Hot & Spicy Food Festival Coming Up This Month at Harbourfront Centre

Harbourfront Centre is proud to present the Hot & Spicy Food Festival, August 19-21. Returning for its 19th edition, this three-day festival serves up a cornucopia of fresh flavours and hot sounds from the mighty Mississippi!

Every year, the Hot & Spicy Food Festival explores diverse "hot" food experiences from around the globe. This year the Festival follows one of the great waterways of the world, the Lower Mississippi River, through the American South into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Just as a river draws water from various tributaries, Festival chefs will blend multiple influences to serve up mighty culinary currents, with a little bit of spice . . . and a whole lot of heat! Hot & Spicy Food Festival goes bluesy, jazzy, festive and tropical with the rich culinary traditions of the deep south.

Music is at the forefront on Friday night with Juno Award-Winner for Blues Album of the Year in 2016, veteran singer/songwriter Harrison Kennedy on the Stage in the Round; interpreters of the N'awlins sound, Irene Torres & The Sugar Devils on the Concert Stage; followed by legendary award-winning Canadian Blues Queen, Rita Chiarelli, and her rockin' all-star female band, Sweet Loretta!

Southern Barbeque hits the right note on Saturday with Demos and Competitions between Uncle Smoke, Pork Ninjas, and Hogtown Smoke. Treme Brass Band, named after the famous New Orleans neighbourhood, will be marching around the site before their Concert Stage appearance in the evening. For the family, there is HarbourKIDS Arts & Crafts all afternoon; and the Toronto-based Combo Royale with their grand jambalaya of old time foot stompin' jazz, and the adventuresome Heavyweights Brass Band, on the Stage in the Round. Opening the Concert Stage is Yuka whose music harkens back to the sounds of Stax Records, Motown and New Orleans funk.

Capping off the evening on Saturday is the late night presentation, Sizzle! Love Letters Cabaret from Toronto's leading lady of burlesque, Pastel Supernova. Using elements of vaudeville, contemporary dance and burlesque, Sizzle! will tell delicious stories and explore decadence is this licensed (19+) and interactive event in the Brigantine Room. Tickets are $20 & $30 (VIP) in advance, and $30 & $40 (VIP) at the door. Tickets can be purchased at my.harbourfrontcentre.com.

There's more fun for the family on Sunday with HarbourKIDS Arts & Crafts, miniPong and dancing to the zydeco sounds of Swamperella and the bluegrass beats of The Barrel Boys, both on the Stage in the Round.

Throughout the Festival, the World Café will be turning out delicious food inspired by the Hot & Spicy Food Festival, while the Lakeview Market will be bursting at the seams with vendors from all over the city. In addition, check out the Red Hot Market, a one-stop shop for rare and fanciful hot sauces including sauces, rubs, jellies, pickles and marinades from around the world.

And everyday at Harbourfront Centre, Boxcar Social offers a curated, rotating list of coffees from the best roasters in North America, and a careful selection of some of the world's top new-world wines, craft beers, scotches and bourbons. The Slip, voted one of Toronto's best new patios, offers all-day sun, a breeze off the lake, cocktail pitchers and fresh cuisine.

Harbourfront Centre's exciting Summer Festivals schedule still includes:
TAIWANfest: A Cultural Tango with Hong Kong, co-produced by Asian Canadian Special Events Association, August 26-28
Ashkenaz Festival, produced with Ashkenaz Foundation in partnership with Harbourfront Centre, September 3-5
Veg Food Fest 2016, produced by the Toronto Vegetarian Association, September 9-11

Harbourfront Centre is a Canadian charity operating 10 prime acres of Toronto's central waterfront as a free and open public site. It celebrates the multiplicities of cultures that comprise Canada and enlivens the city through the creative imaginations of artists from across the country and around the globe.

IF YOU GO:

Harbourfront Centre presents
HOT & SPICY FOOD FESTIVAL
Savour the Flavour of the South
Harbourfront Centre - 235 Queens Quay West
August 19-21, 2016

Friday, August 19, 6pm-11pm
Saturday, August 20, Noon-2am
Sunday, August 21, Noon-6pm

Admission to Hot & Spicy Food Festival is Free for Everyone
with the exception of Sizzle! Love Letters Cabaret

Harrison Kennedy, August 19
Irene Torres & The Sugar Devils, August 19
Rita Chiarelli and Sweet Loretta, August 19
Southern Barbecue Demos, August 20
Southern Barbecue Competition, August 20
Treme Brass Band, August 20
Combo Royale, August 20
Heavyweights Brass Band, August 20
Yuka, August 20
Sizzle! Love Letters Cabaret, August 20
HarbourKIDS Arts & Crafts, August 20 & 21
miniPong, August 21
Swamperella, August 21
The Barrel Boys, August 21

For additional information visit harbourfrontcentre.com/festivals/hotandspicy/
or call 416-973-4000.

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