Woodbine Beach trashed by teens after Toronto TikTok users throw massive party
Ontario remains under a provincewide emergency shutdown with stay-at-home orders in effect until at least June 2, per the government's latest directives — though you wouldn't have known it to look at beaches and parks in Toronto this weekend.
Police estimate that thousands of people gathered at Woodbine and Cherry beaches alone on Sunday for raucous parties that involved everything from a boxing match to full-on drunken firework fights.
Anti-lockdown types have been known to stage raves at Cherry Beach following their weekly protest marches, but what happened at Woodbine Beach on Sunday was something entirely unexpected... unless you saw the invite circulating on TikTok.
@TorontoPolice Please plan to sue these teenagers planning to party on Woodbine Beach tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/ygVVUdD1lO
— E (@e733500914) May 23, 2021
You see, while there were many reports of people gathering in large groups across Toronto over the Victoria Day long weekend, the bash at Woodbine on Sunday was an organized affair.
An image circulating online suggests that somebody had organized an event called "Andrew's Kickback" — their own play on a California party called "Adrian's Kickback" that went viral on TikTok and attracted some 2,500 teens to Huntington Beach on Saturday.
The original invite for Andrew's Kickback, seen above, was posted to a TikTok account that has since been scrubbed of all content. It advertised an event starting at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 23, at Woodbine Beach, though locals say the area was packed all day.
This is unacceptable. This is what happened at Woodbine Beach. People should of been fined who went to the kickback. Why were there no fines given?@TorontoPolice @fordnation @JohnTory @CP24 @CityNews @311Toronto pic.twitter.com/7UuteGmkqK
— Oemoji Thee (@OemojiT) May 24, 2021
Videos from the event posted to Twitter, Instagram and especially TikTok show large groups of young people dancing maskless on the beach in clear violation of social distancing guidelines.
We literally made a fucking rave at woodbine beach pic.twitter.com/Zd3u1fo4fq
— Diego Gomes (@DiegoGomesMusic) May 24, 2021
"Tbh I didn't do it justice," wrote one TikTok user who had shared wild footage from the party. "Apparently multiple different fights went down last night (I witnessed two lol)."
"Multiple popular Toronto TikTok creators /Public Figures were there," continued the poster. "During the night, groups got bigger and bigger and much more packed."
— ᴠʟᴏɴᴇᴏᴍɪᴇ 🦹🏾 (@VloneOmie) May 24, 2021
Attendees reported that, at one point, an amateur boxing match was staged. Videos from the scene show two young men encircled by shouting peers, duking it out in the sand until one got completely knocked out.
He still sleep 🤣 Holay pic.twitter.com/po4TpQFnkx
— Ileskhoni (@Afghan_Kidd) May 24, 2021
And then there were all of the videos showing kids shooting fireworks at eachother...
Woodbine beach. Andrews kickback #ontario pic.twitter.com/D5QGMOBohK
— Anthony Peixoto (@Actually_Antho) May 25, 2021
Needless to say, a lot of rules were broken at Woodbine Beach on Sunday night.
"The way Woodbine Beach was messy today. My grill didn't work, lost my friends, got shot with fireworks, someone got TKO'd, someone got robbed, someone got stabbed, someone get arrested," wrote one person who says they were there on Sunday. "Just messy fam. Never again."
Canada & the UK are literally the same thing UK went into lockdown people thought fuck it come we go Bournemouth beach, scraps broke out etc, Canada just went into lockdown everyone’s at woodbine beach. Anything that happens in the UK is just 6-12 in front of Canada. pic.twitter.com/6xOQTBgDJU
— SB (OCC) 🇪🇷 (@SlickbackTM) May 24, 2021
The next morning, on Victoria Day, locals awoke to find a beach scattered with litter and debris. They were not impressed.
Why are Torontonians so lazy and disgusting? Just one of many scenes this morning at Woodbine Beach. pic.twitter.com/iO2LKd6Fum
— Lesa Hannah (@LesaHannah) May 24, 2021
"If you went to Woodbine Beach last night and didn't clean up after yourself then it's confirmed: you're an asshole and should go back to grade school to learn about littering," wrote one annoyed Twitter user.
Joked another: "Woodbine beach gonna have its own strain of COVID after this weekend."
y’all really risked it all for woodbine beach. like of all places???
— yaa asare💗 (@yaaasare15) May 25, 2021
Chief among the people disappointed by what went down at the beach on Sunday was city councillor Brad Bradford, who just a few weeks ago announced that officials would be cracking down on bad behaviour at Woodbine this year.
"The behaviour we saw at #WoodbineBeach this weekend was infuriating," wrote Bradford in a statement.
"While most Torontonians are doing the right thing, a small minority are disregarding community safety and disrespecting our public spaces. Be a grown-up and pick up after yourselves. It isn't too much to ask."
If you went to cherry beach / woodbine beach yesterday to gather at a large crowd, shame on you. Stop talking to me please and thanks.
— bbg ♥ 🌷🌸 (@lykalikesyou) May 24, 2021
As for who the "Andrew" in "Andrew's Kickback" is, nobody seems to know. It's possible that there was never an Andrew at all, only some rambunctious young people who wanted to throw a party for their peers after a seemingly-endless lockdown period.
Const. Ed Parks told City News that some tickets were issued at Woodbine Beach and Cherry Beach in relation to gatherings on Sunday night, but the exact number has not yet been revealed.
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