FIFA World Cup 2026 starts today in Toronto

I think this event will result in the biggest hiring of security guards in the history of Toronto as World Cup soccer, or possibly football plays six games in the City beginning June 12, 2026 and ending July 2. In addition to the games there is a FIFA Fan Fest taking place in Fort York and Bentway Park during the sporting event. This year's tournament is taking place in three countries; Canada, Mexico and the United States with sixteen host cities and 48 teams involved. Canadian cities are Vancouver and Toronto and overall the World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19.

Toronto's six games will happen at BMO Field in Exhibition Place on the following dates.

Friday, June 12, 2026 (3:00 p.m. ET) – Canada v. Bosnia and Herzegovina. Group B
Wednesday, June 17, 2006 (7:00 p.m. ET) – Ghana v. Panama
Saturday, June 20, 2026 (4 :00 p.m. ET) – Germany v. Côte d'Ivoire
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 (7:00 p.m. ET) – Panama v. Croatia
Friday, June 26, 2026 (3:00 p.m. ET) – Senegal v. Iraq
Thursday, July 2, 2026 (7:00 p.m. ET) – Winner of Group K v. Winner of Group L

Under the Bentway

Keep in mind that during match games some of the streets of Toronto will be closed so it will be difficult to get around. They suggest public transit, walking or riding a bike, which is always preferred in this city.

Game Day Road Closure Schedule *All times are approximate and subject to change.

Friday, June 12 – 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday, June 17 – 2 p.m. to midnight
Saturday, June 20 – 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Tuesday, June 23 – 2 p.m. to midnight
Friday June 26 – 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday July 2 – 2 p.m. to midnight

Road Restrictions: 

Local access only for Fort York neighbourhood June 11 - 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Local access for residents and businesses in the Fort York neighbourhood (Bathurst St to Strachan Ave, Fleet St to Fort York Blvd)

Road Closures: Lake Shore Boulevard West, Strachan Avenue and Exhibition Grounds June 12 - 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Lake Shore Blvd W from Bathurst St to British Columbia Rd and Strachan Ave from East Liberty St to Lake Shore Blvd W is is fully closed in both directions as well as all roads inside Exhibition Place.

Road Restrictions: Local access only for Liberty Village neighbourhood
June 12 - 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Local access only for Liberty Village residents and businesses, below King St from Dufferin St to Strachan Ave.

Road Closure: Bremner Boulevard (around Rogers Centre)
June 12 - noon to 11:30 p.m.
Bremner Boulevard will be closed between Lower Simcoe Street and Navy Wharf Crescent.

Road Closure: Fleet Street
May 18 to July 31
Fully closed between Fort York Boulevard and Strachan Avenue until July 31.

At HTO Beach looking toward the CN Tower #WeAreToronto

A floating soccer field is outside of Queens Quay Terminal

You can walk across this pedestrian bridge over Lake Ontario once again

I dislike these type of headlines, but sometimes you just have to have fun! I have walked over this bridge many times in the past as it crosses over a marina in Toronto and lands by Harbourfront Centre. Then five years ago it closed, or really the lifting part of the bridge was removed and it was blocked to keep people from falling in the water. The lift bridge was necessary to allow the boats to get in and out of Marina Four, part of Harbourfront Centre Marine.

This bridge was originally named the Spadina Wavedeck pedestrian bridge and with the repair and reopening of the bridge you too can save valuable minutes on your journey. It was renamed the Amsterdam Bridge because it was originally gifted to the city by the Mayor of Amsterdam in 1974, not because it is by the adjacent Amsterdam Brewhouse. On Sunday, May 31, 2026 it opened once again with the help of the Deputy Mayor, a representative of Harbourfront Centre and CreateTO along with the Dutch Consul General.

You can see the Amsterdam Bridge missing the lift bridge portion in the above photo from early May 2026.

Maple Keys carpet in Sherbourne Common

The urban park along lower, Lower Sherbourne has two sections; one north and one south of Queens Quay East. This is a great park that runs right up to the edge of the inner harbour and includes cool features such as a winding, concrete channel and some art installations that provide water cascading down to the channel, a washroom facility, a skating rink/splash pad, plenty of open space and some Maple trees that are shedding their seeds onto the concrete surface.

