Yorkville Murals 2026

 

YVM Yorkville Murals returns in 2026 during the August 22-23 weekend. Toronto's glamorous and artsy upscale neighborhood hosts the event on Yorkville Avenue from Hazelton to Bellair, just off Bloor's Mink Mile.

From their website, "Toronto’s most dynamic art and muralism festival returns from August 22–23, 2026 with the third edition of its theme, No Empty Spaces. Yorkville Murals transforms Yorkville Avenue—stretching from Bellair Street to Hazelton Avenue—into a vibrant, interactive cultural playground.

Visitors can expect a weekend packed with creativity and connection: large-scale murals, inflatable art, immersive installations, live painting, thought-provoking art talks, high-energy dance battles, pop-up shops, music, and a lively evening block party. Every moment offers something new, encouraging culture lovers to return again and again throughout the weekend."

Unfortunately this is to be the last run of the festival, so enjoy it while you can.

Dino Run at the Bentway

Jurassic Park has come to life under the deck of the Gardiner Expressway as dinosaurs are preparing for the 2026 Dino Run at the Bentway Park. The fun starts at 10am and goes to noon on Saturday, August 22.

From the park's website, "Step into a prehistoric adventure at the Bentway’s iconic figure-eight skate trail under the Gardiner Expressway! This fun-filled event invites young explorers to learn, move, and play in an outdoor, interactive setting that brings dinosaurs to life.

The morning kicks off with costumed Dino Specialists, who use songs, dance, storytelling, and hands-on games to teach kids fascinating facts about their favorite dinosaurs. From learning how T-Rex roared to discovering how Velociraptors ran, this engaging session  sparks curiosity and imagination. Then, it’s time for action! The kids will transform into Dino Explorers, tasked with chasing and recapturing runaway dinosaurs in an exciting, non-competitive run around our 220m figure-eight skate trail. As they dash and track down their dino friends, they’ll stay active, build confidence, and develop a love for movement—all in a fun, supportive environment."

Race day at the Honda Indy Markham

Sunday, August 16, 2026 is race day as the headliners from NTT IndyCar ramp it up during their afternoon speedfest through Markham. Around 12:30pm the green flag dropped and great news - there is no rain (stupid forecasts). UPDATE: WINNERS (1, 2 and 3) Marcus Ericsson, Romain Grosjean and Will Power.

Cars on their grid during the pit lane displays

Drivers were introduced to the crowd at 11:30am, then they headed to pit lane to await the instructions to start their engines.

Two cars are a little banged up and out of the race

See more photos after the jump.

Saturday at the Honda Indy Markham

Okay, Friday turned out to be a bit of a bust as the remaining track construction wiped out any chance to see some burning rubber on the first day of the three day event, but it will hopefully be completed by the start of Saturday's revised schedule for the second day of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham. IndyCar driver Will Power, pictured above, scooters around the race site on Friday. Will is a three time winner of the Honda Indy in Toronto (2007, 2010 and 2016) and is racing car #26 as part of the Andretti Global team in this year's race.

Race promoters released a statement on their website at 8pm on August 14 regarding the cancelled track session on Friday;  "We greatly appreciate all the fans who made it out to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham today and chose to spend the day with us. The attendance and support were
overwhelming. Ensuring the safety of the drivers and the completion of the certification process of
competing on a brand-new racetrack delayed all on-track activities today. Today’s sessions have been rescheduled to Saturday, August 15, to allow for further track preparations." OntarioIndy's instagram did actually say sorry, "We apologize for today’s on track delay. Thank you for a great turnout for Your Ontario Honda Dealers present Free Fan Friday benefiting @makeawish_canada. We hope to get race cars on track soon when it is appropriate to do so. In the meantime, please keep enjoying the activations and great food and beverage selections on site. We will provide an update when we have more information about the schedule." Online comments indicated displeasure with lack of communication so hopefully that will improve as well.

Gates open at 8:30am and while the Honda Indy's website schedule does not currently show it but there is a NASCAR practice and qualifying session to take place before the gates open - from 8:00 to 8:30am.

8:55 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. USF2000 Championship Practice
9:20 a.m. - 9:40 a.m. USF Pro 2000 Practice
10:05 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1
11:55 a.m. - 12:35 p.m. Radical Cup Canada Practice
1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. USF2000 Championship Race 1
1:35 p.m. - 2:05 p.m. USF Pro 2000 Race 1
2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2
4:45 p.m. - 6:05 p.m. NASCAR Canada Series Race
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying
After INDYCAR Qualifying The Glorious Sons Live in Concert

Pit lane

So all five race series will be on the track today and the excitement of qualifying will lead into three races; USF2000 at 1:00pm, USF Pro 2000 at 1:35pm and NASCAR Canada at 4:45pm, just before the IndyCar qualifying session. A race by the Radical Cup cars was dropped from the Saturday schedule to accommodate most of Friday's schedule into Saturday's compressed schedule.

Around the hairpin

General admission viewing

American chopper in the pits

IndyCar hitting the track

The cottage in Thunder Alley

Friday at the Honda Indy Markham

Fridays hit better when it's FREE Fan Friday at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham! Enter with a voluntary donation to Make-A-Wish Canada, sit in a grandstand (for free) or find a general admission viewing, use a PRESTO card to see the IndyCar Paddock and visit the vendors in Thunder Alley. Friday Gates open at 8:30am and cars take to the track at 9am. Gates open Saturday are also at 8:30am while on Sunday they open earlier at 8:00am.

