The 10th annual sake festival hosted by the Sake Institute of Ontario will be held in person on Oct. 1 at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.
The event, which is back live after two years of restrictions, will be held from 5:30 p.m. for VIP ticket holders and from 6:30 p.m. for everyone else, according to SIO's website.
The festival will be held in conjunction with World Sake Day and will provide newbies and experts with the opportunity to taste more than 175 different sakes sourced from over 30 breweries in Japan, Canada and the U.S.
Kampai Toronto is a great opportunity for anyone looking to understand more about the booming industry around the fermented rice drink, which has continued to evolve and blossom over the centuries since its inception. All the attendees will get to experience sakes from around the world without leaving the city and even get a chance to chat with the vendors and brewers.
The venue partnership with the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre will offer the perfect backdrop to the festival as the JCCC is one of the largest and most vibrant Japanese cultural institutions in the world, SIO's website stated.
The guests will be able to experience the "extensive history, boundless culture and impressive legacy of sake," a beverage that has its first written record dating back to the third century, according to Britannica.
To say that the drink holds a certain reverence in Japanese culture would be an understatement. Even the special ceremony surrounding the serving of sake — the country's national beverage — is a spectacle in itself. And that's before any sort of tasting.
With an ever-expanding food scene, diversity and a general notion of adventurous eating/drinking amongst the population, the city of Toronto provides the perfect platform for people to be able to sip a piece of Japanese history.
Besides alcohol, all patrons at Kampai Toronto will get the chance to sample food from some of the best Japanese restaurants that Toronto has to offer, for there will be six distinguished local restaurants/food vendors providing a variety of Japanese and Asian-inspired gourmet appetizers for sale, the website stated.
Given its track record of selling out every year since its inception in 2012, it is almost a given that this event has been a hit among Torontonians in the past years. Add onto that the fact that it is returning as a live and in-person event after two years of pandemic-related restrictions with a new venue and we have ourselves a locked-in recipe for success.
Kampai Toronto will be held at the JCCC at 6 Garamond Ct. in North York on Oct. 1. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. for VIP ticket holders and 6:30 p.m. for the general population and goes on till 9:30 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase here.
