Playing in Public is a neighbourhood exhibition that explores the history and future of play, and its role in shaping decisions about public space. A wide variety of artists, educators, technologists, planners, and community organizers have created works that address questions like:
How does space shape the rules of play, and how can non-traditional spaces teach us to play differently? How does play influence our interactions in public space? How has the nature of play changed in a mid/post-COVID city?
As we begin to emerge from this pandemic and look towards recovery, we can use play as a guide for reengaging with the city, and with each other.
We will play again together.
#playinginpublic
we all speak play.
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Public Trust @ The Bentway
toTorontonians are invited to make promises to themselves and their community—not just as inhabitants of the city, but as co-authors of its future. In a welcoming, non-partisan space, Public Trust reimagines civic engagement as something personal, accessible, and joyful.
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Roller Skate Lessons: September 25
September 25, 6:30pm-7:30pm and 7:30pm-8:30pmLearn how to roll with us! This summer, we’re offering weekly roller skate lessons for those who are looking to gain basic skills. Our expert instructors will help novice skaters build confidence on wheels and navigate our figure-eight trail.
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Public Trust @ Harbourfront Centre
toTorontonians are invited to make promises to themselves and their community—not just as inhabitants of the city, but as co-authors of its future. In a welcoming, non-partisan space, Public Trust reimagines civic engagement as something personal, accessible, and joyful.
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Dino Run: September
Dino Runs are an interactive family event packed with movement and imagination! Kids join lively Dino Specialists for songs, stories, and games before heading out on a playful mission to track down runaway dinosaurs. This prehistoric adventure is part learning, part make-believe, and all about laughing and being active together.
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Roller Skate Lessons: September 18
September 18, 6:30pm-7:30pm and 7:30pm-8:30pmLearn how to roll with us! This summer, we’re offering weekly roller skate lessons for those who are looking to gain basic skills. Our expert instructors will help novice skaters build confidence on wheels and navigate our figure-eight trail.
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Public Pier
Fridays: 6pm–11pm, Saturdays: 1pm–11pm. September 18 & 19, September 25 & 26, and October 2 & 3.A collaboration between The Bentway, Harbourfront Centre, OCAD University, and the Waterfront BIA, Public Pier is a collaborative public realm pilot that transforms Marina Quay West into a welcoming waterfront hub for arts and culture, gathering, and public life.
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Public Trust @ Marina Quay West
toTorontonians are invited to make promises to themselves and their community—not just as inhabitants of the city, but as co-authors of its future. In a welcoming, non-partisan space, Public Trust reimagines civic engagement as something personal, accessible, and joyful.
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Public Trust
Sep 15 to Oct 4, 2026Torontonians are invited to make promises to themselves and their community—not just as inhabitants of the city, but as co-authors of its future. In a welcoming, non-partisan space, Public Trust reimagines civic engagement as something personal, accessible, and joyful.
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Artist Talk with Paul Ramírez Jonas
To mark the Canadian premiere of Public Trust, join acclaimed artist Paul Ramírez Jonas in conversation with The Bentway’s Director of Programming Anna Gallagher-Ross about his imaginative body of work and his long-time engagement with democracy, participation, and the public realm.
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Public Trust @ Toronto Public Library
Torontonians are invited to make promises to themselves and their community—not just as inhabitants of the city, but as co-authors of its future. In a welcoming, non-partisan space, Public Trust reimagines civic engagement as something personal, accessible, and joyful.
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Roller Skate Lessons: September 11
September 11, 6:30pm-7:30pm and 7:30pm-8:30pmLearn how to roll with us! This summer, we’re offering weekly roller skate lessons for those who are looking to gain basic skills. Our expert instructors will help novice skaters build confidence on wheels and navigate our figure-eight trail.
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Bentway After School
Tuesdays, 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm. Three 5-week sessions: Sep 8-Oct 6, Oct 13-Nov 10, Nov 17-Dec 15.The Bentway invites young urbanists to explore and learn about their city with lots of fun, creativity, and outdoor discovery along the way! The program empowers participants to understand and influence concepts in urban design, city building, and placemaking through neighbourhood investigations, storytelling, and recreation.
