The moniker is a little vague - it's billed as a free, all-night, contemporary art thing - but how else could 12 hours accommodate a zombie walk, light installations, waterfalls made out of plastic bottles, and non-stop dancing?
The third annual Nuit Blanche kicked off Saturday night at sundown and within hours the streets were packed with people. More than 800,000 are expected to stay up past dawn to take in close to 200 exhibits and installations.
"The weather is perfect and the exhibits are amazing this year, over 187 artists," Mayor David Miller enthused. "The big sign for me (that the event is growing) is that the first couple years I heard people saying, 'Are you going?' This year I'm hearing, 'What are you doing for Nuit Blanche?' It's captured Torontonians' imagination."
One of the showstoppers was certainly City Hall itself, where a group of German artists arranged lamps behind each of the windows to create the world's largest computer screen. Spectators looked up at the blinking light show, which was set to music.
The Scotiabank-sponsored exhibit has taken over three areas or zones of Toronto.
Zone A, or Downtown North, will see a host of installations in Yorkville, Church Street Village, and Cabbagetown.
Zone B, Downtown South, covers the financial district and will see contemporary art projects in and amongst the towering skyscrapers.
Zone C, or Downtown Southwest, features even more creative works along Queen St. West and Liberty Street.
"It's about artists taking public space and presenting contemporary art to the largest audience possible in one night," described program manager Carole Boughannam. "The word is spreading that this is really an incredible night. It's very magical, and there's a lot to see and do."
Another of the more involved exhibits includes 549 oil drums arranged sideways to reveal a poem. The installation stands 30 feet high, 60 feet wide, and weighs 20,000 pounds.
"We've been having 12-hour days since Thursday," installation supervisor Matt Farrell said. "We'll be finished just in time for the start of the event, when the sun goes down."
Those taking in the events were impressed.
"I'm new to university so it's the first time I'm experiencing a lot of different sides of culture. It's pretty great," said Taylor.
Another woman, Cindy, agrees, "All the different impressions of art. It's fabulous."
"What a concept," notes Gary. "Every city in the world should try to do something like this."
If there's one drawback to the community-building event, it's the traffic jams that are sure to follow.
The biggest roadblock will come on
Church St., which is holding a special party to mark the event. The busy roadway will be closed between Gloucester and Alexander Sts. from 3pm Saturday until 8am Sunday.
Church and Wellesley will stay open for east and westbound traffic and for TTC vehicles, but you won't be able to go down the street.
The other road closures aren't quite as severe and won't likely have the same impact, unless of course, you happen to be heading that way. Among them:
Dundas Square, from the west side of Yonge St. to O'Keefe Lane will be off limits from 7am Saturday to 7am Sunday.
Liberty St. from Dufferin to Jefferson Ave. shuts down from 5pm Saturday to 8am Sunday.
And a part of
Colborne St. from addresses located at 39-55, won't be open from 6pm Saturday to 5pm Sunday.
Cops warn of 'significant traffic disruptions' before and during the events, and are advising those who need to be in any of those areas to find a detour.
And for those concerned about how to get around on Nuit Blanche night, transit is by far your best bet as there will be numerous
road closures. Subway service is running until 7am Sunday between Eglinton and St. George station on the Yonge-University line, and between Christie and Broadview station on the Bloor-Danforth line. Additional buses and streetcars will also run.
For more info on exhibitions and locations,
click here.
If you're heading out,
send us your pictures and video here.
Image credit:
Scotiabanknuitblanche.ca
Full details of extended TTC service:
The TTC will add extra and extended service for Nuit Blanche, beginning on the evening of Saturday, October 4 until early morning on Sunday, October 5.
Subways will operate until 7am Sunday on the Yonge-University line between Eglinton Station and St. George Station only, and on the Bloor-Danforth line between Christie Station and Broadview Station only. Both lines will see trains arrive every 10 to 12 minutes. Full subway service resumes on Sunday at 9am.
Additional service will also be added to downtown overnight bus and streetcar routes serving Nuit Blanche sites.
- All night service will operate on King Street. Buses will replace streetcars at 3am.
- Additional streetcars to operate on the 509 Harbourfront route until 8am.
- All night service will operate on the 511 Bathurst route. Buses will replace streetcars at 2 a.m. to become with 310 night service.
- On the Blue Night Network, additional service will be added to the 301 Queen, 306 Carlton, 305 Eglinton East, 307 Eglinton West, 316 Ossington, 303 Don Mills and 329 Dufferin routes.
Transit users can purchase a TTC Day Pass for a group of up to six people, (maximum 2 adults over the age of 19) for $9. The day pass ensures unlimited travel on the TTC from the beginning of service on Saturday, October 4 at 5:30am until 9am on Sunday, October 5.