Picture"Fireboy, a Busker in Toronto Buskerfest 2009" image by Loozrboy
One of my favourite annual Toronto events of late summer is Buskerfest. It was also one of the first street festivals that I wrote about.

In fact, I followed it the following year with an article explaining the choice between Buskerfest Toronto and an Ashkenaz festival (which returns to Harbourfront in August 2014, thanks for asking).

So why add "How to Find the 2013 Toronto Buskerfest" this year? My biggest motivation was that they changed the venue; and I'd explained how to get to Buskerfest Toronto in the previous articles.

While I care that people may go to the wrong location because they read my old article this year, what also matters is my reputation for accuracy.

Three More Annual Events in Toronto

Let me publicize one other article promoting three annual Toronto events in this same time period.

"Richard III, Afro Caribbean or Chinatown in Toronto for 2013" covers a 2013 production by Shakespeare in the Ruff, plus the Afro Caribbean Festival in Scarborough and the annual Chinatown Festival in Toronto.

While these annual summer events have stayed in their traditional locations, I still provide street intersection and public transit advice. Some readers may be tourists. Even a Toronto native might not be familiar with locations such as Withrow Park; or realize which Chinatown hosts this particular festival.

One Double Repetitive Writing Tip

Actually, this writing tip is against being repetitive; but I have to confess to making this mistake.

Specifically, the title of my 2011 article, "How to Find Toronto Buskerfest 2011", is far too similar to my 2013 article. It's especially glaring when one article links to the other.

So do better than I did this time, when you revisit a topic. Take the time to ensure you are not plagiarizing your own title or opening line. It might be the best in the world; but change something so your readers won't think you're in a rut.

My second writing tip is to revisit old articles if you realize they have become outdated. Check what I did in the earlier article(s): I explicitly say that the Buskerfest Toronto location changed in 2013. I also give a link to my recent article.

It's always possible that people will find the older article. In fact, if you can write about "evergreen" topics, you get readers over the long term.

But when important details change, you should at least advise your readers to check a more up-to-date source; perhaps your new article!

Thanks for reading about Buskerfest Toronto 2013.
 
Picture"The Princes Gates at the CNE in Toronto" image by Steve Harris (stevenharris)
The CNE in Toronto surprised me this year by the online discount ticket offers.

Oh, did you think this is about being frugal with your ex-spouse? Sorry, that would be some other blog. I wrote about "the Ex", a Toronto abbreviation for "Exhibition".

My DeHaan Services site often previews cheap or free annual events in Toronto. "Enjoy the CNE on the Cheap in 2013" differs because the Canadian National Exhibition advertises heavily and it is not cheap.

But then I found some excellent discount ticket offers. I also knew some other tricks already. So that was enough material for my article.

By the way, the "Princes' Gates" serve as the eastern entrance to the CNE grounds; and

One Writing Tip "on the cheap"

My favourite writing tip is simply to keep your eyes open to new topics.

Here's my new slant on this tip.

Everything started with noticing that the CNE offers online admission tickets. A bit of idle curiosity led me to wonder whether there was a discount. It was not easy to find "how much is it worth" and "how do I qualify".

That's when I realized that there was enough valuable material for an article. If it took me "that long" to answer the question, my readers would find it helpful to read my synopsis before doing their own research.

Your articles might not involve comparison shopping (as this CNE article did); but if you can save readers time and effort related to a topic, they should reward you by reading your next articles.

Thanks for reading about visiting the Ex on the cheap.
 
Picture"Map for Wychwood Barns in Toronto" image by Mike DeHaan from Google Maps
My latest Toronto Events article in DeHaan Services, "A Dozen Free Toronto Events August 7 to 11, 2013", covers more than twelve but some come with a small price tag.

Last year I'd only touched on three or so of these festivals. I was astounded that so many compete for our leisure time in this one weekend in Toronto.

By the way, two separate events are scheduled for Wychwood Barns on Sunday. I invited people to write me to let me report on how that turns out.

One Investigative Writing Tip from a Dozen Events

One reason for writing about annual Toronto events is that people can find useful information in old articles. I link to the festival organizers (or other reliable sources), so people who find my "Taste of the Danforth" article from 2012 can still link to their current official page.

One of the annual events that I'd covered in 2012 holds their activity at Yonge Dundas Square. Since the organizer, Panorama India, did not have all the details I wanted on their site for the 2013 edition, I checked the Yonge Dundas Square schedule.

To my surprise, it was only listed as "To Be Announced". Fearing that Panorama India might have fallen apart, I sent an e-mail. They replied, both with the details I requested and also to say that they hadn't realized that Yonge Dundas Square needed to be updated. So my query resolved my concerns but also led to the information being posted in the official YDS schedule.

The writing tip is to ask questions when needed. Develop your sources!

This works very well when the question will help that other party. Both Panorama India and YDS benefit from having the information posted on the YDS schedule. Other groups have also responded to my questions when they realize they're getting free publicity.

Be polite, respectful, concise and specific with your questions. Start by stating your purpose in a way that demonstrates a benefit to the other party.

Remember to thank them later for their reply, preferably with a link to your new article.

Thank you for reading about these dozen annual summer events in Toronto that

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    Mike DeHaan began writing professionally in 2010 as the sole proprietor of DeHaan Services.To see this information with the best background image, please refer to "About.Me",  befriend me at Facebook, or circle me at Google+.

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