Welcome to all of our torchbearers for the June 5 Riverside Bridge Lighting!

Three days to go until the Riverside Bridge comes to light…

On the evening of Friday, June 5th, the Riverside BIA and community will launch the Riverside Gateway Bridge Project – a $600,000 capital installation illuminating the iconic Riverside Bridge. The bridge is the gateway to Toronto’s Riverside District, located on Queen Street East, between the DVP and Empire Avenue.

To help celebrate the launch of the Riverside Gateway Bridge and the Pan Am Games, Riverside BIA is hosting a free public event and Samba parade on Friday June 5th at 6:30 at McCleary Playground here in Riverside. Accompanying the Samba band will be multiple torchbearers wTorchbearers pic1ho will carry a Riverside Torch that was created by a local artist.

One of our torchbearers is Sam McLean. He is a five year old kinder-gardener from École Élémentaire la Mosaïque in the Upper Beach area. He is a keen soccer and hockey player, cyclist and talented Lego builder! He loves to have fun playing around with his sister when he’s not helping his dad work on their latest project together.

Another torchbearer is Kaia McLean. She is a seven year old Grade Two student and also from École Élémentaire la Mosaïque in the Upper Beach area. She loves gymnastics, swimming and cycling. Recently having found her passion as a top notch defender in soccer, she is a big fan of the Toronto Football Club.

Joan King is a torchbearer and also mother of five children and five grandchildren. She is from Grenada and has lived in Riverside for the past five years. She is founder of The Safety First Group, and runs a lot of the Rivertowne community programs, such as the breakfast and homework program.

A further torchbearer is Suzette Saunders. A mother of four children, she came to Canada in 1991 from Jamaica. Having always lived in downtown Toronto, she has been an avid volunteer since a teenager, helping out with seniors programs at Woodgreen, community clean ups and much more. For the past five years, Suzette has lived and volunteered in Rivertowne, helping shape the new Joel Weeks Park and working with Joan King on the Safely First program.

Mary Loria, another one of our torBridge May 28 2015 Lighting Test - White Purplechbearers, was born and raised in Toronto.  She has been volunteering since her teenage years doing community events, work with food banks, charity walks, and Boys & Girls clubs. For three years now she has been an outstanding volunteer in Riverside and helping the BIA on a day to day basis. Mary is an avid dog-walker and a sports fan of all variety of sports.

Shazia McCormick will be the final torchbearer of the evening and will lead the way to the foot of the Riverside Gateway Bridge. She is self described as a nomad and always travelling, exploring and finding new adventures. Riverside represents renewal to her by building a new life and being surrounded by a highly engaged community. The bridge represents not only the connection of the city to this vibrant neighborhood, but also the connection to nature. As an avid runner and stand up paddleboard athlete, she claims this is the best place in Toronto to live!

 

LET US KNOW you’re coming to the Riverside Bridge Lighting June 5th!

Many thanks to ALL our Bridge Lighting partners and sponsors: This project grew from idea to inception thanks to public partnership with City of Toronto, Ward 30 Councillor Paula Fletcher, and private sponsors: Gold Sponsor – Streetcar Developments; Silver Sponsors – Hullmark Developments, and Downtown Automotive Group; and Bronze Sponsors – Ashlar Urban Realty, The Avro, BMO, Brightworks Interactive Marketing, Harhay Construction, il ponte, and OX Agency – all of whom shared our vision.