Colonial Tavern's record monument on Yonge Street

This record doesn't spin but it remembers great jazz musicians that performed at Colonial Tavern in Toronto from 1947 to 1987. The building that housed the tavern at 203 Yonge Street is gone now, demolished the year it closed, but the large granite monument was unveiled in 1996, removed during the condo development and parkette construction before it finally found its way back to the site of the former tavern. The parkette is really just some concrete and a ramp.

Two historic bank buildings bookmark the parkette, one with the large Massey Tower condo over the former Canadian Bank of Commerce building to the south and the old Bank of Toronto building. It probably took a lot of deposits to finance all those columns used by the banks.

The black granite disc, or record, shows 175 musical artists, including many legendary artists, who played the famous jazz venue, breaking the colour barrier in Toronto in 1947. The Colonial was founded by Lawrence and Lichtenberg and also inscribed on the stone is the following.

"Jazz Place: Serves to commemorate the important contribution to the cultural life of Toronto and the North American Jazz Scene. 1995"

The monument in the sidewalk

The Parkette between the banks

Former Bank of Toronto

Looking towards the former Canadian Bank of Commerce building

Craning on Yonge Street

Construction work on a building along Yonge Street required the roadway to be closed to allow cranes to lift equipment to the site. Workers brought in electrical equipment on several flatbed trucks and moved them to the building, high in the air. It was very exciting, I'm surprised that there wasn't a giant crowd watching this operation go down.

The crane lift happened on the September 20-21, 2025 weekend and Yonge Street was closed from Adelaide Street West to King Street West.

Queen West Art Crawl Festival Toronto 2025

Toronto's Queen West Art Crawl Festival (QWAC) takes place within Trinity-Bellwoods Park, which is a perfect place to stage the arts festival. This year the festival is the September 20-21 weekend and there are plenty of artists and vendors involved along the paths throughout the southern portion of the large park.

QWAC, which I think of as quack, runs a number of events that benefit both artists and local residents and their two-day multidisciplinary, outdoor arts festival gets over twenty thousand attendees every year. The artists tents are located around and within the circular and bisecting paths while the site also hosts a main stage and kids zone. The event boasts of over 100 artists, live music, food and more.

From QWAC website, "Queen West Art Crawl creates an open, public space for arts and culture in a busy downtown neighbourhood. Our festival includes a 2SLGBT+ friendly Kids' Zone and a Main Stage with Music and Drag that is 50%+ BIPOC. To ensure that underserved populations are strongly represented in our art exhibit, we partner with groups, including Workman Arts and the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, donating spaces for artists with lived mental health experiences and local Indigenous populations, that are recommended to us through their own communities."

Clay and Paper Theatre fear catcher

Toronto VegTO Fest 2025

Vegans and Vegetarians can attend the 40th anniversary of VegTO Festival at Nathan Phillips Square over the September 20-21, 2025 weekend. The event is free to attend and features vendors, information and entertainment along with panel discussions.

Show Hours
Sat. Sep. 20th 11am - 7pm
Sun. Sep. 21st 11am - 6pm

Vikki Lenola will be hosting Vegan Fashion and the Future of Textiles discussion on the mainstage Sunday at 3pm followed by the panel on Beyond Animals - Alternative Proteins, Animal Free Science, & Canada’s Future at 4pm.

From discussing and showing sustainable animal free textiles and fashions to the future of alternative proteins as well as animal free science and advocacy, it's time to learn about non-meat stuff.

Cloud Gardens Park Conservatory expected to reopen in 2026

Cloud Gardens is an amazing urban park because it not only has park stuff, like grass, but it also has a conservatory. I have never been in the conservatory but I look forward to visiting it when it opens again in 2026, refreshed and all tropically like a cloud rainforest. I did frequent the park many times before the construction began and was always impressed by the amount of bike couriers that filled the site making it their social gathering site, that and the cool walls, waterfall and metal columns.

The park part is open now but the wall, waterfall and conservatory and still fenced off and under construction.

The City says that, "the Conservatory located on the east side of Cloud Gardens Park is closed until late 2026 due to planned restoration work. Stairs, ramps and terraces will remain closed until restoration work is completed. The Cloud Gardens Conservatory is like a tropical cloud forest nestled between the office towers of Toronto's busy downtown core. It sits on land given to the city in the 1980's when the Bay Adelaide Centre was constructed. Recognized with a Governor General's Architectural Award, it features elaborate award winning design and a monument to Toronto's construction workers."

The dry waterfall waits

The Cloud Gardens Conservatory sits on land given to the city in the 1980s when the Bay Adelaide Centre was constructed. The Conservatory was renovated in 2014 and re-opened in spring 2015 with a new climate control system and grow lights to address shading caused by newly built office towers. Improvements also include an improved misting system and a new monorail system to help maintain the mechanics and vertical wall gardens. Soil amendments and new plantings further help to simulate a Cloud Forest habitat.

