Torontonians experience a Taste of Little Italy on College Street

The Italian Trecolore flags of green, red and white were spotted flying everywhere on College Street as Toronto hosted its annual Taste of Little Italy event.

Taste of Little Italy 2024 took up a good portion of the street from June 14 to 16, spanning from Bathurst to Shaw streets, with vendors and other activities lining the road.

Thousands of people attend the event every year as more than 200 local businesses pitch their tents and get involved in the festivities, according to the Little Italy Toronto website.

The portion of College between Bathurst and Shaw became Toronto’s first Little Italy in 1985 and has since continued to grow.

Marco Ricciuti said he tries to go to the Taste of Little Italy every year.

“It’s very nice to get that cultural authentic experience,” he said. “The streets close down and the food’s good and the music’s good and everybody there is, you know, repping Italy colours.”

Ricciuti said the trek to the Taste of Little Italy has become an important yearly event for himself, his friends and family and he even worked at the event for one year in 2019.

“It’s good, especially from somebody with Italian descent as myself to really see the culture and the music and the language,” he said.

Vendors and businesses on College Street also saw the benefit of added foot traffic as thousands of people were exposed to their name who otherwise may not have been.

Oorysia Boiko, a server at Flor Dois on College Street, said the Taste of Little Italy has drawn a lot of customers to come into the restaurant over the past couple of days.

“I would say that it’s very interesting that every year they keep doing this and attract a lot of people to try something new,” she said. “It’s a bit more busy than usual, the streets. The traffic is crazy here.”

Flor Dois is a Portuguese restaurant, but Boiko said that hasn’t deterred people from trying their food this weekend.

“People are coming by and trying things, trying some of our traditional Portuguese stuff,” she said.

Many of the vendors were Italian-inspired, but the inclusion of several other cultures made this a truly Torontonian event. Asian, Mexican, Portuguese and other ethnic cuisines were likewise available.

There were Italian street musicians but also rock music and other kinds of entertainment.

Ricciuti said every time he goes, he notices a greater inclusion of other cultures which can also be seen in Toronto’s Little Italy, making the event feel more connected to people in the city.

“It’s good to have all these diverse cultures come and try yours and appreciate it,” he said. “Everybody’s here peacefully and having a good time which is something that’s often taken for granted.”