Friday at Honda Indy Toronto 2017

It's Fan Fiday at Exhibition Place and fans are coming down to see some World class race teams as they get some practice time on the tracks and start some qualifying rounds. Entrance today is free with the sponsorshop of the Ontario Honda Dealers and you can give a voluntary donation to Make-A-Wish Canada. The Toronto race weekend is from July 14 -16.

Grandstand seating is available today without any tickets required so you can check out the sightlines. Thunder Alley, the Honda Speed Zone and Honda World are all open and you can wander all but the IndyCar Paddocks for free. Firestone Racing is in the IndyCar Paddock and they have brought over 1,200 tires to Toronto which include the primary tire with a black sidewall and the rain tire with the grey sidewall. Each car will get 6 sets of primary tires, 4 sets of alternate tires and 5 sets of rain tires. Firestone will provide a Firestone Pit Stop Performance Award for the Toronto race, in the Iowa Corn 300 Will Powers' team won with a total pit stop time of 2 minutes and 1 second.

Ryan Hunter-Reay climbs into his car

Verizon IndyCar and NASCAR Pinty's have had their first practices in the morning and later in the afternoon IndyCar will have one more series practice before concentrating on pit stops. NASCAR will have a qualifying round starting at 3:35pm. In the first Verizon practice Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud ranked top three.

Cars taking to the track today also include Indy Lights, Mx5, USF2000 and GT3 and the action on the track ends at 6:00pm today. Weather has been great so far with some showers in the afternoon forecast.

Tomorrow will have a number of races with the feature being the Grand Prix of Toronto run by the NASCAR Pinty’s Series from 3:45 to 5:05pm. If you are coming down remember to use public transportation and bring some earplugs if you get close to the track.

See more racing after the jump.

REVERENCE at Brookfield Place

Site-specific dance, ballet, mime and silent cheers are happening in the Allen Lambert Galleria of Toronto's Brookfield Place. REVERENCE by Brendan Fernandes was trained in classical ballet and he uses his Kenyan-Indian-Canadian background to question identity and the dynamics of power. Performances run July 10-14 from 12:15 pm to 1:15 pm and celebrate Canada's 150th birthday.

"Choreographed and conceived by Brendan Fernandes, Révérence is performed without a stage, without music and the audience is invited to travel with the dancers as they move through the Allen Lambert Galleria." The dancers passed out small paper flags that stated "REVERENCE". The dgathereed ancers posed and moved along the perimeter of the great hall while people gathered, watched and snapped photos of the graceful troop.

See more after the jump.

Honda Indy Toronto 2017

The race track is in place, the city roads are closed and Honda Indy Toronto is in town for its 31st year from July 14 to 16 in Exhibition Place. With a number of series taking part in the race festival the track schedule will be full of practice sessions, qualifying times and exciting races. Headline races will be the NASCAR Pinty's Series Grand Prix of Toronto on Saturday and the Verizon IndyCar Series Race on Sunday. Fan Friday remains free courtesy of the Ontario Honda Dealers with a request of a voluntary donation to Make-A-Wish Canada.

See photos of Fan Friday here, Saturday here and the big race day - Sunday.

Prince's Gates from the Pinty's Pub and Grill

21 IndyCar open wheel drivers are bringing their high powered machines to the Streets of Toronto race course (CAR/DRIVER): #1 Simon Pagenaud, #2 Josef Newgarden, #3 Helio Castroneves, #4 Conor Daly, #5 James Hinchcliffe, #7 Mikhail Aleshin replaced with Sebastian Saavedra, #8 Max Chilton, #9 Scott Dixon, #10 Tony Kanaan, #12 Will Power, #14 Carlos Munoz, #15 Graham Rahal, #18 Esteban Gutierrez, #19 Ed Jones, #20 Spencer Pigot, #21 JR Hildebrand, #26 Takuma Sato, #27 Marco Andretti, #28 Ryan Hunter-Reay, #83 Charlie Kimball and #98 Alexander Rossi.

