All posts by Mike DeHaan

Frugal Fathers Day 2015 in Toronto

What can you do for a frugal Fathers Day in Toronto? Here are some free or inexpensive ideas for the Fathers Day weekend, June 19-21, 2015. And they’re perfectly good summer Toronto events in their own right!

"Map of Woodbine Park, Toronto" (c) by Mike DeHaan via Google Maps
“Map of Woodbine Park, Toronto” (c) by Mike DeHaan via Google Maps

Beach Brew and BBQ for Fathers Day 2015

The Beach Brew and BBQ offers free music, although you need to buy their drinks and food. The theme just shouts, “Fathers Day for the whole family”, doesn’t it? This has become an annual Toronto event for Fathers Day.

The Beach Brew and BBQ runs from Friday June 19 (3-11pm), through Saturday (noon-11pm) to Sunday (noon-8pm). The venue is Woodbine Park, bordered by Lake Shore Blvd East, Coxwell, Eastern Ave., and Northern Dancer Blvd (a residential street west of Woodbine). Take the 22 Coxwell bus south from Coxwell Station on the #2 Bloor-Danforth subway, or the 501 Queen streetcar to Coxwell and walk south a block.

Free NXNE Music at Yonge-Dundas Square for Fathers Day 2015

The NXNE music festival offers free music for all ages at Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday and Sunday, June 20-21, 2015. (I’m not sure whether they plan to charge admission to the shows on Friday night’s schedule). Here’s the 2015 NXNE at Yonge-Dundas Square schedule.

Of course, NXNE sells tickets to many shows at other venues; but this article is about being frugal.

Assuming the subway is running, that’s the best way to get to Yonge and Dundas.

Free Games Weekend at Harbourfront for Fathers Day 2015

Bring your under-9-years-old children to Queen’s Quay for the free Games Weekend events at Harbourfront, both Saturday & Sunday from 11am-6pm.

It’s only for children 8 and under; you have to watch from the sidelines of the outdoor playground. But Queen’s Quay is a charming part of Toronto, so you should be able to find some other things to do once your children are tuckered out.

It’s a reasonable walk south-west from Union Station, and the road construction is starting to clear up along Queen’s Quay.

Frugal Museums in Toronto for Fathers Day 2015

Generally the Toronto museums charge under $10/person, with lower rates for children and seniors. Let’s just note anything out of the ordinary below.

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The overall What’s On at Toronto Museums page lists events for all ten City of Toronto museums.

Fort York Offers Free Admission for Fathers Day 2015

I’m pleasantly surprised that Fort York offers free admission for a pair of events featuring aboriginal culture over the Fathers Day weekend.

Fort York hosts an Indigenous Arts Festival from June 18-20. Music, crafts and visual arts are featured. Please refer to the detailed Fort York Indigenous Arts Festival schedule online.

Fort York also holds the Na-Ma-Res pow-wow on June 21. It marks the summer solstice with drumming, various traditional native festival activities, and a crafts sale. Admission is free from noon to 4:30pm.

Fort York is at 250 Fort York Blvd, between Bathurst and Strachan, and just north of the CNE grounds.

Todmorden Mills begins Eco-Art Fest 2015 on Fathers Day

Running from June 20 to Sept. 13, Eco-Art Fest 2015 features art installations plus family-friendly art activities.

Todmorden Mills is in the Don Valley, on Pottery Road off Broadview. Pottery Road is a steep hill for younger kids or older adults to climb back to Broadview, but it’s easily accessible from the Don Valley bike trail.

"Map of Todmorden Mills, Toronto" image (c) by Mike DeHaan via Google Maps
“Map of Todmorden Mills, Toronto” image (c) by Mike DeHaan via Google Maps

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

My blog tracks many of the annual Toronto events that I find interesting, free or frugal.

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, Decoded Pregnancy and other online sites. That’s why DeHaan Services highlights those online articles on this site.

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

Thanks for reading about frugal or free 2015 Fathers Day activities in Toronto.

How to Find Tickets for the TO2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto

How did I find tickets for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto? It certainly was simple to find the web site; but what I had to do next may help you.

(Updated Aug. 7, 2015): The 2015 Toronto ParaPan Games only last one week; but you can squeeze in a couple of free annual Toronto events too! Learm more in my “Taste of the Danforth, Horsecapades or 2015 ParaPan Games” article.

