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If you’re on the hunt for some fun things to do this month that won’t break the bank you’re in luck!
Toronto has plenty of awesome events happening this October that are totally FREE, including Halloween festivals and activities, art exhibits, cultural events and so much more.
Get your calendars out, here are 25 free Toronto events you won’t want to miss this month.
International Coffee Day: The Drake
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What: In honour of International Coffee Day on Monday, October 1, The Drake will be serving free coffee-based beverages, which includes lattes and cappuccinos at all its cafe locations, which includes The Drake Mini Bar, The Drake Hotel and Drake Commissary.
When: October 1
Time: From open until noon
Where: All Drake cafes (Mini Bar, The Drake Hotel and Drake Commissary)
Price: Free
Witchfest North
What: Come out and celebrate Witchfest North, a Toronto festival celebrating women in the arts who identify as Witches, Wiccans, and Pagans but open for all to attend and participate.
When: October 1 to 31
Time: Times vary by day/event
Where: Various venues throughout the city
Price: Free to attend
Symposium: Spaces for Creative Development and Learning
What: Passionate about the arts in Toronto? This month you can participate in a discussion about making space for the arts, in the city at Pia Bouman School Studio.
When: October 1
Time: 6 pm to 9 pm
Where: 6 Noble Street
Price: Free to attend
Free pizza at Pi Co.
What: Neapolitan-style pizzeria, Pi Co. is celebrating its continued expansion across Toronto by offering pie enthusiasts to free piping hot Margherita pizza at its newly opened outpost located at 130 Spadina Avenue.
When: October 2
Time: 12 pm to 3:14 pm
Where: 130 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Price: FREE
World Press Photo Exhibit
What: Come and experience this incredible global exhibition presenting the best visual journalism of the past year. Here you’ll find the most compelling photos in stunning high-quality Canon prints.
When: October 2 to 23
Time: 9 am to 9 pm
Where: Brookfield Place, Allen Lambert Galleria, 181 Bay Street
Price: Admission into the exhibit is free
Hot Breath Karaoke
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What: London England’s legendary Hot Breath Karaoke is looking for contestants for its ridiculous game show style karaoke in Toronto this evening. Everyone who takes the stage gets to spin the wheel of fortune with the chance of winning a fabul-ish prize they never knew they wanted.
When: October 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30
Time: 9 pm to 2 am
Where: Handlebar, 159 Augusta Avenue
Price: Admission is free
Mark Anthony Portfolio Tasting
What: One of the premier wine purveyors in Ontario, Mark Anthony sells to Toronto’s favourite restaurants, boutiques, and retailers. The event is taste-to-buy and admission is free. There will be a blind tasting challenge with a $1,000 wine education scholarship prize. The event will feature over a dozen wines and spirits.
When: October 3
Time: 1 to 5 pm
Where: 340 Yonge Street, 3/F
Price: Admission is free
Free Mini Pie Giveaway
What: To celebrate the important role honey bees play in Canadian food production, Honey Bees Pie Shop and The Rolling Pin are serving up FREE mini pies in Toronto this month. On Thursday, October 4, hungry patrons will be able to pick up an apple, blueberry and, of course, pumpkin pie, from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm or while quantities last.
When: October 4
Time: 11:30 am to 2:30 pm
Where: 229 Richmond Street West
Price: FREE
14th Annual Art Walk
What: Over 50 businesses will feature the works of local artists. Works will be displayed in storefront windows and establishments along Yonge Street between Lawrence Avenue and Yonge Boulevard. The public will then be invited to vote for the “People’s Choice Award” for Best Merchant Display.
When: October 4 to 24
Time: Runs all day
Where: Along Yonge Street between Lawrence Avenue
Price: Free
Waterfront Artisan Market
What: Back for its third year, the Waterfront Artisan Market features 50 bakers, chefs, and artisans hawking summery street foods and locally-made products. The market runs every Saturday and Sunday.
When: October 6
Time: 11 am to 8 pm
Where: HTO Park, 339 Queens Quay West
Price: Admission is free
Evergreen Brickworks Saturday Market
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What: The Evergreen Brick Works’ Saturday Farmers’ Market is the largest farmers’ market in Toronto. Come and enjoy good food from local farmers, food producers, and chefs.
When: October 6, 13, 20, and 27
Time: 8 am to 1 pm
Where: Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview
Price: Admission is free
Toronto Flower Market
What: There will be 18 incredible vendor stalls on display to visit and admire, each selling an assortment of seasonal showstoppers including tulips, daffodils, gerbera, orchids, hyacinths, muscari, lilacs, and more. Plus there will also be an array of dahlia tubers, seedlings, garden planters, handmade pots and indoor plants also for sale.
When: October 6 and 20
Time: 10 am to 3 pm
Where: CAMH, 1001 Queen Street West
Price: Entry is free
The Bazaar of The Bizarre: Halloween Edition
What: This is definitely not your grandma’s craft show. Come and check out this marketplace showcasing a wide variety of independent artists, designers, and crafters selling all things, different, interesting, macabre, and out of this world.
When: October 7
Time: 11 am to 8 pm
Where: Pia Bouman Ballet School, 6 Noble Street
Price: Free admission
Free Lunch Time Yoga
What: Spend your lunch hour stretching, twisting, breathing and add some calm to your Tuesdays and Thursdays this month with this FREE yoga class.
When: October 9, 11, 15 and 22
Time: 12 pm to 1 pm
Where: Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front Street East
Price: Free to attend, register online
Vernacular Jazz Dance Classes
What: Vernacular Jazz is a collection of dances created in the African-American communities during the late 1800s through mid-1900s, to jazz and swing music. From the Charleston to the shimmy, to Snake Hips, to the Suzy Q, you’ll dance to some snazzy rhythms while learning the moves and grooves of original jazz dancing, and the tricks that bring this dance to life.
When: October 9, 15 and 22
Time: 6 pm to 7 pm
Where: Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front Street East
Price: Free to attend, register online
The Bunz Flea #8 Fall Edition
The Bunz Flea
What: Come and enjoy this very spooky edition of The Bunz Flea Market. This is still the same unique market featuring local artisans who will be accepting both trades and cash in exchange for their goods or services, PLUS a giant open trading area, but this time with a little bit of haunting in the air.
When: October 9
Time: 7 pm to 11 pm
Where: Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West
Price: Admission is free
Natural Wonders of Canada
What: Take a walk through 46 of Canada’s national parks in 16 minutes. Visit wild exotic places in every region of Canada, and enjoy the spectacular scenery in this short film projected on four large screens around the Metro Toronto Hall Rotunda.
When: October 11
Time: 12 pm to 8 pm (screenings every 30 minutes)
Where: Metro Hall Rotunda, 55 John Street
Price: Entry is free
WATERLICHT
What: This large-scale light installation illustrates the universal power and poetry of water and will have its Canadian premiere in Toronto this month. Waterlicht is a dream landscape created through the imaginative use of LEDs, special software, and lenses. Larger-than-life, cascading waves of blue light will soar underneath the Gardiner Expressway, simulating a virtual flood and calling attention to rising water levels along Toronto’s shoreline.
When: October 12 to 14
Time: 7 pm to 11 pm
Where: The Bentway, 250 Fort York Boulevard
Price: Free to attend
World Poutine Eating Championship
What: It’s almost time for one of the largest poutine eating competitions in the country. Sanctioned by Major League Eating (MLE), the World Poutine Eating Competition (WPEC) will feature three gravy-fueled eating contests. There will also be live music, free poutine, free samples of Tennent’s Lager and Magners Irish Cider, Monster Energy’s Get Gronked Nerf Football Activation and sampling, and mini gaming tournaments from Activision.
When: October 13
Time: 10 am to 4 pm
Where: Yonge-Dundas Square, 1 Dundas Street East, Toronto
Price: Free to attend
Midtown Country Fair
What: Toronto is getting a Country Fair this month. Besides yelling ‘yeehaw’ once in a while, the Country Fair will include a corn maze, mechanical bull riding, games/activities for all ages, musical entertainment, food vendors, contests and more.
When: October 13
Time: 1 pm to 6 pm
Where: Parking lot just north of Yonge and Davisville
Price: Free to attend
Canadian Pizza Summit
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What: This is the only trade show in Canada dedicated to everyone’s favourite art form: pizza making. Whether someone is a pizzeria owner or employee, or are looking to get into the industry, this show is perfect for all kinds of people. (Or for anyone who just really likes pizza). See over 12 exhibitions specializing in the pizza industry, keynote speakers on topics such as millennial attitudes, and educational seminars.
When: October 15
Time: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Where: 672 Dupont Street
Price: Admission is free
In Conversation with Anthony Rose: The Last Schmaltz
What: Brought to you by the Toronto Reference Library, Anthony Rose, also known as “Toronto king of comfort food,” the “Don of Dupont,” and the “Sultan of Smoked Meat,” will discuss his first cookbook: the Last Schmaltz. Relax in an evening filled with amazing food writing and one of Toronto’s leading culinary figures.
When: October 17
Time: 7 to 8 pm
Where: Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street
Price: Admission is free
Night of Dread 2018
What: At this much loved, family-friendly, community event, Torontonians are invited to call on, mock and banish their private and collective fears through parade and pageantry, music and masquerade, dance and a devilishly good party.
When: October 27
Time: 4 pm to 10 pm
Where: Dufferin Grove Park, 875 Dufferin Street
Price: Entry is free
Kensington Market Pedestrian Sunday
What: The 15th season of Pedestrian Sundays brings back one awesome way to spend your Sundays this month. Performers, musicians, artists, and shopping, basically an awesome Sunday Funday. This marks the final Pedestrian Sunday of the year, so it’s an event you won’t want to miss.
When: October 28
Time: 12 pm to 7 pm
Where: Kensington Market
Price: Free to attend
Halloween on Church
What: This Halloween, Church Street will turn into the largest outdoor Halloween party. Each year, thousands of people put on the most creative and outrageous costumes and join the outdoor street party. Bars and restaurants participate in this unique experience with costume contests and Halloween night events.
When: October 31
Time: 6 pm to 11 pm
Where: Church and Wellesley
Price: Free to attend
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