Work off those ribs with some salsa on the beach this weekend. Keep in mind, there are some subway closures as well.
Salsa on the Beach
Get ready to don your dancing shoes at Woodbine Beach this weekend for Salsa on the Beach. The event is part of the Beaches Jazz Festival and will feature the Latin melodies of salsa, merengue, and cumbia on the dance floor.
There will also be treats from food trucks, vendors and a beer garden.
Admission is free, and the event kicks off Friday at 7 p.m. The full lineup can be found on their website.
Downtown Toronto RibFest
The annual Downtown Toronto Ribfest is happening this weekend at Sankofa Square.
The festivities and the barbeques will be firing up starting Friday at 12 p.m., and will run all weekend. It’s free entry for all those attending to taste some award-winning barbeque.
Chariot Fest
The 1st annual Chariot Fest is happening this weekend, rebranded from the Festival of India.
The festival features a vibrant parade down Yonge Street in which three 40-foot floats are pulled by participants while singing, chanting, drumming, and dancing from Yonge and Dundas to the lake on Saturday at 11 a.m.
After the parade on Yonge, the festival will continue for the remainder of the weekend on Centre Island that includes a free vegetarian feast and family-friendly activites.
Although the festival itself is free, people still need to buy their own ferry tickets to get onto Centre Island.
Toronto Outdoor Art Fair
Catch some of the work from over 400 independent artists at the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair this weekend.
The art fair, which is in its 64th year, will feature the largest national representation with 70 Canadian artists at Nathan Phillips Square.
It kicks off at 10 a.m. on Friday and runs through until Sunday at 5 p.m.
MixTO Festival
Music, art, food and fun will be the name of the game for the MixTO Festival happening at Trillium Park this weekend.
It’s a free, all-ages event with live music, DJ sets, installations by local artists and an assortment of food and drinks.
It starts at 4 p.m. on Saturday at 4 p.m. until 11 p.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. The full lineup can be found here.
TTC/GO Transit closures
Line 1 day closure – Saturday
Subway service on Line 1 between Finch and Eglinton stations will be replaced by shuttle buses until the end of service at approximately 2 a.m. on Saturday, July 12, for planned tunnel maintenance.
Line 1 day closure – Sunday
Subway service on Line 1 between St Clair West and St Andrew stations will be replaced by shuttle buses until the end of service at approximately 2 a.m. on Sunday, July 13, for planned track work.
Line 2 late opening – Sunday
Subway service on Line 2 between St George and Chester stations will be replaced by shuttle buses between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 13, for structural maintenance. Subway service will start by 11 a.m.
Events/Construction adjustments
Events
• From 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Sat., July 12, the 19 Bay and 97C Yonge routes will divert during the Chariot Fest parade. 19 Bay buses will run as far south as Wellington St., while 97C Yonge buses will redirect onto Bay St. between Gerrard St. and Wellington St. Stops south of Wellington St. will not be serviced on either route.
Construction
• Until 7 p.m. on Wed., July 16, the 79 Scarlett Road and 189 Stockyards routes are diverting to accommodate road work at Foxwell St. and Jane St. 79 Scarlett Road buses are running on St. Clair Ave. between Jane St. and Scarlett Rd. The 189 Stockyards eastbound buses are running along Ellins Ave. between Scarlett Rd. and Jane St.
• Until 6 a.m. on Thurs., Aug. 21, the following routes are diverting to accommodate road work at Kipling Station:
– 40 Junction-Dundas West
– 44 Kipling South
– 45 Kipling
– 46 Martin Grove
– 149 Etobicoke-Bloor
– 944 Kipling South
– 945 Kipling Express
– 300 Bloor Danforth Night
• Until 7 p.m. on Sat., Aug. 30, the 184 Ancaster Park eastbound buses are diverting due to sewer work. Eastbound buses are running via Ancaster Rd., Gilley Rd., Garret Blvd., Katherine Rd., Ancaster Rd. and Wilson Ave.
