TD Union Summer
TD Union Summer is a free, community-based outdoor activation at Union Station in Toronto, running daily from June through August. Quest AV has been the production partner for four consecutive years, managing staging, lighting, audio, LED video panels, and outdoor monitors for live music programming every day of the season. TD Bank is the title sponsor, and their brand standards shape every technical decision on site.
A two-month daily activation is not one event. It is sixty-plus events, back to back, with the same standard expected each time. Strict sponsor brand requirements, a custom outdoor stage needing engineer approval, weather-exposed equipment, a rotating artist roster, and a team that stays prepared when things shift.
Preparation. Quest AV invests in pre-production so that when the season opens, every controllable variable has been addressed. Looks are pre-programmed and approved. The stage is engineered and signed off. Backup technicians are trained. Daily sheets are ready. By day one, the work is done. Each day after that is about execution.
TD Bank’s brand requirements are firm: no competing bank colors on site. No red, no blue, no yellow in any lighting or video look. Our team collaborates with the client each season to develop themed looks within TD’s palette, pre-programmed and approved before the activation begins. This frees the on-site technician to focus entirely on managing the stage and artists rather than making real-time design calls.
Building a custom outdoor stage with a canopy at a busy transit hub means structural engineering is required every year. We work with engineers to confirm the stage meets load and safety requirements for wind and rain. The canopy is angled to shed water and concrete ballast anchors the structure within the approved footprint.
Outdoor monitors have to hold up through heat, direct sun, and rain across a full season. Finding displays that are reliably rated for outdoor use and within budget takes real sourcing work. This year the client added a rotating backplate so monitors could shift between portrait for daily programming and landscape for live sports broadcasts. We sourced and implemented a solution with no disruption to the signal chain.
When low-frequency rumbling from floor-mounted subwoofers started affecting office tenants inside Union Station, we redesigned the audio rig. Transitioning to flown subwoofers on the stage structure kept the low end where it belonged, without compromising coverage for the outdoor audience.
Over a three-month daily run, personnel changes happen. Before the season starts, backup technicians train in our shop on the specific equipment and pre-programmed looks used at this event. Daily sheets covering lineups, artist setups, and mic requirements are maintained online and available on site. Anyone stepping in can continue without a gap.
Changeover windows run 30 to 60 minutes, including line checks. Quest AV reviews tech riders in advance and communicates directly with artists before they arrive. By load-in, everyone knows what to expect and the show starts on time.
“Four years with Union Summer has shown us what it really takes to deliver at this scale, consistently. We are proud of the work, and just as proud of the relationships built along the way.”
“Quest AV has changed the game for our organization around expectations for suppliers. They have raised the bar with strong customer service, collaboration, and expertise provided at our Union Summer event. Our signature series runs for 2 months and, with solid attention to detail leading up to the event as well as the on-point execution by their team, it made this past summer a summer without worry on our end. The care that Anthony Moreino and Nicholas Persaud put into answering questions or challenges shows they are true partners to their clients and we look forward to many more collaborations in the future!”
— Kim Gravel, Director of Event Design & Production, Toronto Union
Anthony Moreino, Kervin, Nicholas, Jeff
