Weekend need-to-know: Ribfest and Festival of India hitting downtown

There are lots of events to keep you busy this July weekend, including the annual Downtown Toronto Ribfest at Yonge-Dundas Square, the Toronto Triathlon Festival and the Festival of India.

Keep in mind there are subway closures and some adjustments to the Barrie GO line this weekend.

Downtown Toronto RibFest

The annual Downtown Toronto Ribfest is happening this weekend at Yonge-Dundas Square.

Start indulging on Friday afternoon at 12 p.m., and the festival will last all weekend. It’s free entry for all those attending to taste some award-winning barbeque.

Toronto Triathlon Festival

The Toronto Triathlon Festival, an annual event since 2012, is returning on Sunday. Starting at Exhibition Place, runners take over Toronto’s signature downtown highway, the Gardiner Expressway, and turn around near the iconic CN Tower before heading back to the finish line.

Get there early, as 10KTO kicks off at 7 a.m.

Salsa on the Beach

Get ready to don your dancing shoes at Woodbine Beach this weekend for Salsa on the Beach. The event is part of the Beaches Jazz Festival and will feature the electrifying sounds of Salsa, Merengue, and Cumbia on an open-air dance floor.

There will also be treats from food trucks, vendors and a beer garden.

Admission is free, and the event kicks off Friday evening at 7 p.m. The full lineup can be found on their website.

Festival of India

The 52nd annual Festival of India is taking place this Saturday and Sunday.

The festival features a vibrant parade down Yonge Street in which three 40-foot floats are pulled by thousands of attendees while singing, chanting, drumming, and dancing from Yonge and Dundas to the lake on Saturday at 11 a.m.

After the parade on Yonge, the festival will continue for the remainder of the weekend on Centre Island that includes a free vegetarian feast.

Although the festival itself is free, people still need to buy their own ferry tickets to get onto Centre Island.

Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

The Toronto Outdoor Art Fair will be celebrating its 63rd year of bringing together art lovers and artists at Nathan Phillips Square.

More than 165,000 people are expected to attend this year’s festival to enjoy art collecting and artist discovery, installations, guided tours, soulful kids programs, live painting, and site-specific dance.

More details can be found on their website.

TTC/GO Closures

Line 2 Closure

On Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14, 2024, there will be no subway service on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth between Kipling and Keele stations due to planned station improvements and track work. Subway service will resume on Monday, July 15, 2024, by 6 a.m.

Line 2 shuttle buses will operate.

GO Barrie Line adjustments

On Saturday, July 13, until 4 p.m., the Barrie train service will be adjusted due to the construction of the new Ontario Line. To facilitate this work, no Barrie trains can enter Union Station for a 16-hour and 8-hour period. A full list of service adjustments can be found on the GO website.

UP Express adjustments

Beginning late-evening Friday, July 12, and throughout the weekend, some UP Express train service will be adjusted due to construction. GO buses will replace trains, and travel times will be longer than usual.

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

Fusion of Taste Festival: From 5 a.m. on Saturday, July 13 to 2 a.m. on Monday, July 15, Albion Road will be closed between Islington Road and Thistle Down Boulevard.

Bayview Avenue: From 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 13, southbound lanes on Bayview Avenue between Rosedale Valley Road and River Street will be closed for maintenance repairs on multiple steel transmission towers by Hydro One. Cyclist and pedestrian access will be maintained.  

Festival of India Parade: From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 13, Yonge Street will be closed between Edward Street and Queens Quay.

Toronto Triathlon Festival: From 1 a.m. to noon on Sunday, July 14, eastbound lanes on the Gardiner Expressway will be closed between Humber River and the Don Valley Parkway, and northbound lanes on the Don Valley Parkway will be closed between the Gardiner Expressway and Eglinton Avenue East.

Little Jamaica Festival: From 12 p.m. on Friday, July 12 to 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 14, Eglinton Avenue West will be closed between Dufferin Street and Marlee Avenue.

Richmond Street West: From 10 p.m. on Sunday, July 14 to 6 a.m. on Monday, July 15, Richmond Street West will be closed between Bay and York Streets for the safe hoisting of mechanical equipment. Bike lanes and sidewalks will also be closed. Detour signs will be in place. 

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.
• 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 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.