Weekend need-to-know: Taylor Swift takes over Toronto

Taylor Swift will be taking over Toronto for the first weekend of her six-show run, but there’s still lots of other events to get up to this weekend.

Taylor Swift at Rogers Centre

The first three shows of Taylor Swift’s ‘ERAS Tour’ are happening this weekend on Nov. 14, 15 and 16. If you weren’t able to get tickets, there are still lots of events to celebrate Swift’s arrival.

Taylgate ’24 will be happening at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for her full show run. The 150,000 square feet of indoor space will be the place to start the party before the big show 

For a full list of events happening over the weekend, you can find them here.

And if you want to avoid the Swifties this weekend, but still want to check out some live music, you can find other concerts here.

GTA Santa Claus Parades

Oakville, Brampton and The Beaches will be holding their Santa Claus Parades this weekend.

In Oakville, the parade will be happening on Saturday at 9 a.m. and begins at Robinson Street and Lakeshore Road East, continues to Lakeshore Road East, turns north on Keer Street, turns west on Stewart Street, ending at Felan Avenue in Downtown Oakville.

A free Santa Shuttle will run from 8 to 11 a.m. every 5-10 minutes from Oakville GO to Trafalgar Park Community Centre.

Meanwhile, in Brampton, the parade will start at 5 p.m. on Saturday and will start at the intersection of Bramalea Road and Central Park Drive, head north on Bramalea Road towards North Park Drive and then head east on North Park Drive concluding at the intersection of North Park Drive and Jordan Boulevard.

The Beaches parade will be happening on Sunday at 1 p.m. and will run for two hours at Kingston Road and Victoria Park and ends at 97 Main Street.

Winterfest at Canada’s Wonderland

Canada’s Wonderland will be transforms into a magical, winter wonderland for WinterFest this weekend and will run until Jan. 4. It is an immersive holiday experience that features ice-skating on Snow Flake Lake, more than a dozen live shows and holiday entertainment, exciting rides, millions of spectacular lights, and hundreds of beautiful Christmas trees throughout the park, including two 50-foot Christmas trees on International Street. ​

TTC/GO Closures

There will be no TTC or GO closures but there will be additional service for the Taylor Swift concerts. You can find full details here.

Road closures

To mitigate the anticipated traffic impacts and ensure residents and visitors can move safely and efficiently around Rogers Centre during the Taylor Swift concert period, the city will implement the following road closures and restrictions on concert dates:

• Starting at 1 p.m., the following roads will be restricted to local traffic (residents and businesses) only:
  • Bremner Boulevard between Spadina Avenue and Simcoe Street
  • Northbound lanes on Rees Street will be closed. Southbound lanes will remain open for two-way traffic including an accessible entry point.
  • Blue Jays Way between Spadina Avenue and south of Front Street
  • The Marriott Hotel will be accessible from Front Street via Blue Jays Way.
  • Navy Court Wharf
  • Access to condos will be via a police checkpoint at the Spadina Avenue and Bremner Boulevard intersection.
  • Lake Shore Boulevard will be reduced to two westbound lanes at the intersection with Rees Street for a drop-off/pick-up point.
• At 10 p.m., Front Street between Blue Jays Way and Simcoe Street, John Street south of Wellington Street, and Windsor Street south of Wellington Street will be closed to support crowd control before concertgoers leave Rogers Centre.
• At 11 p.m., the eastbound and westbound Gardiner Expressway off-ramps to Spadina Avenue will be closed to restrict traffic into the area as concertgoers leave Rogers Centre. Additional spot road closures may be needed for crowd and traffic management.
• All roads and ramps will re-open when traffic and crowds dissipate, which is expected to be by 1 a.m. following each concert. 

Gardiner Expressway closure

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 closures

• Intermittent lane closures will be in effect on Wilson Avenue between Dufferin Street and Billy Bishop Way until late November for the replacement of a natural gas pipeline.
• Park Lawn Road is down to a single lane from north of Lake Shore Boulevard to the Gardiner Expressway due to the construction of a proposed GO station in the area.
• 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 Station and Union Station. 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 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.
• 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 mid-October, both eastbound lanes and one westbound lane on Queen Street West will be closed at the York Street intersection for the installation of overhead wiring for the 501 Queen streetcar detour. One westbound lane will remain open.