UPDATE: All Friday track action has been moved into Saturday as track construction has not been completed.

Today also has the NTT IndyCar driver autograph session from 12:30 to 1:30pm in the Pan Am Centre. Go early because there are always giant lineups to meet the stars of IndyCar. Track practice and qualifications are almost continuous all day with only a half hour break between sessions. Later in the afternoon IndyCar begins their first practice (3:05 to 4:30pm) followed by NASCAR practice and qualifying (5:00 to 6pm).

The track is quite different than the Toronto setup; Pit Lane is split into two parallel set of pit boxes with the roadway running between them. Turn-5 with its sharp hairpin 180 degree turn will have plenty of action as the cars coming out head into the fastest section of the track. Thunder Alley has less room to spread out than found in Exhibition Place so it might get a little tight in the space. Three corners have run-off sections to contain cars that don't successfully make the 90 or 180 degree turns (Turns 5, 6 and 7). I think the best general admission viewing areas are along Enterprise Boulevard as the road dips under the rail line and bridge and the asphalt curves slightly. 

August 14 ends with Ride the Track where you can ride your bicycles around the track in support of The Children's Breakfast Clubs. The event takes place after the race cars have finished for the day and the bikes take over from 6:30 to 8:00pm.

First day jitters as the planned first race practice, scheduled for 9am, and everything that follows has been deferred. It looks like the track safety apparatus is still being completed. It's almost 4 hours from the planned start and there are still no cars on the track. We have heard that they are still on track for the 3:05pm NTT IndyCar Series first practice. Oops, moved from 6:00 to 7:30pm.

See more photos from Friday after the jump. Hopefully Saturday will go a little better.

Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham starts tomorrow

It's the last day before the cars take the track at the Honda Indy at Markham 2026 race and finishing touches have been ongoing as time for preparations quickly runs out. Pedestrian bridges were being completed and advertising banners were starting to be placed as the race festival weekend runs from runs August 14-16.

The Toronto Marriott Markham has an IndyCar near the entrance. Fitting as they were the place to get media credentials for the race and they are just a short walk from the track. This is the 38th edition of the race festival and first for the City of Markham as they moved from Toronto.

Looking towards the hairpin at Turn-5 on the west side of the site.

There are five race series taking part in 2026; NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Canada Series, USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire, USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire and Emzone Radical Cup Canada Presented by Michelin.

IndyCar is of course the premier series taking part throughout the weekend with practices, qualifying with their headlining race on Sunday. NASCAR Canada is our version of the famous stockcar series south of the border and their headlining race is Saturday. Friday is full of practice and/or qualifications for most of the series along with an IndyCar driver autograph session at 12:30pm.

Two of the four IndyCar feeder series will be here (USF2000 and USF Pro 2000) while the Indy NXT, the top feeder for drivers, is sitting it out for the next few weeks.

 

The area is booming and there are a lot of condos under construction near the track. Like Toronto there is a GO station leading into the site (Unionville GO), twelve turns instead of eleven and with a longer track (3.52km to Toronto's 2.87km).

FREE Fan Friday is back on, get into the site with a voluntary donation to Make-A-Wish Canada and sit in the grandstands or along the General Admission viewing sections and watch the action on the track. You can also tour the site, check out the paddocks (with a PRESTO Pass) and wander through Thunder Alley.

Taste of the Danforth back in Toronto again

It has been a wild ride for Taste of  the Danforth but the street festival is back for 2026. The event billed as 'Canada’s Favourite Festival' stretches about 1.6km along Danforth Avenue from Broadview Avenue to Jones Avenue, ran from Friday to Sunday, August 7-9 and had almost two million visitors over the weekend. 

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow meets visitors

The festival started in 1994 to highlight the Greek restaurants of the area, cancelled due to Covid, returned in 2023, then shut down once more in 2024 and 2025, so it was nice to see it return. Attendees experienced the neighbourhoods music, culture and food along the important arterial road which was known as Greektown. "Taste of the Danforth has always been a celebration of Greek heritage. Today, it is also a celebration of Toronto’s diversity and Canada’s multicultural spirit."

This year's TOD had six experience zones and four free entertainment stages; World Stage, RBC Showcase Stage, Greek Stage and the OLG Lets Dance Stage.

Chair Tony Pethakas says: “Greek heritage will always be at the heart of Taste of the Danforth. At the same time, the Danforth has evolved, just as our city, province and country have evolved. Today the Festival reflects a diverse and inclusive Canada—with a dollop of tzatziki on top.”

Toronto Distillery District Country Fest

These boots are made for the Distillery Districts' line dancing and country music during the August 6 to 23, 2026 Toronto Country Fest. YeeHaw!

From their website, "The Distillery District is going country! Grab your cowboy hats and boots! The Distillery is celebrating the best of country culture with Toronto Country Fest. Enjoy Live Music, BBQ, Games, a Mechanical Bull, Line Dancing, and More. The boots keep stompin’ all summer long! While Toronto Country Fest runs August 6–23, the country vibes start early and stay late with live country music daily from July 31 through September 7. Enjoy talented musicians and Nashville-inspired entertainment".

The line dancing lessons happens every Wednesday and Friday from 6 to 8pm. Intermediate is the Wednesday and beginner is on Friday. The event includes games, western food and beverages along with DJs and Nashville Nights (Friday and Saturday from 8:30pm to 10:30pm).