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Roller Skate Lessons: September 4
September 4, 6:30pm-7:30pm and 7:30pm-8:30pmLearn how to roll with us! This summer, we’re offering weekly roller skate lessons for those who are looking to gain basic skills. Our expert instructors will help novice skaters build confidence on wheels and navigate our figure-eight trail.
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Roller Skate Lessons: August 28
August 28, 6:30pm-7:30pm and 7:30pm-8:30pmLearn how to roll with us! This summer, we’re offering weekly roller skate lessons for those who are looking to gain basic skills. Our expert instructors will help novice skaters build confidence on wheels and navigate our figure-eight trail.
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Dino Runs @ The Bentway
August 22, September 19, 2026.Dino Runs are an interactive family event packed with movement and imagination! Kids join lively Dino Specialists for songs, stories, and games before heading out on a playful mission to track down runaway dinosaurs. This prehistoric adventure is part learning, part make-believe, and all about laughing and being active together.
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Dino Run: August
Dino Runs are an interactive family event packed with movement and imagination! Kids join lively Dino Specialists for songs, stories, and games before heading out on a playful mission to track down runaway dinosaurs. This prehistoric adventure is part learning, part make-believe, and all about laughing and being active together.
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Roller Skate Lessons: August 21
August 21, 6:30pm-7:30pm and 7:30pm-8:30pmLearn how to roll with us! This summer, we’re offering weekly roller skate lessons for those who are looking to gain basic skills. Our expert instructors will help novice skaters build confidence on wheels and navigate our figure-eight trail.
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Collage: ReExpressway Edition
This summer, Collage Grad is inspired by The Bentway’s vibrant public space under the Gardiner Expressway! This monthly session explores art, urbanism, and placemaking through collage. Work with a curated mix of archival photos of Toronto, urban planning publications, and vintage magazines to express your own take on citybuilding and create your own reimagined built…
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Roller Skate Lessons: August 14
August 14, 6:30pm-7:30pm and 7:30pm-8:30pmLearn how to roll with us! This summer, we’re offering weekly roller skate lessons for those who are looking to gain basic skills. Our expert instructors will help novice skaters build confidence on wheels and navigate our figure-eight trail.
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Printmaking: Letterpress Postcards from Toronto
This workshop will be something to write home about! Print your own letterpress postcards using two antique platen presses set up with an image and text. Learn about traditional typesetting from wood and metal type, how it was used historically and how it can still be used today. Add colour to your image and write…
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In Bloom: A Flower Market + Workshop
Explore offerings from local growers and take part in a drop-in arranging workshop as West Block blooms into a summer flower market. Guided by the new Step-Up Series mural’s floral imagery and striking colour palette, these sessions connect contemporary practice with cultural traditions and invite visitors into a shared moment of creativity.
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Roller Skate Party
Glide and groove to the music of local DJ’s and celebrate the dog days of summer. Whether you’re still learning at our weekly lessons or have some superfly moves to show off, it’s an open invitation to move your own way!
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Roller Skate Lessons: August 7
August 7, 6:30pm-7:30pm and 7:30pm-8:30pmLearn how to roll with us! This summer, we’re offering weekly roller skate lessons for those who are looking to gain basic skills. Our expert instructors will help novice skaters build confidence on wheels and navigate our figure-eight trail.
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Roller Skate Rentals
Fridays 5:00pm–8:00pm, Saturdays & Sundays 1:00pm–7:00pm. From August 7–September 27, 2026.The Bentway Skate Trail continues to be the best place to rock and roll in the summer, visit our Skate Rental Container on site to rent your roller skates and protective gear from Fridays-Sundays in August and September!
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Watercolour Painting: Toronto Skies
Capture all the colours of our city’s beautiful summer skies in this 2-hour watercolour painting workshop. You’ll learn an essential watercolour technique and then practice by painting a sunrise or sunset, completing it with a skyline of your favourite Toronto neighbourhood or public space.
