includes a map, can be found here.