Will Power interviewed at the press conference

Will Power won the 2016 Honda Indy Toronto which puts him at the top of active IndyCar drivers with the most wins at the track. Three other past winners will also be driving in 2017 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden. Will Power of the #12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet says "Toronto is a great course for myself and the No. 12 Verizon Chevy team. We won the event last year and had a really great car to make it happen. We've gotten a win at a road course and an oval this season already, so a win at a street course would be really exciting. We continue to have a really strong car as we had a great one at Iowa. We're looking forward to racing for the fans at Toronto this weekend and building on consistently solid cars this season."

Crews setting up in pit lane

Cars are coming out of haulers in the IndyCar Paddocks

The Mayor of Hinchtown, James Hinchcliffe of the #5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda is also returning and looks forward to racing in Toronto, "It's one of the busiest for me, but one of the most enjoyable, then to go home and race in front of the home crowd at the racetrack that I went to as a kid that really made me fall in love with Indy car racing. Getting the chance to race there every year is exciting. The support that I felt from the city, and the entire country, has been overwhelming the last 100 starts of my career, and it's going to be exciting to have number 101 there."

Honda Indy Toronto 2017 map

On Thursday, July 13 there will be a press conference where we will meet Jeff Atkinson, President of the Honda Indy Toronto and a number of drivers and later get to see the William Ashley race trophies. Jeff noted that this is the fourth longest running event in IndyCar and is a special event for the city of Toronto. The diversity of racing means that there is something to see and do for everyone.

From left to right: Alex Tagliani, Scott Hargrove, Patrick Gallagher, Will Power, Dalton Kellett, Parker Thompson and Sebastien Bourdais who joined the panel as a surprise guest.

Drivers at the initial press conference will be as noted.
Will Power of IndyCar. Says that the track and conditions are different every year and that you need to stay on your toes and survive the race - minimize mistakes and be smart. The concrete patches are slippery but if it rains Friday it might make the racing better.
Alex Tagliani, NASCAR Pinty's Series driver of the No. 18 Dodge in the Pinty's Grand Prix of Toronto. Alex won last year's race and he bringsthanked his new sponsor Lowes as they help raise awareness of food allergies.
Parker Thompson, Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda driver of the No. 90 Exclusive Autosport Mazda. Toronto is one of the coolest cities to race in, he won last year and has started the campaign 'Drive to Stay Alive; to end distracted driving
Patrick Gallagher, Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup driver of the No. 29 McCumbee McAleer Racing Mazda. Says that this is the first time the race has come to Toronto and looks forward to the street course.
Scott Hargrove, Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama driver of the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche. This is Scott's fifth time racing in TO and notes that the track is difficult - bumpy and the walls are tight.
Sebastien Bourdais, IndyCar driver injured during the qualifying for the Indy 500. He is now walking and hopes to get into a car later in August after fracturing his pelvis and breaking a hip at the famous oval. He thought it was important to show up and support his team.

After the press conference "IndyCar drivers Tony Kanaan and Conor Daly, plus Jeff Atkinson and representatives from William Ashley will unveil the William Ashley Waterford Crystal trophies to be awarded to the top three IndyCar finishers in the Hondy Indy Toronto."

Pit lane and the Honda pedestrian bridge

Other events scheduled around the track or around town are as follows.

Thursday, July 13 from 3:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Indy Cycling Challenge benefiting Prostate Cancer Canada
Honda Indy Toronto temporary street circuit
Exhibition Place
"This inaugural event benefits Prostate Cancer Canada and will consist of a 10KM and 25KM race. Cyclists will compete in a timed event to raise money and to win prizes. 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi will also participate."

Thursday, July 13 from 6:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
The RALLY Toronto by Racing for Cancer
The Fermenting Cellar - Distillery District 28 Distillery Ln.
Toronto, ON M5A 4R2
"James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay are hosting a fundraising event to support the charity Racing for Cancer as well as benefit Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia Foundation of Canada."

