July 24 – 26
Mixto Festival
The annual Mixto Festival is a massive party that doubles as a celebration of Toronto’s cultural diversity and underground art scenes. Happening on Saturday and Sunday at Trillium Park with live music, dancing and food for all ages. It’s a guaranteed good time and completely free.
Loveless Festival
The Loveless Collective, Toronto’s youth-led group of shoegaze revivalists, is back with their second annual festival, which packs an international lineup of emerging and established acts into a venue crawl in the city’s west end on Saturday and Sunday. Headliners include Seattle dream-pop duo BUBBLE TEA AND CIGARETTES and Philadelphia emo-gazers Bleary Eyed. Happening at the Monarch Tavern, Sneaky Dee’s and St. Stephen-in-the-Fields, a day pass is $30 and a weekend pass is $45. 19+. Read more about the Loveless Festival here. — Tom Beedham
OssFest
Toronto’s hippest and often rowdiest street festival is turning ten this year. On Saturday, Ossington between Dundas and Queen will be overtaken with live music, food vendors and plenty of drinks. Pro tip: This year’s OssFest ends at 10 PM, so keep an eye out for afterparties. Entry is free.
Queen St. East StreetFest
The sheer number of musical acts playing at the streetfest organized by the Beaches Jazz Fest is genuinely impressive. Catch the sounds for free along Queen East and at Woodbine Park, or worst case pop down to the beach.
Guild Alive
Taking place in Scarborough’s Guild Park and Gardens — a gorgeous public space filled with sculptures and gardens — this annual festival brings together more than 100 artisans, musicians and other performers for a free, family-friendly celebration of local culture.
Also check out:
- Panamerican Food Fest, July 24-26, Nathan Phillips Square
- Bollywood Monster Food Fest, July 24-26, Mississauga Celebration Square
- AlohaFest (Polynesian), July 25, Mel Lastman Square, North York
- The Canadian Multicultural Peruvian Fest, July 25-26, Sankofa Square
- Beaches Jazz Fest, July 24-25, Woodbine Park
July 31 – August 3
Caribana
The Toronto Caribbean Carnival (or Caribana) is one of the largest cultural festivals in North America, drawing over a million visitors to the city each summer. The entire weekend is jam-packed with pool parties, Mas Band parades, Soca and Calypso concerts, and nightlife events. The party culminates with the Grand Parade on Sunday when Lake Shore Boulevard is turned into a massive stage for colourful masqueraders and steelpan performers. Watch free.
New Friends Fest
Toronto’s New Friends Fest has quietly built itself into an international symposium for underground punk, post-hardcore and emo music. Alongside headlining performances from reunited legacy acts like Rainer Maria, Portraits of Past, Mat and Jenn’s Carissa’s Wierd, Reversal of Man and In Loving Memory, this year’s lineup also includes acts from Chile, Denmark, France, Japan and Mexico. Day passes for the all-ages event at Lithuanian House on Bloor West are $63.70, and three-day passes are $167.95. — Tom Beedham
VELD
If you’re looking for that huge EDM sound this summer, there’s no better place than VELD, Canada’s largest electronic music festival, held in Downsview Park. This year’s headliners include English trance group Above & Beyond, Dutch EDM legend Armin van Buuren and a reunion set by Kx5, a duo consisting of deadmau5 and Kaskade. Day passes from $291, weekend passes from $446.
Also check out:
- Food Truck Fest, July 31 – Aug 3, Woodbine Park
- Island Soul, July 31 – Aug 3, Harbourfront Centre
- Ghanafest, Aug 2, Earl Bales Park
August 7 – 9
It’s OK* World Festival
The good folks at It’s OK* Studios — a Black-led community space and artistic hub in downtown Toronto — are throwing a free outdoor festival at Trillium Park on Saturday. It’s OK* World Festival features local and international artists, including sets from Toronto soul artist DVYN and American neo-soul artist KeiyaA.
Toronto Palestine Film Festival Outdoor Screening & Souq
Enjoy Palestinian cinema, music and culture under open skies at the TPFF’s 19th annual summer event, taking place at Christie Pits on Saturday. Prior to the film screenings, which start after sundown, you can browse a vibrant souq (marketplace) featuring local vendors selling food, art and more. The event is free and family-friendly.
SummerWorks Performance Festival
SummerWorks runs from Aug 6 to 16 and is stacked with exciting theatre, dance and interdisciplinary artists from around the world. Ticketed events start at $20, but there are a number of free events for all ages, with a focus on community and building kinder worlds.
