The CNE is back at Exhibition Place for the next 18 days and they’re at the post for the running of the King’s Plate this weekend. Here’s what’s you need to know about weekend events across the city:
Canadian National Exhibition
Rides, crazy food and live performances will be happening over the next 18 days as the CNE begins this Friday.
The annual exhibition is known for the interesting foods that make an appearance each year.
This year, people can try sushi corndogs, habanero cotton candy with butter tarts and lobster gelato.
Performances at the CNE bandshell include Shawn Desman, Marinas Trench, Jully Black, Loverboy, July Talk and 98 Degrees.
New attractions this year include the CNE debut of Dinner in the Sky, a dinner served at 150 feet in the air.
The two-week exhibition will be capped off as always with the Air Show on the final weekend, while the Kids World, Gaming Garage, CNE Farm and Casino are also back this year.
The event runs until September 1.
Taste of Manila
Taste of Manila will be celebrating its 12th year of the festival that takes over the Wilson Avenue and Bathurst Street area.
There will be vendors and visitors from all over the world providing good food, unique treasures, and you can also support local artisans while enjoying the festivities on stage.
It kicks off on Saturday at 10 a.m. and runs through to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Full details are available on their website.
King’s Plate
The first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown hits the racetrack this Saturday for the 166th running of King’s Plate.
There will be fashion, food and live music all day as guests watch North America’s oldest continuously run stakes event, racing for a $1 million purse. The races start at 12:45 p.m. with the King’s Plate running at 5:34 p.m.
Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and tickets are still available on their website.
UpFRONT Festival of Indigenous Arts, Music and Culture
A free three-day outdoor festival is happening this weekend at Berczy Park, Scott Street and St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts featuring Indigenous music, dance, puppetry, a visual arts showcase, an artisan market, and a special month-long arts exhibition.
It kicks off on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and runs until Sunday at 8 p.m. More details about the event are available here.
TTC/GO closures
There are no planned TTC/GO closures this weekend
Road closures
Weekend closures
Taste of Manila
Bathurst Street will be closed between Laurelcrest Avenue and Wilson Avenue on Saturday, August 16 at 12 a.m. until Sunday, August 17 at 2 a.m.
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
- 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.
- Yonge is currently 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.
- There are intermittent lane restrictions on Eglinton from Renforth to Black Creek Drive for work related to the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.
- 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.
- Blue Jays Way is closed between Spadina Street and Navy Wharf Court until September 30. Local access is maintained.
- Navy Wharf Court is closed between Bremner Boulevard and Blue Jays Way until September 30. 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 is 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.
- Allen Road has been reduced from 3 lanes to 2 in both directions just north of Hwy 401. The SB Allen ramps to EB and WB 401 are closed.
- A multi-stage construction project has Harbord Street down to a single lane east of Ossington to Spadina for watermain replacement. Work is expected to be complete in early October 2025.
- Ossington is reduced to a single lane between College and Bloor because of watermain installation. The project is expected to be finished in December 2025.
- Until late August, the intersection of Caledonia Road and Castlefield Avenue is closed to westbound and northbound traffic for sewer construction. Eastbound traffic is maintained east of Caledonia Road. From late August until late September, the intersection will be closed to eastbound and northbound traffic, and left turns will not be allowed through the intersection from all directions, to complete sewer construction.
- Yonge is down to a single lane south of Eglinton for watermain replacement. Work is expected to be complete by September 2025.
For full traffic updates, click here for the latest information from 680 NewsRadio Toronto.
