The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) begins Thursday, marking its 51st anniversary this year with expanded venues and new industry and fan experiences.

Toronto temperatures will be near seasonal, and it will be mostly dry and sunny for film festival goers and those enjoying the many events and happenings across the city.

Toronto International Film Festival

The festival of festivals begins Thursday and will screen 293 official selections during the 11 day event.

New this year is “TIFF: The Market,” billed as a “dynamic marketplace [that] brings together professionals from across film, series, and innovation to buy, sell, finance, pitch, and discover great content.”

Along with screenings, The Market will include exhibition spaces, networking events, talks with industry leaders and creative development labs, along with other programming aimed to help filmmakers “foster strong alliances, unlock resources, and get inspired by extraordinary storytelling.”

Festival Street will return this year on King Street between Spadina and University avenues, featuring free screenings, a food market, live DJ sets and a number of different interactive activations. This year the street will also host an art market in partnership with Toronto Film School featuring 10 of the city’s community film festivals and arts organizations.

During opening weekend, Rogers Communications, the presenting partner of TIFF, will roll out the Rogers Red Carpet in Yorkville and transform the area into a “premium red carpet destination for fans to immerse themselves in the energy, culture and magic of cinema.” It will include free outdoor screenings and live music performances. Click here for more about the special event, screenings and performances.

Rogers is the parent company of this websites and its affiliates.

2026 Cabbagetown Festival

The annual Cabbagetown Festival is back for its 47th year this weekend, celebrating the community’s history and diversity.

It features more than 250 vendors ranging from food trucks to artisan shops, plus interactive installations and live entertainment across four stages.

It will take over Parliament Street — from Gerrard Street to Wellesley Street and Carlton Street — from Parliament Street to Ontario Street.

The festival is free and runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 12 and 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Sept. 13.

TMU Pwaaganigaawin (Pow Wow)

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is hosting a Pow Wow on Sept. 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The event will feature various styles of dancing as well as drumming and singing, as well as Indigenous food vendors and arts and crafts vendors.

The free event will be held on the TMU campus at Kerr Hall Quad and does not require registration, but dancers wishing to participate must register on site.

All are welcome to attend.

Click here for the day’s schedule and more details.

Cypher Playground Festival

Cypher Playground Festival is a four-day festival centred around street dance culture in Toronto.

It will feature screenings of films and documentaries about influential Toronto dancers, panel discussions, workshops and dance battles.

The festival aims to honour the city’s dance history and “connect the past with the present eras, presenting the voices and movements that have defined Toronto’s street dance scene” through parties, conversations, and community events.

It runs from Sept. 10 to Sept. 13 at Ada Slaight Hall.

Click here for tickets and a full schedule.

Walk for Suicide Awareness 2026

September is Suicide Awareness Month and The Distress Centres of Greater Toronto (DCGT) are hosting a walk “to honour those lost, challenge the stigma around suicide and fund life-saving support services.”

The walk begins at Sunnyside Pavillion on Sept. 13 at 9 a.m. and will following a scenic 4.5 kilometre path along Lake Ontario.

Those participating are encouraged to donate or fundraise for the event, with proceeds going to DCGT’s free services that include crisis intervention, suicide support and survivor support services.

Click here for more information and to buy tickets.

TTC/GO changes and closures

GO changes/closures

There are service adjustments on the Barrie and Kitchener GO train lines as well as on the UP Express due to planned construction work.

Barrie Line: On Sept. 12 and 13 there will be no GO Transit service between Downsview Park GO and Union Station. GO trains will run between Allandale Waterfront and Downsview Park GO.

Kitchener Line: On Sept. 12 and 13 there will be no GO train service between Stratford or Kitchener to Mount Pleasant and between Mount Dennis and Union Station. GO trains will run between Mount Pleasant and Mount Dennis GO. There will also be no GO Transit service between Bloor GO and Union Station. There will be select GO buses running between Stratford or Kitchener GO and Hwy. 407 Bus Terminal. Click here for bus routes.

UP Express: On Sept. 12 and 13, UP Express trains will be replaced by GO buses. There will be no UP Express service at Bloor, Mount Dennis and Weston stations.  

TTC changes/closures

Taste of Kingsway: From 11 a.m. on Sept. 11 to 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 13, the 149 Etobicoke-Bloor bus and the 300 Bloor-Danforth bus will divert both ways on Islington Avenue, Dundas Street West and Prince Edward Drive North. The stops not being served are Bloor Street West between Islington Avenue and Prince Edward Drive North.

Toronto International Film Festival: Streetcar routes will be diverting to accommodate TIFF festivities on King Street between Spadina and University avenues from 5 a.m. on Sept. 10, until 5 a.m. on Sept. 14, and again on Sept. 14, and Sept. 15, from 3 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.

During these times, the 504A/304 King and 508 Lake Shore streetcars will divert as follows:

  • Eastbound from King St. W. north on Spadina Ave., east on Queen St. W., south on York St., east on Adelaide St., south on Church St., then resume regular routing eastbound on King St. E.
  • Westbound from King St. W. north on Church St., west on Richmond St., north on York St., west on Queen St. W., south on Spadina Ave., then back to regular routing on King St. W.
  • 504B King streetcars will not operate west of York Street. Streetcars will divert south on Church St., west on Wellington St., and north on York St., before turning back east to Broadview Station along King St. W.

Streetcars will also not serve stops on King between Spadina and York Street.

The TTC also says riders may experience delays during certain times from Sept. 16 to Sept. 19, due to red carpet events.

Weekend road closures

Toronto International Film Festival

TIFF’s Festival Street will run from Sept. 10 to Sept. 15, closing down a section of King Street between Spadina and University Avenues.

The closure began at 5 a.m. on Thursday and lasts until 5 a.m. on Sept. 14. The same stretch will also be closed on Sept. 14 and Sept. 15 from 3 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.

The Rogers Red Carpet event will run from Sept. 10 to Sept. 13 and close off a section of Yorkville Avenue from Bellair Street to Hazleton Avenue. The closure began at 6 a.m. on Sept. 8 and will last until 6 a.m. on Sept. 14.

2026 Cabbagetown Festival

The 2026 Cabbagetown Festival will run on Sept. 12 and 13. Parliament Street will be closed from Gerrard to Wellesley streets and Carlton Street will be closed from Parliament to Sherbourne streets from 6 a.m. on Sept. 12 to 11 p.m. on Sept. 13.

TTC Track Work – Yonge and College Street Intersection and Carlton/College Streets 

As part of ongoing work to replace a sewer and TTC tracks, College Street will be reduced to one eastbound lane from Bay Street to Yonge Street until December 2026. No westbound travel or left turns will be permitted.   

Ongoing road closures

Gardiner Expressway long-term closure

As part of the long-term construction plan on the Gardiner Expressway, a stretch of the westbound Gardiner has been reduced from four lanes to three. The westbound lane closure will stretch from Park Lawn Road to Grand Avenue in southern Etobicoke. The eastbound lanes along the same stretch will be narrowed, but with no lane reductions, from April 2025 to December 2026.

For full traffic and closure updates, click here for the latest information from 680 NewsRadio Toronto.

With files from Patricia D’Cunha and Meredith Bond