Pow! Thwack! Bam!

Feathers were flying at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square Saturday as a massive pillow fight took over the downtown area.

The fluffy brawl is part of the International Pillow Fight Day, an annual event where pillow-wielding assailants are invited to whack a fellow stranger. About 1,000 people in Toronto were expected to attend the 3 p.m. pillow fight, according to the event's Facebook page.

Toronto was just one of many cities around the world taking part in the event on Saturday. Other participating cities this year included Barcelona, Los Angeles and Melbourne. The flash-mob event is part of the "urban playground movement," which aims to reclaim public spaces and create a "global community of participants," according to the organizer's website. Other urban playground movement events include subway parties and Lightsaber battles.

This year's Pillow Fight theme was "superheroes vs. villains." Participants were invited to bring a soft, feather-free pillow and dress up as their favourite superhero or villain.

Here are some pictures from this year's fluffy battle: