Free Events for the 2012 Grey Cup Festival in Toronto

Have you been overwhelmed by publicity for the 2012 Grey Cup Festival in Toronto? Me neither.

Here is a very brief guide to the free events officially linked to the 100th Grey Cup.

(Updated Oct. 21, 2013): Click to my “First Free Event for Grey Cup 2013 in Regina“.

(Updated Nov. 26, 2012): I added a section for the 2012 Argo Victory Parade.

(New Nov. 26, 2012): Grey Cup Victory Parade in Toronto

A victory parade in Toronto is a rare but extremely welcome event, so it’s important to announce that the 2012 Toronto Argonaut championship parade will be held Tuesday November 27.

This Toronto Grey Cup victory parade will begin at half-past 11. It will start at Yonge and Wellington, heading west to Bay Street; north on Bay Street to cross Queen Street; and finish in Nathan Phillips Square.

My guess is that the mayor’s proclamation of “Toronto Argonaut Day” might be completed by noon, so it’s best to book an early lunch and stake a spot on Bay Street near Queen Street by 11:35 at the very latest.

Congratulations to the 2012 Toronto Argonauts for winning the Grey Cup in 2012.

Reference: Shawne McKeown, City News, “Argos’ Grey Cup victory parade goes Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.“, Nov. 26, 2012, which includes a map.

Free 2012 Grey Cup Events in Toronto, by Date

"The CFL Grey Cup in 2006" image by roland (Roland Tanglao)
“The CFL Grey Cup in 2006” image by roland (Roland Tanglao)

It’s probably easiest to plan your schedule by date, and not very helpful for me to organize these free events by theme or location.

However, once you’ve found your target event on my page, click on the link to the official site (near the end of this article). Sometimes the same event starts at different times on different days, or they change the activities from one day to the next. So check first and avoid disappointment!

Free Grey Cup 2012 Events on Sat. Nov. 17, 2012

The Grey Cup Tour Train opens for your inspection at 10am, but closes at 4pm, on the track at Exhibition Place. It’s been travelling east with many stops, and you could pursue it to other cities later. It contains CFL memorabilia. Apparently it’s only in Toronto for one day.

Ride a zipline between the towers of City Hall at Queen and Bay, from 11am to 4pm. The first page says it’s free; the detail page says it costs $20. May I suggest taking a screen print from the official site and making a fuss about the discrepancy.

Yonge-Dundas Square hosts the  Family Zone from noon to 3pm, featuring activities with a football theme.

The Cavalcade of Lights joins forces with the 2012 Grey Cup Festival with a photo-op at Nathan Phillips Square from 5pm-10pm. The tree will be lit; music will be played; and the Grey Cup trophy itself will be on display.

Free Grey Cup 2012 Events on Sun. Nov. 18, 2012

Both the zipline and Family Zone return at 11am.

However, the 2012 Santa Claus Parade will take most of Toronto’s attention on Sunday afternoon. Surprisingly, you can catch some football action in that parade, since the 2012 Grey Cup Festival is an honourary participant. Expect to see Argos cheerleaders, and perhaps even some CFL alumni.

Free Grey Cup 2012 Events on Mon. Nov. 19, 2012

The zipline returns at 11am. However, in addition to the zip line, Nathan Phillips Square will also have a military obstacle course, free music and a “High Octane Food Zone” as an alternative from other restaurants in Toronto.

The Family Zone, doubtless at Yonge-Dundas Square although the official site isn’t too clear, hosts Art of the Game at 9:30am. This is a family-friendly art workshop.

Watch the Mud Bowl at WA Porter Collegiate (40 Fairfax Crescent, near Warden and St. Clair Ave.  in Scarborough) at 11am. At least, it should be “WA Porter” rather than “WC Porter” per the official 100th Grey Cup Festival site.

Free Grey Cup 2012 Events on Tues. Nov. 20, 2012

The zipline and obstacles return at 11am.
Vascular Conditions A rigid erection is known as erectile dysfunction. viagra overnight no prescription It is always a great idea if you can combine kamagra medicines with some healthy lifestyle changes is associated with longevity, overall well-being, lower incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease. bananaleaf.com.ph discount sildenafil It improves semen volume, order cialis bananaleaf.com.ph sperm count and sperm motility. As long-term find that levitra 10 mg effects the actual users may feel a rise in the number of times that the fresh laboratory animals secured the females.
Learn to combat bullying at the family fun zone starting at 9:30am. In addition, Barbara Coloroso will discuss bullying at 7pm in Ryerson University (55 Dundas St. West). She’s well worth hearing; learn how to register in the event page.

