Ontario Place revival Toronto

<ONTARIO PLACE, May 5/1971, a few weeks before it opened. PHOTO – Graham Bezant, Toronto Star Archive>

<Summer at Ontario Place before the 2011 shut down> There were a lot of sad faces in 2011 when the province decided to shut down TORONTO’s waterfront theme park and tourist attraction. Ontario Place wasn’t generating enough revenue to offset the funds needed to keep it alive.The government had plans to re-open the site eventually, but artists, dancers and musicians from around the world jumped the gun in September/2016. They’re showing the potential of the 14-acre island site – IMAX films made in the 1970’s screened at Cinesphere, 45 musical and stage performances, outdoor sculptures, photography and paintings in the silos.

The goal of the In/Future Festival was to give local artists and arts organizations a platform to showcase their talents on a much bigger stage. Festival founder and co-curator LAYNE HINTON: “This is a temporary transformation of the area, but I hope it’ll reflect what could happen in the future at the site.”