Toronto hosts more than a dozen upcoming festivals, but let’s not over-sell the free things to do this weekend of August 9-11, 2013. (One event starts on Wednesday; just look for the map below). Many of these are annual events in Toronto.

Annual Toronto Events Return from Last Year

First, the “Taste of the Danforth” dominates summer Toronto events on Aug. 9 (6pm-midnight), 10 (noon-midnight) & 11 (noon-8pm). They advertise well, so you already know that it closes Danforth Avenue from Broadview east to Jones. Take the Bloor-Danforth subway. It’s free to walk, but expect to buy a lot of great food…and not just Greek cuisine.

Farther east is “Wheels on the Danforth” on Aug. 10, starting at 11am. Oakridge Park is on the south side of Danforth Avenue, east of the intersection of Danforth Road and Danforth Avenue. (Warden is to the east; Victoria Park is to the west). The “road show” is on the street until 5pm, therefore road closures will be in effect. The Oakridge Park tuner car show is from 6:30-9pm. Also in Oakridge Park: Kids’ Zone from 11am-5pm; main stage entertainment from 2-11pm; and the beer garden from 5-11pm. A bouncy castle is part of the Kids’ Zone. Local restaurants will take it to the streets. If you want to enter your stock or improved car, get an entry form and pay your registration fee for your chance at trophies and prizes.

(Updated Aug. 7, 2013): Last year I wrote about several options for this same weekend in “Can India Day Festival 2012, etc. beat Taste of the Danforth?“. I haven’t checked all the annual summer events from that article, but Panorama India confirmed they have indeed booked Yonge Dundas Square for the Toronto India Day festival on Saturday August 10, 2013. The organizers asked Yonge Dundas Square to update their online schedule after my e-mail query. Their parade starts at 12:30. There’s entertainment in the afternoon and early evening, concluding with Kuchipudi dance and music by Bollywood singer Parichay. Check my 2012 article for the background on Panorama India. (And a big thanks to Panorama India for their quick reply)!

New Toronto Summer Events for 2013

Now let’s see the dozen upcoming free events in Toronto that are “new” in my articles. Some are long standing summer events in Toronto, but I just didn’t know abou tthem.

The 2013 Kultura Filipino Arts Festival in Toronto

The “2013 Kultura Filipino Arts Festival” starts on Wed. Aug. 7, 2013 and runs through Aug. 11. Featuring culture, arts and cuisine from the Philippines, this is a major showcase for that community.

Many of the events are at the Kultura Centre, at 167 Augusta Avenue in the Kensington Market district.

The “Kontra Bida: A Clutch” art exhibit is free Aug. 9 at 7pm at 167 Augusta Avenue.

Aug. 10 has “Tales from the Flipside” at 2pm and “Tambay Nights” at 7:30pm.

The highlight comes with the “Philippine Culinary Competition” plus “Kultura Live” on Sunday 11th from noon to 7pm at Wychwood Barns. That’s why I made the map: go to Wychwood and Benson, south of St. Clair Avenue West between Christie and Bathurst.

Four Toronto Events Start August 9, 2013

You have four choices for Friday Aug. 9, 2013.

The “2013 Grange Festival” is free on Aug. 9 from noon to 4pm at 23 Grange Road (Queen Street West and McCaul Street). Do you need things to do in Toronto with kids? This year’s Grange Festival includes Blinky the Police Car, games and prizes for your children, puppets, a clown and a magician.

March in the “Parade by Run for the Earth“. They’d prefer that you register online this week and make a costume. But you could sign up in person on Friday morning. They will also need plain-clothes spectators. Show up at Trinity Bellwoods Park by 10am on Aug. 9 to sign in; the parade starts at 11am. Vegetarian food will be on sale starting around 12:45pm. It’s free but they’d appreciate $5/person as a donation. You will be out of place bringing a plastic water bottle, so bring your fashionable brushed aluminum bottle!

“Flavours of the City: Express Yourself” includes food and art. Attend for free at 707 Dundas St. West for an interactive art display, children’s art activities and entertainment by Black Mink from 5-9pm. Buy some food from the Market 707 vendors to help defray the costs.

The above are all one-day events. However, the “Scarborough Town Jazz Festival 2013” runs from Aug. 9 through 11, 2013 at Burrows Hall Park and Albert Campbell Square in Scarborough. There’s far too much to explain on this page; and more jazz performers than you could shake a tenor sax at.

