Festivals & events in Toronto

At certain times of the year it seems you can't move for festivals in Toronto. At other times you wonder where everyone is, it's so quiet (tip: they've all gone off to their holiday cottages). But whatever month it is, there will always be something going on, and taking part in one or more of the festivities is a good way to get a feel for the city.

It's certainly true that because the summer is short, locals make the most of it, filling the calendar with large- and small-scale events from Victoria Day (late May) through Labour Day (September). The biggies of the summer include Pride in late June and Caribana in late July, when the downtown core comes alive. But the rest of the year isn't neglected: autumn and winter play host to many indoor pursuits.

Below we review our favourites, but it pays to keep an eye out in the local press too, or go online (for a range of useful websites, see below). It's also wise to book hotels well in advance of any major events, such as the renowned Toronto International Film Festival.

Useful information

www.toronto.ca: comprehensive guide to attractions.
www.cbc.ca: news from public broadcaster CBC.
www.torontolife.com: listings/reviews from monthly mag.
www.nowtoronto.com: listings/reviews from indie weekly.

Critic's choice

Hot Docs International Documentary Festival

Where: various venues
When: mid Apr-early May
Tel & website: 416 203 2155/www.hotdocs.ca
North America's biggest documentary festival lasts ten days and features more than 100 films from around the world, from classics to the best of the current scene. Workshops and masterclasses are available. Monthly Doc Soup screenings and discussions run from October to April.

Contact Photography Festival

Where: various venues
When: May
Tel & website: 416 539 9595/www.contactphoto.com
A month-long festival of Canadian and international photography exhibited in galleries, bars and restaurants across the city. Photographers discuss their craft in workshops and seminars.

Doors Open Toronto

Where: various venues
When: last weekend in May
Tel & website: 416 338 3888/www.toronto.ca/doorsopen
Many of the 100-plus sites on this two-day tour are normally off-limits to the public, so this is a good chance for both locals and tourists to discover Toronto's history and architecture. There is no formal tour: participating buildings simply hang out a welcoming blue banner (check local papers for a map). Best of all, it's free.

North by Northeast Music & Film Festival

Where: various venues
When: early June
Tel & website: 416 863 6963/www.nxne.com
The sounds of independent music, the kind unfettered by those big record-label contract obligations, tear up the city centre during this popular three-day event. Tens of thousands of music fans prowl dozens of clubs, catching talent from Canada, the US and around the world. You can bet the musicians treat the whole thing as an audition for the ears of all those record-company execs who trawl the festival in search of the next big sound.

Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival

Where: various venues
When: early July
Tel & website: 416 966 1062/www.fringetoronto.com
At the Toronto Fringe, the trick is to see the hit shows before they're over. Venues are tiny and the grapevine is quick, so getting in can be tricky, but with more than 100 troupes from both Canada and abroad on hand over the 12 days, there's plenty of choice, and high quality. The Annex home base for the festival has a beer tent, where you can pick up the buzz on the hits and misses.

Caribana

Where: various venues
When: Simcoe Day long weekend, late July-early Aug
Tel & website: 905 799 1630/www.caribana.com
North America's largest Caribbean festival attracts a million-plus tourists and sends what little remains of Toronto's stodgy Anglo past into a happy tailspin. Thousands of colourfully costumed revellers participate in events like the King and Queen of the Bands competition, usually held at Lamport Stadium (1155 King Street W, West End) and the climactic parade that sees dozens of 'mas' (masquerade) bands floating west on Lake Shore Boulevard. For the next two days a cool-down-cum-arts festival takes place on Olympic Island, across the harbour. You can't miss the parade (or the thumping car stereos on Yonge Street at night), but the many spin-off events are sometimes hard to find. Check the local weeklies for last-minute details.

Toronto International Film Festival

Where: various venues
When: early Sept
Tel & website: 416 967 7371/www.bell.ca/filmfest
This ten-day film orgy now rivals Cannes and Sundance for PR power, and that means loads of celebrities and miles of celluloid – everything from Hollywood blockbusters to obscure Eastern European angst-fests. Even work-obsessed Torontonians take time off for this one. The giddiness is pervasive. Public screenings start at 9am, and go past midnight at some venues. With 300-plus features showing, there's always something to see, but popular items sell out quickly. The complete schedule doesn't usually appear until late August, but avid fans start buying passes and tickets in mid July.

Nuit Blanche

Where: various venues throughout downtown
When: last Sat in Sept
Tel & website: 416 338 338/http://nuitblanche.livewithculture.ca
After a stunning debut in 2006, when half a million people stayed out all night to take in fanciful art installations in parks, swimming pools, car washes and art galleries, Torontonians are hooked on the all-night arts idea. Patterned after – and scheduled to coincide with – other 'white nights' in Paris, among other cities, this 12-hour, free art party is destined to become a key event in the calendar.

Spring

Canada Blooms

Where: South Building, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 222 Bremner Boulevard, at Simcoe Street, Entertainment District
When: Mar
Tel & website: 416 447 8655/www.canadablooms.com
A massive flower and garden show running from Wednesday to Sunday, this floral wonderland attracts hordes of local green-fingered fans desperate for a first glimpse of spring. The main attractions are the display gardens and the prize-winning flower arrangements.

Good Friday Parade

Where: College Street/Little Italy
When: Good Friday
Flagellating Roman centurions, candle-bearing worshippers, even the odd donkey, take to the streets of Little Italy for this sombre re-enactment of Christ on his way to the Crucifixion.

Images Festival of Independent Film & Video

Where: various venues
When: Apr
Tel & website: 416 971 8405/www.imagesfestival.com
The most adventurous of the mini film fests, the week-long Images is characterised by dazzling innovation, though sometimes this comes with a price: a lack of narrative coherence.

Hot Docs International Documentary Festival

Where: various venues
When: mid Apr-early May
Tel & website: 416 203 2155/www.hotdocs.ca
North America's biggest documentary festival lasts ten days and features more than 100 films from around the world, from classics to the best of the current scene. Workshops and masterclasses are available. Monthly Doc Soup screenings and discussions run from October to April.

National Hockey League Play-offs

When: mid Apr-mid June
This rite of spring whips the city into a frenzy. Bars and cafés do brisk business as long as the Maple Leafs are still in the running. They haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1967, a drought that's sated each year by plenty of beer and consternation. Despite this decades-long drought, tickets are impossible to get, except through scalpers.

Contact Photography Festival

Where: various venues
When: May
Tel & website: 416 539 9595/www.contactphoto.com
A month-long festival of Canadian and international photography exhibited in galleries, bars and restaurants across the city. Photographers discuss their craft in workshops and seminars.

Inside Out Toronto Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival

Where: various venues
When: May
Tel & website: 416 977 6847/www.insideout.on.ca
A social occasion as much as a cinematic experience, this popular ten-day event brings out the lesbian and gay community's arty elite. Up and running since 1990, Inside Out plays everything from commercial material to obscure documentaries.

Toronto Jewish Film Festival

Where: various venues
When: May
Tel & website: 416 324 9121/www.tjff.com
The largest event of its kind in North America, this ten-day festival features Jewish films, shorts and documentaries from around the world.

Victoria Day Long Weekend

Where: throughout the city
When: Mon closest to 24 May
Victoria Day weekend is a national holiday and the unofficial launch of summer. Gardeners get busy, people head off to their cottages, and crowds gather for firework displays, all in honour of a queen who might well have disapproved. The date recognises the royal birthday, but also (coincidentally) the mode of celebration, the 'two-four,' or case of 24 beers, the largest you can buy.

Doors Open Toronto

Where: various venues
When: last weekend in May
Tel & website: 416 338 3888/www.toronto.ca/doorsopen
Many of the 100-plus sites on this two-day tour are normally off-limits to the public, so this is a good chance for both locals and tourists to discover Toronto's history and architecture. There is no formal tour: participating buildings simply hang out a welcoming blue banner (check local papers for a map). Best of all, it's free.

Summer

Luminato

Where: various venues
When: early June
Tel & website: 416 368 3100/www.luminato.com
This new annual arts festival, launching in 2007, celebrates diversity. Born out of the post-SARS slump to kick-start tourism, this collective pat on the back of local talent and international guests features a multidisciplinary approach with theatre, music, dance and visual arts. Eric Idle premieres Not the Messiah, a musical based on Life of Brian, to be conducted by his cousin, Peter Oundjian, music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

North by Northeast Music & Film Festival

Where: various venues
When: early June
Tel & website: 416 863 6963/www.nxne.com
The sounds of independent music, the kind unfettered by those big record-label contract obligations, tear up the city centre during this popular three-day event. Tens of thousands of music fans prowl dozens of clubs, catching talent from Canada, the US and around the world. You can bet the musicians treat the whole thing as an audition for the ears of all those record-company execs who trawl the festival in search of the next big sound.

