This Week
Hey Toronto
I'll be honest: I've been looking forward to writing this one for a while.
Canada plays its first-ever men's FIFA World Cup match on Canadian soil today at 3pm. At BMO Field. In our city. I don't care if you haven't watched a soccer game in your life. This is one of those moments you'll be telling people about years from now. The opening ceremony starts at 1:30pm with Alanis Morissette, Michael Bublé, Alessia Cara, and more. If you don't have a ticket, there are three or four other spots in the city where you can watch with thousands of people. I've got them all listed below.
On top of that, NXNE wraps up this weekend, the Jays are hosting the Yankees, and the Dragon Boat Festival is back on the Islands. It's genuinely one of the best weekends this city has had in a long time. Get out there.
Dave
This Week's Top 5
Free Things To Do
Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival
This one is easy if you've got kids. Hop on the ferry, find a spot on the waterfront, and watch dragon boats race while the kids run around on the Islands. Cultural performances, food vendors, and open space everywhere. Free to watch. The ferry ride alone is worth it on a summer weekend, and the islands are going to be busy but not overwhelming while the city's attention is on BMO Field.
Taste of Little Italy
One of Toronto's classic summer street festivals and it couldn't land at a better time. College Street is already going to be packed with people watching the World Cup, with extended patios, live music on the main stage, and every restaurant on the strip doing their thing, and you've got one of the better Friday nights of the year. Free to attend, just show up.
If you've noticed the way the ground slopes down through the middle of Trinity Bellwoods, that's not landscaping. You're walking in a riverbed.
Garrison Creek once ran from what is now Christie Pits, south through Bickford Park, down through the Trinity Bellwoods valley, and all the way to the lake near Strachan Avenue. By the late 1800s, the city was using it as a sewer. So they buried it. Engineers channelled it into underground pipes, covered it over, and built the neighbourhood on top.
The creek still flows today, underground, beneath Christie Street, Bickford Park, and Trinity Bellwoods, down to the lake. Next time you're cutting through the park on a summer afternoon, know that the river is still running five metres under your feet.
Toronto Homeowners: Grants & Rebates Worth Knowing About
There are more grants, rebates, and financing programs available to Toronto homeowners than most people realize, and most of them go unclaimed simply because people don't know they exist.
The City of Toronto's Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) lets homeowners finance energy upgrades like insulation, windows, heat pumps, and furnaces at low interest rates, repaid through your property tax bill over up to 20 years. No large upfront cost. The Canada Greener Homes Grant layers on top of that with up to $5,600 in federal rebates for qualifying retrofits. There are also programs for accessibility renovations, basement flood protection, and more.
I put together a full guide to every program available to Toronto homeowners (grants, rebates, and financing) all in one place. Worth a bookmark if you're planning any work on your home this year.
Canada is playing a World Cup match in our city today. Whatever else is on your list this weekend, make sure you stop and actually take that in. We're lucky to be here.
If buying, selling, or investing is on your mind, I'm always happy to chat.
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