Nestled on the Toronto waterfront is the home of certainly Canada's—and potentially one of the continent's—richest and most diverse cultural centers for the arts. For more than 30 years, Harbourfront Centre has been the home of internationally renowned programming in the arts, culture, education, and recreation.
Harbourfronte Center, at 235 Queens Quay West, occupies 10 acres on the Toronto waterfront just south of the city's central business district. A short cab ride from the Toronto Convention Centre or your hotel, the complex includes contemporary design as well as the site's original industrial buildings, restored to create spacious and inviting artistic venues.
The York Quay Centre, the “nerve center” of the complex, inhabits an old trucking garage that is now home to 10 performance, dance, and exhibition spaces. York Quay Centre also includes four working craft studios as well as several art galleries. The Photo Passage at York Quay Centre exhibits often stunning contemporary photographic exhibitions. At Case Studies, Uncommon Objects, and StudioWorks, contemporary artists, designers, and craftspeople display their works year-round.
The Premiere Dance Theatre, on the third floor of the historically restored Queens Quay Terminal building, is a 450-seat venue home to accomplished dance, theatrical, and literary productions. The Harbourfront Centre Theatre, housed in a 1920s-era ice house, also boasts 450 seats and enjoys particularly excellent acoustics resulting in an intimate and ideal performance space for music, dance, and stage productions.
Harbourfront Centre is also home to the CIBCstage, considered by many Torontonians to be the city's finest outdoor concert venue. The lakeside amphitheater seats 1,500 with standing room for an additional 3,000. The stage presents musical acts, outdoor films, ballet, symphony, and opera spring, summer, and fall.
If it is food you are looking for, Harbourfront Centre is home to many fine and casual dining establishments. Unfortunately, during the annual meeting one of the sites favorite food destinations, The World Café, will not be open. In the middle of the site, The World Café is an “outdoor food extravaganza” that from June to September offers a variety of international cuisines prepared by a rotating selection of Toronto's best restaurants. However, the popular Pier 4 at Harbourfront offers both fine and casual dining with a nautical theme, housed within the historic storehouses of the pier and surrounded by water on three sides.
The complex is also a center for “learning, doing, and creating,” not just watching a performance. Children and families will delight in the School by the Water. Founded in 1979, the school's educational program is host to 30,000 children a year, ranging from kindergartners to kids of high-school age. The history of the waterfront, the arts, environmental issues, and urban planning are all taught in day-long waterfront classes.
With so much to offer, a day spent at Harbourfront Centre will indeed be well spent.
Information on Harbourfront Centre is posted at<www.harbourfrontcentre.com>. Check for an updated schedule of events planned during the annual meeting at<www.harbourfrontcentre.com/noflash/info/schedule.php>.▪
