Theatrical Layman’s guide to the Luminato Festival

The Luminato Festival kick-off is on June 10 and a common comment I’ve heard from those who don’t frequent the arts world, is: “What the hell is Luminato.”
The Luminato Festival takes over the Toronto streets for 10 days of fabulous creativity, featuring all artistic disciplines (theatre, dance, art, music, lit, visual art, etc.) and invites anyone and everyone to attend. It boasts a huge roster of events, including heaps of FREE events and it’s all VERY well organized on their website: luminato.com.  Their website is ridiculously user-friendly.
 And before you say it, Luminato is not just for arts enthusiasts; you don’t have to be well-versed on long-dead classical music composers or the most recent post-whatever movement in sculpture. You can go and witness cool circus performers, outdoor jam sessions, film screenings and fashion shows; there is so much going on you can’t possibly see it all. So how does one unfamiliar to the Luminato scene navigate it?  I’ll tell you.
DO visit luminato.com ASAP. From there, scroll through the ‘All Events’ page and find pieces that interest you OR: pick a date(s) that you’re available and pick events happening that day OR: choose an area of the city and concentrate your efforts on a few city blocks so transport is simple. Who knows what you might see on your route?  If you’re die-hard on a particular event, buy the tickets in advance; the festival is popular and you don’t want to be disappointed!
DON'T overbook yourself. I’ve done that and the last few events didn’t get my full attention because I was pooped and some of the others weren’t fully enjoyed as I was stressed about getting to the next venue. (This is a very" me" thing to do and I don’t recommend it.)
 Any free events are clearly labelled on the website with a green icon that says FREE!
 There are loads of family-friendly events too so bring the wee ones and they’ll love it. The band "They Might Be Giants" is playing a free event and they’re guaranteed to be hilarious, silly and educational. For reals.
 Theatrical highlights: Necessary Angel’s "Andromache" and "Tout Comme Elle (Just Like Her)", "One Thousand and One Nights", "Taj", the National Ballet's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", etc.
 Luminato is a unique extravaganza in the city of Toronto and its well worth taking advantage of. 
So do it!
And, as always, if you've got any questions about it, please feel free to contact me! I'm more than happy to help.