Thumbs down for Harbourfront

I should state up front how tired I am of this weather.  We are having long stretches where it rains at least for a while each day of the week.  And the humidity makes things unpleasant even if it isn't raining.  This is throwing all kinds of events into disarray and forcing the cancellation of most outdoor events, to say nothing of the Toronto Islands, which will basically be closed for business for the entire summer!

For instance, the long-range forecast is showing that Wed. and Fri. will have rain for the next two weeks, effectively wiping out the possibility of seeing Twelfth Night at High Park.  Considering the way that the reserved seats from those rain dates spill over onto the other weeks, things really get hairy.  There is a small chance that the rain today will have cleared out by 7:30, so they will go ahead tonight, but it is impossible to reserve any seats, and I am definitely not bringing a blanket to sit on the muddy slope...  I suspect I just won't make it to Twelfth Night with my son under these conditions.

Anyway, I am far more upset by Harbourfront and its cavalier treatment of people who are trying to see the Thurs. night concerts.  They are over in the Toronto Music Garden, which is a nice space but nothing all that special as parks go.

There is no legitimate reason for them not to move the concerts from the Music Garden to the covered stage right next to the main Harbourfront building in the event of rain.  In addition, they make no attempt to come up with a rain date, so the concert is just completely cancelled.  They say to call the information line, but it turns out if the weather is iffy, they don't make the call (on cancellation) until after 6 pm, but they don't have extended hours to actually speak to someone after 6 pm.  So there were quite a number of us that showed up right before 7 (it was overcast and a bit damp but not actually raining) just waiting to see what would happen.  There was no announcement, not even someone running over with a piece of paper to tape to the signboard saying that the concert was cancelled.  I call that really shabby treatment.  It really behooves them to at least notify people one way or the other.  We waited about 15 minutes and then left.  I suppose there is a tiny chance that either 1) the concert was delayed but ultimately went on (but again people need notification) or 2) official word was eventually passed along to the audience.  But I am extremely disappointed in how disorganized they are -- and how disrespectful Harbourfront is of its audience.  This will definitely colour how I think about them in the future and will make it far less likely that I attend concerts or other events that they sponsor.