Weekend need-to-know: Summerlicious begins and salsa takes over St. Clair

Whether you would like to salsa in the streets or taste flavours from around the world, this weekend has got you covered. Keep in mind, there is a TTC and a GO closure in effect this weekend.

Salsa on St. Clair

The hottest salsa party is back on St. Clair this weekend. The street festival will feature an international caliber of Latin music, authentic cuisine, and a fiesta for lovers of all Latino culture.

The annual celebration attracts hundreds of thousands of salsa lovers from near and far.

The event will shut down St. Clair Avenue West between Winona Drive and Christie Street and kicks off on Saturday at noon. The fiesta parade will kick off at 12:30.

A full list of events can be found on its website.

Taste of the Middle East

In its seventh year, the Taste of the Middle East is back at Nathan Phillips Square this weekend to showcase and celebrate Arabic music, art and culture in Toronto.

The three-day festival will feature concerts, art exhibitions and digital shows featuring emerging artists and headliners. They also aim to provide youth a platform of expression in order to foster a sense of pride and belonging in the city.

The festival will kick off on Friday at 6 p.m. with the opening ceremonies and will last all weekend. A full schedule is available on its website.

Taste of Lawrence

Scarborough’s largest street festival will be taking over Lawrence Avenue this weekend for the 20th anniversary of Taste of Lawrence.

There will be more than 150 street vendors offering enticing flavours from every cultural community in the GTA along with live entertainment on two stages, a busker zone and midway rides.

The festival is happening between Warden Avenue and Birchmount Road starting on Friday. A full list of details can be found on its website.

Summerlicious

It’s the foodie event of the summer for many Torontonians … Summerlicious is back and runs from Friday to July 21.

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.

TTC/GO Closures

Line 1 Closure

On Saturday, July 6 and Sunday, July 7, 2024, there will be no subway service on Line 1 Yonge-University between St Clair and Sheppard-Yonge stations due to planned station improvements and track work. Subway service will resume Monday, July 8 by 6 a.m. Line 1 shuttle buses will operate.

No Barrie GO train

On July 6 and 7, there is no Barrie GO train service between Union Station and Allandale Waterfront GO due to construction. GO buses replace train service at all stations except Downsview Park GO and Union Station Bus Terminal.

On Monday, July 8 and Tuesday, July 9 some morning and evening train schedules will be adjusted on the Barrie line to and from Union Station.

Regular service resumes Wednesday, July 10.

Road closures

Ongoing Gardiner closures

As part of the long-term construction plan on the Gardiner Expressway, one westbound lane and one eastbound lane are closed between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue. The eastbound on-ramp from Lake Shore Boulevard at Jameson Avenue is also closed. 

Other ongoing city closures

• Spadina Avenue streetcars have been replaced by buses between Spadina Station and Queens Quay and there will be no 510 service between Spadina Avenue and Union Station along Queens Quay until the end of the year. Commuters wishing to travel onwards to Union from Queens Quay will need to transfer to a 509 streetcar.
• O’Connor Drive is down to a single lane each way between Bermondsey and Sandra for road reconstruction and sewer and watermain installation until the summer of 2024.
• Until mid-June, between 6:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on weekdays, Lake Shore Boulevard will be reduced to two westbound lanes between New Brunswick Way and British Columbia Road for the replacement of a fence. 
• The Yonge and Bloor intersection will be 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.
• 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 tunneling work related to the multi-year Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project.
• Lane restrictions on Bayview Avenue between Roehampton Avenue and Armistice Drive while the city completes road resurfacing, curb and sidewalk replacement, and traffic signal and pedestrian upgrades. One northbound lane is currently closed on Bayview Avenue between Kilgour Road and Roehampton Avenue.
• Cherry Street remains closed south of Polson Pier due to maintenance on the Ship Channel Lift Bridge (Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge). Road users are able to access the Port of Toronto and Cherry Beach via Unwin Avenue. 
• Until Friday, July 9, westbound lanes on King Street West will be closed between Dufferin and Shaw Streets, and eastbound lanes will be closed between Jefferson Avenue and Sudbury Street, for ongoing work to replace aging TTC streetcar tracks and a 146-year-old watermain. Phased road closures will continue between Dufferin and Shaw Streets until September for this project, followed by intermittent lane closures as needed until November to complete overhead work and road restoration.