Weekend need to know: Beaches Jazz Festival, Jays vs. Angels; road closures

Summer festivals continue to take over city streets and parks this weekend including the annual Beaches Jazz Festival, the Festival of Beer, and an Afro-Caribbean Food Festival.

Plus, the ‘Boys of Summer’ are back at Rogers Centre playing against the Los Angeles Angels.

Toronto will spend one more day under a heat warning, before more comfortable temperatures move in for the weekend.

There are no scheduled subway closures this weekend. However, several road closures continue in and around the city.

But, for this weekend, there will be no closure of Niagara-bound traffic lanes on the QEW Burlington Skyway as originally scheduled. The Ministry of Transportation says this update is due to recent weather affecting the necessary pre-work for repairs. The bridge will also remain open during the August long weekend.

Here’s what to do this weekend:

Top events

Beaches International Jazz Festival StreetFest

The 35th annual Beaches International Jazz Festival’s StreetFest returned to The Beaches neighbourhood on Thursday and continues on Friday and Saturday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The free, street festival is taking over Queen Street East between Woodbine and Beech Avenues, with over 40 live bands performing.

Some performers include Inner Soul, The Salida Project, Blue Room, and a lot more.

Photo credit: Beaches International Jazz Festival

Jays vs. Angels

The Toronto Blue Jays are taking on the Los Angeles Angels all weekend at Rogers Centre.

Friday’s game starts at 7:07 p.m., Saturday’s game starts at 3:07 p.m., and Sunday’s game starts at 12:05 p.m.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah throws against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, July 7, 2023, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Festival of Beer

Toronto’s Festival of Beer is taking place Friday to Sunday at Exhibition Place and there will be tons of local and international beers to try.

People can also check out live music throughout the weekend while enjoying different beers.

Ice Cube is performing at the event on Friday, Third Eye Blind on Saturday, and T-Pain on Sunday.

Indigenous Sounds Now

Summerseries in Trillium Park is hosting Indigenous Sounds Now all weekend at Ontario Place.

Indigenous Sounds Now is a free event celebrating some of the many genres of music being created by Indigenous musicians, including alternative rock, blues, and country.

Performances will include Gary Farmer & The Troublemakers, Murray Porter with Joshua Miller & The Pappy Johns Band Reunion, and Cliff Cardinal & The Sky-Larks.

Foodville: Afro-Caribbean Food Festival

Foodville is a festival celebrating African, Caribbean, and Afro-Latin food including foods from local and international Black-owned vendors.

There will be DJ sets, special guest chefs, and live musical performances with Nonso Amadi headlining the event.

The festival for regular passholders is happening at stackt market on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.

However, the festival space for “ALL Access” passholders goes from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Nonso Amadi is headlining Foodville located at stackt market on Saturday, July 29. | Photo credit: Instagram @foodvillefest

Road closures

Event road closures:

• Beaches International Jazz Festival StreetFest – Queen Street East from Woodbine Avenue to Beech Avenue will be closed nightly from 6 p.m. to midnight, Thursday through to Saturday. Waverley Road, Lee Avenue and Wineva Avenue will remain open during StreetFest hours.
• Festival of South Asia – Gerrard Street East, from Coxwell Avenue to Glenside Avenue, will be closed from 6 a.m. on Saturday until 2 a.m. on Sunday.
• Pedestrian Sundays at Kensington Market – Parts of Kensington Avenue, Augusta Avenue and Baldwin Street will be closed on Sunday from noon to 10:30 p.m.

Construction road closures:

• Eastern Avenue, from Lewis Street to McGee Street, will be closed from 7 p.m. on Friday until 5 a.m. on Monday for bridge reconstruction. Vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists will all be detoured along Broadview Avenue or Carlaw Avenue.
• Yonge Street, from Sheppard Avenue East to Spring Garden Avenue, will be reduced to one northbound lane from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday for the safe use of a crane. Southbound lanes will not be affected.
• Richmond Street, from Portland Street to Bathurst Street, will be closed from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday for the safe use of a crane.

QEW Burlington Skyway open this weekend

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Transportation advised there would be a closure on the QEW Niagara-bound lanes on the Burlington Skyway Bridge for more than 12 hours each Friday in July. However, for the next two weekends, they updated lanes will be open. The next 12-hour closure is scheduled for August 11 instead.

Ongoing closures:

• Dufferin Street Bridge has a full emergency closure for repair work and it’s expected to last into the fall.
• Broadview Avenue, between Gerrard Street East and Danforth Avenue, will be closed to southbound traffic and reduced to one northbound lane until November to replace TTC streetcar tracks.
• Teston Road in Vaughan will be closed between Pine Valley Drive and Weston Road until the end of the year for road reconstruction and bridge work.
• 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.
• Lake Shore Boulevard West, from Rees Street to Spadina Avenue, is reduced to two lanes until May 31, 2024, for Enwave construction.
• Bathurst Street is down to a single lane each way at Laurelcrest Avenue for construction until the middle of August.
• Military Trail is closed from Ellesmere Road to Highcastle Road for road rehabilitation and slope stabilization. The project completion date has been delayed to the summer.
• Keele Street is reduced to a single lane about 100 metres north of Langstaff in Vaughan. Construction work is scheduled to finish later this year.
• Northbound Yonge Street is reduced to one lane between Wellington and King Streets for TTC construction. The project is scheduled to continue into 2024.

With files from Jordan Kerr of CityNews