The seeds are maple keys that act light little helicopters, dropping from the tree and hoping to hit a nice, welcoming patch of soil that will allow a new crop of Maple trees. Sadly in this case they also need to wait for a nice wind to get them out of that urban hard spot. So many have dropped that it is hard to see the grey concrete through the seeds.

Monument to the War of 1812

Just checking in on Douglas Coupland's sculpture made of good old resin and steel and titled Monument to the War of 1812. It's still there at 600 Fleet Street in Toronto, a nod to the war that ended in a stalemate in a time long since passed.

The work of art installed in January of 2008 features two War of 1812 soldiers, one in gold standing over the other silver soldier lying at his feet. It is not real violence depicted as they appear to be toy soldiers.

@jmhcet Monument to the War of 1812 #Toronto, Canada. #sculpture #toysoldiers #douglascoupland ♬ sonido original - David

Do West Fest Toronto 2026

Dundas West from Ossington to Lansdowne is only 1.5km and on a map it doesn't look too big, but add an incredibly large street festival and thousands of people and it seems to take forever to go from one end to the other.

Someone carries a sign saying "Beware Pickpockets"

This is one of the first festivals in Toronto and I think the people all across the city said why not and headed to Do West Fest. It is on from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 7 and includes three stages, a kids zone, plenty of vendors and a dunk tank.

DJ Reflection

The Dunk Tank. She is sad because she has been splashed quite a few times

Taking place in the heart of Little Portugal, just as Dundas deflects North West at Ossington Avenue, the street party is a good place to grab some chow, drinks and take in the entertainment.

Dundas St W between Ossington Ave and Lansdowne Ave.
Friday, June 5 | 6PM-11PM
Saturday, June 6 | 11AM-11PM
Sunday, June 7 | 11AM-6PM

See more of the festival after the jump.

Toronto Pillow Fight 2026

Urban Playground Toronto organized the latest edition of the Toronto Pillow Fight which was held in Berczy Park on Saturday, June 6, 2026. It was deferred due to inclement weather on its original scheduled date of May 23, and then it was almost canceled on June 6 as more rain was scheduled in the afternoon, however they waited until around 10am to say the fight was still on and as a bonus the weather ended up being perfect.

There was about 50 to 75 people participating in the pillow bashing, first they filled out a consent form, posed for a group photo, listened to instructions and wham, the fighting began at around 1:45pm. It was good natured and a lot of fun for everyone.

Berczy Park Dog Fountain. Calm before the war

Instructions for the group

See more photos of the pillow fight after the jump.

RedBall down at Harbourfront

That RedBall is having a great time exploring Toronto, he squeezed into a tight space, like always, in Harbour Square Park West and is enjoying the sun and taking a break to just hang. The ball started its Toronto run on June 3rd at the entrance to Old City Hall and will finish on June 7, 2026 in Regent Park. If he had found his way down to Sugar Beach he might have been reborn as a giant beach ball.

The round, red art installation travels the world and is in our fair city as part of Luminato Festival.

From the Festival's website, "This is RedBall Toronto by artist Kurt Perschke. Having travelled to more than 40 cities across six continents, RedBall Project has yet to roam the same streets twice. Until now. As we celebrate Luminato’s 20th anniversary and RedBall Project’s 25th anniversary, we welcome the project back to transform the streets and public spaces of Toronto, turning everyday experiences into moments of surprise and playfulness."

June 3 - Old City Hall 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
June 4 - TMU Student Learning Centre 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
June 5 - St. Lawrence Market North 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
June 5 - Meridian Hall 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM
June 6 - Harbour Square Park West 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
June 7 - Regent Park Aquatic Centre 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM

RedBall Toronto and Luminato Festival 2026

June in Toronto is full of art, beauty and PRIDE. Luminato Festival brings art to buildings and streets with a number of installations, film, dance, music and much, much more on their 20th anniversary.

From their website, "Luminato Festival transforms the people, places, and possibilities of Toronto with extraordinary art experiences. Every June we present bold, playful, and of the moment art for all to enjoy. Distinctly Toronto, proudly Canadian and totally Global, we welcome the world to explore our streets, stages and stories. Encounter our city like never before."

