Summer in the city: Food, music and art festivals highlight weekend

By Patricia D'Cunha and Samantha Knight

Summer is too short, so you need to savour every moment of it. There are plenty of events happening across the city, so get outside and enjoy the season’s many offerings.

With the warm weather comes TTC and road construction, as well as road closures due to events, so plan your scheduled ahead of time.


Summerlicious
One way to explore Toronto is through its vast selection of restaurants that offer every type of cuisine to suit your palate.

And while these restaurants are available to you every day of the week, you can try them for less during Summerlicious, the city’s 14th annual culinary event.

 

From Friday until July 24, more than 220 restaurants will offer three-course prix fixe lunch menus (priced at $18, $23 and $28) and dinner menus (priced at $28, $38 and $48). This year, 24 new restaurants will be featured such as Kalendar Restaurant & Bistro, Windup Caribbean Restaurant, Kasa Moto, and Stratosphere.

Click here for a list of participating restaurants.

Afrofest
Expect music, rhythm, dance and culture at Woodbine Park this weekend as Afrofest returns for its 28th anniversary. The festival, organized by Music Africa Inc., is the largest free African music festival in North America. It showcases the best in African music, art, crafts, culture and food.

Last year, Afrofest welcomed over 120,000 visitors to over 35 live performances. With five areas, including the main stage, youth stage, drum stage, children’s village and market place, Afrofest is a fun-filled extravaganza.

 

Despite concerns earlier this year that the festival would be cut down to one day, due to noise complaints and exceeding permitted time frames, Afrofest was granted its two-day permit for this year’s event.

In a release, Afrofest said “this year we are pleased to include three unique elements, which enhance the value of the festival while catering to our ever-growing international audience.” These include having a an Afrofest pre-party on Friday, Afrofest 2016 being recorded and broadcast on AfroGlobal TV (Rogers Cable 708, Bell 2472) and new areas catering to nursing mothers and those with special needs.

The event starts Friday. On Saturday, it runs from noon to 11 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.

Beaches International Jazz Festival
Summer in the city wouldn’t be complete without the sounds of jazz, big band, blues, funk, reggae and Latin music permeating the Beach and echoing across all neighbourhoods.

 

The festival, which kicked off on July 2 and continues until July 24, takes over several outdoors venues including Woodbine Park and a portion of Queen Street East for the weekend of July 21-23.

More than 800,000 people descend on the Beach for the annual music feast for the soul, which is now in its 28th year.

Click here for the complete concert schedule.

Shakespeare in High Park
The annual summer tradition continues under the stars in High Park. The two-month-long live theatre program, which is presented by Canadian Stage, started on June 30 and continues until Sept. 4.

Enjoy the words of Shakespeare told through various characters in “Hamlet” and “All’s Well That Ends Well.” While one play dwells on justice and revenge, the other is a complicated story about unrequited love and the lengths someone will go to get it.

The show starts at 8 p.m, with “Hamlet” running on Tuesday and Thursday and “All’s Well That Ends Well” on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Admission is pay what you can, with a suggested minimum donation of $20 per person. Children 14 and under can attend for free. You can pay in advance and reserve a premium spot. If you are not reserving a ticket, make sure to arrive early to secure a good seat.

Taste of Lawrence Festival
Take your taste buds on an international journey, without even leaving the city.

The annual Taste of Lawrence Festival is on this weekend in Scarborough, offering a wide array of flavours from every cultural community in the GTA.

 

The event features over 130 street vendors, with food from India to Italy to Jamaica, as well as an Asia Expo.There are also tons of attractions for festival-goers to enjoy, including midway rides, live entertainment on two stages and games for the whole family.

Taste of Lawrence is Scarborough’s largest street festival, taking over the Wexford Heights community. It kicks off on Friday at 6 p.m. and runs through Sunday at 7 p.m.

More than 100,000 people are expected to attend the weekend two-day festival.

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition
Unleash your inner art fan this weekend as the heart of Toronto is transformed for the 55th annual Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition.

The three-day exhibit takes over Nathan Phillips square from Friday to Sunday. It is Toronto’s first and Canada’s largest, longest running juried outdoor contemporary art fair since 1961, attracting over 100,000 people each year.

 

This year there will be over 314 visual artists, along with colossal sculptures by Max Streicher, performances by Jenn Goodwin and collaborators, as well as a first-ever Beer Garden on the stage by award-winning Hendersen Brewing.

Outdoor Art Exhibition prides itself on creating an environment that gives artists the chance to interact directly with the public in an informal and accessible setting. It runs rain or shine.

DOGA: Dog & Me Yoga
If you’re in need of some quality time with your four-legged friend this weekend … why not head over to Purina Pawsway on Queens Quay for some dog-friendly yoga?

Get Leashed Magazine is hosting its first ever DOGA session on Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. The program is designed to deepen your connection with your canine companion.

 

You will experience asanas (postures), healing sounds, connection through massage and a savasana with live music.

Throughout the hour-and-a-half session you will also learn how to feel your pet’s energy and communicate with them through touch and frequency.

All fitness and flexibility levels are welcome, as well as all sizes of dog.

Road closures due to events

Taste of Lawrence: Lawrence Avenue from Warden Avenue to Birchmount Road from 10 a.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Monday, the 54 and 354 Lawrence East buses will be on diversion

Lovin’ Local Food Fest: Yonge Street from Dundas Avenue to Queen Street from 6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Saturday

Thrill of the Grill: Danforth Avenue from Broadview to Jackman avenues and Hampton Avenue from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, buses on the 8 Broadview, 62 Mortimer, 87 Cosburn and 100 Flemington Park routes will divert around the closure

Salsa on St. Clair: St. Clair Avenue from Winona Drive to Christie Street from 8 a.m. Saturday to 11 p.m. Sunday, the 512 St. Clair bus will be on diversion

Toronto Triathlon Festival: Eastbound lanes of the Gardiner Expressway from the Humber River to Carlaw Avenue 2 a.m. to noon on Sunday, northbound lanes of the Don Valley Parkway, from the Gardiner Expressway to Eglinton Avenue, from 2 a.m. to noon, and one eastbound lane of Lake Shore Boulevard from Windermere Avenue to New Brunswick Way and Remembrance Drive from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday

Road work

New

Richmond Street West is reduced to one lane of traffic between Church and York streets until Nov. 30 for TTC track work, watermain replacement, and road and sidewalk repairs.

Yonge Street will be reduced to one lane at the Richmond Street intersection from July 11 to July 24 for watermain work on Richmond.

Ongoing work

The intersection of College and Bathurst streets is closed for TTC work until July 12.

Queen Street West between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street is reduced to one lane in either direction for watermain replacement and and reconstruction work. The construction is expected to last until Oct. 8.

Gerrard Street, from Yonge to Church streets, is closed until the end of July for watermain replacement, road resurfacing and bike lane and sidewalk upgrades.

Westbound Lake Shore Boulevard, from York Street to Rees Street, will be reduced to one lane except from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays when two lanes will be open. The closure, which is for Toronto Hydro work, is expected to be completed on July 27.

Below is a map of the ongoing road closures in Toronto due to construction. Click here for a mobile-friendly link.

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