Weekend need-to-know: Music festivals galore across the city and Ossfest

There is a plethora of free music festivals happening across Toronto this weekend sure to please the ears of residents.

Keep in mind that there is a TTC and GO closure this weekend.

Music festivals across the city

Queen Street East StreetFest

Queen Street East will be shut down to allow 30 different acts to perform across the street. The festival will run from Thursday evening to Saturday, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. each night.

The festival is part of The Beaches Jazz Festival, and people of all ages are invited to attend for free. It runs from Woodbine and Beech Avenues.

A full schedule is available on their website.

Summer Live Music Festival

For its fifth annual event, the Summer Live Music Festival at Trillium Park will feature two diverse programs: Live Jazz and World Music, as well as SING! In the Summer.

There will be concerts from four award-winning emerging bands and four acappella groups that range from jazz music to folk and pop.

A full schedule is available here.

OLG Weekend

Woodbine Park will host the free music festival OLG Weekend, which is part of the Beaches International Jazz Festival.

It will feature soul, funk, world, and house music and will offer delicious food, a beer garden, and shaded seating.

Highlights include DJ Legend Kenny Glasgow, a pioneer in North American electronic music, and Brooklyn-NYC-based and globally renowned DJ Tony Touch, A.K.A. Tony Toca, an icon in Hip-Hop, House, and Latin music genres.

There will also be an all-day party featuring international and local DJs, including a kids’ dance party from 2 to 4 PM.

The festival will be taking place starting at 5 p.m. Friday to 11 p.m. on Saturday.

Ossfest

The annual festival to celebrate the best that Ossington has to offer is happening this week. The strip between Dundas St. West and Queen St. West will be shut down for a pedestrian takeover.

There will be over 25 extended patios alongside music and entertainment programming all day and into the evening. 

The festival is Saturday only and kicks off at 11 a.m. until midnight.

Toronto’s Festival Of Beer

Toronto’s Festival of Beer is the place to be to have some brews this weekend. The festival will feature hundreds of different beers, good eats and live entertainment at Bandshell Park in Exhibition Place.

There will also be several non-malt-based beverages to try out, including cider and ready-to-drink cocktails.

The headliners for the festival are Cypress Hill, Souls of Mischief, Josh Ross, Alli Walker, Taking Back Sunday and Ill Scarlett.

Tickets are still available now on their website.

TTC/GO Closures

Line 1 Weekend closure

On Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28, there will be no subway service between Sheppard West and St. Clair West stations for planned track work.

Shuttle buses will operate. Regular service will resume Monday, July 29 by 6 a.m.

Line 2 Pape Station bypass

On Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28, trains on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth will not stop at Pape Station due to Ontario Line construction. Metrolinx will be working near the station platform.

Bus service at Pape Station will be unaffected, and the station will remain open.

Stouffville Line closures

Starting late evening Friday, July 26, and throughout the weekend, GO train service will be adjusted on the Stouffville line for construction. GO buses will replace trains between Old Elm GO and Union Station as we work to improve your service.

There will be no GO Transit service at Milliken, Agincourt, and Kennedy GO.

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. 

Temporary road closures

Beaches International Jazz Festival 

From 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 25 to 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, Queen Street East will be closed between Woodbine and Beech Avenues for the Beaches International Festival.  

Wheels on Eglinton Car Show 

From 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, Eglinton Avenue West will be closed between Elmsthrope Avenue to Russell Hill Road for the Dream Wheels on Eglinton Car Show.  

OssFest 

From 6 a.m. on Saturday, July 27 to 4 a.m. on Sunday, July 28, Ossington Avenue will be closed between Dundas and Queen Streets West for OssFest.  

Unwin Bridge 

Until 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 28, the Unwin Bridge near Cherry Beach will be closed for bridge repairs. During this period, the Ship Channel Bridge on Cherry Street will be open for traffic to access the Port of Toronto and Cherry Beach. 

Yonge Street 

From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, Yonge Street will be closed between Front Street West and Lake Shore Boulevard West for the construction of a pedestrian bridge. 

Kingston Road 

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, Kingston Road will be closed between Blantyre Avenue and Fallingbrook Road for a crane hoist operation.  

Other ongoing city closures

• Spadina Avenue streetcars have been replaced by buses between Spadina Station and Queens Quay, and until the end of the year, there will be no 510 service between Spadina Avenue and Union Station along Queens Quay. 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.
• The Yonge and Bloor intersection will be reduced to a single lane all the way until 2025 for condo construction and sewer installation.
• 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 until 2027, at least four and a half years.
• Northbound Yonge Street is reduced to one lane between Wellington and King Streets for TTC construction, which 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 until October 2024 for sewer installation.
• Eglinton Avenue West is reduced to a single lane east of Islington and west of Scarlett Road due to tunnelling 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 at least Friday, July 19, King Street West will be closed between Atlantic Avenue and Sudbury Street, and westbound lanes will be closed between Dufferin and Shaw Streets for ongoing work to replace aging TTC streetcar tracks and a 146-year-old watermain.
• From Friday, July 12, the Progress Avenue bridge over McCowan Road and the ramp at Busby Drive to northbound McCowan Road will be permanently closed for demolition as part of construction on the Scarborough Centre subway station. Demolition is scheduled for completion in early September. Sidewalk access will be maintained.