Road closures
Weekend closures
Gardiner Expressway
From 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 13 to 5 a.m. on Monday, July 14, the eastbound Gardiner will be restricted to one lane between Jameson and Strachan Avenues for repair work on the south portion of the Dufferin Street bridge.
Festival of India Parade
On Saturday, July 12, the following roads will be closed for the Festival of India Parade:
- Edward Street between Bay and Yonge Streets from 6 a.m. to noon Yonge Street between Edward Street and Queens Quay East from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Queens Quay between Yonge and Freeland Streets; and Freeland Street between Queens Quay and Lake Shore Blvd E from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Import Fest
On Saturday, July 12, between 8:30 p.m. and 1 a.m., Front Street will be closed from Blue Jays Way to Lower Simcoe Street.
Gardiner Expressway closure
As part of the long-term construction plan on the Gardiner Expressway, one westbound lane and one eastbound lane are closed between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue. The eastbound on-ramp from Lake Shore Boulevard at Jameson Avenue is also closed.
A stretch of the westbound Gardiner will also be reduced from four lanes to three for approximately one year. The westbound lane closure will stretch from Park Lawn Road to Grand Avenue in southern Etobicoke. The eastbound lanes along the same stretch will be narrowed, but with no lane reductions, from April 2025 to December 2026.
Temporary closures
- Yonge Street is reduced to a single lane both ways between Wellington and King for underground work at the TTC’s King Station to add new elevators and make it an accessible station. Construction is expected to continue into 2026.
- Queen Street is fully closed to traffic between Bay and Victoria Streets to accommodate work on a new station for the Ontario Line subway. The closure is scheduled to last until 2027.
- Eglinton Avenue West is reduced to a single lane east of Islington and west of Scarlett Road due to tunnelling work related to the multi-year Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project.
- Lane restrictions on Bayview Avenue between Roehampton Avenue and Armistice Drive while the city completes road resurfacing, curb and sidewalk replacement, and traffic signal and pedestrian upgrades. One northbound lane is currently closed on Bayview Avenue between Kilgour Road and Roehampton Avenue.
- Cherry Street remains closed south of Polson Pier due to maintenance on the Ship Channel Lift Bridge (Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge). Road users are able to access the Port of Toronto and Cherry Beach via Unwin Avenue.
- Queens Park Crescent is reduced to a single lane south of Bloor as part of the TTC’s Easier Access Program at Museum Station. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2025.
- Until Wednesday, Dec. 31, William R. Allen Road will be reduced to two lanes in each direction at Wilson Avenue for construction as part of the rehabilitation of the Wilson TTC Station bus underpass structure and the Mezzanine Bridge.
- Until Monday, June 30, access to the Highway 401 westbound on-ramp from southbound William R. Allen Road will be closed. Detour signs will be in place to divert traffic to access Highway 401 using an alternate interchange nearby.
- Bremner Boulevard is reduced to one westbound lane at the intersection with Navy Wharf Court until June. Eastbound lanes remain open.
- Until August, Blue Jays Way is closed between Front Street and Navy Wharf Court until August. Local access is maintained.
- Navy Wharf Court is closed between Bremner Boulevard and Blue Jays Way until August. Local access for residents of Navy Wharf Court is maintained. At a later stage of construction, the east sidewalk on Navy Wharf Court and Bremner Boulevard will be closed to pedestrians and a detour route will be in place.
- Islington Avenue will also be reduced from three lanes in each direction to two lanes where they pass over the Gardiner Expressway for approximately eight months, from April 7, 2025, to November 2025.
- From Monday, June 2, the intersection of King Street East and Church Street will be fully closed for the next stage of a project to replace a 142-year-old watermain and renew aging TTC streetcar tracks.
- From Sunday, May 11 until Saturday, January 10, 2026, Market Street will be closed to vehicle traffic between Front Street West and The Esplanade. The street will be pedestrianized for live entertainment, pop-up market vendors and other events.
For full traffic updates, click here for the latest information from 680 NewsRadio Toronto.