WNBR Toronto 2025 coming June 14

In just a little under two weeks the 2025 World Naked Bike Ride Toronto will be winding its way through busy downtown streets in a "global protest against oil dependency and urban pollution". Bikers will gather in Coronation Park beginning around 10am (or earlier) on Saturday, June 14 and will head out on the ride at 1pm.

The WNBR international event has been ongoing since 2001, beginning in Spain, before coming to Toronto in 2004. Covid reduced the numbers for a few years before the crisis passed and riders came back in force.

THE START: JUNE 14, 2025

Coronation Park is located along Lake Shore Boulevard West, just across from Exhibition Place. Limited parking is available in the park, otherwise I would suggest Exhibition Place for parking - or bike to the site. People will meet at the war memorial (shaped kind of like a ship) next to the large Canadian Flag pole near the water's edge.

Organizer Gene Dare will probably be on site early as riders begin to show up, socialize and begin to apply body paint and decorate their bikes with posters or signs. Gene rides with a large Canadian flag banner and a giant Canadian hat. More and more people will show up around noon until the group conducts a group photo and heads out at around 1pm. 

The group ride starts by heading north on Strachan Avenue. Remember the ride is as bare as you dare!

THE WNBR ROUTE

Overall the ride takes about 3 to 4 hours, but you can join or leave at any point you want, just get dressed when you leave. The route runs through and past many of Toronto's iconic tourist spots, traveling in an approximate clockwise circle before heading back to Coronation Park.

The ride changes a little bit every year, sometimes because of construction or street events, or just to add another Toronto favourite destination to the ride. This is the approximate journey they will take.

Coronation Park (photo op)

Trinity Bellwoods Park

Kensington Market

University of Toronto

Queen's Park (photo op)

Yorkville

Church Street Village

Allan Gardens

Toronto Metropolitan University

Eaton's Centre

Yonge-Dundas Square now Sankofa Square

City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square (with a quick stop in the fountain and photo op)
Down Bay street past Old City Hall

Union Station

Roundhouse Park

Queens Quay east to Sugar Beach Park

Back along the path to HTO Park
Return to Coronation Park

Riders then depart from the group at ride's end or possibly go to the Toronto Islands to party on Hanlan's Point clothing optional beach.

Schitt’s Creek Rosebud Motel rises again

The Canadian comedy show Schitt's Creek came to audiences on January 13, 2015 on CBC and sadly, after only six seasons, the show came to an end. From Rose Mansion to the Rosebud Motel the Rose family provided laughs, tears and great memories, all situated in a town that doesn't exist.

Three main Ontario locations were used for filming including Toronto, some buildings in Goodwood (such as David's Apothecary) and the exterior of the Rosebud Motel in Hockley Valley (Mono). The hotel was actually a working motel called the Hockley Motel, relabeled for the show. You can see the motel without the sign on my post here.

Canadian comedy legends Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara were joined by Emily Hampshire, Annie Murphy, Dan Levy and many others, bring life to a family retreating in crisis, described by the CBC as "When the filthy-rich Roses suddenly find themselves broke they're forced to rebuild their empire within their only remaining asset - Schitt's Creek, an arm pit of a town they once bought as a joke."

The motel changed ownership post show and seemed to have been closed down for awhile now. But suddenly there were reports that the Schitt's Creek Rosebud Motel sign has reappeared on the building - which I can confirm as of May 27, 2025. And the property looks ready to go - either as a working motel, coincidentally named Rosebud Motel, or a possible return to show business for the building.

Hopefully we will soon hear of a series reboot, or a maybe a movie in the future.

Doors Open Toronto 2025 returns this May 24 weekend

Over 150 sites spread around the city are included within the Doors Open Toronto celebration of public and private spaces - open for free for you to visit Saturday, May 24 to Sunday, May 25, 2025. The theme is play and prepare to wait in line for some of the popular spots as the event runs from 10am till 5pm (check the website for non-standard times).

There are also guided neighbourhood tours and Doors Open talks for those that want to find out more information as the tour progresses, although advance registration is required.

Toronto City Hall is once again included in the list of places to visit with the following information provided from the city; "The seat of Toronto's municipal government and internationally recognized as an architectural masterpiece, City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square are among Toronto's most famous landmarks. The masterful mid-century design is the result of one of the largest architectural competitions ever held by a city. An international jury judged 510 submissions from 42 countries around the world. In 1958, Mayor Nathan Phillips announced the winner, Viljo Revell, an architect based in Helsinki, Finland. Construction began in 1961, and the site opened four years later on September 13, 1965."

A great place to check out at City Hall is to "enjoy a remarkable view of downtown from the 27th Floor Observation Deck of Toronto City Hall. The observation deck is only open to the public during Doors Open. Access to this space is limited, so be aware that lining up is required. Take an elevator to the 25th floor and then climb an additional 15 stairs to reach the observation deck. Strollers are discouraged. Stroller parking is on the main floor before entering the elevators."

