You’re Invited: Victoria Day Weekend Celebrations May 19 – 21, 2012

See spectacular fireworks celebrating Victoria Day:

  • “A brilliant fireworks display is produced by FX Work and is choreographed to a contemporary mix of music” at Canada’s Wonderland, as shown in this video:

Here are some FREE celebratory events for the upcoming Victoria Day Weekend in Ontario, Canada:

Colborne Lodge

Victoria Day Weekend Celebration

11 Colborne Lodge Drive
(just north of the Queensway)

Saturday, May 19 & Sunday, May 20 from 12 to 5 p.m.

Limited free parking
416-392-6916
clodge@toronto.ca

Free with General Admission Fees

  • Celebrate the 175th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne with a family scavenger hunt looking for the “Queen” throughout the Lodge
  • Enjoy a taste of Victoria Sandwich in the kitchen
  • This museum participates in the Cultural Access Pass program
    • The Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s Cultural Access Pass gives new citizens FREE admission for one year to more than 21 museums and galleries in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area)
    • Please click here for more information

Montgomery’s Inn

Inn-to the Garden at Montgomery’s Inn

4709 Dundas Street West at Islington Avenue
Free Parking
montinn@toronto.ca
416-394-8113

Monday, May 21, 2 to 3 p.m.

Admission is Pay-What-You-Can

  • A workshop series conducted by the Master Gardeners of Etobicoke.
  • Please call for more information.

Scarborough Museum

Community Memories

1007 Brimley Road, just north of Lawrence in Thomson Memorial Park
shm@toronto.ca
416-338-8807

May Weekends from 12 to 5 p.m.

Admission is Pay-What-You-Can

  • Everyone has a story. What’s yours?
  • Get the dish on the people of Scarborough, past and present, and come share your stories.
  • The Community Memories Kiosk is ready to record your fondest memories, your favorite hang-out and what you love about Scarborough!
  • Enjoy fun family activities every weekend in May!

Friends of Point Pelee National Park & Parks Canada

Present

Festival of Birds Program

Cost: Programs Included with Park Admission Fees

CONTACT

Friends of Point Pelee
Phone: 888-707-3533

Point Pelee National Park
Phone: 888-773-8888

  • Birding 101
    Saturday, May 19: 12:00 pm – 12:45 pm
    Lunch & Learn – Bilingual

    • Meet in the Visitor Centre Theatre – food welcome
    • New to birding – this is the program for you!
      • You’ll find out the basics of bird identification, key tools and secrets to successful birding at Point Pelee
    • No registration required
  • Wildflower Walk – Bilingual
    Saturday, May 19: 1:30 pm – 2:15 pm
    Sunday May 20: 1:30 pm – 2:15 pm

    • Meet at the Visitor Centre Festival tent to stroll with park staff on a trail and learn about the beautiful wildflowers that “Spring-up” in May
    • No registration required
  • Warbler ID
    Sunday May 20, 2012
    & Monday, May 21

    • 12:00 pm – 12:45 pm
    • Lunch & Learn – Bilingual
    • Meet in the Visitor Centre theatre – food welcome
    • Finding things a little confusing in the warbler capital of Canada?
      • This program will help unravel some of the mysteries of warbler identification
      • Learn key field marks, behaviours and bird song in this 45 minute presentation
    • No registration required
You're Invited: Victoria Day Weekend Celebrations May 19 - 21, 2012
You're Invited: Victoria Day Weekend Celebrations May 19 – 21, 2012

HarbourKIDS of Harbourfont Centre

Presents

The Toronto International Circus Festival

Co-produced with Zero Gravity Circus

FREE Admission

May 19-21

For this Victoria Day weekend, enjoy three “jam-packed days” of FREE circus fun, featuring:

  • unicyclists
  • fire-eaters
  • stilt walkers
  • “crazy clowns”
  • “awesome acrobats”
  • “dazzling daredevil” stunts
  • “hilarious hijinks”
  • “brazen chain saw jugglers
  • “genius balloon sculptors”
  • and so much more!

Please click here for the complete weekend event listing and schedule.

Visual Arts of Harbourfront Centre

Presents

Spring Visual Arts Exhibitions 2012

April 21-July 15, 2012

HOURS

Tue, Thu-Sun: Noon-6pm
Wed: Noon-8pm
Mondays: Closed except civic holidays

Everyone: FREE Admission

York Quay Centre

235 Queens Quay West

View Map

“Six must-see exhibitions explore the private and public events that comprise our country’s heritage. Through the disciplines of craft & design, photography and visual art, you’ll see Canada from an entirely different vantage point.”

Exhibitions include:

  • 1812 – 2012: A CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE
    Keesic Douglas
    Thea Haines
    Robert Hengeveld
    Mark Kasumovic
    Meryl McMaster

    •  Curated by Patrick Macaulay
    •  Produced in partnership with City of Toronto, Museum Services, as part of a citywide programme for the Bicentennial Commemoration of The War of 1812
  • IDEAS OF CANADA (PART 2)
    • DodoLab
    • This new installation is the second phase of Ideas of Canada programme, a Fresh Ground new works 2010 commission
  • JUBILEE
    Micah Adams
    Suzanne Carlsen
    Marianne Corless
    Jennifer Demke-Lange
    Department of Unusual Certainties
    Heyday Design (Claire Madill)
    April and Alexa Hickox
    Barbara Hobot
    Homegrown Skateboards (Jesse Watson)
    Meags Fritzgerald
    Jennifer Long
    Anna Lindsay MacDonald
    Sean McQuay
    Julie Moon
    Cole Swanson
    Andrea Vander Kooij

    • Curated by Melanie Egan and Patrick Macaulay
  • COASTAL
    Johan Hallberg-Campbell
  • BEACON
    Jennie Suddick
  • THIS WAY THAT WAY
    Stephanie Fortin
    Deborah Freeman
    Megan Katz
    Amanda McCavour

Please click here for more information on the above Visual Arts Exhibitions.

