The 519 rakes in record $375k at beer garden
NEWS / Cawthra Park filled with happy, thirsty gays
Marcus McCann / Toronto / Wednesday, July 06, 2011
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Two days before the parade, staff at the 519 Church Street Community Centre knew that their beer garden was a runaway success.
 
Among the signs? They were running low on booze.
 
It was a good problem to have, and it prompted the first of three extra trips to the liquor store over the course of the weekend.
 
By Saturday, they had completely drained all their kegs and moved on to canned beer. By the final hour of their Sunday-night dance party, they had run out of alcohol altogether.
 
Preliminary numbers from The 519 show a staggering year of growth. Liquor sales topped $375,000, compared to roughly $225,000 in 2010.
 
Over the course of the weekend, organizers counted 40-45,000 visits to the park, compared with 21,000 in 2010.
 
Dubbed the Green Space on Church, The 519 closed off the bulk of neighbouring Cawthra Square Park for four days, from June 30 to July 3. The site, just steps from the Church-Wellesley intersection, included beer tents, a stage and a dancefloor. Programming ran until midnight each day.
 
Matthew Cutler, The 519's communications manager, says it was a combination of luck, good planning and opportunity that made the event such a success.
 
They were buoyed by good weather, the Canada Day long weekend and Pride Toronto’s trimmed-back programming, Cutler says.
 
And importantly, those who came had a good time.
 
“People loved the space, loved the vibe. Torontonians, people in the neighbourhood, they saw their friends here,” Cutler says.
 
The City of Toronto pays for The 519’s building and maintenance costs, but programming is financed through fundraising and corporate donations.
 
And that makes events like the Green Space on Church — their biggest annual fundraiser — crucial to the centre’s success.
 
“In addition to being a great party, and a great time for everyone, it has a lasting legacy,” Cutler says.

Dancers from Arabesque perform at Starry Nights June 30, part of The 519's Green Space on Church programming.
(Andrea Houston)



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Reader Comments


 
Great, that covers the city money
that may or may not be forthcoming. Thank you to the thirsty gays. This appears to truly allow the Pride Board to say FU to the city funding with no major hit. Wow and for a while there I thought that Co-chair Alvarez pronouncements of the Pride Toronto bankruptcy was imminent?
tim, toronto ON
07/07/11 9:26 AM EST
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Read the article, Tim
This article is about the events hosted by The 519, Tim. Pride Toronto is an independent corporation which operates its own beer gardens and events. This article has nothing to do with Pride Toronto's funding issues or potential bankruptcy.
Nick, Toronto ON
07/07/11 3:11 PM EST
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Surely
they (and others) can share the proceeds with Pride Toronto? Just sayin is all...
tim, toronto on
07/07/11 3:23 PM EST
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519 beer garden
They may have raked in $375,000 in beers sales but what about the costs involved? Paid security, DJ's bartenders, lighting, fencing, sound equipment, rentals, port-a-potties... was it really worth shutting off the coveted AIDS memorial and blocking passage from Church to Jarvis? Next year the 519 should consider having their fabulous event at a larger venue and keep the conjestion down... the lineups to get in were hundreds deep, there were people hopping over the fences, not to mention the monies made by all the drug dealers inside the park. Were there any police officers inside this event?
kal, toronto ontario
07/08/11 12:24 AM EST
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Fantastic Event!
We spent most of our Pride weekend in The 519's Green Space and it's no surprise they did so well! The venue was well laid out, the crowd was well-managed and largely well behaved and the entertainment was stellar. Sunday was a bit hectic just after the parade but the line-ups died down and the calm returned shortly after. We loved having the AIDS Memorial in the park this year, we visited the plaques with our friends' names and felt like they were part of the celebration with us. To answer Kal - it was worth it. There are many other ways to get from Church to Jarvis, but few other opportunities to connect with friends and celebrate they way we did. For four days a year, some minor congestion and a detour are hardly an issue. And, yes, we saw police officers in the park constantly. Thanks again to The 519 for an amazing weekend. See you in 2012!
James, Toronto ON
07/08/11 7:24 AM EST
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Great Events
Good for the 519 .... These series of parties were fantastic..a great use of the park.. and a wonderful central meeting place for everyone in the community.... i ran into people I haven't seen in years... so much better than partying in a parking lot.. Hope they continue the tradition next year...
C. Kier, Toronto ON
07/09/11 8:25 AM EST
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Memories of when the park was a gay space
It's great that Cawthra Square Park can still become gay space - for at least one day of the year. For the other 364 days of the year, it's really a space dominated by street people and dogwalkers. In the 80s, scores of hot young gay men used to sunbathe in the park throughout the summer, but not anymore (they stopped going when the The 519 started offering more and more services for stret people, who took over the space). It's just another sign of the decline of the neighbourhood as a gay space.
John, Toronto Ontario
07/09/11 8:49 AM EST
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Revival of the 519
For the past five or six years, the 519 has consistently improved thanks to excellent staff, good management and strong governance. It's programming is diverse, relevant and vital to both the local neighbourhood and the LGBTQ communities. They seem to have struck an excellent balance between running their own programs with providing free space to other community groups. The work that went into the Green Space during Pride was clearly evident and it paid off well for the agency. Looking forward to more good things to come from the 519.
Doug, Toronto Ontario
07/09/11 6:29 PM EST
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