Weekend need to know: Salsa on St. Clair, Summerlicious; TTC/road closures

Some of the city’s favourite annual summer events are back on this weekend.

Salsa on St. Clair is taking over St. Clair West from Saturday to Sunday, and all foodie lovers will be able to enjoy over two weeks of prix fixe meals at over 200 local restaurants during Summerlicious.

There are no scheduled subway closures this weekend, but there is a scheduled subway late-opening on Sunday. There is also yet another road closure due to construction, which is expected to last for at least five months.

Niagara-bound drivers on the QEW will also be forced to find another route into the region for the next few Fridays due to repairs on the Burlington Skyway Bridge. Scroll below for those details.

Here’s what’s happening this weekend:

Top events

Salsa on St. Clair

Salsa on St. Clair is back on St. Clair West this weekend.

Event-goers can enjoy dancing in the street while listening to Latin music, and eating authentic Latin cuisine.

Performers at the event include Abanico Dance Company, Adis Rodriguez, Bachata Swing Toronto, and many more.

The street festival and road closures are taking place on Saturday and Sunday on St. Clair Avenue West between Winona Road and Christie Street.

Saturday’s event runs from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday’s event runs from 12 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Map of Salsa on St. Clair 2023 festival | Credit: TD Salsa in Toronto

Summerlicious

It’s the foodie event of the summer for many Torontonians – Summerlicious is back and runs from Friday to July 23.

The annual event offers three-course prix fixe lunch and dinner menus at more than 200 local restaurants at a discounted price.

Price points for lunch menus range from $20 to $55.

Price points for dinner menus range from $25 to $75.

Taste of Lawrence

The return of Scarborough’s largest street festival is happening all weekend long from Friday to Sunday.

Taste of Lawrence is a three-day food, music and cultural festival that takes place annually on Lawrence Avenue East from Warden Avenue to Birchmount Road.

There’s a bunch of events to check out at the festival including over 130 street vendors, live entertainment on two stages, midway rides, and kid workshops.

Festival timings:

Friday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Lavazza IncluCity Festival

The 2023 Lavazza IncluCity Festival is ongoing at The Distillery Historic District until July 21.

The event has turned the district into an outdoor cinema village where event-goers can enjoy a long list of international cinema.

The festival features films from over 20 countries, guest appearances, live music, and red carpet and cocktail events.

There are several movies playing this weekend including the film PIANO PIANO (SLOW SLOW in English), an Italian drama directed by Nicola Prosatore, which is playing at the festival with English subtitles on Friday.

There will also be cocktail workshops, free concerts, and more movies to watch.

Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

The Toronto Outdoor Art Fair returns to Nathan Phillips Square from Friday to Sunday.

This year’s event includes art installations, guided tours, kids programs, live painting, and video art.

Over 350 artists from across Canada will take over the square in white tents to showcase their work.

Photo credit: Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

TTC updates

Line 2 Sunday late opening

Subway service on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth between St. George and Broadview stations will start by 12 p.m. on Sunday.

Line 2 shuttle buses will operate, stopping at all subway stations along the route.

Road closures

Taste of Lawrence

Lawrence Avenue East, from Birchmount Road to Warden Avenue, will be closed from 10 a.m. on Friday until 1 a.m. on Monday for the Taste of Lawrence Festival.

Salsa on St. Clair
St. Clair Avenue West, from Christie Street to Winona Drive, will be closed from 8 a.m. on Saturday to 11 p.m. on Sunday for the TD Salsa on St. Clair Street Festival.

QEW Niagara-bound lanes

For the month of July, the QEW Niagara-bound lanes will be closed for more than 12 hours each Friday night at 8 p.m. for repairs on the Burlington Skyway Bridge.

The roadway is expected to reopen at 9:30 a.m. the next morning

In the case of bad weather, the Friday night closure will be rescheduled for Saturday and lanes will reopen by 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

The work on the westbound lanes is expected to continue for the next three Fridays as well.

Ongoing closures

• Starting Saturday at 3 a.m. until Monday at 4 a.m., Lake Shore Boulevard East will be closed between Don Roadway and Parliament Street due to work on the new Lake Shore Bridge over the Don River.
• St. Patrick Street, from Dundas Street West to Michael Sweet Avenue, is closed from 4 p.m. on Friday to 7 p.m. on Sunday to remove a crane safely.
• Broadview Avenue, between Gerrard Street East and Danforth Avenue, will be closed to southbound traffic and reduced to one northbound lane until November to replace TTC streetcar tracks.
• Gould Street, from Yonge Street to approximately O’Keefe Lane, is closed until July 21 for emergency sewer main repair.
• Brimley Road northbound access to the 401 westbound collectors will be closed from 10 p.m. on Sunday until 5 a.m. on July 24, for bridge work.
• Teston Road in Vaughan will be closed between Pine Valley Drive and Weston Road until the end of the year for road reconstruction and bridge work.
• 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.
• Northbound Yonge Street is reduced to one lane between Wellington and King Streets for TTC construction. The project is scheduled to continue into 2024.

With files from Jordan Kerr of CityNews