(Updated July 11, 2015): I removed the automatic links from this article to the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games site’s pages, to comply with their terms of use (at http://www.toronto2015.org/terms-of-use). My thanks to The Register’s article, “Pan Am Games: Link to our website without permission and we’ll sue“. (And a new note July 13): The TO2015 terms of use changed shortly after that story was published, so now they do permit links to their site. However, I won’t re-edit this article; it still explains how to buy tickets to the PanAm Games in Toronto.

This map sketches the 116 Morningside bus route from Kennedy Station (double circles) to the Pan Am Games venue I want (single circle with the red teardrop).

"TO2015 PanAm Aquatics and Field House at U of Toronto, Scarborough Campus" image by Mike DeHaan via Google Maps
“TO2015 PanAm Aquatics and Field House at U of Toronto, Scarborough Campus” image by Mike DeHaan via Google Maps

Step #1: Find the 2015 PanAm Games Schedule

Starting from the TO2015 home page at (http://www.toronto2015.org/), I clicked “Schedule” to see the list of all sports. If you’re following along with me, head to Step #2.

Another option would have been to make my mouse hover over “Sports” in the top menu.  That makes an overlay appear, listing all the sports. Clicking on a particular sport, such as “Fencing”, goes to a page that describes that sport. That page also has links to ticket sales.

Step #2: Choose a PanAm Sport from the Schedule Page

I scrolled down the TO2015 Schedule page (at http://www.toronto2015.org/schedule), past the opening ceremonies, and stayed with the default Pan Am Schedule. One could click the Parapan Am Schedule tab instead, to see those sports.

I clicked on the “Fencing” icon, because that’s the sport I would pay to watch. (You won’t see international elite fencers compete in Toronto, unless the Canadian federation has earned a new tournament at that level and has a club to host it here. Toronto does host several tournaments, but none at the international level).

Step #3: Choose the Event and See the Schedule

The TO2015 Fencing Schedule page (at http://www.toronto2015.org/0/fencing-schedule) lists events from Monday through Saturday, July 20-25. There are individual and team competitions, for men and for women, in the three disciplines of sabre, epée, and foil. Each competition starts with competitors in round-robin pools; that leads to ranking for the elimination rounds and, finally, the medal rounds.

I’d like to see the “Individual Foil” finals. From the list, this comes on Wednesday evening, in session FE006 that starts at 18:10 (6:10pm). I click on the “Get Tickets” button in the upper right of the page.

Step #4 Ticketmaster for the 2015 PanAm Games

Now I’m on the Ticketmaster page for TO2015 Fencing, which lists sessions FE001 through FE010. (There’s a tiny icon to scroll forward, because there are actually a dozen sessions for fencing). This page no longer tells me about the specific discipline, although it does indicate “preliminary” or “medal”.

Lucky that I had already noted that I want session FE006.

But first I’d like to know the location of the venue. This is the first page where I’ve noticed this tidbit. Let’s check click on the PAC CIBC… Aquatics Centre and Field House link.

Step #5a The PanAm Fencing Venue in Toronto

This page lists all the competitions held at this venue, including many that I do not want to attend.

However, right near the top, it shows that the nearest intersection is “Military Trail and Morningside Avenue in Toronto”.

Towards the lower right, under “Venue Information”, I clicked the “Map & Directions” link. That pops up a new map which highlights the location.

Since this is up near Highway 401 in Scarborough, I might want to drive. Some text shows a URL for the venues, so I copy and paste it into a new browser window.

Step #5b: The Search for the TO2015 Venue Page

The 2015 PanAm Games Venue Map  page (at http://www.toronto2015.org/venues) shows a lot of sites. I find “PAC” listed in the left-hand menu. I click that, and the map zooms in for this location.

I click on the PAC in the map, which pops up more information. Scrolling down, I see that I can click on another link for that specific venue…but that page is not found.

I try clicking the UTS tennis venue, which is south of the PAC, and clicking on the “more information” link there. This works!

I cut-and-paste some URL information to find the TO2015 PAC venue page (at http://www.toronto2015.org/venue/aquatics-centre-and-field-house). Parking is available at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus, in lots 4 & 5, for $20. They also have details for accessible parking, which must be pre-booked (according to their TO2015 Transportion page at http://www.toronto2015.org/transportation).

