Daylight Saving Skate
Daylight saving steals an hour of sleep, and we’re giving it back the best way we know how: on the ice! On our final day at the skate trail, we’re inviting neighbours to reset their internal clocks together with complimentary coffee and an extra hour of skating –pajamas encouraged!
Public Launch: Cool by Design
Explore the power of shade in public space at this free public talk on March 31, co-presented by The Bentway and DIALOG. This panel celebrates the launch of The Bentway’s Cool by Design, a new report examining how shade shapes health, comfort, and everyday life in cities adapting to rising heat.
Winter Skating, Extended to March 8!
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We are pleased to announce that our popular figure-eight outdoor Skate Trail will remain open through Sunday, March 9, giving skaters more time to glide beneath the Gardiner Expressway and enjoy one of Toronto’s most distinctive winter experiences!
Partner EventSkate with Ausma
Join Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik at skating rinks across the ward to embrace winter fun and meet your neighbours!
Partner EventGalentine’s Day Skate Party with CityPlace Fort York BIA
Grab your besties and hit the ice! DJs, performances, cozy patio vibes, free skate rentals and swag bags for the first 200 guests.
Concrete to Canvas: The transformative power of urban murals
Much more than neighbourhood beautification, mural-making projects have the power to transform urban landscapes. Join The Bentway, The Creative Communities Commons (CCC) at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, artists, and urbanists at a free public talk on November 20, exploring new models for “painting the urban landscape”.
Documentary Screening: A Lake Story
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After the on-water performance, gather at Harbourfront Centre’s Concert Stage during Nuit Blanche for a celebration of A Lake Story. Enjoy a documentary chronicling the project’s creative journey, see the wind-activated colour field paintings up close, and honour the community partners, paddlers, and artists who brought this story to life.
SOLAR
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A mesmerizing encounter with light transforms the Gardiner into a glowing horizon. Guided by a robotic arm and synchronized beams, SOLAR performs a spectacle of sunset by merging the sun’s rhythms with digital choreography to create an immersive experience of light and motion.
Petal and Stone
October 2025 through to 2027
A 10,000 square-foot mural project inaugurates the Gardiner Wallworks series, transforming this concrete expanse into a poetic tableau of site memory, native flora, and symbolic passage. Inspired by the architecture and ecological communities bridging The Bentway and Exhibition Place, it offers commuters and residents an evocative new lens on their urban landscape.
A Lake Story
Sep 27 & 28, 2025. Procession at 11am & 4pm
A procession of over one hundred canoes moves in unison across Toronto’s eastern Waterfront on September 27/28, each carrying colour field paintings made with pigments sourced from the lake/shoreline and activated by the wind. A Lake Story will articulate Lake Ontario’s colour story across the sky and water, amplifying the lake’s own voices of vibrancy, ecosystem, and community.
Cool Spots: Remapping a Hotter Toronto
Public submissions collected July to September, 2025
Discover and share the places that keep you cool in Toronto! From shaded underpasses to breezy green spaces, your submissions will help shape a growing community map of urban relief and resilience.
Moving Forest @ The Bentway Skate Trail
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See you under our smaller pop up canopy of 10 trees at the Bentway Skate Trail, from July 20 until the end of our summer season! These 10 trees were part of a flock of 50 trees in shopping carts that travelled throughout the city, stopping to create a refreshing shade canopy in usually-sunny spaces.
Hosted Event RentalYohomoFest 2025
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Moving Forest Parade to Harbourfront Centre
Experience our volunteer-led parade of the Moving Forest urban canopy and welcome the trees as they arrive at their new destination! 50 tree-filled shopping carts will arrive at the Harbourfront Centre to create a shady gathering place for community, conversation, and reflection on the importance of urban nature.
Nibwaakaawin: The Balance of Warmth and Coolness
Friday, July 25, 6:00pm-10:00pm; Saturday, July 26, 1:00pm-4:00pm
From Milkweed to Monarchs
Did you know that monarch butterflies migrate 4,800km each year from Canada to Mexico? Join us for this hands-on workshop to learn how milkweed plants help support this journey with presented with Toronto and Region Conservation Authority!
Beautiful Native Plants
Why is it so important to re-plant native plants across Toronto? Come find out at this hands-on workshop with Toronto and Region Conservation Authority!
Moving Forest Parade to Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre
Experience our volunteer-led parade of the Moving Forest urban canopy and welcome the trees as they arrive at their new destination! 50 tree-filled shopping carts will arrive at the Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre to create a shady gathering place for community, conversation, and reflection on the importance of urban nature.
Casting a Net, Casting a Spell Art Workshop with Celeste
Meet artists María Fernanda Camarena and Gabriel Rosas Alemán, who together form the Mexico City-based duo Celeste, for an afternoon of art activities! Inspired by their installation Casting a Net, Casting a Spell – a large-scale quilted canopy evocative of a suncatcher – come explore the power of the sun through family-friendly creative exercises.
Canopy Connections: Sunset Concert with The Taylor Academy
Students from The Taylor Academy – Canada’s leading classical music training program – share their music. Enjoy their showstopping virtuosity under the cover of the Moving Forest canopy and enjoy a beautiful sunset that will sweep you into the weekend.
Canopy Connections: Summer Wonder with TPL Fort York
Listen to family friendly stories that have been carefully selected to get you thinking about the significance of trees and the principles of shade equity. Enrich your learning through interactive games and activities delivered by Fort York library staff.
Canopy Connections: Sunset Concert with The Taylor Academy
Students from The Taylor Academy – Canada’s leading classical music training program – share their music. Enjoy their showstopping virtuosity under the cover of the Moving Forest canopy and enjoy a beautiful sunset that will sweep you into the weekend.
Canopy Connections: Summer Wonder with TPL Fort York
Listen to family friendly stories that have been carefully selected to get you thinking about the significance of trees and the principles of shade equity. Enrich your learning through interactive games and activities delivered by Fort York library staff.
Canopy Connections: Sunset Concert with The Taylor Academy
Students from The Taylor Academy – Canada’s leading classical music training program – share their music. Enjoy their showstopping virtuosity under the cover of the Moving Forest canopy and enjoy a beautiful sunset that will sweep you into the weekend.