World Roots Festival

Where: Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W, Waterfront
When: June-Sept
This summer-long series of weekend festivals spotlights different cultures through food, dance, art, film and, most importantly, music. The (mainly free) concerts are surprising, intriguing, offbeat and of an amazingly high quality, and they often feature internationally known stars such as Sao Jorge and the Neville Brothers, while the open-air lakeside venue makes this one of the best places in town to hear music on a hot summer's evening.

Pride Week

Where: various venues
When: late June
Tel & website: 416 927 7433/www.pridetoronto.com
What started out as a small political picnic in 1970 has turned into a brash commercial success that lasts a week and is more celebration than march. There are beer gardens and entertainment on several stages in Church & Wellesley throughout the weekend – everything from disco to alterna-queer to lesbian folk. Late-night events are adult-oriented, but the big parade itself (always on the last Sunday in June) is increasingly family-friendly, with up to a million people ogling the drag queens and muscle boys and cheering the activists and politicians. The parade is long, the weather hot and the crowds enormous – so bring water. The smaller Dyke March takes place the day before. For details, check out Xtra!'s stand-alone guide, usually published in early June.

Queen's Plate

Where: Woodbine Race Track, 555 Rexdale Boulevard, at Highway 427
When: late June
Tel & website: 416 675 7223/www.woodbineentertainment.com
Three-year-old Canadian-bred thoroughbreds compete in the country's oldest horse races at Woodbine Race Track. Royalty – or at least their stand-ins – usually put in an appearance.

Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival

Where: Centre Island
When: late June
Tel & website: 416 595 1739/www.dragonboats.com
The colourful dragon boats are the centrepiece of this Chinese festival, which takes place over a weekend. With food, games, music and dance, it attracts more than 100,000 people to the sylvan shores of the Toronto Islands. Across the water from the city, they offer a cool respite from the heat.

Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival

Where: various venues
When: late June-early July
Tel & website: 416 928 2033/www.tojazz.com
During this fest, hundreds of artists perform all styles of jazz at dozens of clubs, theatres and outdoor stages throughout the downtown area.

Canada Day

Where: throughout the city
When: 1 July
Website: www.toronto.ca/special_events
Torontonians celebrate Canada's birthday (1 July 1867) with a Canadian mixture of deference and pride, usually by leaving town for the long weekend. Best bets for fun are Nathan Phillips Square, Mel Lastman Square, Harbourfront Centre and Downsview Park; most events feature Canuck entertainers and night-time fireworks displays. The Harbourfront festivities have the added bonus of a lake view and a cool breeze.

Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival

Where: various venues
When: early July
Tel & website: 416 966 1062/www.fringetoronto.com
At the Toronto Fringe, the trick is to see the hit shows before they're over. Venues are tiny and the grapevine is quick, so getting in can be tricky, but with more than 100 troupes from both Canada and abroad on hand over the 12 days, there's plenty of choice, and high quality. The Annex home base for the festival has a beer tent, where you can pick up the buzz on the hits and misses.

Grand Prix of Toronto

Where: Exhibition Place, Lake Shore Boulevard W, between Strachan Avenue & Dufferin Street, Waterfront
When: early July
Tel & website: 416 872 4639/www.grandprixtoronto.com
Over a weekend in July, drivers burn rubber on the streets through Exhibition Place. Expect lots of testosterone-driven music and street parties.

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition

Where: Nathan Phillips Square, 100 Queen Street W, at Bay Street, Chinatown
When: early July
Tel & website: 416 408 2754/www.torontooutdoorart.org
It's the largest outdoor art exhibition in Canada, so there's plenty to gaze upon at this free weekend-long expo. Artists range from established to students.

Beaches International Jazz Festival

Where: Queen Street E, east of Woodbine Avenue, East Toronto
When: 3rd wk in July
Tel & website: 416 698 2152/www.beachesjazz.com
More than 50 bands perform from street corners, rooftops and parks in one of Toronto's most bucolic neighbourhoods. The main stage is located in Kew Gardens and, with its beach and boardwalk, it's worth going for the ambience alone.