Keep in mind that part of the city is also working against the other part this weekend as TTC subway service on Line One comes to a halt both Saturday and Sunday. From the TTC's website, "Subway service on Line 1 between Sheppard-Yonge and College stations will be replaced by shuttle buses on Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25, for planned track work. TTC staff will be available to assist customers. Lawrence and Summerhill stations will be closed during these times. All other subway stations will remain open for customers to purchase PRESTO fares, tickets and connect to surface routes."

Star Wars in Concert in Toronto

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is blasting us into space during the Star Wars Empire Strikes Back in concert at Roy Thomson Hall.

There are even Star Wars cosplayers to pose with and merchandise for sale. It really was a fantastic experience.

Ticket renewals open today for 2025 #indyTO

The 2025 action packed Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto will return to Exhibition Place July 16-18 and today is the beginning of ticket renewal purchases (May 21) while public sales of tickets will begin June 6 (starting at 10am). Fans who purchased 2-Day Grandstand tickets for the 2024 event can look at renewing their seats until June 2nd (5pm) and note that each 2-Day Grandstand ticket renewed for this year's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto includes a complimentary NTT IndyCar Series Paddock Pass with an $80 value. On June 3rd renewal ticket purchasers can also update or adjust their seat locations if they were looking to move to new available seats.

From IndyTO, "This great Canadian summer tradition returns to Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto for its 37th running on July 18-20, 2025. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the headline on-track feature with additional race series including Emzone Radical Cup Canada presented by Michelin sports cars and the next generation of open-wheel stars from USF Pro 2000 and USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire adding to an action-filled schedule. Off track, festival-goers can enjoy numerous interactive displays and diverse food and beverage offerings across the Exhibition Place grounds."

“The anticipation grows for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto with the start of ticket renewals tomorrow. World-class racing on the downtown city streets and along Lake Ontario will be surrounded by a vibrant festival setting on the Exhibition Place grounds," said Jeff Atkinson, president of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. “It’s time again for great racing and exhibits, food and fun for all ages during this premier event on Ontario’s summer calendar.”

Second Harvest Truck Pull Challenge Toronto 2025

Charity fundraising brought together volunteer teams that competed in a truck pulling challenge down at Toronto City Hall on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, raising funds for the Second Harvest's food rescue and redistribution works.

From the Harvest's website, "The Second Harvest Truck Pull Challenge is a unique team challenge that puts your strength and teamwork to the test. Teams of 10 compete head-to-head in a tournament format to pull a 20,000-pound delivery truck across Nathan Phillips Square in the fastest time."

Three trucks were lined up with chains ready for pulling in Nathan Phillips Square

Blossoms still making Toronto beautiful

 

Cherry blossoms have peaked but there is still a lot of beauty in Toronto as other trees, like the Chinese redbud pink blossoms and lilacs come out to play.

Enjoying the atmosphere in Trinity Bellwoods Park.

Neon Riders Toronto Cherry Blossom Ride 2025

Bike riders, roller bladers, skateboarders and a few other modes of transport were are out on the streets of Toronto for the Neon Riders event - Cherry Blossom Ride 2025. Eighty five participants gathered on Friday, May 2nd at Nathan Phillips Square at 7pm before heading off on the first ride of their season.

Riders starting to gather at city hall

From their facebook page, "Neon Riders is a group for Rave night bike rides in Toronto. We usually meet on Thursday evenings at Nathan Phillips Square from May to October. Every ride is posted in the Events section along with a detailed route and pitstops." The ride was originally scheduled for the Thursday but rain forecasted throughout the day necessitated a move to the Friday.

The twenty kilometre night time route took in downtown Toronto's blossom hotspots, starting with a small park on Cherry Street with stops taking in 15 min breaks and mini-raves at several locations.

Stopping at the Toronto Music Garden

The route was described as follows, "We'll be travelling Clockwise on this 20 km route, starting and ending at Nathan Phillips Square.
Pitstops are as follows:
Pitstop #1 - Old Cherry St. and Villiers St. ~ 8:30 pm
Pitstop #2 - Toronto Music Garden ~ 9:30 pm
Pitstop #3 - Princess Margaret Fountain ~ 10:30 pm
Pitstop #4 - Trinity Bellwoods Park. ~ 11:30 pm"

Ontario Place redevelopment continues

Toronto's waterfront theme park known as Ontario Place is for many just memories of what used to exist, from the the children's area to the waterpark and the amusement rides. Then the island was closed in 2012 and a lot of stuff was removed, only the spiral stairs for the water slide and the remains of the flume ride remained, besides the old buildings.

Now it was sad that they closed it for so long without even functioning as an urban park, what a waste of space. Then they opened it once again for small festivals and general use and completed the Provincial Park (Trillium) on the east side of the island. The west side is now closed for the construction works.

A redevelopment was announced in 2021 and the inclusion of Therme Spa certainly made the news (and remains there to this day), then there was the controversial planned relocation of the Ontario Science Centre to the island. Dougie can't catch a break for all his maneuvering! The whole house of cards built to approve the spa has been questioned in the media and a big bombshell landed recently courtesy of 
American newspapers.

Construction is underway and it looks like many of the removals are completed and the pedestrian bridges, pod buildings have been wrapped or covered in scaffolding. Civil grading works are being done on the far west side.

