Weekend need-to-know: Live music, garden gurus and sports galore

Both the Maple Leafs and Raptors are in action at home this weekend, but if you’re not a sports freak don’t fret — spring-antsy gardeners and foot-tapping live music lovers also have plenty of options.

Here’s a look at some of the events taking place this weekend in Toronto.

Seedy Saturday at Evergreen Brickworks:

Some of us may remember seedy Saturdays from days before we plucked our greys. But it’s time to get your mind out of the gutter and your hands in the dirt. Seedy Saturday at Evergreen Brickworks is a wholesome celebration of seeds, gardening and community where you can take part in workshops, seed exchanges and listen in on expert talks to bring your garden to the next level. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and it’s free.

New Orleans Jazz, blues and reggae

As usual Toronto will host an eclectic lineup of live music this weekend. If this author were your guide, we’d start out at the legendary, beer-soaked Grossman’s Tavern for a rollicking Saturday afternoon of New Orleans jazz, compliments of the Happy Pals starting at 3:30 p.m. After a break for some Chinatown grub, we’d head to the Cameron House for the Heavyweights Brass Band’s 10 p.m. set in the iconic venue’s front room. Still got something in the tank? Let’s boogie to reggae and dancehall until 2 a.m. at 3030 Dundas West. More live music options at the expertly curated Music Crawler.

Leafs and Raptors at Scotiabank

Both the Leafs and Raptors are at home this weekend at Scotiabank Arena. The Raptors host the Golden State Warriors on Friday at 7:30 p.m., and the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. Sandwiched between those games, the Leafs will try to shake off a home loss to Vegas with a bounce back against the New York Rangers on Saturday at 7 p.m. Snag tickets here.

Ongoing road closures:

• O’Connor Drive is down to a single lane each way between Bermondsey and Sandra for road reconstruction and sewer and watermain installation until summer 2024.
• The Yonge and Bloor intersection is reduced to a single lane all ways for condo construction and sewer installation until 2025.
• University Avenue will be reduced to a single lane in both directions between College Street and Queen Street West to complete several infrastructure projects for the next several months.
• 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.
• Northbound Yonge Street is reduced to one lane between Wellington and King Streets for TTC construction. The project is scheduled to continue into 2024.
• Two northbound lanes of Yonge Street from King Street to Wellington Street are closed for TTC construction until Sept. 30, 2024.
• Two westbound lanes of Lake Shore Boulevard East from Cherry Street to Carlaw Avenue are closed until April 10, 2024.
• Finch Avenue West is reduced to a single lane in both directions from Dufferin to Wilmington for sewer installation until October 2024.
• Eglinton Avenue West is down to a single lane east of Islington and west of Scarlett Road for tunnelling work related to the multi-year Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project.