Friday, July 14 from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Coors Light/New Era Event
Grace O'Malley's Irish Pub
14 Duncan St.
Toronto, ON M5H 3G8
"Coors Light and New Era are joining forces at Grace O'Malley's Irish Pub to build excitement for Honda Indy Toronto. Drivers Conor Daly, Graham Rahal, J.R. Hildebrand, and Ryan Hunter-Reay will be on-site to meet fans and sign autographs. The event will feature giveaways, including co-branded Coors Light New Era hats."

Singer-song writer Tom Cochrane will be the Honda Indy Toronto 2017 Grand Marshal. Tom gained fame with his single 'Life is a Highway' and has received eight Juno awards, a GRAMMY nomination and been awarded the Order of Manitoba and the Order of Canada among many other honours.

"As Grand Marshal, Cochrane will announce the most famous words in motorsport, "Drivers, start your engines!" as well as participate in other pre-race ceremonies for the Verizon IndyCar Series race on Sunday. The race will be broadcast both globally and live nationally on Sportsnet 360 with coverage starting at 3:00 p.m. EDT. "We are incredibly excited to have Tom Cochrane as our 2017 Grand Marshal," said Jeff Atkinson, President of Honda Indy Toronto. "His accomplishments in music as well as extensive charity work are a point of Canadian pride. We are honoured to have Tom join us in celebration this weekend."

"It is an honour to be asked to Grand Marshal the iconic Honda Indy especially in the summer of Canada's 150th year. It's always a hallmark of summer in Toronto and Ontario," said Tom Cochrane. "My favourite moment of Indy history was when Paul Tracy won the championship. It was a proud year for Canadians. This year after being a resident of Oakville for the last 20 years and raising our daughter here, I'm obviously rooting for fellow Oakvillian, James Hinchliffe to win!"

"Additionally, in celebration of Canada150, to enhance the Canadian presence in the pre-race ceremonies, Sgt. David Grenon of the Royal Canadian Air Force will perform the National Anthem. Captain Hilary Anderson of the Royal Canadian Air Force - 433 Tactical Flying Squadron, 3 Wing based out of CFB Bagotville, Quebec will fly over following the national athem in a CF-18 Hornet."

Sunday's Verizon IndyCar race will be preceded by a parade march of military members and untis from across Ontario along with the drivers and race organizers. The grid girls will be the Toronto Argonauts cheerleaders.

Photos from the weekend, the daily schedule, road closures and TTC changes after the jump. Check the Honda Indy Toronto website for updated schedules.

Toronto Caribbean Carnival 2017

The party has started as the city enjoys 50 years of Carnival in the big smoke. Spreading from Trinidad and Tobago and eventually to Toronto, the local celebration of Caribbean culture, music, cuisine is an event that has been embraced by Toronto and brings in many international visitors. The 5 week festival started on July 4th with the media launch of the Junior Carnival and will end with the big parade is Saturday, August 5. You can look for places on Lake Shore Boulevard to view the Grande Parade for free, buy general admission Exhibition Place tickets for $20 or go all out and get a VIP ticket for $100

Come back as I add more photos from the 2017 launch

"Go big. Really big! The Grand Parade is the largest event of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival. This event continues to attract local, regional, national, and international attention by visitors and media. It is the highlight of the annual Festival. After months of preparation, masqueraders in colourful and striking costumes and steel pan bands wind their way from Exhibition Place moving east along Lakeshore Boulevard and returning to Exhibition Place. The road becomes the stage for the masqueraders and steelpan performers. It truly is something you can’t miss."

Toronto's Carnival brings out some amazing bands and masquerade groups to showcase the gorgeous mas costumes and music of the Caribbean and you can get a free peek of it for yourself during the Tuesday, July 11 official launch down at City Hall in Nathan Phillips Square. The magic starts at 11am and will feature music, performances and a massive display of mas costumes.

The remaining events are Carnival Village (Jul 15, 2017), The Art of Carnival (Jul 13, 2017), Junior Carnival and Family Day (Jul 22, 2017), Carnival Ball (Jul 28, 2017), Carnival Ball After Party (Jul 28, 2017), Lighting of the CN Tower (Aug 01, 2017), King & Queen Parade (Aug 03, 2017), and the Grande Parade 2017 (Aug 05, 2017).