Besides the spa I look forward to the increased public space, walkways and public transit connections. I hope that they don't eventually add a casino to the mix in Ontario Place.

A recycling bin in High Park has "Don't worry Ford can't walk this far" graffiti alluding to the potential redevelopment of High Park but being saved because Ford couldn't make the walk from Ontario Place. Jokes on us because he would just ride a big SUV into High Park.

Dinos in Toronto: Inflatable Dinosaur Rampage

Urban Playground Toronto courts disaster as they attempt to gather and control dinosaurs with a Saturday, April 26, 2025 event called "Inflatable Dinosaur Rampage". This unnatural gathering will lead to nothing good if the dinosaurs get loose, because life finds a way - especially dinosaurs, and they rip locals and tourists alike with their sharp claws and giant, inflatable teeth.

Organizing group Urban Playground Toronto is dedicated to bringing fun into the six with free social events in public spaces and you can find them on facebook. They have put on such exciting activities as the recent Pillow Fight, the Water Gun Fight (for when it gets warmer) and a rousing round of Snow Ball Fighting (for when it gets colder again). Urban Playground's poster for the event is shown at top.

Participants will meet at 1pm by the clock tower in the Grand Plaza outside Union Station along Front Street where they will "Rampage like there is no tomorrow!!!!" as they attack several iconic downtown locations. Will humanity survive this chaos, will the orange guy change his mind about the 51st state?

The first annual rampage was a little sparse on the rampaging and destruction, only one dino showed up. Hopefully the dino pack will come out in force next year.

Toronto 2025 Cherry Blossom watch

Update: May 2, 2025. This is it baby, peak blossom weekend is here. Everywhere I went today the cherry blossoms are popping and crowds are gathering. This weekend will be full of blossom enthusiasts so plan accordingly. I think the easiest place to park and see the blossoms is in Exhibition Place, otherwise bike around and see them all.

High Park blossoms

Mayor Olivia Chow says “Cherry blossoms are soon to be in bloom across the city and I look forward to seeing residents and visitors enjoying them in High Park and multiple locations across Toronto.”

The following City press release talks about the blossoms around town.

"The City of Toronto is predicting that Toronto cherry blossom (Sakura) trees will reach peak bloom later this week due to rising temperatures. Cherry blossoms typically last between four to 10 days, depending on weather conditions. There are several locations across Toronto where the public can enjoy the cherry blossoms including several City parks, the Exhibition Place grounds and some University of Toronto and York University campuses.

More information including a map of locations and accessibility information is available on the City’s Cherry Blossoms website: https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/cherry-blossoms/.

High Park:

Tens of thousands of people come to the blossoming Sakura trees in High Park annually. To help manage visitor volume, there will be no vehicle access or parking inside High Park starting Monday, May 5 for the duration of peak bloom. Vehicle access and parking inside High Park is regularly prohibited during the weekends.

TTC Wheel-Trans vehicles will continue to have access to the park to drop off visitors. An elevator is now available for visitors to use when arriving from the High Park TTC Station.

Enjoy the blossoms and respect the trees:

Visitors are asked to avoid climbing the cherry blossom trees or removing blossoms or branches and use designated bins for litter and recycling.  

City parks contain ecologically sensitive areas meaning it is important to stay on paved pathways and trails to help sustain the long-term health of these areas.

More information on when the High Park cherry blossoms are in bloom is available on the High Park Nature Centre website: https://highparknaturecentre.com/cherry-blossom-watch/.

Support Sakuras:

Cherry trees require regular maintenance and have a finite lifespan. City crews are constantly planting more Sakura trees to replace aging trees.

Exhibition Place has several areas of cherry trees

Queen's Park has some trees out front and also back in the park beside the horsey statue

See more of Toronto's blossoms after the jump.

Taxi flips in Toronto

It must have seemed like a taxi drive to hell when a two vehicle crash left a cab on its side on a very busy intersection under the Gardiner Expressway. Police sealed off the Lake Shore Boulevard intersection along with Yonge Street southbound from Front Street during the afternoon vehicular accident.

One person ended up being transported to the hospital as a result of the early afternoon accident on Sunday, April 20, 2025. I was in the area to witness a tow truck flip over the taxi so that it could be removed from site and the eventual reopening of the area. The tiktok video of the taxi being pulled over follows.

@jmhcet Taxicab flipped on Lakeshore Blvd at Yonge Street in Toronto April 20. A #towtruck pulled the #taxi back to its wheels. #Toronto #carcrash ♬ original sound - jmhcet 🇨🇦

Tiny motorized advertising in Toronto

In early April 2025 I was walking downtown at the Yonge Dundas intersection, waiting for the light when a small remote controlled vehicle wheeled by and seemed to get stuck at a door. A nearby woman tried to open the door because she thought it might be a delivery drone, however it didn't go in the door, it just kind of hung there.

I took some photos waiting for it to do something and didn't really notice that its sail was talking about advertising, which seems to be the opposite of what they want to accomplish. So if you can't afford a billboard, this might be your thing.

It was a busy intersection where they were driving this little wireless wonder