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Textiles: Felted & Embroidered Pins
Learn how to “draw” with textiles this summer! Using needle felting, stitching, and other creative embellishments, design your own unique, wearable button. You’ll learn how to work with wool roving, and some simple embroidery stitches that are useful for adding lines, dimension, and artistic expression.
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Exploring Nature Beyond Sight
Experience urban nature through a guided sensory walk designed to engage with touch, smell, and sound. This interactive program and hands-on planting activity invites participants to slow down, connect, and explore public space in new ways.
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Collage: ReExpressway Edition
This summer, Collage Grad is inspired by The Bentway’s vibrant public space under the Gardiner Expressway! This monthly session explores art, urbanism, and placemaking through collage. Work with a curated mix of archival photos of Toronto, urban planning publications, and vintage magazines to express your own take on citybuilding and create your own reimagined built…
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Printmaking: Toronto Trading Cards
Whether it’s cheering on your favourite Toronto sports teams this summer, grabbing a TTC transfer on the first day of a new year, spotting the elusive white squirrel of Trinity Bellwoods park, or grabbing a beef patty on your way home from school, this workshop is about commemorating the things that make Toronto a special…
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Social Fabric: A Community Textile Activation
Drawing on the textile traditions reflected in Anahita Akhavan’s new mural, West Block becomes a place for shared making. Working with SHEEEP Studio, visitors of all ages will assemble textiles throughout the afternoon, gathering colour, pattern, and the gestures of many hands.
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Still Life Painting: BYOO – Bring Your Own Object!
BYOO – Bring Your Own Object from home and learn to paint a still life! This is a beginner friendly workshop where Mason will guide you through the creation process and help you discover just how fun and relaxing painting can be. Suggested objects: things that are nostalgic or sentimental. Bring something that you enjoy…
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Sculpture: Miniature Polymer Clay Fruit, Pride Edition!
Come make an adorable one-of-a-kind miniature fruit charm bracelet to celebrate Pride month! In this 2-hour workshop, you will learn some of the basics of creating miniature fruits from polymer clay. Together we will mix clay to achieve realistic colours, shape the pieces and add details using clay and clay tools. We will make a…
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FIFA Fan Festival™ Neighbour Ticket Giveaway
Do you live or work in the Fort York or Liberty Village neighbourhood? The City of Toronto is offering residents the opportunity to access tickets to the FIFA Fan Festival™ through a community ticket distribution initiative!
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Nature in our Neighbourhood
Discover urban wildlife in Canoe Landing Park and CityPlace on this interactive walking tour. Learn to identify local plants and animals, explore how nature adapts in city spaces through hands-on activities, and take home native wildflower seeds to support biodiversity in your own garden!
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Printmaking: Letterpress Type Flags & Banners
For sports fans and creatives alike! Get ready for World Cup game days or create new artwork for your home through this fun and traditional printmaking technique. Design and print your own pennant flag from antique wood type on a printing press. While your flag dries, experiment with banner making with cut-out letters from previously…
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Fans Can Dance
toFans Can Dance by Montreal-based studio Daily tous les jours invites you to a collective soccer celebration—part dance party, part game. This interactive installation explores the popular phenomena of soccer players’ goal score celebrations through dances, poses, and gestures. Bring your dancing cleats and join the team for this engaging imitation game at the Bentway Strachan Gate.
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Shore Lines
toToronto-based design firm RAW Work presents Shore Lines, a series of modular, soccer field-inspired furniture welcoming you to connect and rest underneath the Gardiner. Inspired by Toronto’s original shoreline, which the Gardiner Expressway traces, these comfortable benches will appear as one continuous soccer pitch along the Bentway Skate Trail’s southern edge.
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Net Scape
toSit down and relax in Net Scape, a new furniture installation from Toronto-based RAW Work. Created using the elements of the game—soccer balls and goal netting—these fun, interactive pieces create the perfect way to watch the matches with your friends at the Bentway Strachan Gate.
