Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is planning a trip to the United States for a closer look at the vibrant music scene in Austin, Texas.
The trip is being spurred by a so-called “Music City Alliance” between Toronto and Austin.
“We’re going to Texas and it’s going to be exciting,” Ford said Thursday, as quoted by The Toronto Star. “And obviously we’re going to work closely with the music industry down there and see what sort of deals we can make, and it’s going to benefit, hopefully benefit all of Texas and all of Toronto.”
According to the Star, Ford will likely travel to Austin during the weekend of Oct. 5 so that his trip coincides with the Austin City Limits Festival.
The embattled mayor was at the center of a firestorm earlier this year when reports surfaced regarding a video that allegedly shows him smoking crack cocaine. The website Gawker raised money in an effort to purchase the footage, but the owner of the video later said it was “gone.”
Gawker announced that it will donate the money it raised to four Canadian drug-related charities.
