IRIE festival

Hope you shook your tail feathers this weekend! If you didn’t, there were more than enough feathers to go around. The TD Irie Festival took place from July 29th until August 1st, 2011. Free music performances were at Nathan Phillips Square, Queen’s Park and Yonge-Dundas Square. Your pick! 

It was an opportunity for people to gather and celebrate Caribbean culture. I heard music from reggae to salsa, soul to r&b. People were lounging in the grass, listening to the artists while munching on Caribbean eats. Such a care-free vibe. 

Think patties only come with beef? Here, I found ones with vegetables, jerk chicken, saltfish & callaloo (a leafy vegetable) or curry goat. There was no shortage of jerk or BBQ chicken on its own, either. 

I decided on a jerk chicken patty and a fish d1sh. It was a seasoned snapper fish garnished with onions and tomatoes – served on a bed of rice with delicious plantain! 

Yeah, mon.