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Make the World Go Round
toToronto-based illustrator and muralist Caitlin Taguibao brings the city to life with Make the World Go Round, a striking signature mural installation that wraps the columns of the Bentway Skate Trail, immersing viewers in the iconic sights and scenes of the Toronto that we know and love. A vibrant tribute to the diversity of experiences that make Toronto great, this newly commissioned mural will offer fans a lasting impression as they leave the festival.
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United in Light
toMontreal-based LeMonde Studio presents United in Light, a luminous new installation celebrating the many nations of the FIFA World Cup™. Featuring four largescale, interactive LED-screen flags at the Bentway Skate Trail, the work responds to human touch, transforming as visitors engage. Fans are invited to interact with the installation, celebrating their home teams while reflecting the global spirit of the city.
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Textiles: Felted & Embroidered Pins
Learn how to “draw” with textiles this summer! Using needle felting, stitching, and other creative embellishments, design your own unique, wearable button. You’ll learn how to work with wool roving, and some simple embroidery stitches that are useful for adding lines, dimension, and artistic expression.
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Roller Skate Lessons
Fridays from Aug 7 to Sep 25, 2026. Two sessions: 6:30pm-7:30pm or 7:30pm-8:30pm.Learn how to roll with us! This summer, we’re offering weekly roller skate lessons for those who are looking to gain basic skills. Our expert instructors will help novice skaters build confidence on wheels and navigate our figure-eight trail.
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Shared Rhythms: Music at West Block
Gather at West Block for a joyful afternoon of live performances as musicians from Small World Music’s Incubator program create a shared listening space that celebrates community and cultural exchange. Set against Anahita Akhavan’s newly unveiled mural مجلس Majles / Sitting Room, the event invites neighbours to linger, listen, and connect.
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Art Socials
Tuesdays from Jun 2 to Aug 25, 2026.Trade your usual night out for an evening of creative experimentation and social connection! Our weekly beginner-friendly Art Socials invite you to try hands-on creative techniques like miniatures, screen printing, and watercolour in a relaxed, social setting. Come solo or with friends, and leave with something you made yourself!
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Textiles: Bag Charms
Join the World Cup fever and make a leather tassel bag charm to represent your your favourite team in this workshop. No matter what country you’re rooting for, we’ve got you covered. Wear them to the stadium, put them on your bag, or rub them for good luck while you watch from home.
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Partner EventDoors Open Public Talk: Claiming Public Space – the festivals that sustain us
Bringing together cultural leaders and festival organizers, this talk will reflect on what it takes to bring these celebrations to life. Festivals transform Toronto’s public spaces into a world stage for culture, creativity and community. This talk, in partnership with Doors Open, explores how streets, parks, parking lots and other shared spaces become vibrant public…
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Gardiner Gateways
On view as of May 21, 2026New lighting at Dan Leckie Way and Bathurst Street brightens key crossings, improves walkability, and illuminates a pedestrian-friendly future under the Gardiner.
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مجلس Majles / Sitting Room
toRooted in archival Persian rug work, the inaugural Step-Up Series commission transforms the West Block staircases and courtyard into a vivid cultural tapestry, one that threads migration, memory, and everyday connection through the local architecture to welcome gathering and mark shared urban space.
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A Persistent Crossing
May 9, 2026 to Spring 2027Bentway Staging Grounds hosts the final chapter of its immersive installations, where human silhouettes, native vegetation, and Ontario pollinators invite visitors to reflect on their place within the city. The work blurs boundaries between people, place, and the natural world, revealing the interconnected rhythms of built and living environments.
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Opening – Artist Talk and Neighbourhood Walk
Guided by the exhibiting artists, this tour visits two new artworks shaped by CityPlace’s layered histories and rhythms. Experience the inaugural Step-Up Series mural which threads vivid colour and narrative into the architecture of West Block, and celebrate Staging Ground’s final chapter, evoking our place in a collective urban ecology.
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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.
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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!
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Winter Skating, Extended to March 8!
toWe 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!
