Snapshot! Kensington Market Pedestrian Sundays – The Full-Time Tourist

Ever wonder what would happen if you shut down the streets leading into the pedestrian hub of Toronto? That’s basically what Kensington Market Pedestrian Sundays are all about. Instead of cars, there are street performers, giant boardgames, food vendors and musicians.

But the best part about KMPS is only in part thanks to this weird conglomerate of culture. The best part are the personalities that make a show out of the market. Like the hillbilly in a cowboy hat, coveralls with no shirt, strumming a guitar and tapping a bell from the hotel lobby as he sings in an old country genre. Or the belly dancer dancing to the beat of some hippie drummers under some trees in the park. Or the guy with a fire whip.

Yes, that is a man standing with a “flaming sex toy.” (His words, not mine.) He then struck the whip against the ground, forming a giant flame in the middle of the air.

@thefulltimetourist via Instagram: What do you get with a degree in     astrophysics and mathematics?   According to this street performer: a giant flaming whip. Because what’s more exciting than a fiery snake-like object wrapping around a performer’s body before smacking it against the ground? Certainly not math or science. He cracks the whip and it just misses the strands of spaghetti that David, a ‘volunteer’ picked out of the crowd, is holding. Fire jumps off the asphalt. “This looked a lot easier on YouTube!” the performer says to the crowd. David laughs nervously and looks over at his girlfriend in the crowd. The whip cracks again, this time slicing the spaghetti in half. “There you go, David. Some pre-cut spaghetti for dinner!” the performer said, as he grabbed some charred pieces of spaghetti off the asphalt and stuffed them into David’s pocket. David laves the small arena, waving to the cheering crowd. He had escaped the wrath of fire and pain.

But if you missed the fire whip dude last Sunday, don’t worry! There will be many more amazing performers on the last Sunday of next month! (May – October) Have you ever been to KMPS or have something similar in your city? What’s your favourite part of Pedestrian Sundays? Comment on Facebook or tweet me @thefttourist!