Parks across Downtown Toronto were alive with people last night, many of whom were enjoying a cold, boozy beverage. 

But while it sounds like any average summer evening for Toronto park dwellers, something was different. For the first time ever, the consumption of alcohol from the comfort of the park grass was a perfectly legal activity.

If you haven't already heard, the city has decided to give legal drinking in parks a try as a new pilot program, or trial run.

Four friends sitting on the hill at Riverdale Park, drinking radlers in the park legally for the first time. 

There are rules of course, like the specific parks in which you can drink (there are 27 of them), and the expectation that you will consume responsibly, but the bottom line is that from now until October, park beers are a go. 

With the pilot coming into effect yesterday, we were curious to see what the city's most popular parks would look like on the first day of legal drinking, so we went out to Riverdale Park to see for ourselves. Here's what we found.

Not much has changed

"We had no idea." That was the most common response when we asked people about their first impressions about the pilot program. "We do this all the time," was a close second.

A sign set up by the city to alert the public about the law change. 

For many, the lack of enforcement of laws against drinking in parks has allowed the culture to flourish for years, making it a reality of the experience.

Ro Talebpour holds up her Guinness, describing how she has been doing this for many years already.  

"I come here all the time and the vibe is exactly the same," said Ro Talebpour, sitting with two friends near the top of the grassy hill. "Everyone here is very calm and it never was an issue before, I can't see it becoming an issue now."

"It should have been done a while ago," Talebpour continued. "If you're not causing a ruckus then who cares," added her friend, Larry. 

According to Talebpoour and many others, drinking in the park is nothing new. 

More good than bad

"It's nice to be encouraged to be outside, since the pandemic," said Alex Verge, who was seated on a picnic blanket with three friends, each enjoying their own drink of choice. "It means you don’t have to go to an enclosed bar in order to see friends and have that same experience."

(Left to right) Evelyne Goulet, Hadley Abrams, Adrien Chevalier, and Alex Verge toast their drinks while enjoying the evening in the park. 

"I'm also pro anything that takes away from police being able to target un-housed people unfairly," Verge added. 

"It also shows that we are catching up to how things are in Europe," said her friend, Hadley Adams, also seated on the picnic blanket. "Europe has got it figured out, they don't give two sh*ts."

Adrien Chavelier opens a beer to celebrate the first day of legal drinking in parks. 

A day of firsts

While some were simply enjoying the opportunity to pair the Riverdale sunset with a glass of wine, others were marking the special day with another first time event.

"What better way is there to celebrate legally drinking in the parks than by doing Toronto's first legal beer mile?" Jake Rice told us. 

Rice is a member of the Toronto chapter of the Front Runners running club, and was at the park with a cohort of about 30 other members who were sipping drinks while making history, running four laps around the park's track and finishing a full beer before each lap to complete the fabled beer mile. 

Front Runners Toronto organized the first legal beer mile in Toronto to celebrate the new law. 

While their group was large, they made a point to be courteous, and demonstrate that the new laws were not being abused. 

People were drinking in moderation, there was no excessive noise, they even brought their own recycling bin so that no litter was left behind. 

"I think the whole thing is about doing it proper," said Trevor McGrath, one of the club's senior members.

"We want to show that you can have a beer in the park and not be a blight on society," he said. "If people are here, having a good time, having a beer or a glass of wine, it's no more risky than anything else we do."

Overall, the energy was positive, people were all getting along, and the park was serving its purpose on a beautiful summer evening. 

Looking west towards Downtown Toronto from Riverdale hill, full of people enjoying the view.

After just one day of the pilot program, it may still be too early to tell how it's going to play out, but today was a strong indication that things will probably be fine. 

Besides, if we learned anything it's that people are going to be drinking in the park anyways, regardless of whether it's legal or not.