Nuit Blanche 2015 - Introduction to My Night

This was the 10th anniversary of Nuit Blanche here in Toronto. And it very well may be the last. I've gone every year since the beginning and, in recent years, it's gotten smaller and smaller.

As well, after the event, it was reported that Scotiabank is pulling their title sponsorship saying, "the event no longer lines up with its priorities."

I have to say I've enjoyed going over the years. In its heyday it was a really fun experience. It took over the whole city with hundreds of thousands of people coming out to enjoy the spectacle.

Stretches of Yonge Street, Queen Street, Spadina or others were closed off to traffic. Open spaces such as Liberty Village, the Distillery District, Fort York, Ryerson University and Yonge-Dundas Square were used.

This time I believe the only large space holdouts from previous years that were utilized were Nathan Philips Square, OCAD/AGO and Queen West. They added a number of projects in a new area along the Harbourfront though.

I have to say, thanks, to Mother Nature as well. In all the years I've gone it's been relatively dry. I think the first year had a bit of rain and I'm sure some others in between did too. But not enough to make me want to stay home and miss it.

This year when I checked the forecast a day ahead of the event there was a 30%-40% probability of precipitation up until 10:00 p.m. After that it went up to 70% for most of the overnight. Not good.

When I checked the day of it was reduced to 30%-40% chance of rain through the whole night. But when I actually walked around it was dry for the most part, thank goodness.

One thing that was really annoying was the wind though. It was incredibly windy. At certain times it was hard to stay on your feet. It really made it difficult to get decent shots at slower shutter speeds.

I finished this year a bit earlier than some in the past. For a few years in the middle I managed to stay out the whole night (around 12 hours). This time I packed it in around 3:00 a.m. Eight hours out was enough for me. I'm not as young as I used to be.

If this is the last year for Nuit Blanche I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. A big thanks goes out to Scotiabank for sponsoring it and the City of Toronto for allowing it to happen.