I personally love free art and events so I am looking forward to three installations and a Circus! The big, red ball - for some reason known as RedBall, Anthems of Colour, Pyramid Fields and the circus - Camion d’Intervention Artistique - CIART. In addition to this small sample the festival calendar is full of events and attractions, so go crazy and find your favourites.

RedBall was last in Toronto in 2009 (see one of my posts here) and is returning for five days from June 3 to June 7. I love RedBall, much like I like the giant rubber ducky from the Waterfront Festival, and I am glad that RedBall by Kurt Perschke is back for Luminato 2026. "The iconic RedBall appears somewhere in the city. Each day it appears in a new location—wedged between buildings, perched on staircases, or tucked into alleyways. Whether people follow the ball’s journey or encounter it by chance, each interaction is unique and special."

RedBall Toronto 2026 Schedule
Wednesday, June 3 – Sunday, June 7, 2026

June 3 - Old City Hall 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
June 4 - TMU Student Learning Centre 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
June 5 - St. Lawrence Market North 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
June 5 - Meridian Hall 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM
June 6 - Harbour Square Park West 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
June 7 - Regent Park Aquatic Centre 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Pyramid Fields by Cyril Lancelin is another installation using "surreal scultpures" that glow at night. "Drawing on the pyramid’s long-standing symbolism of stability and balance, the work reimagines the form as soft, temporary, and immersive—inviting audiences to step inside these storey-high grid inspired structures. The installations are positioned next to the modernist lines of the TD Centre, designed by Mies van der Rohe, and Eberhardt Zeidler's CF Toronto Eaton Centre, creating a striking contrast between the brilliantly coloured pyramids and the surrounding dark steel-and-glass architecture."

Anthems to Colour by artist Liz West will appear in three buildings in the downtown core. The sculptures are colourful surfaces that work with light, changing with the location of the sun. "Across three Brookfield Properties locations in downtown Toronto, British artist Liz West creates sculptural works using coloured acrylic, mirrored surfaces, and refracted light. Designed to respond to the movement of the sun, the installations shift throughout the day: grids of coloured panels glow against glass facades, mirrored elements reflect and multiply surrounding architecture, and translucent walls scatter prismatic colour into the space around them."

Brookfield Place

Bay Adelaide Centre courtyard

The free circus comes to town and will appear in Sankofa Square on Friday, June 12 followed by a move to Harbourfront Centre from Saturday, June 13 to Sunday, June 14. "Camion d’Intervention Artistique - CIART is a unique immersive show presented on a real fire truck converted into a vertical stage. Led by colourful characters, the project combines aerial acrobatics, physical theatre, music, and monumental scenography. Created with collaborators from Cirque du Soleil, CIART offers powerful and accessible dramaturgy designed to bring all audiences together. Each performance transforms public spaces into spectacular worlds where imagination reigns supreme."

@jmhcet #redball is back in #Toronto for #luminato2026. #redballtoronto ♬ Let Me Entertain You - Robbie Williams

@jmhcet #pyramidfields #artinstallation for #luminato 2026. #Toronto ♬ Crumblin' Down - John Mellencamp

Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham 2026 tickets now on sale

When one track closes, another opens. Ticket sales have started for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham race, coming soon to a town near you, especially if you live in the GTA. You can now buy 2-Day Reserved Grandstand or General Admission along with pit and paddock access tickets for the August 14-16 racing event. Free Fan Friday returns for the Markham race with entrance courtesy of a voluntary donation to Make-A-Wish Canada and sponsored by the Ontario Honda Dealers Association.

“It’s an exciting day to be opening up public ticket sales for the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham," said Jeff Atkinson, president of the event. “This new venue in Downtown Markham will offer expanded sightlines across multiple grandstand locations around the 12-turn track. Some great general admission vantage points are also in store for fans. We cannot wait to welcome everyone to this new festival site on August 14th!”

The temporary street course is a 12-turn, 3.52km winding through the downtown streets of Markham. The race festival also comes with food trucks, displays, activities and other attractions. Eight races will take place during Race weekend from a number of race series, including NASCAR Canada Series, USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire, the USF2000 Championship Presented by Continental Tire, and the Emzone Radical Cup Canada presented by Michelin.

There are four grandstand locations along with a number of general admission areas, perfect for viewing the new home for the only Canadian race "for the world’s fastest race car drivers from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES".