11 Toronto street festivals to check out this summer
Indigenous Arts Festival
June 20 and 21 at Fort York
Snotty Nose Rez Kids will headline this year's Indigenous Arts Festival at Fort York in Toronto.
Looking for a special way to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day this year? Taking place on the two longest days of the year at Toronto's Fort York, the Indigenous Arts Festival is a free, family-friendly event featuring traditional and contemporary music, dance, food and art inspired by First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Turtle Island.
Friday's music lineup will be headlined by DJ Shub, a trail-blazing producer (and former member of A Tribe Called Red) who helped pioneer the pow-wow-step genre, while Saturday's lineup will feature a traditional pow wow and a special performance by the Indigenous rap duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
See the full festival lineup here.
Toronto Jazz Festival
June 20 to 29, various locations
Legendary R&B and gospel singer Mavis Staples will headline the Toronto Jazz Festival.file photo
The 38th annual Jazz Fest will take over Toronto for 10 days, with free outdoor performances taking place throughout the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood, plus ticketed events for a diverse lineup of local and international artists performing at venues scattered across the city.
The 2025 festival will be headlined by legendary R&B and gospel singer Mavis Staples, Toronto indie-rock titans Broken Social Scene and renowned actor Jeff Goldblum, who will perform contemporary arrangements of classic jazz and American Songbook standards alongside the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
See details and the full schedule here.
Music
Toronto Jazz Fest announces full lineup, with Mavis Staples, Jeff Goldblum and Broken Social Scene slated as headliners
Richie Assaly
Pride Toronto Festival Weekend
June 26 to 29, The Village (Church-Wellesley)
The 2024 Toronto Pride Parade.
Nick Lachance/ Toronto Star
Whether you're looking to attend the Drag Ball or Sober Oasis, join the Trans and Dyke marches or peruse the Two-Spirit artists market, Pride Toronto has something for everyone during its 2025 Festival Weekend at the end of June.
The weekend will also feature dozens of live performances from local and international acts, including Brampton rapper (and former Polaris Music Prize winner) Haviah Mighty, Toronto drag queen superstar Priyanka and American R&B/pop singer Amerie.
Find all the details and full lineup information here.
Star Interactive
Toronto Pride 2025: Your guide to parade weekend, our favourite local spots and everything else you need to know
Reagan McSwain, McKenna Hart
TD Salsa in Toronto Festival
July 5 and 6, St. Clair Avenue West, between Winona Road and Christie Street
The 21st annual TD Salsa in Toronto Festival will transform midtown Toronto into the ultimate fiesta.
Steve Russell/ Toronto Star file photo
Looking to move your hips this summer? Grab your dancing shoes and head up to St. Clair Avenue West this July to take part in 'Canada's hottest salsa party.' The two-day fiesta, now in its 21st year, features local and international musicians, authentic cuisine and all things Latino culture.
See details and performance schedule here.
Toronto Summer Music Festival
July 10 to Aug. 2, various locations
TO Summer Music, an annual classical music festival, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with over two dozen concerts bringing world musicians to the city, plus free concerts, children's programming and much more.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
This year's festival kicks off with a performance of the timeless opera 'The Coronation of Poppea,' conducted by Leonardo García-Alarcón.
Find all the details here.
Big on Bloor Festival
July 19 and 20, Bloor Street West between Dufferin and Lansdowne
Toronto Samba Reggae drummers set the beat for members of Dance Migration for their performance that ran the length of the Big on Bloor Festival in 2022.
Steve Russell/ Toronto Star file photo
Now in its 19th year, Big on Bloor will transform Bloordale Village into a car-free festival of art and culture, while showcasing the unique small businesses that make the neighbourhood one of Toronto's most vibrant.
The theme of this year's (completely free) festival is 'Bizarre,' organizers say: 'a celebration of the delightfully peculiar aspects of local culture, artistry and community life, through workshops and installations led by local BIPOC artists, presenting conversations (about) their relationship to the individual, cultural oddities and how both are necessary for a healthy creative community.'
Keep Bloor Street weird!
More details available here.
OssFest
July 26, Ossington Strip, between Dundas Street West and Queen Street West
For years, Ossington has been touted as 'one of the coolest streets' in Toronto (in fact, in 2022, it was named the 14th coolest street in the world). Don't believe it? Check it out at OssFest on July 26, a pedestrian takeover that transforms the strip into a family-friendly celebration of music, food and culture. And because it's Ossington, you know it's going to get rowdy in the evening.
See more details here.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by 𝕆𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟 𝔹𝕀𝔸 (@ossingtonbia)
Toronto Caribbean Carnival Weekend
July 31 to Aug. 4, Exhibition Place & Lake Shore Boulevard West
Naomi Stephens, 10, in yellow and Kalyce Grant Hackett, 12, wearing purple, join in the festivities at the Toronto Caribbean Carnival official launch in 2019.
R.J. Johnston/ Toronto Star file photo
Now in its 58th year, Toronto's Caribbean Carnival Weekend (formerly known, and lovingly referred to, as Caribana) has the distinction of being North America's largest outdoor street festival, typically attracting well over a million attendees and adding hundreds of millions of dollars to Ontario's GDP.
The festival, known for its food, music and colourful costumes, culminates each year in the Grand Parade, during which Lake Shore Boulevard is transformed into a massive stage for masqueraders and steelpan performers, with music that can be heard from kilometres away.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Find all the details here.
