The winter solstice falls on Dec. 21 2023. It's the day with the shortest amount of sunlight, but it doesn't have to be a sad one thanks to the help of Kensington Market's 34th annual winter solstice festival.

Starting at the corner of Augusta Ave. and Oxford St. from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., the festival will feature theatre, live music and roaming ensemble performances.

The streets involved in the parade route will be closed from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The festival is put on every year by the non-profit Red Pepper Spectacle Arts. It was founded in 1988 by Ida Carnivali, artistic director of the Kensington Market Carnival Arts Society and was originally called the Kensington Market Festival of Lights.

Changes to the festival this year

Last year, the parade had a breathtaking conclusion courtesy of a 20-foot fire sculpture and a performance from a group of firebreathers. Unfortunately, this year the regular street parade and fire finale had to be altered thanks to the ongoing revitalization project in Alexandra Park.

"Our response then is to adapt it to a more intimate (festival) and focus on the heart and connection to community and expanding our sense of belonging and providing warming stations," Gabriella Caruso, the artistic director of Red Pepper Spectacle Arts, told blogTO.

The four warming stations are new this year, to make up for the diversion from last year's fiery finale.

One aspect that won't change is the handmade solstice-themed lanterns on sale for $25 via roaming pedicab and a station on Baldwin St. throughout the event.

The festival partners with several community organizations for the annual event, like St. Stephen's Community House on Augusta Ave. There's also support from the Kensington Market BIA.

"I will say that a lot of the musical ensembles are returning, the invited artists are all returning," Caruso says. "There is an inherent coming together."

Some of those artists include Joseph Darlington, the Shadowland Theatre, a Chinatown Community lion dance, and the New Model Circus Army.

While the numbers aren't entirely accurate, Caruso estimates the festival has seen anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 attendees in previous years.  

Caruso has been involved with the festival since 1995, originally working with Carnivali. There isn't one aspect she's most excited about this year, but mentioned the overall creative changes they had to make to adapt.

"We haven't done this before. It's not in the same manner," she says. "There's a lot of overlap because we're used to setting up in the street or doing theatre in (that) environment."