Ontario Fall Fairs 2025

As the foliage starts to change colours the fun of fall fairs return as destinations that help to unite communities and get the stuffed toy and goldfish in a bowl distribution system going into high gear. While the Canadian National Exhibition has finished for the 2025 the local, small town fairs are putting in stakes and setting up rides even as we speak.

Of course the bookmark of the season is Toronto's Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and Royal Horse Show which also takes place in Exhibition Place November 7-16, 2025.

You can look up local Ontario Fairs at a few sites including the following.

Destination Ontario

Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies

To Do Ontario

Toronto Love Park pond goes green again

The heart shaped pond in Love Park has gone a lovely shade of green again, much like the reported incident in 2023 when algae filled the water in the pond. It's ridiculous that this issue persists because I think it interferes with my swimming laps as it's kind of soupy.

As an urban oasis the 2-acre park at York and Queens Quay West is a boutique park filled mostly with the pond, so you really notice the off colour water.

The City of Toronto notes that "features within the park include: A large, shallow, heart-shaped pond at the park’s centre, combined with existing and newly planted trees to create a tranquil area amongst the bustling city streets, a gently swirling pathway for pedestrians to move through the park quickly or stroll and enjoy a calm respite, nine bronze-cast Canadian animals and moveable café-style tables and chairs sponsored by the Waterfront BIA and a trellis, a drinking fountain and a dog’s off-leash area."

2026 IndyCar schedule including Canada's relocated race

After an exciting IndyCar 2025 Season, which just wrapped up with the news that Toronto's Indy race will move to Markham in August 2026, the race org has released the whole 2026 schedule to the world. The new season will come with 17 races the the only race outside of the United States when it heads to the GTA's new course location. Speaking of 2025 it seems that the winner of Toronto, Pato O'Ward, finished second in the Championship standings after Champion Alex Palou.

Indy's website says, "NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to Canada to race on the new Streets of Markham layout Sunday, Aug. 16. Recently announced, the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham continues the series’ rich history of exciting wheel-to-wheel racing in the Toronto area. Major investments from the city are creating a 12-turn, 2.19-mile layout, which will include a double-sided pit lane, a high-speed straight and technically challenging sectors. Markham, as part of the young and diverse York Region of Ontario, is experiencing significant growth at a population of more than 1.25 million. The 2026 race will mark the 38th year the series has competed in Ontario and 40th INDYCAR SERIES race in the province."

Here is the 2026 schedule:

Sunday, March 1 - Streets of St. Petersburg
Saturday, March 7 - Phoenix Raceway
Sunday, March 15 - Streets of Arlington
Sunday, March 29 - Barber Motorsports Park
Sunday, April 19 - Streets of Long Beach
Saturday, May 9 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Sunday, May 24 - The 110th Indianapolis 500
Sunday, May 31 - Streets of Detroit
Sunday, June 7 - World Wide Technology Raceway
Sunday, June 21 - Road America
Sunday, July 5 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Sunday, July 19 - Nashville Superspeedway
Sunday, Aug. 9 - Portland International Raceway
Sunday, Aug. 16 - Streets of Markham, Canada
Saturday, Aug. 29 - Milwaukee Mile Race 1
Sunday, Aug. 30 - Milwaukee Mile Race 2
Sunday, Sept. 6 - WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca

The TUNNEL by B!G ART Work outside the Eaton Centre

Trinity Square Park, located on the west side of the Toronto Eaton Centre, is home once again to a large scale work of art, in this case The TUNNEL by B!G ART Work. This piece features 4m high inverted V type structures, illuminated by LED strips on the inside of the structures, creating a path, or tunnel through the installation. The TUNNEL is on site from September 5 to October 29, 2025.

From the Eaton Centre website, "Whether literal or metaphorical, these passageways ignite the imagination and challenge us to explore what lies beyond. The TUNNEL takes this idea further, offering a one-way journey through a dynamic corridor of light, sound, and interactivity. Part immersive sculpture, part sensory instrument, The TUNNEL is more than an installation—it’s a cosmic passage through the imagination."

B!G ART makes public art specializing in interactive and immersive art works. They say, "the TUNNEL is a one-way trip to another side. A series of strange, 4m(12 feet) tall cosmic structures create a tunnel of magical light and sound, scalable from 32m(105 feet) to 50m(165 feet) with all 16 frames. “Pilots” use an interactive device to manipulate the array, creating an infinite number of patterns of light and sound guiding your path through the structures. The 3D design uses over 150 LED bars, pixel-mapped to create a vortex of light pulling you through the structures, with over 8,000 individual LEDs"

@jmhcet #art and #lightinstallation in #trinitysquarepark #Toronto, outside #cfeatoncentre ♬ original sound - This Banger

Toronto area fall colours 2025

It's early September and the salmon have started their swim upstream and the cool nights have heralded the start of Autumn colours in Ontario. At this point there is about 0 to 10 percent leaf colour change throughout the province and it is estimated that colours will be changing early due to the warm, dry summer we just had, combined with the lowering temperatures experienced since mid-August when summer seemed to suddenly end. The photo at top shows colours from a previous fall in the GTA.

Officially summer continues until September 22, 2025 (at 2:19pm) when the fall equinox ushers in Autumn. The colours typically peak from the end of September into mid-October and you can track the southward migration of peak fall foliage on this Ontario Parks website or this ToDo Ontario Fall Colour Report website.

At this time (September 11) the GTA is starting to experience the occasional tree experiencing colour change as the rest of the overall forest average change is very low, but as we approach the end of September that will change very rapidly.

You can find some of your own locations with great views along hills, parks, near bodies of water and sometimes along winding roads. Some of the best places to see fall colours in the GTA include the following locations.

CN Tower gives a great overhead view

High Park

Scarborough Bluffs

Riverdale Park

Don Valley Trail

Rouge National Urban Park

Cheltenham Badlands

Spencer Gorge and Dundas Peak

Toronto Disc Golf Courses

Fun with Frisbees! It's a lot easier and cheaper to play Frisbee Golf, or Disc Golf as most courses are located in parks (so free) and no carts are required. Similar to golf, you throw the frisbee towards the metal and chain baskets, count the throws and compare against the par for the hole.

There are no drinking carts coming by and generally you don't have a caddy or reservations, but otherwise it is the same as golf!

From the city's website, "Come try your hand at disc golf! With similar rules to traditional golf, players throw a disc from a tee off area into a metal basket mounted in the ground. The object of the game is to complete each hole in the fewest number of throws. Disc golf courses are open year round."

Ann and I tried the Ashbridges Bay Park, a 9 hole/baskets, 3 par course, and yes it was delightful. This was our first time and we had the kit with three distinct frisbess each, one was a driver, one a mid-range and one a putter although we did not wield these discs with skill.

Ashbridges Bay Park 9 baskets
Centennial Park - Etobicoke 23 baskets
Dentonia Park Golf Course 9 baskets
E.T. Seton Park 14 baskets
Marilyn Bell Park 9 baskets
Scarlett Woods Golf Course 9 baskets
Toronto Island Park - Centre Island 19 baskets

See more photos after the jump.

Nuit Blanche Toronto 2025 art coming October 4

Late night art installations will soon be discovered throughout Toronto during the sleepless night on Saturday, October 4, 2025. Nuit Blanche, or White Night, is an all night affair that features contemporary art, often art installations, along with visual and audio components from 7pm on Saturday till 7am on Sunday. This year's theme will be “Translate the city through art” and it will be the 19th edition of the Toronto event. I plan to be there with my lite-bike, travelling around the art sites looking for interesting art amongst the art I can't understand. That is Afaf Naseem, Signals of the City, (Nuit Blanche Toronto, 2025) photo at top.

Nuit Blanche's Artistic Director Laura Nanni "invites audiences to explore the ways art interprets and transforms urban life, bridging language, culture, identity and place." There will be three main areas of art; North York, Etobicoke focused on the Humber Polytechnic campus and also the downtown core of the city. There will be city sponsored exhibitions along with independent projects as well as Nuit Talks, tours and workshops.

There are three city sponsored exhibitions plus over 85 other works and the odds are you won't see them all. The beginning of the night of art is a super busy time, hard even to get close to some installations due to crowds. It starts to get quieter as the night turns into early morning, so plan accordingly.

Smoke-A-Palooza Toronto

Sankofa Square is hosting Smoke-A-Palooza 2025 on Saturday, September 6 from 11am to 11pm. Surprisingly this is not a weed themed event, no it is a french fry type of event, if the fries were coated in gravy and cheese curds. 

From the Square's website "Smoke-A-Palooza is back! Join Smoke’s Poutinerie for 12 hours of non-stop entertainment, featuring FREE fries, curds & gravy, daredevil stunts, activations, prizes, and the legendary World Poutine Eating Championship (WPEC)."

@jmhcet #stiltperformer at #Toronto #smokeapalooza 2025 in #sankofasquare ♬ suara asli - SONG OF THE DAY

Trinbago Toronto Festival 2025

The Caribbean is in Toronto, temporarily, in Mathan Phillips Square during the Trinbago Toronto Festival from September 5-7, 2025.

Cultural music, food and entertainment are to be appreciated as the square at Toronto City Hall  is full of vendors amd their stage is ready to present music, dance and the dress of the islands nation. It's a mini carnival!

Presentations and performances by the National Carnival Commission, Pan Trinbago, the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organization, Tobago Beyond and Visit Trinidad will thrill the crowds over the weekend.

Festival dates and times:

Friday, September 5 – 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 6 – 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 7 – 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.