JerkFest
Aug. 8 to 10, Centennial Park
What better way to enjoy a summer weekend than indulging in mouth-watering Caribbean food while enjoying the sweet sounds of reggae and dancehall? This August, North America's longest running jerk food and music festival returns to Centennial Park in Etobicoke for three days of family-friendly fun, with performances from Jamaican reggae star Tarrus Riley, Valiant and many more.
Check out details and full lineup information here.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Jerk Festival Toronto (@jerkfestivaltoronto)
Yorkville Murals Festival
August 23–24, Yorkville Avenue, between Bellair Street and Hazelton Avenue
Guided by the theme 'No Empty Spaces,' the sixth edition of the Yorkville Murals Festival will turn this downtown neighbourhood into an interactive cultural playground filled with large-scale murals, inflatable art, immersive installations and more. The festival will kick off on the evening of Friday Aug. 22 at sunset with a DJ set by the international electronic artist Kaskade.
Find more details here.
Roncesvalles Polish Festival
Sept. 13 and 14, Roncesvalles Avenue
Crowds jam the street for the Roncesvalles Polish Festival — North America's largest — in 2017.
Richard Lautens/ Toronto Star file photo
Czesc! As the summer winds down, head down to Toronto's west end for some perogy and polka music at Roncy Polish Festival, which has been bringing old world charm to the city for 17 years. The two-day festival boasts four stages, 40 performances, 20 buskers, 90 vendors and exhibitors, and two family zones with rides and more.
Find all the details here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
4 days ago
- CTV News
Conference to inspire and empower Indigenous youth held in Regina
WATCH: The White Raven Healing Centre is hosting a conference for Indigenous youth with hopes to inspire. Mick Favel reports. WATCH: The White Raven Healing Centre is hosting a conference for Indigenous youth with hopes to inspire. Mick Favel reports. A two-day conference hosted by the White Raven Healing Centre (WRHC) is underway, aimed at inspiring and empowering Indigenous youth from the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council's 11 First Nation communities. The WRHC serves 11 First Nations with a holistic approach focused on culture, recovery, and prevention. The services offered include outpatient counselling, addictions and cultural support, and community outreach. The 'Your Power Within' conference centered around the theme of culture as medicine - offering youth a supportive space to explore their identities, culture and a place to share their stories. 'We wanted to offer a space for them to gather, be empowered, and recognize that they have a voice. Their voice matters, and they carry the medicines of our future.' said Dianne Campeau (Ji'Gaabiikwe), the director from the White Raven Healing Centre. The conference was aimed at addressing the challenges that many Indigenous communities and people face, including intergenerational trauma and the struggles of mental health and addictions. 'Some of them don't even realize that they're carrying traumas that aren't even theirs. They witness coping mechanisms like alcohol and drug use, and the mental health struggles that come with that. So, we want to reclaim and bring back how beautiful our culture is,' Campeau explained. Cultural activities like pipe ceremonies, traditional songs, and storytelling form the heart of the event, alongside workshops led by speakers with lived experience in healing, media, sport, and recovery. One of the voices at the conference is Treaty 4 Powwow Princess Layla Okeeweehow, who performed a song on behalf of her aunt. 'I started singing when I was three years old. My late mushum taught me my first song, and from there my journey of culture began. Being a young person that walks the ceremonial life is a really good experience,' Okeeweehow explained. Mitchell So'Oyewaste, the youth program coordinator with the WRHC, emphasized the importance of creating a space for honest conversations surrounding trauma. 'Youth are dealing with big issues - mental health, grief, anxiety, identity … and it's one thing for an older adult to say, 'You can do it - but when they see someone who looks like them, who's walked a hard road and made it, it clicks,' said So'Oyewaste. White Raven's goal is to offer inspiration through relatable role models like Indigenous rapper Drezus, LGBTQ+ advocate Darren Star, language and recovery champion Novelli Fox, as well as media and sport mentors. Amanda Okeeweehow, who co-organized the event, said planning began back in January and was created by feedback from youth themselves. 'We wanted to give them those role models to show them, 'You can be that person,'' Amanda said. 'Maybe you're in a tough place now, but there's a way out. And culture can be that spark.' 'This generation is more open about trauma and mental health. I think it's because there are more resources and support available now.' Okeeweehow went on to say. Organizers hope that this event becomes an annual conference that will offer youth a place to heal, share and grow. 'If we don't focus on our youth,' Mitchell said, 'then the future is a big question mark. So, let's give them the blueprint. Let's help them build a better road than the one we had to walk,' So'Oyewaste went on to say. The White Raven Healing Centre is located in Fort Qu'Appelle's All Nations Healing Hospital and looks to continue to inspire, heal and empower Indigenous people within Treaty 4 Territory.
CBC
7 days ago
- CBC
How these First Nations artists use symbols in their work
As part of CBC B.C.'s search for the best symbol in the province, The Early Edition spoke to two artists from First Nations in the province about how they use symbols in their work. Xwalacktun is a sculptor and carver from the Squamish and 'Namgis nations, and he says symbols can represent the past, present and future for First Nations. Kym Gouchie is a Juno-nominated children's musician from the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation who says her music is inspired by the rivers and ancient forests that define her nation's territory.
Toronto Star
02-08-2025
- Toronto Star
‘So delicious. So iconic.' How the humble Jamaican patty became a beloved part of Toronto life
As part of the Star's Patty Week bracket, readers shared their most personal — and delicious — patty memories. Lance McMillan Toronto Star