Live Webcams

  • See what’s happening at Harbourfront Centre via their online webcams.

SUNDAY SCENE / Laurie Kang

Everyone: FREE Admission

Sunday, May 20, 2012

2:00PM

The Power Plant

231 Queens Quay West

View Map

“Every Sunday, speakers from the world of art and beyond offer their responses to the current exhibitions at The Power Plant. Whether focusing on a single work/artist or on multiple exhibitions, guest presenters draw provocative connections between our programs and broader cultural and intellectual debates.”

Laurie Kang is currently an Animateur at The Power Plant.

Fireworks Monday May 21, 2012!!

Happy Victoria Day!

Ontario, Canada: Newsroom

NEWS RELEASE

Exciting Ways To Celebrate Victoria Day

May 12, 2012

McGuinty Government Invites Families To Get Out and Enjoy Ontario This Long Weekend

This Victoria Day long weekend, get out and enjoy some of the many great events and activities happening across Ontario.

This summer marks the Bicentennial of the War of 1812, and Victoria Day weekend is a great opportunity to experience some of the historic celebrations taking place across the province.

Historic Adventures and War of 1812 Bicentennial-related activities:

  • Fanshawe Pioneer Village, May 21 — Participate in Queen Victoria’s Birthday Celebrations — complete with nineteenth century games, historical speeches, and a vintage baseball game..
  • Upper Canada Village, May 20 — Hear renditions of historical patriotic speeches, see re-enacted  military manoeuvres, lace up for the 1860s athletic games, and help out with the Village’s hand-pumped fire engine.
  • Victoria Day at Fort York, Toronto, May 21 –Celebrate the birthday of the longest reigning monarch, Queen Victoria, in Toronto’s birthplace. Enjoy tours, kids’ drill and baking in the historic kitchen.

 Outdoor Fun:

  • Warblers and Whimbrels, Presqu’ile Provincial Park near Brighton, May 19-20 – Celebrate spring at this birding hot spot where you’ll have an opportunity to see many of the smaller birds such as warblers and the shorebirds like the Whimbrel.
  • Spring Wings Weekend, Darlington Provincial Park near Bowmanville, May 19-20 – Join staff on a short hike through the park to look for birds hiding along the trails singing their hearts out! A great stop along the spring migration highway.
  • Spring Thyme on the Farm, Bronte Creek Provincial Park in Oakville, May 21 – Drop by to see and participate in some spring activities typical of the 1890s Dr Drop by to see
  • Festival of Birds, Point Pelee, May 3-21 — Be part of the spring migration at Point Pelee National Park, and take part in guided activities and social gatherings.
  • Ottawa Orienteering Fest – Ottawa – May 19-21 — Take part in a variety of orienteering events over the long weekend. Events include: sprint, middle distance, long distance and relay courses.
  • 100 Birds for 100 Years, Nipigon, May 20-21 — In celebration of the Annual Dorion Bird Festival and Parks Canada’s 100th anniversary, Parks Canada staff will be hosting a  birding event to find 100 bird species in a 24-hour period by walking and biking.

Exhibitions and Shows:

  • Awesome Animals Weekend ROMkids, Royal Ontario Museum, May 19-21 — Incredible insects, magnificent mammals, and rockin’ reptiles are some of the cool creatures you’ll meet this weekend at the ROM.
  • The Toronto International Circus Festival, HarbourKIDS, Harbourfont Toronto, May 19-21 — Three jam-packed days of circus fun, featuring unicyclists, fire-eaters, stilt walkers, balloon sculptors, crazy clowns and so much more!

Fireworks:

  • Ottawa Victoria Day Festival, Queen Juliana Park, May 11-21 — A family event with something for everyone: midway rides, petting zoo, buskers, children’s activities, live musical performances and fireworks on May 21st to wrap up the festival.
  • Toronto Victoria Day Fireworks, Ashbridges Bay Park, May 21 — Join Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall for a traditional Victoria Day fireworks celebration over Lake Ontario.
  • Canada’s Wonderland, Vaughan, May 21 — Go out with a bang this Victoria Day with over 4000 explosions and custom fireworks designed just for Canada’s Wonderland, set to a soundtrack of your favourite hits.

With so much to see and do, families will have no trouble finding fun for the kids and the whole family right here in Ontario this long weekend.

QUOTES

“Victoria Day marks the unofficial start of summer and is an excellent opportunity for families to explore the many outdoor activities, historical events and exciting exhibits Ontario has to offer. As we prepare to celebrate the Bicentennial of the War of 1812, I encourage Ontarians to learn more about our legacy, a fun and affordable way to spend your long weekend while supporting local economies across the province.”

 – Michael Chan
Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport

“Most Ontario provincial parks are open now and provide a great setting to get together with family and friends to enjoy some peaceful, quiet time with nature’s beauty or take in one of the many recreational activities our parks offer this long weekend”

 – Michael Gravelle
Minister of Natural Resources

QUICK FACTS

  • Victoria Day is on May 21 this year.
  • Most Ontario Parks, day use areas and camping grounds open on Friday, May 18, 2012.
  • Over 330,000 people in Ontario are directly or indirectly employed by the tourism industry.
  • In 2010, tourism generated over $22 billion for Ontario’s economy, an increase of over 7 per cent over 2009.

CONTACT

Rob Foote
Minister’s Office
416-327-4365
rob.foote@ontario.ca

Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport
ontario.ca/mtcs

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