FAQs

The YIMBY Festival is the Yes In My Backyard Festival. An annual event which provides an inclusive space for people and groups involved in grassroots community development to gather; exchange ideas, skills and strategies; and collectively imagine our future city.  The Festival was founded in 2006 by Christina Zeidler and promotes the role of community groups as an integral force for positive and sustainable change.

The Festival features a community fair with tablers from diverse community organizations and interactive programming facilitated by tablers.  

Anyone or any group interested in – or already involved in – shaping the future of Toronto in a positive way should attend!

YIMBY welcomes community members and groups from across the city to come together, exchange ideas to effect change, and strengthen their networks.

Attending the YIMBY Festival is free, and the Festival is family friendly, with programming for all ages!

Yes the Festival is family friendly, with programming for all ages, including a special program space for kids!

No, attendees (i.e. individuals) are not required to register for the Festival – you can join our Facebook event page to be reminded about the event or just show up on the day of.

Registration is for groups and organizations who want to have a branded presence at the Festival by hosting a table and possibly providing programming for the public at the Festival. More on this below.

Grassroots and community-based organizations and groups of all shapes and sizes that are looking to spread the word to a wide and engaged audience about their mission, vision, and share ways for the public to get involved.

We welcome organizations and groups that have social, environmental, economic, and educational missions.

To register for this year’s Festival please fill out this application. Once completed we will review your application and get back to you shortly. The deadline to register for this year’s Festival is September 27th, 2015. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, however applications recieved sooner are more likely to earn a slot at this year’s Festival.

YIMBY 2015 is presented by Shape My City, in collaboration with Think Fresh Group and Ryerson’s City Building Institute.

The YIMBY Festival will be hosted at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University, 55 Dundas St. W.

On the day of, volunteer greeters will guide you to the Festival space. If you’re using the elevator, get off on the 7th floor, if you’re using the escalator get off after the second flight.

Yes, The Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University is committed to ensuring that the building is barrier free and the physical environment and public spaces are accessible to all.

Getting to the venue is very easy; Ted Rogers School of Management (TRSM) is located in the heart of Toronto, surrounded by Yonge-Dundas square. TRSM is attached to the Eaton Centre and accessible by taking the subway to Dundas Station, taking the subway to Union and following the Path, or using the 505 Dundas streetcar. You can also get to TRSM from outside of Toronto by taking the Go Train to Union Station, then heading North to Dundas Station, making the Festival accessible to those who live inside and outside the Greater Toronto Area.

For those that drive, non-permit parking is available near the Ryerson Campus Store and Pitman Hall. Pay parking is also available in the lots near the Ryerson Campus, or you can take advantage of street parking.

Doors will be open to community from 11am-3pm on October 31, 2015. Participants will arrive early and stay later for set up and tear-down – more information about timing will be provided upon registration for participants.

Yes, we are aware that this year’s Festival coincides with Halloween. We welcome costumes into the space! There will be a kids space with festive activities, as well as a photo-booth, and probably even some candy. We’ve scheduled the Festival from 11am-3pm so that families have lots of time to get ready to Trick or Treat.

To celebrate, showcase and support the hard work of the initiatives that nourish Toronto’s communities all year round. Getting together under one roof is a unique opportunity to connect the dots between neighbourhoods and initiatives and to strengthen networks.

YIMBY also reiterates that community groups have proactive mandates, that they do more then say no to development proposals. Community groups support and influence positive developments that make our city and spaces worth staying in.

YIMBY is a free event for attendees. Participants (people or groups who table or host programming) are asked to pay a small fee to support the hard costs of running the Festival.

• The Hosts – this year’s Festival is presented by Shape My City, Think Fresh Group and Ryerson’s City Building Institute
• The Venue – This year’s Festival is being held at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University (55 Dundas St. E.)
• The Opportunity for tablers to host programming – This year’s Festival includes a chance for tablers to do more of what they do at YIMBY by hosting programming in one of our many booked program spaces.
• The Opportunity to share a table – This year’s registration includes an option to share a table, giving groups an opportunity to reduce costs, maximize use of space, and make new friends.
• The Website – same address, new content

Unity our Strength is a play on the city of Toronto’s official motto “Diversity our Strength”. It represents our desire to showcase and encourage the positive work groups are doing to bridge the (socioeconomic and geographic) divide in Toronto because we are stronger together.

It is about bringing together the suburbs and the downtown core, the upper class, working class and disappearing middle class; it is about coming into dialogue and building a better Toronto together.