Weekend need to know: Pride Festival Weekend, Toronto Jazz Festival; road closures

It’s the last weekend of June, which means it’s Pride Festival Weekend in the city.

Annual events celebrating the 2SLGBTQ+ community will fill the streets of Toronto all weekend long. The TD Toronto Jazz Festival is also back in town with a big lineup of world-renowned musicians performing for free in the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood.

There are no scheduled subway closures this weekend but there are several road closures due to events and ongoing construction. Scroll below for those details.

Showers are in the forecast for this weekend, mostly on Saturday, but there will also be dry stretches.

“There will be periods of off, (it’s not) going to be a complete washout,” says CityNews 680 meteorologist Jill Taylor. “It will be on the muggy side too, feeling close to 33, 34 with the humidity on Saturday and Sunday.”

Here’s what to do this weekend:

Pride Festival Weekend

Pride events have been ongoing throughout the month of June in Toronto, and the final weekend will include the iconic Pride Parade among other events.

Main events

Pride StreetFair – All weekend

Pride Toronto is hosting its StreetFair all weekend. The StreetFair hosts several vendors, artisans and community organizations located throughout the Church Wellesley Village.

Pride Trans March – Friday

The Pride Trans March is a powerful and important space for Trans individuals to gather and express their identities while also raising awareness and fighting for Trans human rights.

The rally will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday at 635 Church Street (Church Street and Hayden Street).

The march will take place at 8 p.m. on Friday and will go north on Church, west on Bloor, south on Yonge, east of Carleton, to Allan Gardens (160 Gerrard St. E.).

After the march, there will be an after-party at 9 p.m. at the Garden Stage.

Pride Dyke March – Saturday

The rally will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday at 635 Church St. (Church and Hayden streets).

The march will take place right after at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

After the Dyke March there will be an after-party and community fair at the Garden Stage, which will run until 6 p.m.

Pride Parade – Sunday

The annual Pride Parade will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday starting at the corner of Bloor Street East and Church Street North.

This year will include over 100 different groups marching in the parade.

The parade will move across Bloor, turning south at Yonge Street where it will continue until it turns right at Dundas Street West heading to Bay Street and the new ending point at Nathan Phillips Square.

The Pride Parade in Toronto. (Photo credit: Nicolette Wain-Lowe, provided by Pride Toronto)

TD Toronto Jazz Festival

The TD Toronto Jazz Fest is back and taking over the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood from Friday until July 2.

The festival features 10 days of free outdoor concerts and programming with a lineup of world-renowned musicians.

The event celebrates the opening weekend with a street-takeover on Queen’s Park this Saturday and Sunday.

Festival headliners include Ashanti, BADBADNOTGOOD, Jully Black, LOONY, and Haviah Mighty.

Photo: TD Toronto Jazz Festival

Toronto Blues Fest

The Toronto Blues Festival is a free event taking place on Saturday from noon until 9 p.m. at the East York Civic Centre.

The lineup includes bands such as UTS Big Band, Daniel-Raum Family Trio, and Danny Marks & The BLUZ.FM Allstars.

Willowdale Yard Sale

Local charity NeighbourLink North York is hosting their annual Willowdale Yard Sale on Saturday.

Yard sales will be spread out throughout the Willowdale neighbourhood and at the event’s market located at Spring Garden Church, 112 Spring Garden Ave.

The organization says the funds raised at the yard sale will support children and families in an under-resourced part of the neighbourhood.

Road closures

Pride StreetFair

Road closures for the StreetFair will begin on Friday at 8 a.m., and will conclude on Monday at 7 a.m.

On Friday at 8 a.m., Church Street will be fully closed to all vehicular traffic from the north side of Dundas Street East to the south side of Hayden Street.

Wellesley Street East will also be closed from Yonge Street to Jarvis Street during this time period.

Pride Trans March

Road closures will take place on Friday along the route including:

• Bloor Street East from Church Street to Yonge Street
• Yonge Street from Bloor Street East to Gould Street
• Gould Street from Yonge Street to Church Street
• Church Street from Gould Street to Bloor Street East

Pride Dyke March

Road closures will take place on Saturday along the following route:

• Bloor Street East from Church Street to Yonge Street
• Yonge Street from Bloor Street East to Gould Street
• Gould Street from Yonge Street to Church Street
• Church Street from Gould Street to Bloor Street East

A full closure of these roads will take place at 1:30 p.m., and will remain in effect until the conclusion of the march at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Pride Parade

• At 8 a.m. on Sunday road closures will come into effect on Rosedale Valley Road, from Park Road to Bayview Avenue.
• At 12 p.m., road closures will come into effect on Park Road from Rosedale Valley Road to Bloor Street East, Church Street from Park Road to Hayden Street, Bloor Street East from Yonge Street to Ted Rogers Way.
• At 1:30 p.m., road closures will come into effect on Bloor Street West from Bay Street to Ted Rogers Way, Yonge Street from Bloor Street West to Queen Street West, Dundas Street West from University Avenue to Victoria Street, Bay Street from Queen Street to Dundas Street.

All roads are expected to be re-opened at approximately 8 p.m. on Sunday.

TD Toronto Jazz Festival

Road closures will be in effect beginning Friday at 8 p.m. until Monday at 5 a.m.

• Queens Park Crescent, from Wellesley Street to Bloor Street West (full closure)
• Charles Street West, from St. Thomas Street to Queens Park (local traffic only)

World Partnership Walk

Simcoe Street, from King Street West to Wellington Street West, and John Street (northbound lanes), from Wellington Street West to King Street West, will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday for the annual World Partnership Walk in support of the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada to fight global poverty.

Enbridge Gas construction

As part of Waterfront Toronto’s Lake Shore Boulevard East: Don River Bridge and Public Realm Project, Enbridge Gas will be relocating a gas main on the westbound Lake Shore Boulevard bridge that crosses the Don River.

There will be a number of traffic impacts as the project is completed in stages:

• Until Sunday, Lake Shore Boulevard East will be restricted to one lane in each direction at Don Roadway.
• From Friday to Sunday, there will be no access to the Don Valley Parkway from Lake Shore Boulevard East.

Ongoing closures

• The intersection of Coxwell Avenue and Gerrard Avenue East at Eastwood Road will be fully closed to traffic for TTC track replacement until late July.
• 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 for at least four-and-a-half years, until 2027.
• Lake Shore Boulevard West, from Rees Street to Spadina Avenue, is reduced to two lanes until May 31, 2024, for Enwave construction.
• Bathurst Street is down to a single lane each way at Laurelcrest Avenue for construction until the middle of August.
• Military Trail is closed from Ellesmere Road to Highcastle Road for road rehabilitation and slope stabilization. The project completion date has been delayed to the summer.
• Keele Street is reduced to a single lane about 100 metres north of Langstaff in Vaughan. Construction work is scheduled to finish later this year.
• Eastbound Queen Street, east of Bay Street, has the right lane blocked for construction until September.
• Northbound Yonge Street is reduced to one lane between Wellington and King Streets for TTC construction. The project is scheduled to continue into 2024.