Reclaim the Streets is a simple concept, the idea that the streets should belong to people and that public space should belong to the public, but it’s presented as a message more suited to dancing than raging. It was bursting with promise going into its sixth year in Toronto. The annual street party, held in cities around the globe, represents a freedom call to the public, spun by DJs and spread through loud speakers.

And in late September, people danced, despite three earlier arrests and numerous attempts by the police to shut the party down. It seemed the reclaimers were at odds with the police in regards to their right to enjoy public space and who actually fit into the definition of “the public.”

The eccentric crowd, a combination of reclaimers and Critical Mass riders, faced a police presence which at first seemed more like an annoyed neighbour next to a house party, but soon became violent as the crowd tried to literally reclaim the streets. Three people were arrested and charges laid covered the spectrum from obstruction of justice to assaulting the police to drunk and disorderly.

Spooked but determined, the crowd eventually settled for reclaiming the sidewalk instead and made their way to Dundas Square, the brightly lit heart of Toronto’s shopping heaven.

Dundas Square is now Toronto’s largest, most notorious public/non-public space where a permit to use the space would have cost organizers $4,000 to host an event like Reclaim the Streets. A group created to promote the use of public space having to pay to use public space?

It was obvious the reclaimers didn’t have a permit, they just arrived at the Square with speaker systems mounted to bicycles and DJs carrying their turntables and mixers, followed by a motley crew armed with papier maché puppets, feather boas and smiles.

The DJs’ equipment was quickly assembled and Rock the Casbah by the Clash christened the party. The crowd began to dance with a sort of defiance towards the police, the music reverberating off the glass windows and large flat ads that adorn the sides of the Eaton Centre. The Square itself was soon bathed in the eerie blue-white glow from the large telescreens and illuminated ads that crown the space, the only light available once the sun had set.

During a break in the music, a microphone was passed around and an unidentified young woman urged people to look at the massive ads around them and said, “rather than get cynical about it, I want you to shake your ass and think about the culture you create.”

As the dancing continued, more than one person commented that this act of resistance reminded them of the Pope Squat as people celebrated resistance and danced as if no one were watching and as if the whole world were watching at the same time.

A large audience had gathered at the edges of the reclaimed dance floor, and upon receiving an invitation to join in, some actually took the next step. The rest watched, with wide eyes and wide smiles, and seemed almost as disappointed as the reclaimers were when the police finally shut the party down.

Every earlier attempt to shut the party down had been met by a barrage of questions and verbal protests, as the crowd remained confused as to why the party couldnâe(TM)t continue. Speculation from the Reclaim the Streets organizing team pointed to the lack of a senior officer on duty at the event that led to the lack of answers. A beat officer said the music had been “tolerated long enough,” even though it was a full hour and ten minutes before the 11:00 p.m. noise bylaw came into effect. With a DJ still spinning in the background, organizer, Dan Young, offered a police officer the chance to address the crowd and maybe have his 15 minutes of fame — he refused the microphone.

Unwilling to give up just yet, a cat and mouse game began between police and reclaimers as two officers attempted to shut the sound system down; the police struggling to figure out how to turn the equipment off and the DJs effortlessly switching it back on when they werenâe(TM)t looking. Five second clips of Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean were greeted with cheers by the crowd and angry shouts of “stop that!” by the police.

The sound system was finally disabled in a fit of chord pulling and switch flipping by the police, and then dismantled by the DJs themselves as hand drums, whistles, cheers and applause became the music that the police could only then shut down by kicking us from the Square all together.

Krystalline Kraus

krystalline kraus is an intrepid explorer and reporter from Toronto, Canada. A veteran activist and journalist for rabble.ca, she needs no aviator goggles, gas mask or red cape but proceeds fearlessly...