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Family Day
The Bentway Skate Trail is open 12pm-9pm on Monday, February 16 for the final day of skating!
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Partner EventSkate with Ausma
Join Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik at skating rinks across the ward to embrace winter fun and meet your neighbours!
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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.
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Billy Bishop Free Rental Thursdays: February 12
Enjoy free skate rentals at The Bentway skate trail every Thursday evening from January 8 – February 12, thanks to the generous support of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
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Billy Bishop Free Rental Thursdays: February 5
Enjoy free skate rentals at The Bentway skate trail every Thursday evening from January 8 – February 12, thanks to the generous support of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
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Billy Bishop Free Rental Thursdays: January 29
Enjoy free skate rentals at The Bentway skate trail every Thursday evening from January 8 – February 12, thanks to the generous support of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
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Billy Bishop Free Rental Thursdays: January 22
Enjoy free skate rentals at The Bentway skate trail every Thursday evening from January 8 – February 12, thanks to the generous support of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
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Partner EventSkate with Chris
Join MPP Chris Glover on the PA day, Friday, January 16, 2026, 12-2 pm for his annual Skate with Chris!
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Billy Bishop Free Rental Thursdays: January 15
Enjoy free skate rentals at The Bentway skate trail every Thursday evening from January 8 – February 12, thanks to the generous support of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
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Billy Bishop Free Rental Thursdays: January 8
Enjoy free skate rentals at The Bentway skate trail every Thursday evening from January 8 – February 12, thanks to the generous support of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
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Billy Bishop Free Rental Thursdays
January 8, 15, 22, 29, February 5, 12Enjoy free skate rentals at The Bentway skate trail every Thursday evening from January 8 – February 12, thanks to the generous support of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
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Skate Sharpening
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays from from 5:15pm – 7:45pmHit the ice in style, sharpen those skates so you can sharpen those skills! Starting January 5, we will be offering bookings for skate sharpening.
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Polar Bear Skate (2025)
The Bentway’s boldest winter ritual returns on December 28 with the cheeky Polar Bear Skate! Brave Torontonians are invited to strip down to their skivvies and take a fearless lap around trail to bid farewell to 2025.
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Winter Skating Opening Weekend presented by Batiste Dry Shampoo & Hero Patches
toJoin the celebration and take your first glide of the season under the Gardiner! Enjoy a cozy skate-and-sip featuring free skate rentals, hot drinks, maple taffy, and photo moments courtesy of Batiste Dry Shampoo and Hero Patches!
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Winter Skating (2025)
toWe’re delighted to welcome neighbours and visitors back for another magical season of ice skating under the city lights. Lace up your skates and glide into the holidays with us! Be sure to check our Holiday and New Year hours before you visit.
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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”.
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Petal and Stone
October 2025 through to 2027A 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.
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Howl’oween (2025)
It’s the ulti-mutt fall celebration: Howl’oween at The Bentway, presented with Ren’s Pets! Gather the family, two-legged and four, for our spook-tacular costume contest. Enjoy prizes, music, local vendors, and cozy fall treats on this festive afternoon full of laughter, wagging tails, and Halloween fun for pups and their people!
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SOLAR
toA 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.
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Documentary Screening: A Lake Story
toAfter 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.
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A Lake Story
Sep 27 & 28, 2025. Procession at 11am & 4pmA 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,…
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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!
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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!
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Sun/Shade Curators’ Tour: August 21
Go behind the scenes of our Sun/Shade outdoor art exhibition by joining a curators’ tour with The Bentway’s Programming team. Learn about the inspiration behind the season, the creation of each artwork, and how they fit together. Sun/Shade explores new ways of collaborating with the sun, as well as the importance of shade, in our…
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Nibwaakaawin: The Balance of Warmth and Coolness
Friday, July 25, 6:00pm-10:00pm; Saturday, July 26, 1:00pm-4:00pmJoin artist Natalie King to explore heat-reactive art-making techniques inspired by LeuWebb Projects’ installation Seeing Celsius – thermal-imaging viewfinders that reveal changing temperatures across the Bentway’s site. Led by interdisciplinary artist Natalie King, this workshop invites participants to co-create a collaborative painting using thermochromic (heat-reactive) materials. Rooted in the Anishinaabemowin concept Nibwaakaawin (wisdom/balance), the…
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Cool Spots: Remapping a Hotter Toronto
Public submissions collected July to September, 2025Discover 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.
