Weekend need to know: Thanksgiving, Pumpkinfest, Screemers, Oktoberfest

The pumpkins are back at Downsview Park! Hit the rides, eat some candy or watch the SuperDogs at this years PumpkinFest. Sean Cowan with what you can expect.

By Julie Arounlasy

Posted October 6, 2023 5:07 am.

Last Updated October 6, 2023 12:23 pm.

It’s the Thanksgiving long weekend and events are going on all weekend including the holiday Monday.

Plus, Screemers haunted house is back at Assembly Park in Vaughan, as well as Toronto Oktoberfest at Fort York.

There is a scheduled subway closure on part of Line 1, alongside ongoing road closures.

The TTC will also operate on a holiday schedule for Thanksgiving on Monday.

Some stores and services will be closed on the holiday Monday. Click here for a full list of what’s open and closed.

Here’s what to do this long weekend:

Top events

Thanksgiving events

Jamaal Magloire Foundation Thanksgiving Food Drive

Scarborough native and Canadian basketball legend, Jamaal Magloire, is hosting his charity’s third annual Thanksgiving Food Drive presented by Longo’s on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 395 McCowan Rd.

The family-friendly event is designed to provide 1,000 meals to families this holiday weekend.

Woodbridge Fair

The annual Woodbridge Fair is happening all weekend long, including Thanksgiving Monday, at 100 Porter Ave. in Woodbridge.

The fair includes midway rides and games, competitions, and the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth Contest.

The fair is open on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Monday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Daily Bread Food Bank’s Thanksgiving Public Food Sort

The Daily Bread Food Bank’s annual Thanksgiving Public Food Sort is happening at the food bank on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The charity says Daily Bread member food banks are seeing record-breaking client visits each month – over 270,000 this last August – a 51 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

In addition, over 12,500 new, unique clients are accessing emergency food services each month.

For the long weekend, close to 200 volunteers will be making their way to the Daily Bread warehouse to sort and pack thousands of pounds of high-demand food donations that will be distributed to families facing hunger across the city.

Pumpkinfest Toronto

Pumpkinfest Toronto is on at Downsview Park for the long weekend.

The event includes midway rides, bouncy castles, a pumpkin patch, food trucks, and live entertainment.

The festival is open from Friday to Monday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Pumpkinfest Toronto returns to Downsview Park for the Thanksgiving long weekend. Photo credit: Pumpkinfest Toronto

Screemers

For all the horror lovers, a haunted house in Vaughan will be open for the month leading up to Halloween day.

This year Screemers is operating out of Assembly Park located at 80 Interchange Way in Vaughan.

The Screemers haunted house includes seven haunted walk-through mazes featuring over 120 live actors, along with rides and food trucks.

Organizers say costumes are welcome, but costume masks will not be allowed inside mazes.

The event is only recommended for people 10 years old and older.

Toronto Oktoberfest

Toronto Oktoberfest is the first Bavarian-styled Oktoberfest in Toronto.

The festival launched in 2012 with a mandate of providing a truly authentic Oktoberfest experience, similar to the spirit of Munich’s famed festival.

Currently, the festival is a two-day event from Friday to Saturday, which celebrates the food, drink, music and dance of Bavarian culture.

The event takes place at Garrison Common at Fort York.

Toronto Oktoberfest is happening Friday and Saturday at Fort York. Photo credit: Toronto Oktoberfest

TTC closures

Line 1 Friday early nightly closure

Subway service on Line 1 between Spadina and St. Andrew stations will end at 11:59 p.m. on Friday.

Line 1 shuttle buses will operate, stopping at all subway stations.

Line 1 Saturday single-day closure, no shuttle buses

There will be no Subway Service on Line 1 on Saturday between Spadina and St Andrew stations due to track work.

Regular service between Spadina and Osgoode stations will resume by 8 a.m. on Sunday.

The TTC will not be running shuttle buses during the closure because of ongoing construction projects along the route.

Line 1 Sunday late opening

Subway Service on Line 1 between Osgoode and King stations will open by 11 a.m. for track work.

Line 1 shuttle buses will operate.

GO Transit updates

On Saturday, October 7, GO Transit will be adding additional Kitchener Line GO train service to help get students home and back from Fall Reading Week.

Additional train service includes:

An additional afternoon westbound train, departing Union Station at 12:38 p.m. and arriving at Kitchener GO at 2:28 p.m.
An additional afternoon eastbound train, departing Kitchener GO at 3:04 p.m. and arriving at Union Station at 4:49 p.m.

Road closures

Adelaide and York streetcar track installation

Construction for the next phase of streetcar track installation on Adelaide Street between York and Victoria Streets will include traffic restrictions at the Adelaide and York Streets intersection until the end of the year.

Since earlier this week to the end of October, crews are performing construction work on the south side of the Adelaide and York intersection. During construction, motorists and cyclists can expect the following impacts:

York Street, from King Street West to Adelaide Street West, will be open to local traffic only
No northbound traffic will be permitted on York Street, from King Street West to Adelaide Street West
Northbound travel from Adelaide Street West onto York Street will remain open
One shared eastbound lane for people cycling and driving will remain open on Adelaide Street West, from York Street to Victoria Street

Until mid-December, the intersection of Adelaide and York Streets will be fully closed to traffic so that crews can safely install TTC tracks in the intersection.

During the closure, the streets around the intersection will be open to local traffic only.

Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times throughout construction.

Ongoing closures

Kingston Road and Lawrence Avenue is down a single lane in all directions for construction, until the end of October.
Broadview Avenue, from Danforth Avenue to Pretoria Avenue, is closed to vehicles until October 25, for TTC streetcar tracks replacement at Broadview Station.
Southbound Bayview Avenue is closed from Rosedale Valley Road to River Street from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly, until early January.
In Brampton, northbound Main Street is closed from Queen Street to Nelson Street, until December for watermain replacement.
Southbound on Broadview Avenue remains closed from south of Danforth Avenue to Gerrard Street, until the end of November.
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.
Military Trail is closed from Ellesmere Road to Highcastle Road for road rehabilitation and slope stabilization. The project completion date has been delayed until further notice.
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.