Weekend need to know: Toronto Caribbean Carnival, food festivals, August long weekend

It’s the August long weekend, which also means the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, several food festivals, and VELD music festival are back on in the city.

There are no scheduled subway closures, and the QEW Burlington Skyway will remain open all weekend. However, there are other road closures in place for events and construction.

Many businesses will either be closed or operating on reduced hours on the August Civic Holiday. Click here for a full list of what’s open and closed.

Here’s what’s happening this weekend:

Top events

Toronto Caribbean Carnival

Carnival weekend is here!

The excitement began with extraordinary costumes at the King and Queen Showcase at Lamport Stadium on Thursday. Check below for what else is happening for Carnival each day this long weekend:

Pan Alive

The sounds of steelpan music for the Pan Alive event is happening Friday at Lamport Stadium at 7 p.m.

The annual Steel Pan Showcase is a night filled with live-performances, showcasing steel pan renditions, while preserving the cultural musical art form.

The Grand Parade

The much anticipated Grand Parade event on Saturday is taking place at Exhibition Place and Lakeshore Boulevard from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The event includes over 10,000 masqueraders performing all day.

The parade will depart Exhibition Place Grounds at Princes’ Boulevard, to British Columbia Drive to westbound Lake Shore Boulevard.

The parade will travel west along Lake Shore Boulevard West and will turn just south of Jameson Avenue then will travel eastbound on Lake Shore Boulevard West.

The masquerade bands will return to Exhibition Place for judging via Canada Boulevard.

Toronto Caribbean Carnival International Food Festival

This food festival is a celebration of the Caribbean community and all the diverse cultures that make up the City of Toronto.

People cam sample delicious foods from all the Caribbean Islands, check out live performances, and shop artisanal goods.

The festival takes place on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Malvern Park and Recreation Centre in Scarborough.

Pan in D’Park

You can also check out more steel pan bands at the Pan in D’Park event, happening at the Toronto Caribbean Carnival International Food Festival on Sunday.

Extra public transit service

There will be extra TTC subway service on Lines 1 and 2 on Saturday, and additional streetcar service on the 509 Harbourfront and 511 Bathurst.

A dedicated Toronto Caribbean Carnival shuttle bus will operate between Dufferin Station and Springhurst/Dufferin Gate Loop.

GO Transit is also adding special Lakeshore West, Stouffville and Milton line service on Saturday to accommodate riders going to the Grand Parade.

WATCH CityNews reporter Melissa Nakhavoly at the King & Queen Showcase on Thursday:

Scarborough Ribfest

People can enjoy some delicious ribs at Scarborough Ribfest all long weekend, starting Friday and finishing on the holiday Monday at Thomson Park.

Event hours:

• Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Monday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Toronto Patty Fest

A Jamaican patty festival is coming to Toronto’s Little Jamaica neighbourhood on Elginton West on Saturday.

Believe it or not, Toronto Patty Fest is the world’s first Jamaican patty festival and will feature patty makers from across the GTA to showcase their spin on this delicious, Caribbean snack food.

The event is expected to be colourful and playful, and is free to enter.

Food Truck Festival

More than 40 food trucks will roll into Woodbine Park to cook and share signature dishes at the ninth annual Toronto Food Truck Festival in support of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

The festival features four days of live music and a dozen eating challenges.

There will be all sorts of food from lobster rolls to avocado shrimp tacos to butter chicken mac and cheese.

The organization has raised more than $300,000 in donations for SickKids Foundation. This year, the organization’s goal is to break $350,000.

The festival takes place during the full long weekend from Friday to Monday.

VELD Music Festival

VELD Music Festival is returning to Downsview Park from Friday to Sunday.

This year’s lineup includes Loud Luxury, Tiësto, Zedd, and more.

VELD Music Festival 2023 lineup | Photo credit: INK ENTERTAINMENT GROUP

Road closures

Toronto Caribbean Carnival:

To accommodate the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, the following roads will be closed to vehicle traffic from 12 a.m. on Saturday to 8 a.m. on Sunday:

• Lake Shore Boulevard West from Bathurst Street to Colborne Lodge Drive
• Strachan Avenue from Fleet Street to Lake Shore Boulevard West
• Jameson Avenue from Springhurst Avenue to Lake Shore Boulevard West
• Dunn Avenue at Springhurst Avenue
• Dufferin Street at Springhurst Avenue (closed to all road users but open to pedestrians with tickets)
• Fort York Boulevard from Fleet Street to Lake Shore Boulevard West
• The Gardiner Expressway eastbound exit #149 to Dunn Avenue/Jameson Avenue and Gardiner westbound exit #149 to Lake Shore Boulevard/Jameson Avenue

Carnival restricted access points:

To assist with the flow of traffic and minimize disruptions to residents, the following streets will be restricted to local traffic only:

• Dufferin St. south of King St. W.
• Dowling Ave. south of King St. W.
• Stadium Rd. south of Lake Shore Blvd W.
• Queens Quay W. west of Bathurst St.
• Springhurst Ave. west of Jameson Ave.
• Springhurst Ave. east of Jameson Ave.
• Remembrance Dr.

Dufferin Gates – limited access:

While the Dufferin Street Bridge remains closed to the general public, it will be open to foot traffic only on Saturday for those holding tickets to the Toronto Caribbean Carnival.

People wishing to access the free viewing areas should do so via Strachan Avenue or Dowling Avenue.

Construction road closures:

• Parliament Street from Lake Shore Boulevard East to Front Street East, is closed – except for local access – for up to one month due to natural gas main replacement work by Enbridge. The west sidewalk on Parliament Street is open along with the Mill Street cycle track.
• Some lane restrictions will be in effect at the Bloor Street West and Church Street intersection all weekend until Monday to facilitate sewer manhole installation work.

QEW Burlington Skyway open this weekend:

Last month, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Transportation advised there would be a closure on the QEW Niagara-bound lanes on the Burlington Skyway Bridge each Friday for several weeks. However, for the August long weekend, they updated lanes will be open. The next closure is scheduled for August 11 instead.

Ongoing closures:

• Dufferin Street Bridge has a full emergency closure for repair work and it’s expected to last into the fall.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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