While there are no shortage of beer festivals in the GTA, the Toronto Cider Festival (@TOciderfest) is filling a void in the city. Located at Yonge and Dundas Square, the festival is back for a second year on Saturday, August 27th 2016.
Co-founders Ijaz Jamal and Chris Palivan met at George Brown College when Jamal was teaching an event management course. After Palivan graduated in 2014, they kept in touch and before long, the Toronto Cider Festival was born.
Palivan, who was a bartender at the time, saw the rise in popularity of cider. He noted that “As a bartender, 5 years ago the only Ciders people would ask for would be, Strongbow and Magners. Now you have both men and women coming up to the bar and asking “what kind of ciders do you have on tap”. The consumers are more educated than ever, and have a deeper appreciation for the craft of Cider. This is happening for many reasons such as: people who are gluten intolerant have their answer for beer, people like the crisp and fresh taste more than beer, people don’t feel as bloated as they would from drinking beer, and cider is perceived as a healthier choice of beverage.”
This year’s event will feature over 30 different ciders including Pommies (@pommiescider), Lonetree (@lonetreecider), Ernest (@Ernestcider), Angry Orchard (@AngryOrchard) and Ironwood (@IronwoodCider), to name a few. Enjoy these refreshing ciders with some great food truck eats and live music.
Event Details
Location: Yonge and Dundas Square
Date & Time: Saturday, August 27th, 2016
Session 1 : 11:30AM-4:00PM
Session 2: 6:00PM-10:30PM
VIP Session: 5:00PM-10:30PM
Price: $30/person for Session 1 or 2 (includes a commemorative sampling mug and 4 sampling tokens)
$60/person for VIP Early Access (includes a commemorative sampling mug, 10 sampling tokens, early access to the festival and bonus VIP giveaways)
*Each sampling token is for a 4oz sample. Additional tokens are available at a price of $10 for 5.
Buy Tickets: Click here!
GIVEAWAY
I’m giving away one pair of tickets to one lucky reader (valued at $60) for the 11:30am to 4:00pm session. The giveaway ends on Thursday, August 4th at 12:00am. A winner will be randomly selected and announced shortly thereafter. Please note that you must be 19+ to attend the event. Enter via rafflecopter below. You can tweet once per day for extra entries. Good luck!
Excited to drink some brickworks 501! My personal fave 🙂
I’m excited to try Ironwood Hard Cider from Niagara-on-the-Lake, best fruit orchards there, breweries and wineries so I am sure their cider is tops!
I’ve never tried “Ernest Cider”. I am so curious.
I am more of a cider fan than a beer person. So, I’ve tried a lot of ciders – the most I am looking forward to are new ones that have a different flavour than the traditional apple.
Ernest cider!
Ernest Cider haven’t been able to get it at my LCBO yet
My husband would be interested in anything with apples and alcohol 😉
Besos, Sarah
Journeys of The Zoo
I’m excited to try Pommies cider!!
Love cider! I’ve never been
pommies cider
ernest cider
I’m keeping an open mind – looking forward to trying them all
I’m looking forward to seeing what Lonetree Cider had to offer.
pommies cider!