See more photos after the jump.

Let's play ball - Blue Jays at Rogers Centre

Victory against the Houston Astros was sweet as the Jays continue their four day series against the Texas team with a 7-2 win on Saturday, July 8, 2017. It's a busy July for the home town major league baseball team with only three days off and currently standing at the bottom of the American League. Saturday's win is the fourth in five games as the Blue Jays start their climb back to the top in front of over 46,000 fans.

The summer day had beautiful weather and the Rogers Centre opened its big skydome and let the sunshine in, even the Edgewalk participants roaming outside the CN Tower 356m above the ground.

360 photos sphere view of the stadium

The dome starts to close after the game ends

See more pics after the jump.

The Brews are coming: Toronto Festival of Beer 2017

Summer here and it's time for beer! @TOBeerFestival returns to Exhibition Place July 28-30 for another installment of great food, great entertainment and a whole lot of tasty adult beverages. For 2017 the Beer Store presents an incredible line up of Toronto Chefs, musical performances by Method Man & Redman, Sloan, and Great Big Sea's Alan Doyle & The Beautiful Gypsies and a massive selection of 416 different beers at the 19+ event.

Celebrating Canada's birthday TFOB will feature the 20,000 square-foot Canada 150 Pavilion dedicated to fine brewers and tasty food from our great country. "It feels great to be celebrating Canada's 150th birthday at our 2017 festival," said Les Murray, President of Toronto's Festival of Beer, "We carefully hand-selected beer from coast to coast to feature inside our Canada 150 Pavilion and can't wait for beer lovers to experience it!" Participants from the West Coast, East Coast, Ontario and Quebec will each showcase 48 brands of beer that are winners of both the Canadian Brewing Awards and the Ontario Brewing Awards.

Within the Festival of Beer will be the TasteTFOB, presented by TO's Finest, in partnership with Labatt, Broil King and Cheese Boutique with chefs and restaurants from Toronto's savory hotspots. "The food element at Toronto's Festival of Beer continues to grow each year and that's because we've been fortunate enough to have such strong support by the best Chefs and restaurants in this city," said Les Murray, President of Toronto's Festival of Beer, "Just take a look at our Grilling Tent lineup! It's made up of the top names in Toronto's culinary scene which is why it's a can't miss for any foodies out there!" You can find Grilling Tent stage schedule with the chefs and restaurants listed later in this post.

TFOB can be found at Bandshell Park in Exhibition Place and the hours are: Friday, July 28 from 4:30pm to 11pm, Saturday, July 29 from 1:30pm to 8pm and Sunday, July 30 from 1:30pm to 8pm. You can get in 1.5 hours early with VIP tickets! You can buy General Admission, Hoptomize, VIP, Stay the Night Packages and the new experience: CLUB TFOB tickets (you can see what is included in the CLUB TFOB later in the post as well).

See more information after the jump.

Honda Indy Toronto 2017 next week

July 14-16 at Exhibition Place will be race central as the fastest sport in town takes over some of Toronto's streets. Beginning with Free Fan Friday the weekend will be feature the NASCAR Pinty's Series Grand Prix of Toronto race Saturday and the Verizon IndyCar Series race on Sunday.

Update: See coverage of the 2017 race weekend on my post here.

Canadian NASCAR stock car series has finished three of their 13 scheduled 2017 races with one more to run this weekend before the cars head to Toronto for the Grand Prix. Three different drivers have won the last races and it is a pretty tight in the Championship standings with Alex Labbe in the lead followed by Kevin Lacroix and Cayden Lapcevich. Sixteen year old rookie driver Cayden won the 2016 Championship and has already won one race this season. In 2016 veteran driver Alex Tagliani, who also competed in IndyCar in Toronto, took the checkered flag and will certainly battle it out with the other top drivers including Andrew Ranger.

NASCAR will practice and qualify on Friday and take to the track at 3:45pm on Saturday, July 15 for the Grand Prix race.

