The city will be a hub of activity this weekend with events marking Lunar New Year, the start of Black History Month, along with Toronto Raptors’ home games.
As you plan your weekend, keep in mind that subways won’t be running along a portion of Line 1 due to TTC construction.
Scroll below for details.
Lunar New Year celebrations
Celebrate the Year of the Snake in Toronto Chinatown with events at Dragon City Mall and Chinatown Centre being held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Check out live music, cultural shows, a lion dance, Kung Fu performances, live calligraphy, Sichuan’s face-changing act, and so much more.
Explore East Asian food and culture at STACKT’s Lunar New Year Market, taking place at noon on Sunday. The market will showcase local vendors, artisanal goods, mouthwatering food and drinks, a live dumpling demo and book signing with Chef Trevor, as well as East Asian-themed movie screenings and traditional board games.
Black History Month
February kicks off a month of events in Toronto that celebrate the culture, traditions and heritage of Black Canadians.
Toronto was the first municipality in Toronto to proclaim Black History Month back in 1979, and since then, has marked the month as “an opportunity for the City of Toronto to recognize the contributions that Black Canadians make to the life of Toronto in such areas as education, medicine, art, culture, public service, economic development, politics and human rights.”
Click here for a list of events taking place in the city this month.
Drop by the Art Gallery of Ontario to check out various programming during Black History Month, including Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century, live music and dance, art workshops, and Family Day activities, to name a few.
Steps away from the AGO, the Hart House on the grounds of the University of Toronto’s downtown campus will be hosting Black History Month: A Celebration of Art & Culture. The event will honour Black Canadian achievements in arts and culture, featuring performances, storytelling and showcasing local vendors. It takes place between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is free but RSVP tickets are required.
Tea bliss
There is always time for tea and what better way to celebrate the lovely beverage than at the Toronto Tea Festival. Now in its 11th year, the festival features the finest and aromatic teas steeped in culture and history, as well as tea vendors and experts from around the world. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Toronto Reference Library’s Appel Salon. Click here for tickets.
Raptors are in town
The Toronto Raptors are in town this weekend, taking on the Chicago Bulls at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and the L.A. Clippers at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Fans will also have the chance to take part in Raptors Fan Day at Scotianbank Arena on Saturday starting at noon. The ticketed event features on-court contests with fans, Raptors taking to the court in a player showcase, a chance to meet players and alumni, photo activations, and more. Click here for full programming and ticket information.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are away this weekend, playing the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The Toronto Marlies also have away games this weekend, taking on the San Diego Gulls on Friday and the Bakersfield Condors on Saturday, both games are at 7 p.m.
Groundhog Day … Groundhog Day
Will Wiarton Willie call for an early spring or another six more weeks or winter? The cherished groundhog will be making its prediction at 8:07 a.m. on Sunday. Fellow weather prognosticators, Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia and Fred la marmotte in Quebec, will also have their predictions.
TTC updates
Partial Line 1 closure
Subway service will not be running on Line 1 between St. George and St. Andrew stations on Saturday and Sunday.
The closure is for elevator installation construction at Museum Station, station upgrades at Queen’s Park and St. Patrick stations, and track work between St. George and St. Andrew stations.
The TTC says shuttle buses will not be running during the closure due to “ongoing construction along the route, which would impact the consistency of shuttle bus service.”
Subway riders travelling downtown can take the streetcar at Queen’s Park, St. Patrick, Osgoode or St. Andrew stations to connect with the Yonge side of Line 1. The TTC says additional streetcar service will be added to these routes during the closure.
Two additional Wheel-Trans buses will run between the affected stations.
Museum, Queen’s Park and St. Patrick stations will be closed.
Regular subway service is expected to resume at 6 a.m. on Monday.
Road closures
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.
Temporary closures
- Spadina Avenue streetcars have been replaced by buses between Spadina Station and Queens Quay, and until the end of the year, there will be no 510 service between Spadina Station and Union Station. Commuters wishing to travel onwards to Union from Queens Quay will need to transfer to a 509 streetcar.
- The Yonge and Bloor intersection will be reduced to a single lane until 2025 for condo construction and sewer installation.
- University Avenue will be reduced to a single lane in both directions between College Street and Queen Street West to complete several infrastructure projects for the next several months.
- 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, at least four-and-a-half years.
- 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.
- From Sunday, January 12 until the spring, one northbound lane on the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) from the Eastern Avenue on-ramp to Queen Street East will be closed to accommodate work for the Eastern/Adelaide Bridges Rehabilitation Project. One eastbound and one westbound lane on Eastern Avenue will be closed between Sumach Street and Broadview Avenue. One eastbound lane on Adelaide Street will be closed between Sumach Street and Eastern Avenue.
