Weekend need-to-know: Mayor’s skating party happening across the city

The first weekend of 2025 will be the last chance to check out some winter festivals before they shut down for the year and to skate with the mayor.

There are no TTC or GO closures this weekend.

Mayor’s Skating Party 2025

Mayor Olivia Chow will be hosting the annual Mayor’s Skating Party at four different locations this Sunday. It’s a chance to rub shoulders with Chow and other city council members.

Here are the locations of the parties:

• McCowan District Park
• North Toronto Memorial
• Colonel Samuel Smith Park
• Nathan Phillips Square

Nathan Phillips Square will also have Indigenous sports and storytelling.

There will be free skates, free hot chocolate, and an opportunity to meet the people who run your city.

It’s all ages and runs from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Last weekend of Distillery Winter Village

It’s the last weekend to get a chance to see the Distillery Winter Village until the next holiday season. All vendors will still be open on Saturday and Sunday for the last days of the festival and entry is now free with no tickets required.

It will be open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Saturday, but will close at 9 p.m. on Sunday.

For all the details and the schedule, you can find it here.

Toronto hockey action

The Maple Leafs and the Marlies have a busy weekend ahead with both teams playing twice

The Toronto Maple Leafs will take on the Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday evening. Puck drops at 7 p.m. Then the Flyers head to down for another 7 p.m. game on Sunday

Meanwhile, at Coca-Cola Coliseum, the Marlies have a two-game stretch against the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday and Sunday. The puck drops at 4 p.m. for both games.

TTC/GO closures

No TTC/GO closures this weekend

Road closures

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• Spadina Avenue streetcars have been replaced by buses between Spadina Station and Queens Quay, and until the end of the year, there will be no 510 service between Spadina Station and Union Station.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.
• 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.
• 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.