Toronto's Weekly Newsletter
What's On / This Week
Week of July 3–9, 2026
From Dave
Hey Toronto
It's a big week to be in this city. The World Cup energy is real, Summerlicious just opened its doors at over 240 restaurants, and somehow it's still only the first week of July. If you've been putting off getting out to see what Toronto's up to this summer, consider this your nudge.
I put together the five things I'd actually go to this week, plus the free stuff and the food pick that's worth clearing your Friday night for. Let's get into it.
Talk soon,
Dave
This Week
Top 5
1
Summerlicious
July 3 through 19 | Restaurants citywide
Toronto's biggest dine around is back with over 240 restaurants running three-course prix fixe menus, and more than 30 of them are joining for the first time this year. Reservations at the buzzy spots go fast, so pick your list this week and book now, not next week.
2
FIFA Fan Festival Toronto
Ongoing through July 19 | Fort York & The Bentway
The city's official World Cup fan zone has giant screens, live match viewing, food vendors, and enough energy to make you feel like Toronto is hosting something huge, because it is. Go on a match night if you can, the crowd noise alone is worth the trip.
3
Toronto Fringe Festival
Through July 12 | Venues across downtown
123 shows across 27 venues means there's something weird, wonderful, or completely unhinged for everyone. Tickets are cheap, shows are short, and half the fun is picking something with a title that makes no sense and just going for it.
4
Sounds of Leslieville & Riverside
This weekend | Leslieville & Riverside
This is the official kickoff to the Beaches Jazz Festival, Toronto's biggest free music event, and it turns a stretch of Leslieville and Riverside into an afternoon of live horns and patio hopping. Bring a folding chair, grab something from one of the restaurants along the route, and just let the music do the rest.
5
Toronto Tempo vs. Dallas Wings
Sunday | Coca-Cola Coliseum
Toronto's brand new pro women's basketball team is only a few weeks into existence, and it's worth checking out while the whole thing still feels new. The arena is indoor and air conditioned, tickets are still refreshingly affordable, and you're watching Toronto sports history in real time.
Heads Up: World Cup match days mean rolling closures around the downtown waterfront, Exhibition Place, and Liberty Village, starting up to five hours before kickoff and lasting up to three hours after. The TTC is boosting service on the 509 Harbourfront, 511 Bathurst, and 504 King streetcars to as frequently as every five minutes through July 24 to help, but the 510 Spadina is running a shortened route between Spadina Station and Queens Quay for the same stretch. If you're heading downtown near game time, give yourself extra time or take the subway instead.
No Cost
Free Things To Do
Free Friday Night at MOCA
Friday | Museum of Contemporary Art
Free Friday evening admission at one of the city's best contemporary art spaces. Worth carving out an hour for, whether you're going with friends, family, or on your own.
Kensington Flea Market
Every weekend | Kensington Market
Vintage clothes, weird treasures, and the usual Kensington chaos, running every weekend through September. No cover, just bring cash for whatever you can't resist.
Trillium Park Free Yoga
Sundays through September 27 | Trillium Park
Hour-long yoga sessions with a skyline and lake view, no cost, no sign-up drama. Show up a few minutes early to grab a good spot on the grass.
Food & Drink Pick
Taste of Lawrence
Friday to Sunday | Lawrence Avenue East
Taste of Lawrence takes over Lawrence Avenue East for three days and it's the best reminder every summer that Scarborough's food scene gets far less credit than it deserves. Vendors line the street with everything from jerk chicken to shawarma to fresh roti, there's a midway with rides for the kids, and a main stage running live music all weekend. It's free to walk through, which makes it an easy add to a Saturday you already have plans for. Go hungry, and get there early if you want to beat the dinner rush crowds, this one gets packed by early evening. It's loud, it's messy in the best way, and it's exactly the kind of neighbourhood festival that makes this city worth loving.
Around the City
What's New in Toronto
TTC is running more streetcars downtown
Service on the 509 Harbourfront, 511 Bathurst, and 504 King routes is bumped up to as frequently as every five minutes through July 24 to handle World Cup crowds. If you live or commute along any of those lines, you'll likely notice shorter waits, though the 510 Spadina is temporarily truncated to make room for it.
Union Summer is back at Union Station for its 9th year
The plaza outside Union Station is transformed into a free outdoor hangout with food vendors, games, and live programming through August 9. If you're rushing through the station for a GO train, it's worth the extra five minutes to actually stop this time.
Heat warning is in effect
Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for much of this week, with highs near 35 and a humidex close to 45. The city opens cooling centres and extended pool hours during warnings like this, worth knowing if you don't have air conditioning or you're checking in on older neighbours.
Toronto You Probably Didn't Know
A piece of Toronto's biggest amusement park is still spinning, just not in Toronto anymore.
For over 30 years, the place Torontonians went to escape a heat wave like this one wasn't a splash pad or a cooling centre, it was Sunnyside. From 1922 to 1955, Sunnyside Amusement Park ran along the lake near Roncesvalles with a boardwalk, a roller coaster called the Flyer, dance halls, and one of the largest outdoor swimming pools in the British Empire at the time. On a hot July night, half the city was down there.
Then in the winter of 1955, after a string of fires, the Toronto Harbour Commission ordered the whole park torn down to make way for the Gardiner Expressway. Most of the rides were scrapped. But the carousel got a second life. It was purchased by Disneyland, restored, and reopened as the King Arthur Carrousel, where it still spins today in Fantasyland.
So somewhere in Anaheim, on a horse that used to carry kids down by Lake Ontario, there's a little piece of old Toronto still going around and around. All that's left here in place are the Sunnyside pool and the Palais Royale, both still standing, both still worth a visit next time the heat gets like this.
Real Estate
Homeowner Tip
Eligible Toronto homeowners can now receive up to $6,650 if their home floods, and most have never applied.
Heat waves like this one tend to end in a big summer thunderstorm, and that's exactly when Toronto basements flood. The city expanded its Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program back on May 1, and eligible homeowners can now receive up to $6,650 per property for approved work like installing a backwater valve, a sump pump with battery backup, or capping off an old storm sewer connection. It applies to detached, semi-detached, duplex, triplex, and fourplex homes across the city, though the work has to meet the city's requirements and go through their approval and inspection process before you're reimbursed.
The part people miss is the two year window. You have two years from the date the work is done to apply, so if you've had qualifying work done within the past two years, it's worth checking whether you're still eligible to apply. Processing takes about ten weeks, so get the paperwork in before the next storm, not after.
If you want to talk through whether it makes sense for your place, just email me at dave@ownintoronto.com.
There's something about Toronto in a heat wave with a World Cup fan zone running full tilt downtown that makes the whole city feel a little electric this week. Stay cool, get out and see some of it. Whether you're planning a move this year or just curious what homes on your street are actually selling for, feel free to hit reply. I read every email myself, and I'm always happy to help, even if you're just looking for honest advice.
Dave Deutsch, REALTOR®
PROPERTY.CA INC., Brokerage | Own In Toronto
dave@ownintoronto.com
