One of the world's major film festivals, the largest Caribbean carnival in North America, and an all-night art event in October.
Toronto runs a very full festival calendar, and four of them are internationally significant.
TIFF — September
The Toronto International Film Festival, founded in 1976, is one of the most important film festivals in the world and the largest public one — where Cannes and Venice are industry events, TIFF sells around half a million tickets to ordinary audiences.
It has become the launchpad for the awards season, and the People’s Choice Award, voted by the public, has an unusually strong record of predicting Best Picture nominations.
Around 300 films over eleven days in September, across the TIFF Lightbox at King and John and a dozen other venues. King Street is closed to traffic for a section during the opening weekend.
Getting tickets: memberships and packages open first, then single tickets. Premieres with major stars go instantly; the discoveries — which is the point of a festival — are usually available.
The TIFF Lightbox runs a year-round cinema programme, which is the best repertory and arthouse screening in the city.
Caribana — late July into August
Officially the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, and universally called Caribana. Founded in 1967 by the Caribbean community as a centennial gift to Canada, it is the largest Caribbean festival in North America, drawing well over a million people.
The Grand Parade runs along Lake Shore Boulevard on the Saturday of the August long weekend, with mas bands, elaborate costumes, soca and steelpan trucks, and it takes most of the day to pass.
There is also Kiddies Carnival, the King and Queen Showcase of costumes, and Pan Alive for steelpan.
Grandstand seating is ticketed; watching from the route is free and is what most people do.
Pride — June
Toronto Pride is one of the largest in the world, running the whole month with the parade on the final Sunday, centred on Church-Wellesley Village.
The city hosted WorldPride in 2014.
Nuit Blanche — October
An all-night contemporary art event, running from sunset to sunrise on one Saturday in early October, with installations across the city — in galleries, streets, car parks and buildings not otherwise open.
It is free, it is enormous, and it is genuinely worth staying up for. Transit runs all night.
The rest of the year
Hot Docs in April and May — the largest documentary festival in North America. Luminato in June. Toronto Jazz Festival in June. Taste of the Danforth in August. Toronto Christmas Market at the Distillery from mid-November. Winterlicious and Summerlicious, city-run prix-fixe restaurant promotions in January–February and July.
Practicalities
Accommodation prices rise sharply during TIFF in particular — book well ahead if you are coming in September.
Caribana weekend fills hotels and the transit along the lakeshore is heavily loaded.
