Doesn’t August feel like the Sunday of summer?
While the sun has been beating down on us for a good amount of time, we can still stretch this summer out as long as possible with endless plans full of love and sunshine. Seriously, the festivals, events, and date ideas happening this month are truly endless.
Explore some new exciting dates coming to Ontario this month, and the return of some old favourites.
We have rounded up all the best date ideas happening in August for you to keep handy, just scroll down!
Ongoing Summer Date Ideas
TD Union Summer
Every day until August 28th, Front St. along the North of Union Station
Union Station’s signature summer event is the best seat in the city, and best date idea before commuting home, or if you feel like hanging out downtown! Enjoy delicious food and cool drinks from their lineup of food vendors including Souvla by Mamakas, Gus Tacos, Mikey’s Smashburgers, and Naansense by Butter Chicken Roti.
They’re fully licensed and offer a selection of beverages from Truly. They also have free daily live programming featuring films, music and great performances, right in the heart of the city.
Canadian National Exhibition (CNE, The Ex, The “Unofficial End of Summer”, etc.)
August 19th – September 5th, Exhibition Place 210 Princes’ Blvd
Finally, a beloved and severely missed summer date idea is back. Toronto’s favourite end-of-summer sair returns to deliver its signature blend of new and nostalgic. Welcome back 18 fun-filled days of all-new features and old favourites.
New experiences include the nightly Drone Show, created for The EX featuring 100 drones that will light up the night with precise formations and colourful images, a new multimedia show NEVAEH & The NorthStar presented by VinFast, special events including a Mardi Gras Food Truck Festival (Aug. 20 – 23, evenings), Food Truck Frenzy & Craft Beer Fest (Aug. 25 – 28), and new Celtic Food Truck Festival (Sept. 1 – 5) celebrating Celtic heritage, music and food.
There’s even a new 34ft tall Double-Decker Merry-Go-Round at the midway and tons of wacky and fun foods that you’d be brave to try.
Purchase tickets before August 18th and get them for $20, after that General Admission goes up to $25.
Kensington Pedestrian Sundays Street Party
August 28th, last Sunday of the month until October
Every Sunday throughout the summer, the streets of Kensington Market come alive and are totally open to pedestrians! Celebrate the season and the community all throughout the market.
Foodie Festivals & Date Ideas
Vegandale Toronto
August 6th, Historic Fort York & Garrison Common
Calling all food lovers and vegans! Toronto’s annual celebration of food, music, arts, and culture is making a comeback this summer. You can expect the very best in vegan comfort food, craft brews, wine and spirits from their vendor line-up.
Tickets range from $10-$15 for general admission, or $30-$40 for a pack of 4.
Smorgasburg Toronto
August 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th, 7 Queen’s Quay East
Smorgasburg has taken the hearts of every city it’s been in – famous in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami it has now touched down in Toronto for eight Saturdays this summer! Expect over 50 food vendors from local Toronto neighbourhoods serving up such a wide variety of food.
Summerlicious Toronto
August 12th – 18th, Various restaurants around the city
One of Toronto’s most popular restaurant festivals is back this summer and we’ve been waiting for the restaurant line-up! This is the perfect way to explore new restaurants that you haven’t before, or check out the menus of your old favourites.
This year’s Summerlicious is all about supporting the “recovery and revival of Toronto’s restaurant scene.”
Latin Food Festival by Nightmarket TO
August 12th – 14th, Square One P3 Parking Lot
Nightmarket TO is bringing Mississauga another amazing food truck festival, and this time it’s all about the Latin and Latin-inspired eats. It’s completely free to attend and will be full of food, drinks, entertainment and live performances!
Waterfront Night Market
August 12th – 14th, Ontario Place West Island
Get your stomach ready for this pan-Asian Food & Craft Beer Festival coming to Toronto this month. There will be a huge variety (over 100!) of pan-Asian food vendors as well as a beer garden overlooking the water.
Tickets are $20 for Friday and $30 for Saturday.