IndyCar has been very busy and have already completed ten of 17 races with one more this weekend before they too come to Toronto. Friday is practice day and Saturday will be qualifying and the Firestone fast six. Then at 3:45pm on Sunday, June 16 the cars will begin their race after driver introductions beginning at 3:00pm, singing of the national anthems and the call for drivers to start their cars. Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe, the Mayor of Hinchtown, has won one race and finished third in another and will look to take the winning trophy in Toronto. Of course James will have to contend with a roster of talented drivers including series leaders Scott Dixon, Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves. Also last year's winner Will Power will hope to repeat at this year's race.

Joining the headline series on the 11-turn, 1.75-mile street course will be the Mazda Road to Indy with the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, the Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama and the Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires.

Thunder Alley, beer gardens, Honda World, race paddocks and many other activities and entertainment can be found off the track to make this a full weekend of racing and fun.

RaceFest in Clarington July 5

Racing legend Ron Fellows brings his Corvette and a crew to do some pit stop demonstrations on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 ahead of the weekend's Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix. RaceFest will run from 4-8pm at the Bowmanville Canadian Tire store at 2000 Green Road.

"Before the exotic prototypes and GT race cars hit the legendary track located just north of Bowmanville, race fans and media will get a preview of the race weekend excitement at RaceFest. For the first time, RaceFest will be held in CTMP's hometown of Clarington, Ontario, which includes Bowmanville. This is a dynamic event that features great visuals, sounds and racing personalities." These pictures are from the 2016 RaceFest which was held in Toronto.

Some of the attractions will include the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race cars, driver appearances and autograph sessions and race weekend give-aways. The Mobil 1 SportsCar GrandPrix is from July 6-9 at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

"Canada’s biggest sports car race of the year, the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix, features the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for exotic prototype and GT race cars, in their only north-of-the-border stop. A field of world-class drivers will race cars from such prominent global marques as Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Corvette,Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Mazda and Porsche. Also in action over our four-day event are the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and IMSA Prototype Challenge Series."

Canada150 Fireworks

Fireworks are always a perfect way to celebrate Canada's birthday and since I couldn't watch the CN Tower's magnificent show I took in Acton's excellent fireworks. The turnout was amazing and it seemed like the whole town was gathered in Prospect Park to see the Acton Fire Fighters Association put on another great show for the 150th Birthday of Canada.

Canada Day and the World's largest Rubber Duck

Redpath Waterfront Festival brought the rubber ducky to Toronto's HTO Park to celebrate Canada150. The annual festival has music and entertainment, the Canadian Naval warship HMCS Toronto and of course the giant, inflatable bath toy and takes place from July 1-3, 2017. The duck certainly helped make this year's festival a record breaker with over 750,000 people attending the fest which was presented by Billy Bishop Airport.

"Being here in Toronto for Canada Day and participating in the Redpath Waterfront Festival, was an incredible experience," said Commander Steve Archer, Commanding Officer of HMCS Toronto. "It was a great opportunity to show Torontonians the pride our sailors have in their namesake ship while at the same time allowing them to meet the fine men and women that make up HMCS Toronto's crew."

"A $121,325 grant from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport enabled the Redpath Waterfront Festival to bring the Duck to Toronto. The rental fee for the Duck was $21,000 US and the balance of the grant was used for operating expenses including fencing, extra security, extra washrooms, marketing, signage, a tugboat, a crane, a forklift, and other event expenses. Operational expenses of this nature are incurred by all events and festivals to support their programming. An Economic Impact Study will be available this fall."

360 degree sphere photograph at HTO Park

In addition to the festival activities at HTO Park there is also stuff going on further east along the waterfront at Sherbourne Common, with a free shuttle running between the two points. Festival hours are Saturday, July 1: 11am to 8pm, Sunday, July 2: 11am to 8pm and Monday, July 3: 11am to 5pm.

The yellow bath toy is an impressive six stories or 61 feet tall, 79 ft wide and 89 ft long with a weight of 30,000 pounds. For company there is also a smaller rubber duck which made earlier promotional appearances beside the Toronto sign at City Hall.