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Toronto Attractions Starting Sat. Aug 10, 2013

“The ‘Abstract Implications’ Art Exhibit” runs from Aug. 10-14, 2013 at the Project Gallery, 1109 Queen Street East near Pape Avenue. A reception opens the exhibit from 7-11pm Aug. 10. Freely admire these works by a couple dozen abstract artists.

For a different type of art, visit “Retrospective: Jesus Mora” in the Gallery of Artscape in the Wychwood Barns on Aug. 10-11. The times are 10am-7pm both days, but the City of Toronto web page has more details about music and the reception. I’ve supplied a map for the Wychwood Barns above; I’m mildly curious how they fit both Mora’s art and Philippine culture into the Barns on Sunday. Send me an e-mail if you attend; thanks!

For something completely different and challenging, participate in the free, full-day seminar “Atropos: A Topology of Disaster“. The Greek goddess Atropos cuts the thread of a person’s life. How do we respond creatively, knowing that the scissors will someday cut our lives short? By attending at OISE (252 Bloor St. West) from 9:30am to 5:30pm, for free, of course.

Free to attend, but budget for food at the “2013 JerkFest (Jerk Food Festival)” in Centennial Park, Etobicoke. Enjoy Caribbean food Aug. 10-11, 2013 from 11am-11pm both days. Confusingly, you can also buy VIP passes but it’s an exercise for you, the reader, to figure out why you need them. Visit their “coupons” page, then “like” them on Facebook, to get coupons to discount your second serving.

Adults or Childrens Summer Events on Aug. 11, 2013

Do you still want things to do in Toronto with kids this weekend? Sunday Aug. 11 has new choices; some for adults and others aimed at children.

The Caribbean Carnival finally wraps up on Sunday with a church service at 4:30pm at St. James Cathedral. Donations are optional. St. James is at 65 Church Street, just north of King Street. (I’d had the citation for this in last week’s “Celebrating 2013 Civic Holiday in Toronto without Simcoe Day“).

Enjoy grown-up music and art in a North York park. The free “Earl Bales Park Arts and Music Festival 2013” runs on Sunday from 1-7pm. Their site lists performers from “Russian Carousel” through the Toronto Saxophone Quartet. Head for Bathurst and Sheppard Ave. West. Naturally vendors will vie to satisfy your cravings for art or food.

Another free adult event is “Sunday Serenades – Wyndham Regency Orchestra” from 7:30-9:30pm at Mel Lastman Square in North York. The 12-piece band presents jazz, swing and Broadway show tunes. “Dance under the stars” at 5100 Yonge Street.

The “2013 International Friendship Day Children’s Drawing Contest” is free to attend but $5 for your child to enter the contest. The goal is to foster appreciation for our different cultures through art. Visit the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto at 5183 Sheppard Ave. East (Markham Road and Finch Ave. East) on Aug. 11. Registration begins at 1pm; the awards ceremony begins at 3:30pm.

A name like “Super Fantastical Maker Picnic!” has to be a children’s event, but adults should enjoy this first anniversary celebration in Dufferin Grove Park from 2-5pm Sunday Aug. 11, 2013. This pay-what-you-can event includes air rockets, sand/mud construction, croquet, and you can make your own pizza in the park’s pizza oven (I’m not sure if you pay for the ingredients, or the finished product). A concert ends the afternoon at the corner of Dufferin and Bloor West.

To close on a more serious note, but still in the realm of youngsters, may I highly recommend the “2013 Walk for the Children” at the Metro Toronto Zoo. They sweeten the deal with Toronto Zoo coupons and some child-friendly swag. Only children under 3, or Zoo members under 12, are free. Even adult zoo members are asked to pay $10; non-members pay about $30. Registration opens at 8:30am; you get to enter the Metro Toronto Zoo early and enjoy a barbeque lunch in the Savannah section. This supports the Herbie Fund, which brings 3rd world children to Toronto Sick Children’s Hospital for treatments they cannot receive in their home countries. Follow the online registration links so you can do the fundraising to help those ill children.

Looking for More Annual Events or a Holiday in Toronto Canada?

After music, visual arts, charity and just plain Toronto fun activities this weekend, do you still need more Toronto attractions?

You can find more annual events for your vacation in Toronto Ontario; or for local residents wanting things to do in Toronto this weekend.

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 Canada, and at a bargain price thanks to the discount coupons.

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 or Decoded Pregnancy. That’s why DeHaan Services highlights these online articles on this site.

Click the “Toronto Events” category at the bottom of the right-hand column for recent articles on this topic. Thanks!

Thanks for reading about a dozen free Toronto events running from August 7 to 11 in 2013.