Steamwhistle’s Roundhouse Summer Craft Beer Festival
August 13th, Roundhouse Park
Ready for another beer fest? Hosted by Steamwhistle Brewing, beer lovers will get together to celebrate summer and sample Ontario’s finest craft beer, ciders, and hard seltzers. There will be:
- 40 Craft Brewers, Cider Makers and Hard Seltzers
- Local Food Vendors
- Outdoor Dance Party with DJ Matt Weed
- Live Entertainment
Tickets are $40+tax and tokens are $1 each.
Canada’s Wonderland Food Festivals
Weekends in August, Canada’s Wonderland
Get international and sample foods from these countries all within the Wonderland grounds. These family-friendly festivals will also feature live performances, street entertainment, activities for everyone to enjoy!
- Taste of Portugal, August 13th & 14th featuring Atlantic-European cuisine like succulent roast chicken and the sweet, rich and perfectly crisp Portuguese custard tarts.
- Taste of Ireland, August 20th & 21st featuring Guinness BBQ Pork Ribs, Irish Shepard’s Pie, Irish Whiskey Glazed Beef Skewers, and desserts like Chocolate Guinness Cake or Butterscotch Apple Cake.
- Taste of the Caribbean, August 27th & 28th featuring summer drinks, jerk chicken, seafood dishes, rum cake and coconut desserts.
These festivals are included with park admission.
The Rosé Picnic
August 20th, Downsview Park
This pink and white wine party is back at a new location! Downsview Park will be transformed into a rosé-lovers paradise on August 20th.
Join over 20,000 of Toronto’s finest gathered in a sea of pink and white to drink, dance and be merry. With incredible rosé wine selections, unique food, beauty, lifestyle and travel vendors – this is one event you need on your summer list.
General Admission tickets are $49.10 and flower crowns can be purchased online as well for $37.11.
Toronto Chinatown Festival
August 20th – 21st, West of Spadina Ave between St. Andrew & Sullivan St.
This will be the 20th annual Toronto Chinatown Festival featuring food, vendors for shopping, and many cultural dance performances throughout Toronto’s Chinatown.
This year’s theme will be the “Eight Immortals” (八仙), taking after the popular Chinese mythology. In Chinese mythology, the Eight Immortals are believed to know the secrets of nature.
Experience Dragon Dance & Lion Dance, Kung Fu performances, The Eight Immortals parade, a mix of traditional and modern Asian dance groups, bands, musicians, plus arts and culture booths around Harold Square.
Japan Festival Canada
August 20th – 21st, Mississauga’s Celebration Square
After holding the Festival virtually in 2020 and 2021, Japan Festival CANADA 2022 is returning live and in-person for food, tradition and modern performances, Pop Culture stage performances, and more activations!
Toronto Cider Festival
August 26th – 27th, Toronto’s Inukshuk Park
If you’re like us and have been waiting for the Cider Festival of the summer to return, you’re in luck! The beloved Toronto Cider Festival is back this summer with a two-day event.
Choose your session, upgrade to the VIP Experience, or go all out for your date with a luxury overnight VIP+ Hotel Package Experience at Hotel X Toronto!
Tickets are $57.49 ($97.04 for VIP Experiences) after the below discount and include admission, a commemorative sample mug, and 4 tokens to use for samples.
Misc. Outdoor Date Ideas
Movies Under The Stars
August 9th and 22nd, Lakeside at Downsview Park
Movies Under the Stars returns to Downsview Park this year for their sixth annual summer. There’s just two more movies left in their summer line-up that include:
Tuesday August 9th – Encanto at 8:45pm
Monday August 22nd – Spiderman: No Way Home at 8:30pm
The Bentway Block Party
August 14th from noon to 10pm, Under-the-Gardiner at 250 Fort York Blvd
The Bentway Block Party is back this year after a VERY long hiatus and Toronto is hyped! It’s going to be bigger and better than ever before with some serious star power hitting the stage for this day-long party including Canada’s Drag Race winner Priyanka, and the super funky psychedelic disco duo The Illustrious Blacks.