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Moving Forest @ The Bentway Skate Trail
toSee 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.
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Canopy Connections: Unity Fest
Join us for this free event in the Moving Forest: Canopy Connections series! Moving Forest sets a unique stage for Canada’s own Hip-Hop festival with an all-day line-up of dance battles, live hip-hop performances, a local food vendor marketplace and networking events and vibes for all ages. Learn more. City dwellers have long appreciated trees for…
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Sun/Shade Curators’ Tours: July 17
Go behind the scenes of our Sun/Shade outdoor art exhibition by joining a curators’ tour with The Bentway’s Programming team. Learn about the inspiration behind the season, the creation of each artwork, and how they fit together. Sun/Shade explores new ways of collaborating with the sun, as well as the importance of shade, in our…
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Canopy Connections: Dancing in the Square
Join us for this free event in the Moving Forest: Canopy Connections series! Learn new dance moves and strut your stuff to a live band by the water’s edge and a special edition amongst Moving Forest! From salsa to swing, soca to samba, grab a friend and join us for a fun-filled evening of social…
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Moving Forest @ Harbourfront Centre
toSee you at the Harbourfront Centre, July 14 to July 20! A flock of 50 trees in shopping carts travels throughout the city, stopping to create a refreshing shade canopy in usually-sunny spaces.
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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.
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Moving Forest @ Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre
toSee you at the Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre, July 7 to July 11! A flock of 50 trees in shopping carts travels throughout the city, stopping to create a refreshing shade canopy in usually-sunny spaces.
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Canopy Connections: Community Pop Ups with Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre
toJoin us for this free event in the Moving Forest: Canopy Connections series! Join Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre community members for a vibrant afternoon of activities amongst the tree canopy and gardens, including a scavenger hunt, fitness demonstrations, and steel pans performances. Let’s surround Moving Forest with love and care from our dedicated community and foster…
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
plan your play walk
Locations
Installations
- Dream Street by The Street Society
- Walk Walk Dance by Daily tous les jours
- Big Red by Assemble
- Double Dribble by Esmaa Mohamoud
- Nil:Nil by Studio F Minus
- Play Public by Thomas Mailaender & Erik Kessels
- Jax by Pierre Poussin
- Midsummer Mix Vol.1 by Nelson Wu & biosphere
Tiny Games
9. Find Jimmy! by Kris Piotrowski
10. Before They’re Gone by Droqen
11. A Serpent Slumbers by Allison Cole
12. Dance Anatomy by Alicia Payne
13. The Garrison and the Gardiner by Kaelan Doyle Myerscough
14. Secret Landscape by Diana Andrea Guzmán Valencia
Bike Shares
Twelve locations throughout the Play Path and neighbouring spaces.
Landmarks
15. The Bentway
16. Fort York National Historic Site
17. Garrison Crossing
18. The Bentway Studio & Canoe Landing Community Recreation Centre
19. Canoe Landing Park
20. Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre
supporters
Playing in Public is presented in partnership with the City of Toronto & Waterfront BIA
Special thanks to The Bentway’s local neighbours, artists, play partners, and: Fort York National Historic Site, TAS, Concord Place, Craft PR, Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, Cossette.
Supporters include Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, the Government of Ontario, Ontario arts Council, Balsam Foundation, Fondation de France, Park People, TD, Hal Jackman Foundation, The McLean Foundation, Partners in Art, Smirmoff Berry Blast, Consulat Général de France à Toronto, The Michael Young Family Foundation, RBC Foundation, Cityplace FortYork, Waterfront Toronto, ArtworxTO.
Playing in Public is presented as part of ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021-22.