2023 FESTIVAL INFORMATION & FAQ

FESTIVAL BASICS

The 34th Annual Word On The Street Festival returns to Queen’s Park Crescent on May 27th & 28th! Voted Best Local Festival – Platinum in the 2022 Toronto Star Readers’ Choice Awards, the first Word On The Street festival was held in 1990, the International Year of Literacy.

Festival Location

Our 2023 festival will take place on Queen’s Park Crescent East from College St to Wellesley St and on Grosvenor St from Queen’s Park to Surrey Pl. View the festival map, including stage locations and exhibitor listings by clicking the MAP button.

Festival Hours

The Word On The Street takes place over two days:

Saturday May 27th from 11:00AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday May 28th from 10:00AM – 5:00 PM

The Word On The Street features over 100 presenters, including authors of children’s literature, mysteries, romance, science fiction, nonfiction, literary fiction, poetry, and genre-bending works fathomable only to those who dare read them.

View the festival schedule for more info!

Thank you to our supporters

This work would not be possible without the generosity of our community of sponsors and donors. Major sponsors include the Toronto Star, Harlequin, OWLKIDS, and the Toronto Public Library. Penguin Random House Canada is the lead accessibility sponsor for the 2023 festival.

The Word On The Street is supported by the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, and Ontario Creates. We acknowledge support from the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the Canada Book Fund, and Building Communities through Arts and Heritage.

Important Information for WOTS2023

2023 Festival Location

Our 2023 festival has moved south from last year’s location.
This year’s event takes place on Queen’s Park Crescent East from College St to Wellesley St and on Grosvenor St from Queen’s Park to Surrey Pl.
KidStreet is located in a parkette at Queen’s Park Cres and Grosvenor St.

Transit & Parking

To access the festival, Queen’s Park Station on TTC’s Line 1 will take you right to us. We are also easily accessible via the College Streetcar.
For Wheel Trans, we recommend 80 Grosvenor Street as a drop-off and pick-up location as this location is located just east of the festival.
Parking is available nearby at in the Toronto hospital district.

Accessibility Measures

We will have ASL interpreters for our children’s programming, Across the Universe, and Vibrant Voices stages.
Closed Captioning will be available at the festival Main Stage, Twist Endings, and Big Ideas.
Service animals are welcome in our marketplace and programming venues.

COVID Safety

We encourage all our author guests, marketplace exhibitors, and festival attendees to stay masked up when it isn’t possible to social distance.
Masks and sanitizer are available for free throughout the site.

Food and Drink

A number of food and drink options will be available on-site, including water re-fill stations and local food vendors.
Food vendors include Fleets Coffee, 169 Juice, Choco Churros, Happy Twist, La Paisa Colombian Street Food, Ontario Corn Roasters, Yummy, and Sausage Party.
Food is primarily located at the north end of our site on Queen’s Park Crescent at Wellesley St, but select vendors can be found throughout the site.

Weather

WOTS is a rain-or-shine festival, we encourage attendees to prepare according to the local weather conditions.
In case of lightning or severe weather, please seek shelter immediately in nearby buildings such as Queen’s Park subway station, the University of Toronto, the MaRS Discovery District, or the Ontario Legislature. Do not shelter underneath tents or trees.
Festival organizers will share updates on social media (@torontoWOTS) and via the stage speakers. The festival will resume once conditions are safe to do so.

For more details, please visit our Code of Conduct and Accessibility page.

Media Contacts:

Daniel Shehori
Publicist
dshehori@gmail.com

Rebecca Diem
Digital Strategy & Communications Manager
rebecca@thewordonthestreet.ca

Will my favourite author be there? When will the schedule/map be available???

We hope so!

Check-out the festival schedule

Show Me

I'm interested in exhibiting or volunteering, how do I get involved?

Awesome!

Check out our 'Get Involved' page for opportunities, including exhibitor applications, programming suggestions, volunteering & more! Make sure you're signed up for the newsletter too!

Get Involved

How do I get to The Word On The Street?

Transit and Parking Instructions

Queen's Park Station on TTC's Line 1 or the College Streetcar will take you right to us. For Wheel Trans, we recommend 80 Grosvenor Street. Parking is available nearby at Women's College Hospital.

Will there be ASL or Live Captioning at your event?

Definitely!

Closed Captioning will be available at the festival Main Stage, Twist Endings, and Big Ideas. ASL interpreters will be present in our children's area and other stages.

I love this fest! Can I donate or sponsor something?

Um, yes!

We've been championing literacy and celebrating the stories that connect us for over 30 years with the largest free book festival in Canada. You can help us by donating!

Support us

Is there food at Word On The Street?

We're glad you asked!

Yes, we have a variety of exciting food and drink vendors serving coffee, tea, juice, sandwiches, salads, corn, tornado potatoes, vegan sausages, Chinese food, Colombian street food, and churros!