As a journalist, one of the first things I was taught during my degree was about being as objective as possible, supplying all the information available and giving the reader the chance to form their own opinion. However, I’m going to have to break this ‘rule’ with my very first post for the Canadian Festival Guide.

To say Dinah and I had a great time at the Bacardi Festival Libre would be an understatement. And I’m sure it had absolutely nothing to do with all the free drink tokens we were provided with.

Festival Libre was a weekend long event (July 4-6 2014), which celebrated Bacardi’s passion for rum culture through cocktails, music, dance, cuisine and arts. Deciding to hold the festival at the historic distillery district proved to be an inspired move. (It is, after all, the largest licensed outdoor patio in Toronto.)

In case you’re wondering why you’ve never heard of Festival Libre before, don’t’ worry, you’re not going senile. This was the inaugural event, but it’s safe to say it was a major success.

As if to prove this point, the three-day event extended its serving hours on the final day to 9:00pm, in the process adding more events to the Sunday schedule. (It was originally meant to finish at 5:00pm.) We have since been advised that the festival is 99% likely to return next year, with a view to becoming an annual event.

Personal highlights for me included the Bacardi Rum bar, the Cubano sandwich and watching the very talented samba heat dancers. (High energy and vibrant only begins to describe the experience.)

Despite my earlier confession about breaking one of the so-called rules of journalism (heck, they all do it from time to time), I decided to do my due diligence and speak to some of the festival goers to get their opinion. To a person, everyone we chatted to enjoyed everything about the event, from the drinks, to the food and the various events.

Interestingly, even when people had criticisms to make, it was more of the constructive variety. E.g. A need for a larger variety of food, more drink selections, etc.

Of course, with this being the inaugural Festival Libre event, there was always going to be room to improve. Along those lines, we were informed that one of Bacardi’s main priorities for next year is to make sure they have more vendors.

Finally, I’d just like to pass on a big thanks to Bacardi organizer George Skarpathiotakis and Faulhaber Communications PR rep Shannon Law, who proved to be the perfect hosts, while also doubling as our unofficial tour guides for the festival. (I’d raise a Mojito to them both, but I’m in the office and drinking alcohol is frowned upon for some reason.)

Article & photos by Paul Taylor

We’re looking for people interested in providing reviews & pictures from Festivals and Major Events happening all across Canada for the #CFG blog. Contact us at: canadianfestivalguide@gmail.com