娱乐英语新闻:Feature: Toronto film festival creates inaugural pedestrian-only promenade

TORONTO, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Commuting through King Street during the annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) can be a nightmare for both drivers and pedestrians alike. So instead of struggling to keep the two out of each other's way, organizers instead opted to get rid of cars completely.

This year, organizers took the opportunity once and for all to close off five blocks of the bustling city street to create a pedestrian promenade with its inaugural Festival Street.

The initiative brought curated art works, pop-up performances, a music mainstage, relaxed seating areas right on the road, and much more to festival-goers over the extended four-day weekend. TIFF's Festival Street programmer Nobu Adilman said the idea was to create entertainment that was accessible without the exclusive guest lists.

"It's been in the works for a while. It's been in negotiation with the city, the idea to expand the festival experience to the street, to give delegates a chance to stretch their legs, take their meetings outside and just create some more space for the festival to happen," he said. "The festival has always been for the people, and the idea is to invite them down to just say: hey, the festival is yours."

Their goal, according to Adilman, was to find ways to connect films to the street. There was a giant chess board for people to play with, a piano painted by a local artist called Jonathan Petersen left on the street for passers-by to play on, and a 66-ft- long art installation called the light tunnel -- which claims to be the most soothing red carpet experience ever with its soothing music and LED lights -- among other things.

Many just wanted to soak up some sun and check out the free entertainment.

"We have a movie that we're scheduled to see at about 4 o'clock, so we're just looking forward to getting together with other friends and just kind of enjoying the atmosphere," said Dolly Gerrior.

Even those like Benjamin Hoff, who weren't into the movies or red carpets, couldn't resist bicycling through King Street on the weekend to get a taste of the event.

"Rather than TIFF being a series of parties and movie screenings, it actually creates a physical space where everyone kind of experiences the festival. It really makes it a physical festival and not just a lot of things happening around the city," he said. "It makes the TIFF events a little more public it brings it out into the city so that everyone can experience it. So yeah, I'm really happy about it."

It wasn't just a welcomed initiative for festival-goers, but also for business owners on that stretch of the street. Closed off to traffic, restaurants were allowed to extend their patios right onto the roadway.

Hey Lucy Cafe's manager Lindsay Gowlitt said they tripled their normal Saturday sales. Within a four-hour period alone, they made roughly 11,000 Canadian dollars on beverage and food sales.

"Crazy sales, crazy sales. I think our restaurant was at full capacity, from 4 o'clock in the afternoon straight till close," said Gowlitt. "We were very busy for lunch as well, but yeah we actually at one point had to be like: Guys, just give us a minute. "

The closure, which forced drivers as well as streetcars on the busy line to divert around the area, became a source of frustration for many commuters. But some, like Hoff, believe that alone shouldn't stop outdoor events like this from happening.

"There's always a problem in the city with commuting ... but the city has to move on, construction has to happen, events like this has to happen," he said. "It's a big city, exciting things are happening and you're gonna get stuck if you're driving your car in the city, so don't."

Whether or not festival-goers or business owners will see a repeat of this initiative next year is still unknown. But Adilman believes the event speaks for itself.

"A lot of people are saying: Why didn't this happen three years ago, and so I feel very positive that we have made a good case for why it should, and I'll let the others decide whether it will happen again," he said.