Also check out:
- Taste of the Danforth, Aug 7-9, Greektown
- Jerkfest, Aug 7-9, Centennial Park
- Korea Town Cultural Street Festival, Aug 8, Bloor Korea Town
August 14 – 16
Wavelength Summer Thing
Given the exorbitant price of concert tickets these days, you can’t afford not to go to the Wavelength Summer Thing, a completely free, all-ages music festival on Sunday at Trillium Park. This year’s festival has two stages and features performances from some of Toronto’s finest, including Shad, Bells Larsen, CJ Wiley and Sister Ray.
UpFRONT Festival
A free outdoor festival of Indigenous arts, music and culture, this year’s UpFRONT features Drezus, Crystal Shawanda, Tom Wilson Tehohàhake Trio and many more. All weekend at Berczy Park. Indigenous street artists are also taking over the exterior of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, turning the space into an open-air art gallery.
TO Outdoor Picture Show
After a one-year hiatus, TOPS is back! This weekend is their Etobicoke stop at Bell Manor Park for free outdoor screenings of three family-friendly films: The Queen of My Dreams, Princess Bride and Paddington. Check out topictureshow.com for other screenings around the city this summer.
Afrofest – CANCELLED
North America’s largest free African music festival typically takes place in July, but was bumped to August this year to avoid overlap with the World Cup. Gather the family and head down to Woodbine Park. Happening all weekend.
Also check out:
- Open Canvas, Aug 14-16, Trillium Park
- Afraspektion, Aug 15, Riverside Common Park
- SummerWorks Performance Festival, Aug 6-16
August 21 – 23
Toronto Folk Festival
Looking for an excuse to visit the Toronto Islands? Check mixout the Toronto Folk Festival, a quaint, not-for-profit music festival tucked away at the WIA Pavilion on Ward’s Island. Bring some snacks and your swimsuit to take in the sounds of roots-rock band The Young Novelists or folk artist Meredith Moon (daughter of Gordon Lightfoot). Friday night is by donation, day passes for Saturday and Sunday are $60 each and a weekend pass is $99, or $70 for arts workers, students and youth.
Canadian National Exhibition
Whether you’re into roller coasters, strange food mashups, losing money at carnival games or loud air shows, Canada’s largest annual community event has something for almost anyone, if you’re willing to brave the crowds. This year’s CNE, happening until Sept 7 at Exhibition Place, also includes a stacked live music lineup, with performances from Lupe Fiasco, Lights, Shaggy, The Trews, Silverstein and Tom Cochrane. Admission is around $30 for adults and entry plus ride passes are a bit over $50.
Afro-Carib Fest
Come hungry to this free celebration of African and Caribbean culture and arts, because this year’s festival features a food competition, in addition to vendors serving up mouth-watering regional dishes. Happening Saturday and Sunday in Scarborough’s Thomson Memorial Park.
Also check out:
- Mabuhay Philippines Festival, Aug 21-23, Nathan Phillips Square
- Yorkville Murals, Aug 22-23, Yorkville
August 28 – 30
Fan Expo Canada
Nerds rejoice! The annual Fan Expo is returning to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from Thursday through Sunday for lovers of comics, science fiction, fantasy, manga and more. Featuring appearances from WWE legend John Cena, the cast of Starship Troopers and a special panel to mark the 25th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings films, featuring the original Hobbit crew of Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd. Prices per day range from $31 to $61 (early bird before Aug 12) and a 4-day pass is $119 (early bird) or $139 (regular).
Also check out:
- TaiwanFest, Aug 28-30, Harbourfront Centre
- MuslimFest, Aug 29-31, Mississauga Celebration Square
September 4 – 7
Intersection Music & Arts
Intersection brings together a buffet of boundary-pushing, experimental and avant-garde artists for three days of live music, roundtable discussions and more, happening Thursday to Sunday. Saturday’s centrepiece showcase at Sankofa Square features performances by Raphael Weinroth-Browne, Modern Mason, Not a Band, plus a performance of Brian Eno’s Ambient 1: Music For Airports. Free! — Tom Beedham
Labour Day Parade
The city’s unions show up to celebrate the achievements of the laboucar movement — the weekend, parental leave, worker protections — and the fights ahead against corporate profit-hoarding and the worsening affordability crisis. There are usually a bunch of unions with men in kilts playing the bagpipes, while others opt for soundsystems and pop music. It starts on Monday at 9:30 AM at Queen and University and walks west to the CNE grounds, with many participants going for The Ex.
Toronto International Buskerfest
If you’re looking for entertainment that’s less crowded (and less expensive) than the CNE, head to Woodbine Park all weekend for Toronto’s to see street performers, circus artists, daredevils, dancers and much more. Entry for the family-friendly event is by donation, with all funds going toward Epilepsy Toronto.
This article appeared in the 2026 Summer issue.
