what’s on

Check out our ongoing and upcoming events and series.

events calendar

September 2025

S
M
T
W
T
F
S
01Mon
02Tue
03Wed
04Thu
05Fri
06Sat
07Sun
08Mon
09Tue
10Wed
11Thu
12Fri
13Sat
14Sun
15Mon
16Tue
17Wed
18Thu
19Fri
20Sat
21Sun
22Mon
23Tue
24Wed
25Thu
26Fri
27Sat
28Sun
29Mon
30Tue
September 2025
Roller Skate Lessons: September 5
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. 
Group of people participating in roller skating lessons on The Bentway Skate Trail
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!
Dino Run: September
If your kids like dinosaurs, they’ll love Dino Runs! This fun-filled morning starts with costumed Dino Specialists teaching participants about dinosaurs through song, dance, storytelling, and games. Then, the kids will set out as Dino Explorers on an exciting, non-competitive chase to recapture runaway dinosaurs. These fun and educational events sold out in 2024!
Crowd of kids running at one of The Bentway's Dino Runs, led by two people in inflatable dinosaur costumes.
Roller Skate Party: September
The Melanin Skate Crew is a trio of talented people with one shared goal: to spread love and joy through roller skating. In skate culture, crews are formed to showcase choreographed tricks and move together on the rink, similar to your favourite pop bands and dance groups growing up!

to

A Lake Story
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.
A fleet of 100 canoes carrying colourful silk paintings soars along Lake Ontario in front of the Toronto skyline

on view / ongoing

  • Roller Skating with SUSO Skate Co.

    Roller Skating with SUSO Skate Co.

    June 11 – September 28, 2025. Wednesday-Friday: 4pm-8pm, Saturday-Sunday: 1pm-7pm, Roller Skate Parties: 6pm-10pm

    Our friends at SUSO Skate Co. are back this summer, making The Bentway Skate Trail the best place to rock and roll! Book your skate rental and time slot ahead of time on the SUSO website, then come on down for good vibes and memorable moments. Whether you’re trying roller skating for the first time…

    ,
  • la sombra que te cobija / the shadow that shelters you

    la sombra que te cobija / the shadow that shelters you

    to

    A geometric pavilion invites you to cross under the Gardiner, casting both a cooling effect and ornate shadow patterns. Edra Soto’s installation references the shade-making façades of working-class Puerto Rican bungalows to create an expansive, sun-filtering threshold, reflecting on the intersection of heat-responsive architecture, place-making, and cultural heritage. 

    , ,
  • Declaration of the Understory

    Declaration of the Understory

    May 23, 2025 to Spring 2026

    Secwépemc artist Tania Willard approaches the space below the highway as a tree canopy, reminiscent of the “understory” floor of southern Ontario forests, where pockets of shade and sunlight shape unique ecosystems below. In a stunning mixed-media installation, floral motifs, iridescence, and powerful slogans offer a mediation on the power of shade as a lifeforce.

    , , ,
  • Bathed in Strange Light

    Bathed in Strange Light

    May 23, 2025 to Spring 2026

    Working in collaboration with the sun’s rhythms, Natalie Hunter’s photographs on the windows of The Bentway Studio (facing Canoe Landing Park) explore how ever-shifting sunlight shapes our experience of public spaces. As the sun moves throughout the day, translucent images cast down a colorful, slow-moving cinema.

    , ,
  • Seeing Celsius

    Seeing Celsius

    to

    What happens when we can see heat? By adding thermal-imaging technology to the familiar viewfinder found at scenic lookout points, LeuWebb Projects enables you to see the temperature differences across The Bentway space and the bodies that move through it. It’s a new perspective that will shift how you view urban spaces and the materials…

    , ,
  • Cool Spots: Remapping a Hotter Toronto

    Cool Spots: Remapping a Hotter Toronto

    Submit your Cool Spot now until September!

    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.

    ,
  • Waterfront ReConnect: Boom Town

    Waterfront ReConnect: Boom Town

    On view now

    Boom Town employs vibrant colour, playful characters, and environmental lighting to enliven the York Street intersection, improving safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists.

  • Waterfront ReConnect: Pixel Story

    Waterfront ReConnect: Pixel Story

    On view now

    Pixel Story references the multitude of vantages, scales, speeds, and distances at which to view the Expressway, enticing passersby to move forward towards the waterfront, or pause to reflect on its diverse stories.

  • Bentway Staging Grounds

    Bentway Staging Grounds

    On view now

    Bentway Staging Grounds is a site of active, environmental learning that continues The Bentway’s creative work along the Gardiner Expressway. Visitors are invited into a living laboratory for urban ecology, with experimental gardens that use rainwater run-off from the highway above to support the growth of flowering plant species.

  • Memory Work  

    Memory Work  

    On display May 1, 2022 onwards

    Situated at the western entrance to The Bentway, Memory Work is a mural made up of twelve embellished photographic portraits of revolutionary women and non-binary figures from a future Toronto. Initiated by studio From Later with artist Rajni Perera and Memory Work Collective, this speculative monument imagines a city characterized by collective care and politics…

    , ,