Toronto Royal Horse Show and Royal Winter Fair return November 2025

Fall fairs across Ontario have been leading up to the famous Royal Horse Show and Royal Agricultural Winter Fair to take place in Exhibition Place, Toronto from November 7 to 16, 2025. The Fair started in 1922 and was awarded the Royal designation by King George of England, now it is the "largest combined indoor agricultural fair and international equestrian competition in the world".

As the country comes to the city, the Royal takes over Enercare Centre and the Royal Coliseum (now Coca Cola Coliseum) for the ten day show which features excellence in livestock, crops, food and of course the beautiful horses. You can buy tickets separately for the Winter Fair and the Horse Show, or if you buy tickets to the Horse Show your entrance into the Winter Fair is included.

From the Agricultural Winter Fair, "The Royal’s nine food competitions (Cheese & Butter, Ready-To-Eat Meats, Ice Cream, Jams & Jellies, Pickles, Honey, Maple, Hot Sauce, and Butter Tarts) will take place in late October 2025. You can expect to see the Royal Champions in all these competitions integrated into various restaurants, hospitality and digital initiatives at this year’s Fair."

And the Royal Horse Show, "International show jumping is the highlight of The Royal Horse Show, featuring the $280,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Toronto, presented by Ecclestone Horse Transport, on closing night, Saturday, November 15. The world’s best will be in attendance, including Daniel Coyle (IRL) and McLain Ward (USA), both currently in the top 10 on the Longines World Rider Rankings. Alex Matz (USA) will be back to defend his Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Toronto title and faces stiff competition from 2023 winner, Daniel Bluman (ISR), as well as Irish stalwarts Conor Swail and Shane Sweetnam."

You can find plenty to see and do at the shows from displays, specialized vendors and food and drink available for all tastes. It's hard to take in all that you want to see in one day, so come back for a few days! Some of the highlights of the shows are described below.

On November 8 see the Farmers versus First Responders Royal Challenge as the teams go head to head for a victory of strength, skill and stamina.

Take in the Animal Theatre with Super Dogs and horse demonstrations.

Watch horse jumping from the World's best competitors.

Enjoy the large horses like the powerful Belgians, Percherons and Clydesdales.

Amber Marshall, the star of CBC’s Heartland, returns to the Royal.

Be amazed by the horse and dog K9-Equine competitions.

Heritage Court will have live music and entertainment on the OLG Entertainment Stage.

Learn to cook by booking a Chef’s Table presented by Milk offers daily cooking classes.

Watch the judging competitions in the ring of excellence including the Grand Champion beef and dairy winners.

On the final day of the show watch the entertaining Royal Rodeo qualifier and finals featuring the Canadian Cowgirls.

An amazing butter sculpture

Competitions in the Ring of Excellence

Fair Hours
Sun. 9 AM - 6 PM
Mon. 9 AM - 6 PM
Tues. 9 AM - 8 PM
Wed. 9 AM - 8 PM
Thur. 9 AM - 8 PM
Fri. 9 AM - 8 PM
Sat. 9 AM - 8 PM

Win Tickets to Toronto Snowmobile ATV & Powersports show 2025

Buckle up because winter is coming and the best way to have fun in the cold is to embrace the outdoors and buy a new sled! The Toronto International Snowmobile ATV & Powersports show is coming to the International Centre from Friday, Oct 24 to Sunday, Oct 26, 2025 and you could win tickets to check out the World's largest Snowmobile and ATV show. I have a pair of tickets to giveaway to the show and you can enter by making a comment on this post or by sending me an email to jmhcet@gmail.com.

From the show's website, "If you’re into snowmobiles, ATVS or are just an all around Powersports enthusiast, this is the show for you! As soon as you step foot on the show floor, you’ll be blown away with the incredible roster of exhibitors and the feature events taking place around the show, not to mention the enormous Indoor Event Area with Test Drives and Freestyle Shows. You’ll find huge Manufacturer Displays showcasing all of the new sled and ATV line-ups. This show has more corporate manufacturer displays than any other across North America. All of the new machines under one roof, over one weekend, you can’t miss it! We guarantee it will be worth the drive to get here."

Show hours and don't forget the parking is free at the International Centre.

Friday October 24: 1pm – 8pm
Saturday October 25: 10am – 6pm
Sunday October 26: 10am – 4pm

It's the long night of Toronto Nuit Blanche 2025

The adventure begins at 7pm on Saturday, October 4, 2025 when Toronto explores the art offerings of Nuit Blanche Toronto, spread throughout the city and waiting for an appreciative or critical audience. The all night art party runs till dawn, people thinning out as the early hours approach, and no matter if good or bad, the hunt for interesting art is the fun part. In the photo at top an art installation sits under the Gardiner Expressway in Bentway Park as part of the 2024 event, I think it is a model of Superman's artic headquarters.

Signals of the City: Crossing Paths by Afaf Naseem

The artist behind the green figure while a visitor holds her hand

I will be heading first to Humber College Lakeshore Campus, a concentrated hub of exhibits out in the east end, then I plan to park in Exhibition Place and explore the event on my lite-bike as I explore Bentway Park, Harbourfront and into the city centre. With reduced funding there are fewer large projects and less happening at Nathan Phillips Square so have fun and see you around town.

Function by Noor Khan

Toronto's website says, "Translate the city through art. October 4 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Join in a free all-night celebration of contemporary art that transforms Toronto’s public spaces into unexpected landscapes and animates cultural sites throughout the city. Featuring three exhibitions located in North York, Etobicoke and downtown and more than 85 works by local, national and international artists, the city becomes a living book created not just with words, but through sights, sounds, movements and shared spaces. Dive deeper into the ideas and creative processes behind the works through a series of talks and workshops – offered before and after October 4. This year’s theme, Translating the City, invites you to consider how art can translate the complexities of cities and the role we all play within them. Why not reimagine the possibilities a city can hold?"