There’s also a daytime entertainment schedule of DJ sets by Valeroo, Ace Dillinger, and John Caffery, a family-friendly Street Fashion Workshop led by acclaimed Toronto designer Meesh and co-presented with Fashion Art Toronto, performances from some of the world’s leading Sign Spinners, and more!
The Lights Festival
August 20th, Johnson Farm at 3721 4th Line, Ohsweken, ON (south of Hamilton)
Have you seen photos of The Lights Festival brightening up the night sky around the world? This is where people of all backgrounds and beliefs can come together to have an uplifting, positive, and unforgettable experience!
Some participants use the lantern release as a way to honour lost loved ones. Some will write on their lanterns a list of their hopes and dreams for the future, while others will use it as a way of letting-go of things from their past, or start a new future.
Tickets to Ontario’s event are now on sale for $55, $16 for kids.
163rd Annual Queen’s Plate
August 21st, Woodbine Racetrack
One of Canada’s “most prestigious events” is coming back this August, have you ever been? This historic tradition will celebrate its 163rd edition and spectators can enjoy the races, entertainment, and sumptuous dining packages.
Shows & Theatre
My Mulan
August 12th and 13th, Chinese Cultural Centre Of Greater Toronto
Watch the story of Mulan in a brand new way for date night! My Mulan follows the story of this iconic Chinese heroine across time in a blend of music, dance, theatre, and martial arts. The fantasy dance drama features incredibly talented Canadian, American, and Chinese dance artists.
Tickets are $58.69 and you can get 5% OFF tickets when you use code Datenightyyz!
Music Festivals
Boots & Hearts
August 5th – 7th, Burl’s Creek Event Grounds
Boots and Hearts Music Festival is making its return to Ontario with an amazing line-up of performers including Shania Twain, Florida Georgia Line and Jake Owen this summer – with so many other guests! Just 15 minutes north of Barrie, this is the perfect weekend spot, or day-concert if you love country music.
Weekend day-passes are $376.74 and single-day passes are $110 (Thursday), $175.38 (Friday), $186.68 (Saturday), $209.28 (Sunday).
Electric Island
August 6th, Ontario Place West Island
Toronto’s favourite concert and picnic series, Electric Island, is taking place this month and continues to push boundaries when curating an eclectic lineup across three stages, by combining the best international house and techno artists, along with Canada’s top electronic music talent.
This August 6th brings a new line-up of artists to the Waterfall Stage, Hilltop Stage, and Sunset Pavillion.
This isn’t the last event from the Electric Island Summer Series, the Season Finale is coming September 3 & 4th!
Kultureland
August 6th – 7th, Markham Fairgrounds
Kultureland is an Afro-fusion, Latin Urbano, Dancehall and R&B music festival happening this year just outside of Toronto with headliners Jhene Aiko and Burna Boy!
Kultureland melds the sounds and cultures that produce some of the best artists from around the world and offers music fans a two-day festival experience unlike any other in the city.
Concerts
- Swedish House Mafia, August 5th at the Scotiabank Arena
- DaBaby, August 6th, Cabana Pool Bar
- Lady Gaga, August 7th at the Rogers Centre
- The Kid LAROI, August 7th & 8th at HISTORY
- Santana + Earth, Wind & Fire, August 7th at Budweiser Stage
- Kendrick Lamar, August 12th & 13th at the Scotiabank Arena
- Pitbull, August 13th at Budweiser Stage
- Alicia Keys, August 14th at Budweiser stage
- Harry Styles, August 15 at the Scotiabank Arena
- Lauv ft. Hayley Kiyoko, August 15th at Echo Beach
- Leon Bridges, August 20th at the Scotiabank Arena
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, August 21st at the Rogers Centre
- Imagine Dragons, August 22nd at the Scotiabank Arena
- Kehlani, August 24th at the Budweiser Stage
- Twenty One Pilots, August 27th at the Scotiabank Arena