The PAC location is, indeed, Morningside Avenue between Ellesmere and Highway 401.

Step #5c Will TTC be the Better Way to the 2015 PanAm Games in Toronto?

I open a new browser window for the TTC home page. I click “bus”, then search for “Morningside”. I click on the 116 Morningside link, and learn that it connects from the Kennedy subway station at the eastern end of the #2 Bloor Danforth subway, to Finch Avenue. It does go past the fencing venue.

I then clicked the “Trip Planner” link at the top of the TTC page. I begin typing “Kennedy” in the “From” text box, and select “Kennedy Station”.

After some trial and error, I typed “800 Morningside” into the “To” text box, clicked

This page claims it may take 35 minutes for the 116 Morningside bus to go from the Kennedy station to the PAC fencing venue. That’s not bad.

Remember that your ticket for a TO2015 Pan Am Games event is also your pass for public transit “for trips to and from the event on the date displayed on the ticket”, according to the TO2015 Transportion page (at http://www.toronto2015.org/transportation).

At this point, I notice that the site also offers trip planning advice. That could be really helpful for tourists or residents of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). In fact, it may have saved me some effort.

Now I’m ready to jump from the end of Step #4, where Ticketmaster could sell me a ticket, to step #6 below.

Step #6: TO2015 Tickets

First off, these tickets sell for $40 each. Second, I have to activate Adobe Flash, which I normally keep inactive. Okay, “just for this once”, I will activate this feature.

Now I learn that these are general admission tickets; wheelchair access tickets are also available. I click inside the “general admission” area. In response to the prompt, I select “2” for the correct age group, and continue with the online purchase.

That should be enough to help you find Toronto 2015 PanAm tickets.

Summary: How to Find TO2015 tickets

Here is my summary of how to find tickets for the TO2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto:

  • Select your sport.
  • Review the schedule, and take note of the session number.
  • Start looking for tickets so you can also learn about the venue.
  • Open new browser windows to find the venue and consider your travel options.
  • Finish buying tickets.

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

My blog tracks many of the annual Toronto events that I find interesting, free or frugal.

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, Decoded Pregnancy and other online sites. That’s why DeHaan Services highlights those online articles on this site.

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

Thanks for reading about finding tickets for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.

The Toronto Beaches Arts and Crafts Festival for Spring 2015

One of my favourite annual Toronto spring events is the Beaches Arts and Crafts Festival. Since I’ve covered it before, here is a quick summary.

"Kew Gardens in Toronto" image by Linda N. under CC license
“Kew Gardens in Toronto” image by Linda N. under CC license

Quick Facts about the 2015 Beaches Arts and Crafts Festival

The Beaches Arts and Crafts Show showcases some 150 Canadian artisans, designers and artists.  The show and sale runs Saturday and Sunday, June 13-14, from 10-6. Admission is free; you can enter a draw for free prizes (including a weekend flight to Ottawa via Porter Airlines); but just see if you can get away without buying something!

The venue is Kew Gardens in Toronto, which is on the south side of Queen St. East, a few blocks east of Woodbine Ave. The best access is via the 501 Queen streetcar. You could take the #2 Bloor-Danforth subway and the 92 Woodbine South bus, then transfer onto the 501 streetcar. Or bicycle along the Martin Goodman Trail.

This year the festival’s theme is “Handmade for you”, highlighting the unique craftsmanship on display. The arts and crafts include fashion items, jewelry, leather goods, natural skin care products, and visual arts.

Kew Gardens is a lovely place in its own right, but the Beaches Arts and Crafts Festival makes it a very special and busy place.

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Besides supporting Canadian artists exhibiting their work, the Beaches Arts and Crafts Festival itself supports Neighbourhood Link Support Services of East Toronto. Neighbourhood Link assists children and youth, seniors, and people seeking employment or housing.

Be inspired by the art, or be inspired by the range of services Neighbourhood Link provides.

Feel free to refer to my previous article, “The 2013 Spring Beaches Arts and Crafts Show in Toronto” to see whether anything has changed dramatically.

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

My blog tracks many of the annual Toronto events that I find interesting, free or frugal.

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, Decoded Pregnancy and other online sites. That’s why DeHaan Services highlights those online articles on this site.

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

Thanks for reading about the 2015 Beaches Arts and Crafts Festival.