On a cool, wet morning that felt a lot more like autumn than the Saturday before, we emerged from St. Andrews Station to the site of bright orange balloons. If we didn’t already know our way, these beacons would have led us straight to Festival Street.
The morning’s set up was still underway and crowds were thin when we got there, but the dreary weather hadn’t dampened the volunteers’ enthusiasm. As we stopped to have a look at the iconic TIFF sign which marked the start of the street fair, one volunteer cheerfully greeted us and offered to take our picture. it felt like a good omen for the day to come.
The Toronto International Film Festival is marking its
fortieth anniversary this year, but this would be our first experience at one.
Not that TIFF is new to us. Since moving here last December, The Bell Lightbox
has become almost a second home. TIFF year-round activities revived our love for cinema and we
are proud members. So to finally be getting the chance to set foot on the
festival’s grounds was a big occasion.
Let’s eat
After picking up our tickets from will-call, it was time to
get something to eat. David was already beginning to suffer from coffee withdrawal
and at ten a.m. breakfast was long overdue. We picked Canteen.