Celebrate Toronto Street Festival

Where: various venues
When: July
Tel & website: 416 338 3338/www.toronto.ca/special_events
Locals hate the traffic jams, but visitors love the free entertainment at this weekend-long event – everything from world to classical to hip-hop, on a series of stages situated at key intersections on Toronto's main drag (Dundas Street, Bloor Street, St Clair Avenue, Eglinton Avenue and Lawrence Avenue). It's good, cheap fun, with carnival rides for the kids and beer gardens for the adults.

Rogers Cup

Where: Rexall Centre, York University, 1 Shoreham Drive
When: late July-early Aug
Tel & website: 416 665 9777, ext 4333/www.tenniscanada.com
Top international tennis players battle at the viewer-friendly Rexall Centre (11,500 seats), in the city's northern suburbs. Men and women play in alternate years with Montreal hosting the opposite sex. In the evening, bring a jacket as it gets breezy.

Caribana

Where: various venues
When: Simcoe Day long weekend, late July-early Aug
Tel & website: 905 799 1630/www.caribana.com
North America's largest Caribbean festival attracts a million-plus tourists and sends what little remains of Toronto's stodgy Anglo past into a happy tailspin. Thousands of colourfully costumed revellers participate in events like the King and Queen of the Bands competition, usually held at Lamport Stadium (1155 King Street W, West End) and the climactic parade that sees dozens of 'mas' (masquerade) bands floating west on Lake Shore Boulevard. For the next two days a cool-down-cum-arts festival takes place on Olympic Island, across the harbour. You can't miss the parade (or the thumping car stereos on Yonge Street at night), but the many spin-off events are sometimes hard to find. Check the local weeklies for last-minute details.

Fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists

Where: Distillery District
When: Aug
Tel & website: 416 410 4291
This ten-day festival features short works by experienced and emerging choreographers, with some site-specific works. It's a gamble, but worth it for the variety alone. Styles run the gamut from modern dance through ballet to belly dancing.

Taste of the Danforth

Where: various locations along Danforth Avenue, East Toronto
When: early Aug
Tel & website: 416 469 5634/www.tasteofthedanforth.com
During this weekend event up to a million people sample all kinds of food provided by the restaurants in this Greek neighbourhood. Top entertainers perform on three stages. All in all, a big, bustling people-friendly event.

SummerWorks Theatre Festival

Where: various venues
When: Aug
Tel & website: 416 410 1048/www.summerworks.ca
A ten-day event featuring a mix of established and emerging theatre companies presenting 40-odd plays. New work is encouraged.

Canadian National Exhibition

Where: Exhibition Place, Lake Shore Boulevard W, between Strachan Avenue & Dufferin Street, Waterfront
When: mid Aug-early Sept
Tel & website: 416 263 3800/www.theex.com
A cross between an old-fashioned agricultural fair and a modern-day expo, the CNE (or the Ex, as it's known locally) mixes sheep-shearing and milking demonstrations with fun rides and theme days devoted to Toronto's ethnic communities. Some folks come just for the sideshows, but the real thrill is the nostalgia. Stick around for the last three days of the two-week fair, when high-flying acrobats take to the skies on Labour Day Weekend for the Canadian International Air Show. It's a blue-sky wonder, with Canada's own performing poodles of the sky, the Snowbirds aeronautic squad, always drawing plenty of cheers.

Autumn

Cabbagetown Festival

Where: various locations around Carlton & Parliament Streets, Cabbagetown
When: early Sept
Tel & website: 416 921 0857/www.oldcabbagetown.com
A tribute to a working-class neighbourhood turned affluent enclave, this weekend-long fest offers corn roasts, street dances, pancake breakfasts, an arts and crafts fair, a parade and tours of some of the neighbourhood's unique bay and gable houses.

Toronto International Film Festival

Where: various venues
When: early Sept
Tel & website: 416 967 7371/www.bell.ca/filmfest
This ten-day film orgy now rivals Cannes and Sundance for PR power, and that means loads of celebrities and miles of celluloid – everything from Hollywood blockbusters to obscure Eastern European angst-fests. Even work-obsessed Torontonians take time off for this one. The giddiness is pervasive. Public screenings start at 9am, and go past midnight at some venues. With 300-plus features showing, there's always something to see, but popular items sell out quickly. The complete schedule doesn't usually appear until late August, but avid fans start buying passes and tickets in mid July.

Word on the Street

Where: Queen's Park, north of Ontario Parliament Buildings, University
When: late Sept
Tel & website: 416 504 7241/www.thewordonthestreet.ca
More than 100,000 people stroll beneath the oaks and elms of Queen's Park during a Sunday celebration of literacy. Publishers and writers promote their wares with readings and signings. Kids get their own special tent.