For the Youth by Alexis Nanibush-Pamajewong

Update: In the aftermath of the 2025 show I hear a lot about Nuit Blanche was crap, too little art, too spread apart and sometimes I can relate, but overall I think that the hard work, creativity and uniqueness of the night makes the event special. Art is subjective and sometimes video installations can be a little over abundant, but there are usually a handful of really out there pieces that make the night, plus meeting people out on the street until the early morning hours is really cool.

I didn't start the night's tour until midnight and picked Humber's artistic hub because it is a cool place with it's concentrated art displays, then moved into the City Centre. I picked the late time to avoid massive earlier crowds which make viewing some pieces very difficult, however it doesn't leave enough time to see all that I wanted and I didn't even try to get to North York. By 4am some of the events weren't even running anymore (like Sankofa Square and 401 Richmond) so that was also disappointing.

Unless they get more funding, the shrinking of the event will carry on, which will be too bad. Nuit may join the decline in Toronto festivals all feeling the pinch of the purse strings and lack of support, which will be very sad. Hopefully I will see you out there during next year's event.

My lite-bike by the Eaton Centre. I made my way around the city on bicycle to cover more territory and want to say thanks to everyone that complemented me on the lights during the long night. PS my white coat had lights as well.

See more of Nuit after the jump.

World Press Photo 2025 in Brookfield Place

Beautiful and haunting photographs are on display in Toronto's Brookfield place as part of the World Press Photo Exhibition from September 22 to 16 October 16, 2025.

Gabriel Medina During the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

by Jerome Brouillet

From their website, "Presenting the results of the 2025 World Press Photo Contest, the annual exhibition showcases the best and most important photojournalism and documentary photography of the last year. The winners were chosen by an independent jury made of 31 professionals from around the world who reviewed more than 59,320 photographs entered by 3,778 photographers from 141 countries."

See more of the entries after the jump.

Copper Canopy art installation Harbourfront Centre

Toronto's Harbourfront Centre is embracing Fall and as part of their 2025 Water/Fall Festival are featuring Copper Canopy within Ontario Square Park. Luckily these copper leaves don't fall to the forest floor, or your head.

The art installation is free to visit and will be on display until November 16, 2025. Created by RAW Works and fabricated by Anex Works, they describe it as an Installation of Light, Shadow and Community.

The Harbourfront website says, "In the chaos of urban life, we often forget to take a moment to breathe. Copper Canopy offers a moment of stillness – inviting visitors to stand beneath something that feels alive.

The outdoor installation, made from a suspended grid of copper leaves, reimagines the shelter of a forest canopy with each leaf individually cut and hung to form a floating canopy above. By day, the leaves catch the light and scatter soft shadows across the ground. By night, lighting transforms the installation – casting intricate patterns on surrounding surfaces and shifting the atmosphere of the space entirely. As wind moves through the piece, the leaves gently sway and rustle, adding a subtle layer of sound to the experience.

Responding to its surroundings and shifting with the light, weather and movement of people passing beneath it, this work offers a dynamic and reflective space in the heart of the city."

@jmhcet Copper Canopy art installation at #Toronto #harbourfrontcentre #ontariosquare. #artinstallation #coppercanopy ♬ You May Be Right - Billy Joel

Glow in the Berczy Park

The Toronto place with the iconic dog fountain has a number of LED light installations from Sept 24 to Oct 31, 2025. Glow in the Park has two colour changing light pieces and the donut swings are pretty cool to hang around on.

It is a free to attend light festival and the Old Town Toronto website says, "Four sleek modern swings will welcome you to sit and bask in their warm glow under the beautiful tree canopy of Berczy Park. Beside the swings, a collection of LED tubes to wander through and take selfies against a backdrop of the famous dog fountain and Flatiron mural."

@jmhcet Glow in the Park at #berczypark in #Toronto light art installations Sept 24 to Oct 31, 2025. #art #lightinstallations #glowinthepark ♬ Walking On Sunshine (25th Anniversary) [2010 Remaster] - Katrina and the Waves

Colonial Tavern's record monument on Yonge Street

This record doesn't spin but it remembers great jazz musicians that performed at Colonial Tavern in Toronto from 1947 to 1987. The building that housed the tavern at 203 Yonge Street is gone now, demolished the year it closed, but the large granite monument was unveiled in 1996, removed during the condo development and parkette construction before it finally found its way back to the site of the former tavern. The parkette is really just some concrete and a ramp.

Two historic bank buildings bookmark the parkette, one with the large Massey Tower condo over the former Canadian Bank of Commerce building to the south and the old Bank of Toronto building. It probably took a lot of deposits to finance all those columns used by the banks.

The black granite disc, or record, shows 175 musical artists, including many legendary artists, who played the famous jazz venue, breaking the colour barrier in Toronto in 1947. The Colonial was founded by Lawrence and Lichtenberg and also inscribed on the stone is the following.

"Jazz Place: Serves to commemorate the important contribution to the cultural life of Toronto and the North American Jazz Scene. 1995"

The monument in the sidewalk

The Parkette between the banks

Former Bank of Toronto

Looking towards the former Canadian Bank of Commerce building

Craning on Yonge Street

Construction work on a building along Yonge Street required the roadway to be closed to allow cranes to lift equipment to the site. Workers brought in electrical equipment on several flatbed trucks and moved them to the building, high in the air. It was very exciting, I'm surprised that there wasn't a giant crowd watching this operation go down.

The crane lift happened on the September 20-21, 2025 weekend and Yonge Street was closed from Adelaide Street West to King Street West.