Toronto Entertainment District Restaurants Bring Flavor to Festival Street at the 41st Toronto International Film Festival

TORONTO, Sept. 6, 2016 /CNW/ - The Toronto Entertainment District Business Improvement Area (TEDBIA) celebrates the 41^st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with King St. restaurants extending their patios between Simcoe and Peter St. during the opening weekend of the festival.

From Thursday, September 8 to Sunday, September 11, 2016, TIFF's Festival Street will transform a portion of King St. into a hub of events and red carpet activity with 18 restaurants providing additional seating for festival goers and spectators. "This is always an exciting time of year for the Entertainment District and we are thrilled to have even greater participation from our restaurants. The patio extension has been a success in previous years and we expect this year to be the best yet thanks to the Toronto International Film Festival and its supporting partners," says Janice Solomon, Executive Director of the Toronto Entertainment District BIA.

The 18 Entertainment District restaurants taking part in this year's Festival Street include: Elephant & Castle, Lone Star Texas Grill, Il Fornello, Sushi Oniwa, KAMA, Los Colibris, El Caballito, Pearl King, Maki My Way, Hey Lucy, Kit Kat Italian Bar & Grill, N'awlins, HUSH, Gabby's, La Fenice, Fred's Not Here, Forget About It Supper Club, and z-teca.

Hundreds of Entertainment District bars and restaurants beyond Festival Street are participating during TIFF.  The District offers one of Toronto's widest varieties of restaurants and events to accommodate the tastes of all festival goers. With the expansion of restaurants on Festival Street, combined with chic Entertainment venues from The Shore Club and FIGO to Ricarda's, festival goers will get an enhanced culinary experience during the festival.

"Festival Street brings great value to the City, to Torontonians, international visitors, and local businesses. Last year, Festival Street drew a remarkable 100,000 visitors in just four days," said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival. "The Entertainment District is the City's centre for nightlife, dining, live entertainment, and film, and Festival Street enhances this experience with dynamic, free programming for everyone."

The Slaight Music Stage returns to John Street with performances from up-and-coming musical talent and free film screenings on John Street south of King Street. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek™: The Original Series, TIFF and CBS Consumer Products will bring Star Trek fans an out-of-this-world film and talks programme for fall, beginning with a Festival Street screening of The Man Trap (1966), fifty years to the date that the episode aired on television on September 8, 1966.  TIFF also celebrates the 30th anniversary of two cult classics with screenings of Labyrinth (1986) and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). Costumes are encouraged at each screening, with prizes to be won.

Beginning September 8 and running to September 18, 2016, the Festival will screen 397 films from 83 countries. The Toronto Entertainment District will have the red carpets rolled out with many venues decked out to celebrate and welcome hundreds of celebrities. This year's festival welcomes such A-list celebs as: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Amy Adams, Anne Hathaway, Oscar Isaac and Jacob Tremblay.

About the Toronto Entertainment District Business Improvement Area:
Established in 2008, in support of the businesses of this area, the Toronto Entertainment District BIA's mandate is to promote, improve and preserve this dynamic area of Toronto. Benefitting from economic, environmental and social factors driving downtown growth, the Entertainment District has established itself as a thriving and vibrant district for living, creating, working and entertainment.

With distinct architecture both old and new, the Entertainment District is a thriving commercial hub of creative houses, hospitality and retail.  From the Air Canada Centre to the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, the Entertainment District includes many of Toronto's most iconic cultural landmarks including the CN Tower, Steam Whistle Brewing, Toronto Railway Museum, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, Canada's Walk of Fame, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Metro Hall, Rogers Centre, Roy Thomson Hall, Princess of Wales Theatre, Royal Alexandra Theatre, TIFF Bell Lightbox, 401 Richmond, Canadian Broadcast Corporation, Bell Media. The District is home to an array of talent that is comprised of the Canadian Opera Company, the National Ballet of Canada, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors.  For more information, please visit www.torontoed.com.

SOURCE Toronto Entertainment District Business Improvement Area

For further information: Note to Press: For more information, please contact: Janice Solomon, Executive Director, Toronto Entertainment District BIA, Telephone: [phone], Email: [email protected], Facebook: facebook.com/torontoed, twitter: @toronto_ed, Instagram: torontoed_insta