Corso Italia Toronto Fiesta was a qualified success. In particular, Saturday night the festival attracted tens of thousands of visitors, including Police Chief Julian Fantino.

This year’s edition put a strong emphasis on opposition to the streetcar right-of-way barriers foreseen in the project prepared by the TTC and the City.

The numerous visitors — some claim over 150,000 in three days — responded to the appeal of St. Clair residents and businesses, coming over to get information and support the fight. In just three nights, over 10,000 signatures were collected by the organization that calls itself SOS — Save Our St. Clair.

“We hadn’t seen so many people since 1982, when Italy won the World Cup,” said Frank Deleo of Tre Mari Bakery. “No comparison is possible with last year, when it rained all the time.” Deleo thinks that this year’s success is due to the fine weather as well as to the much-advertised opposition to the TTC plans. “All those who came inquired about that. All were opposed to the barriers and all said they back us, prompting us to keep up our struggle. They told us, ‘We want it to stay as it is’.”

“I must underscore,” continued Deleo, “that there were residents of all ethnic groups. There were many tourists, many Asians; there were Brazilians, Argentineans, Portuguese, and other Canadians. Of course, a great many were Italian. Corso Italia mainly belongs to them, and many of those who came live here.”

The opposition to the barriers has become everybody’s struggle, and during the three day Fiesta many Italian-Canadians came from Woodbridge, Hamilton, and Mississauga. Deleo said that many came even from the USA: Buffalo, Cleveland, Rochester. All of them expressed solidarity with those who oppose the barriers.

“We did a lot to let people know what’s going on here,” said Deleo, “and results are slowly coming in. This proves that 99 percent of the people are against the barriers, as we have been saying, even if the TTC says the opposite.”

The battle continues. On July 20, at St. Michael and All Angels, 611 St. Clair Av. W. (at Wychwood Ave.), an important meeting has been scheduled. In it, Deloitte & Touche will illustrate a study on the economic damage that businesses and properties on St. Clair would suffer if the TTC project were to go ahead.

Lino Colangelo, who was busy selling jerseys of the Italian national soccer team, commented, “We are neither against the TTC nor against development, we are against any imposition. These people should not try and impose their projects by quoting false statistics.”
Colangelo said that more should be done about Italian culture, and admitted that ideas are being put forward for some event more closely related to Italy.
The festival’s success left most business owners quite satisfied, not just because of increased sales but especially because they saw visitors from afar, including a few from Italy itself. They are convinced that more should be done to launch Corso Italia.

Weather was beautiful, which clearly boosted attendance. Many visitors shopped around, listened to the music performed by many different bands, and crowded the restaurants and bars chatting and meeting with old friends. Smiles were frequently exchanged: it was a sort of greeting that said they were glad to be “at home”. A big Italian home called Corso Italia.

Everyone was able to understand what the barriers might mean. The streetcar tracks on Corso Italia had been fenced out in order to avoid pedestrians wandering in front of a streetcar. Cars could not pass through the area, while streetcars could. The fences resembled the barriers. “It was really awful,” commented a few visitors; “they not only blocked crossing, they created a real psychological barrier. Let’s hope the TTC project won’t pass.”

The festival on Corso Italia was nice but Cesare Guidi and Carlo Capraia, of Tricolore Bar Caffè, think that things should be rethought and more events organized during the year. “We should do like in Italy, organizing several events about Italian culture. That’s what people want.”