The first annual Toronto Cocktail Festival is taking place this month

The first annual Toronto Cocktail Festival is set to take place this month, which will include a spectacular opening gala with 30 open bar stations and over 50 drinks to sample.

The Toronto Cocktail Festival will take place over the course of five days, and will encompass not only bartenders but chefs as well, and brand ambassadors too. Aside from that, of course, there will be a huge gathering of cocktail lovers coming together over a shared passion for mixology.

The Toronto Cocktail Festival’s Gala of Cocktails will crown the entire festival with a huge event right in the middle of all the fun on the weekend.

Taking place over the course of four hours, the gala will include 30 open bar stations and over 50 drinks to choose from. Over two dozen premium national and international spirit brands will be represented at the gala. To kick off the night, there’ll be a special VIP hour at the beginning of the gala event with passed canapes and cocktails. The dress code for the gala is stylish cocktail wear, so you’re going to want to break out your cutest cocktail dress for this one.

Food will be provided by Food Dudes, and there will also be live musical entertainment wth DJ Nikolina spinning.One of the most exciting parts is, top bartenders and brand industry ambassadors will be available to chat all things boozy.

While that may be one of the glitziest events that’s part of the Toronto Cocktail Festival, it’s far from the only one.

There will also be two cocktail crawls as part of the festival in three different neighbourhoods of Toronto: Little Italy, Queen and Ossington, and Trinity Bellwoods.

The crawl in Little Italy will visit Bar Pompette, Suite 115 and Lonely Diner with Bearface Whisky cocktails paired with curated small bites at each stop. The Queen and Ossington Crawl will visit Mother Cocktail Bar, Prequel & Co. and Gift Shop, showcasing Giffard cocktails with bites along the way. The crawl in Trinity Bellwoods will visit Cry Baby Gallery, Compton Ave. and Bar Mordecai, with cocktails based on Empress Gin paired with small bites for that one.

To close out the festival, there will be a closing cocktail-paired brunch at Reign with welcome cocktails and bites followed by a four-course brunch by chef Roland Torok-Ducharme accompanied by cocktail pairings curated by James Grant and the Library Bar team.

There are even more events to check out as part of the festival including some free options, and there are a ton of seminars throughout the five days on a wide range of subjects.

The Toronto Cocktail Festival takes place from Oct. 22 to 26.