Nuit Blanche

Where: various venues throughout downtown
When: last Sat in Sept
Tel & website: 416 338 338/http://nuitblanche.livewithculture.ca
After a stunning debut in 2006, when half a million people stayed out all night to take in fanciful art installations in parks, swimming pools, car washes and art galleries, Torontonians are hooked on the all-night arts idea. Patterned after – and scheduled to coincide with – other 'white nights' in Paris, among other cities, this 12-hour, free art party is destined to become a key event in the calendar.

International Festival of Authors

Where: Harbourfront Centre
When: late Oct
Tel & website: 416 973 4000/www.readings.org
From the four corners of the world they come, trailing their Bookers, Pulitzers and Nobels – novelists, poets and biographers from the top tiers of the literary firmament. The ten-day event started in 1980 and quickly became a prestigious affair, but despite the glitter factor, the readings, talks and on-stage interviews have remained surprisingly intimate. The venues are usually the Harbourfront Centre's Premiere Dance Theatre and York Quay Centre, but check nearer the time. If you can't make it to the big event, there are other readings at Harbourfront, generally on Wednesday nights, from September to December, and February to June.

Toronto International Art Fair

Where: South Building, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 222 Bremner Boulevard, at Simcoe Street, Entertainment District
When: late Oct-early Nov
Tel & website: information 1-800 663 4173/604 925 0330/booking 416 872 1212/1-800 461 3333/www.tiafair.com
It's not Basel or Venice but this four-day art binge gets stronger with each outing and is proving to be a must-see event on the contemporary art scene.

Canadian Aboriginal Festival

Where: Rogers Centre (SkyDome), 1 Blue Jays Way, at Front Street, Entertainment District
When: mid Nov
Tel & website: 519 751 0040/www.canab.com
North America's largest aboriginal arts event is a three-day affair featuring fashion, films, lacrosse, music awards and a giant powwow.

Santa Claus Parade

Where: Bloor Street & University Avenue, Entertainment & Financial Districts
When: late Nov
Tel & website: 416 249 7833/www.thesantaclausparade.com
Started more than a century ago as a publicity stunt for a local department store, the Santa Claus Parade is now a Toronto institution. More than 500,000 people – mostly parents with kids on their shoulders – watch dozens of floats, storybook characters, marching bands and, of course, Santa and his sleigh, as they parade through the city centre.

Cavalcade of Lights

Where: Nathan Phillips Square, 100 Queen Street W, at Bay Street, Chinatown
When: late Nov-late Dec
Tel & website: 416 338 0338/www.toronto.ca/special_events
A hundred thousand lights illuminate the city's central square, kicking off a month of skating parties and other events that culminate in a televised New Year's Eve party with top Canadian acts.

Winter

New World Stage

Where: Harbourfront Centre
When: Jan-May
This new, annual festival of theatre and dance showcases troupes from across the country and around the world. The programming promises to be edgy. For the launch in 2007, Mabou Mines Doll House cast male dwarves and towering women in a deconstructed retelling of Ibsen's A Doll's House.

WinterCity

Where: 100 Queen Street W, at Bay Street, Chinatown
When: late Jan-early Feb
Tel & website: 416 338 0338/www.toronto.ca/special_events
Toronto in the depths of winter can be harsh. Hence this city-sponsored attempt to make a cold month cool – two weeks of flashy outdoor entertainment (mostly at Nathan Phillips Square), discounted admission to local landmarks (check the website for details) and discounted prices at local restaurants via the popular Winterlicious promotion. Find out how many ways ice and snow can be turned into art.

Public holidays

New Year's Day 1 Jan (if a Sun, then holiday is the following Mon)
Good Friday Mar/Apr
Easter Monday Mar/Apr
Victoria Day 24 May (if a Mon, otherwise the preceding Mon)
Canada Day 1 July
Simcoe Day 1st Mon Aug
Labour Day 1st Mon Sept
Thanksgiving 2nd Mon Oct
Christmas 25 Dec
Boxing Day 26 Dec

While government offices and most banks close on Easter Monday (Mar/Apr) and Remembrance Day (11 Nov), the majority of businesses remain open.

Our listings

While every effort and care has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this guide, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors it may contain. Before you go out of your way, we strongly advise you to phone ahead and check the particulars.