Events highlighting food, culture and music are on top this weekend with Taste of Little Italy, North by Northeast and the Toronto International Dragon Boat Festival.
Keep in mind there is a subway closure on Saturday on Line 2.
Taste of Little Italy
Taste of Little Italy takes over College Street to celebrate all things Italian this weekend. College will be shut down between Bathurst and Shaw streets from Friday to Monday morning.
The annual festival features live music on multiple street corners and the main stage, delicious food, enjoyable entertainment, shopping, extended patios, and free tastings.
The celebration kicks off on Friday at 6 p.m., and a full lineup of performances can be found here.
And this year, you can take a rickshaw to the festival for free from Sankofa Square and Kensington Market with rickshaws departing every 20 minutes.
NXNE (North by Northeast)
Emerging artists will have the chance to showcase their talent this weekend at the annual North by Northeast festival. Over 300 of the world’s best new bands will be playing across Toronto at more than 25 different live-music venues.
There will also be free shows from The Beaches, Daniel Ceaser and Khalid over the weekend.
For those who want to immerse themselves in the festival, you can get a pass for the whole weekend for as little as $35, or you can catch an individual show for $20. A full list of venues and who is playing can be found on the festival’s website.
It kicks off on June 11 and runs until June 15.
Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival
Athletes will be taking to Toronto waters this weekend for the 37th annual Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival.
The two-day festival takes place on Centre Island with food vendors, live entertainment, and family-friendly activities that reflect Toronto’s rich diversity.
It’s also the first year the festival has been officially recognized as a Dragon Boat Canada (DBC) Race Series Event. Spectators will be able to catch competitive dragon boat races for all ages and physical abilities with crews from all over North America.
The event is free to attend, with more details available on its website.
DesiFest
DesiFest is back for the 19th year to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of South Asia. The musical extravaganza will feature performances from some of the biggest names in South Asian music.
There will also be traditional food, arts and crafts to enjoy.
The free concert is happening at Sankofa Square from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. More details can be found on their website.
World Naked Bike Ride
The yearly protest against oil and highlighting alternatives while in the nude is happening this weekend. Participants can bike, rollerblade, walk and skateboard through the 16-kilometre stretch in Toronto.
The ride occurs in 80 cities around the world, and you can go as bare as you want.
It starts at Coronation Park on Saturday at 1 p.m., and riders are asked to arrive an hour before.
The official end is at the Jack Layton Memorial Ferry Docks, where some riders depart by Ferry to Hanlan’s clothing-optional beach while others scoot west across Queens Quay back to Coronation Park.
Toronto Beaches Ribfest
The Toronto Beaches Ribfest is happening this weekend at Woodbine Park, starting Friday at 4 p.m. and running until 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Entry is a $2 donation, but kids under five are free for all those attending to get a taste of some award-winning barbeque along with live music throughout the weekend and a beer festival.
TTC and GO Transit
TTC
Line 2 closure
Subway service on Line 2 between Jane and Keele stations will be replaced by shuttle buses on Saturday, June 14, for planned track work.
GO Transit
No service changes this weekend.
Road Closures
Weekend closures
Taste of Little Italy
The following road closures will be in place:
College Street will be closed from Shaw Street to Bathurst Street beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, June 13, and will reopen on Monday, June 16, at 3:00 a.m.
The TTC will not be operating within these boundaries during the road closure times specified.
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.
