How can you celebrate the August Civic Holiday in Toronto without celebrating Simcoe Day?

Perhaps if you just don’t mention John Graves Simcoe, you can enjoy the long weekend anyway. (Remember to check the TTC schedule for holiday versus weekend schedules). Let’s start with the best publicized annual event in Toronto for the Civic Holiday, and work our way through another four annual events.

The Caribbean Carnival in Toronto for the August Long Weekend

The Caribbean Carnival is the annual Toronto summer event to bring dancing and fantasy costumes onto Toronto streets. Um, and the Pride Parade too…but that’s so Canada Day. The festival that was once called Caribana© is now the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival.

You just have enough time to get to Pan Alive today, Friday Aug. 2, 2013 at the Allan Lamport Stadium. Enjoy steel pan drums from 7pm to midnight! I don’t usually write about events costing over $20, but a ticket is $25-30 tonight if you hadn’t pre-purchased. Lamport Stadium is bounded by King St. West, Jefferson Ave., Liberty St. and Fraser Ave. Walk east from King and Dufferin.

The main Caribbean Carnival event is the Grand Parade on Sat. Aug. 3, 2013. You could pay to get into Exhibition Place, but I’d freeload by standing beside Lakeshore Blvd from 9am through 6pm. You have a 3,500 metre stretch to see the mas bands parade for free.

The Caribbean Carnival finishes with a church service on Sunday Aug. 11 at 4:30pm at St. James Cathedral. Donations are optional, so it counts as a free event. St. James is at 65 Church Street, just north of King St.

The official Caribbean Carnival site lists many useful details about other events that you may have missed this year. I don’t usually mention Carnival since it has a big advertising budget, but it’s the elephant in the room on the Civic Holiday weekend in Toronto.

Toronto Harbourfront “Island Soul Festival” this Long Weekend

Harbourfront holds its Island Soul Festival on the same weekend as Caribbean Carnival, from Aug. 2-5. Is this a coincidence?

Regardless, it seems that part of Island Soul is the Festival Kompa Zouk Ontario, celebrating French Creole culture from the Caribbean. The focus is on music and dance.

Rather than repeat what they have, check the official Harbourfront Island Soul Festival site and the official Festival Kompa Zouk Ontario site.

Free Music with the TD IRIE Music Festival

You can enjoy yet more music, for free, at the IRIE Music Festival at Nathan Phillips Square. It runs Friday through Monday, Aug. 2-5; yes, the whole Civic Holiday long weekend in Toronto.

By the way, IRIE also visited the Mississauga Celebration Square and the Memorial Park in Oshawa back in July.

Does the IRIE Music Festival live up to the Rastifarian usage: “at peace”; “powerful and pleasing”; and “excellent”? You be the judge.

The exact schedule and artist line-up, and yet more details are in the official IRIE Music Festival site.

Christian Music at Yonge Dundas Square : Voices of the Nations

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I don’t often mention Christian events in Toronto, but Voices of the Nations is multi-ethnic, free and public. And this summer Toronto event is on Saturday in the middle of the Civic Holiday weekend, from noon to 10pm.

If you miss Yonge Dundas Square on Aug. 3, you have a second chance on Aug. 24 at Mel Lastman Square.

The official Voices of the Nations site gives details about the performers.

Win your bonus: go back to Yonge Dundas Square on Sunday for “Make Your Memory Match”. Some companies are promoting an upcoming online game, but you could win prizes by competing in person from 11:30am to 5:30pm. This might be the only summer Toronto event that does not feature music.

Scarborough Ribfest for the 2013 Civic Holiday Weekend

Head to Thomson Memorial Park, at Brimley Road and Lawrence Avenue, for the 2013 Scarborough Ribfest. It runs all the long weekend from Aug. 2-5, from 11am until 11pm (except 8pm on Monday…you have to get to work on Tuesday, right?).

The Rotary Club of Scarborough uses Ribfest as a major fundraiser. It’s free to enter, although there’s a momento for the first 10,000 people who donate a toonie.

You can find music at Ribfest by entering the daily karaoke competition. For something completely different: buy crafts, ride the midway (before eating), or play games.

The official Scarborough Ribfest site has more details for its own activities, as well as links to other Rotary Club Ribfest opportunities. (I’d mentioned the Toronto Ribfest, held on the Canada Day weekend, in “A Dozen Venues for Canada Day 2013 Events in Toronto“).

Looking for GTA Simcoe Day Events, or in Toronto?

The GTA (Greater Toronto Area) celebrates Simcoe Day at least as much as Toronto itself.

This year I’d also covered “Celebrate the 2013 Ontario Civic Holiday in the GTA” and “Toronto Attractions for Simcoe Day, the Ontario Civic Holiday“. Only one venue, well outside Toronto, has Simcoe Day fireworks.

Looking for More Annual Events or a Holiday in Toronto?

You can find more annual events for your vacation in Toronto; or for local residents wanting things to do in Toronto on almost any weekend in the year.

Ideas for a Toronto Vacation or Staycation

CityPASS offers discount tickets to Toronto attractions, including Metro Toronto Zoo coupons. You buy the voucher online, print it and take it to your first destination; let’s say it’s the zoo. They give you the coupon booklet but remove the Metro Toronto Zoo discount tickets. Visit the next four attractions, where helpful staff relieve your booklet of tickets but leave you with the rest of the information. You save over $40 by spending about $70. The voucher is good for almost two years, but you have to use all the discount admission tickets within nine days. This is terrific for tourists looking for multiple things to do in Toronto, or for a hometown stay-cation: use discount tickets to Casa Loma, the CN Tower, the Metro Toronto Zoo, the Ontario Science Centre and the Royal Ontario Museum in a nine day adventure. That’s five things to do while vacationing in Toronto, and at a bargain price thanks to the discount coupons.

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Thanks for reading about ways to celebrate the 2013 Civic Holiday in Toronto without marking it as Simcoe Day.