Free Grey Cup 2012 Events on Wed. Nov. 21, 2012

The zipline and obstacles return at 11am.

A Cheer and Dance competition, and possibly a workshop for amateurs, fills Yonge-Dundas Square’s Family Zone from 10am.

Free Grey Cup 2012 Events on Thurs. Nov. 22, 2012

The zipline and obstacles return at 10am rather than 11.

Football activities return to the Family Fun zone at Yonge-Dundas Square at 10am.

The Spirit of Edmonton Entertainment event is hosted by the Sheraton Centre at 4pm; apparently it’s free music from 4pm to 1am at 123 Queen St. W. I’m curious who’s footing the bill, or whether there are any costs.

ScotiaBank hosts the Fan Zone at the Metro Convention Centre from 4pm to 1am, much to my surprise. It’s in the south building, and includes both “team parties” and “family activities”. I’m not sure which groups will host the autograph collectors or the teams’ cheerleaders.

Free Grey Cup 2012 Events on Fri. Nov. 23, 2012

The zipline and the Family Zone return at 10am.

The Calgary Pancake Breakfast starts at noon Toronto time, but I suppose the folks in Calgary follow their own time zone. I’m not complaining about free pancakes at Nathan Phillips Square, but the old advice is to let lunch digest for an hour before heavy exercise like the zip line or obastacle course.

The Fan Zone resumes at noon. The Spirit of Edmonton Entertainment event also returns at 2pm.

The Telus Street Festival takes over Front Street from King to John from 4pm, although some events are ticketed.

Free Grey Cup 2012 Events on Sat. Nov. 24, 2012

The zipline at 11am, and the Family Zone at 10am, continue their festivities. So does the Fan Zone at 11am. The Calgary Pancake Breakfast moves one time zone closer to Toronto, flipping flapjacks at 11am. The Telus Street Festival has a much earlier start at noon. Following suit, the Spirit of Edmonton Entertainment event also resumes its 2pm starting time.

Free Grey Cup 2012 Events on Sun. Nov. 25, 2012

Both the Telus Street Festival and the Fan Zone resume at noon.

Perhaps dearest to my heart, the Grey Cup Fan March gives fans the opportunity to march along. The 2012 Grey Cup parade route starts from Varsity Stadium near Bloor and University. The march heads east on Bloor and turns south along Yonge Street. The march turns west onto Queen Street, then south again on York Street and a final jog west on Front Street for the Telus Street Festival.

The Grey Cup parade starts at 12:30pm.

(Updated Nov. 25, 2012): The official site had said that “fans” would carry the Grey Cup, but also indicated that only the three luckiest would do so. I was thrilled to see quite a number of fans shared the opportunity. Hopefully this will become part of the annual tradition for Grey Cup parades.

Official Web Site of the 2012 Grey Cup Festival

The official web wite of the 100th Grey Cup Festival notes these free events, as well as ticket information for whatever is not free.

My one word of warning: when I clicked on the link for more details for the Tour Train, my computer’s memory usage went through the roof.

Looking for More Annual Toronto Events?

Check the “annual events” or “Toronto events” categories toward the end of the left-hand menu.

Tourists in Toronto will likely use Ticketmaster online to pre-purchase tickets for mainstream events in Toronto. Americans could check with Score Big for USA-based sports, theatre and musical offerings. A similar British enterprise is Theatre Tokens, which sells gift cards for arts and entertainment within the UK.

Disclaimer: DeHaan Services has no relationship to the organizer(s); I am not reimbursed for writing this article. However, DeHaan Services does write web site or advertising copy for clients. Our skills are demonstrated in online articles in Decoded Science and other web sites. That’s why DeHaan Services highlight these online articles on this blog page.

One thought on “Free Events for the 2012 Grey Cup Festival in Toronto”

Comments are closed.