What's New in Toronto
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WHAT’S NEW & HAPPENING IN TORONTO, ONTARIO CANADA – SUMMER 2017 TORONTO, CANADA (June 2017) – Re-connect with Toronto, CanaDa’s Downtown, as the ever-changing city gears up to add three hotels and four attractions to its already extensive repertoire. Between the new additions, the Caribbean Festival’s 50th anniversary, and the Invictus Game, summer 2017 is guaranteed to be a blockbuster. Read through our latest What’s New for a full list of updates and happenings around Toronto. Click the hyperlinks to skip for updates on hotels and transportation, attractions, tours, exhibits as well as one-time events and annual festivals. HOTELS AND TRANSPORTATION Three years after the Broadview Hotel was purchased by Toronto’s Streetcar Developments, the 126-year-old building has been fully restored to its former glory and is scheduled to re-open in June. The 58-room boutiQue hotel will feature a café and bar on the ground floor during the day; at night the room transforms into a cocktail and champagne bar featuring an oval bar and neon sculptural lighting. streetcar.ca/broadview-hotel/ Bisha, a new luxury lifestyle hotel brand is set to open a hotel in Toronto this summer of the same name. Bisha Hotel will offer innovative cuisine ambitiously offered across four restaurants led by ICONINK, including a signature restaurant with a soon-to-be announced celebrity chef. Public spaces include a 44th floor rooftop restaurant, infinity pool and 2,200 square foot lobby bar. bisha.com/ Hotel X Toronto is set to open its waterfront property at the end of summer. Hotel X Toronto, the only property in Exhibition Place, will be a uniQue lakefront urban resort bringing a cutting edge mix of hospitality, sports and entertainment. Located just inside the iconic Princes’ Gates and opposite the Enercare Centre, Hotel X Toronto is divided into three buildings: the 30-story Hotel Tower, TEN X TORONTO, and the historic Stanley Barracks. The property’s sports and entertainment concept along with a lavish garden setting and spectacular lake views create an unparalleled environment for visitors and locals alike. hotelxtoronto.com/ The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Toronto’s transit system, will open six new stations along the Toronto-York Subway Extension by the end of 2017. The $3.18 billion dollar project will take commuters along the 8.6 km stretch with additional stops at York University, Pioneer Village, Highway 407 and Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. ttc.ca Westin Hotels & Resorts completed a multi-million dollar renovation and renaming of The Westin Toronto Airport, May 2017. The renovation of the hotel at Pearson International Airport includes updates to all guestrooms and suites, and the property’s on-site restaurants, Crosswinds Restaurant & Bar and Atmosphere Restaurant. The refresh also includes updated meeting spaces and modernized lobby space. westin.com/ The Omni King EdwarD restored and re-opened its famous Crystal Ballroom after an extensive $6.5 million renovation this past April. The space is set to revive the glitz and glamour of Toronto’s thriving social scene. Home to the city’s most prestigious functions from the 1920s through the 1970’s, the Crystal Ballroom unveiled its new look almost 100 years after its initial debut in 1922. omnihotels.com ATTRACTIONS The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) will re-open this fall in its new permanent home located in the Lower Junction. MOCA will occupy 25,000 sQuare feet of the iconic Tower Automotive Building which is being restored as part of an eight- acre community build by Castlepoint Numa The expansion will double the museum size, enabling it to meet the increased demand for existing programs, plus a café, retails shop and exhibition areas. museumofcontemporaryart.ca/sterling/ The Drake Hotel opened its latest addition to the chain, the Drake Commissary, on June 9th in the Lower Junction. The 8,000 square foot space completely rethinks the foodservice typology, breaking down the traditional barriers between kitchens and dining spaces and encouraging guests to be a part of the culinary experience, while surrounded by art and creativity; essentially, a gastronomic town sQuare. Guests are welcome to dine in one of the warm, eclectic dining and living room areas – options include table or counter service – or pick up ready-to-eat and packaged meals to take home or to the office. thedrake.ca/commissary/ Opening at the Toronto Roundhouse this summer, Cineplex Odeon’s The Rec Room combines over 40,000 square feet of unique event space, Canadian-inspired cuisine, endless entertainment and state of the art virtual reality gaming, designed to infuse fun and team building. therecroom.com Located in one of Canada’s most prestigious neighbourhoods, Yorkville Village, owned by First Capital Realty (FCR), announced new tenants and retailers coming to the redeveloped shopping centre in summer 2017, most notably Soul Cycle, Belstaff and Eleventy, as well as the opening of a new full-service restaurant, Palm Lane, by The Chase Hospitality Group. The mall has received a $600 million transformation of its 400,000 sQuare foot space. bloor-yorkville.com/ CanaDa’s WonDerlanD will be showcasing two new uniQue and adrenaline-pumping attractions in 2017, with the addition of towering water slides in Splash Works and a new thrill ride that will be the first of its kind in North America. Muskoka Plunge, a 60 feet (18 m) tall waterslide complex features four speed slides. Riders will feel the adrenaline rush when they step into an enclosed launch chamber and suddenly plummet into a high-speed free fall through S-curves and 360° loops at speeds of approximately 40 km/h. For thrill-seekers that prefer to stay dry, Canada’s Wonderland will be adding to its arsenal of world-class thrill rides with Soaring Timbers. This uniQue ride experience will send guests spiraling through the sky on two massive rotating gondolas that swing riders through sweeping arcs while rotating 360 degrees. canadaswonderland.com Get ready to put your ninja skills to the ultimate test in the all-new LEGO® Ninjago City Adventure at LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre Toronto. The over $750,000, 2,300-square-foot interactive play area is the Centre’s 5th interactive experience added since opening four years ago. Modeled after the Temple of Airjitzu, the two-story play structure puts guests’ physical skills to the test as they fight to save Ninjago City. legolanddiscoverycentre.ca Starting this Canada Day, a free bus service will connect downtown Toronto and Rouge National Urban Park, which will operate every Saturday, Sunday and statutory holiday between Canada Day and Thanksgiving. Parks Canada staff will accompany every bus to provide on-board programming and introduce visitors to Canada 150 programming and to the national parks system. toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=7509dada600f0410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD TOURS Go Tours CanaDa is launching a Distillery District Ice Cream tour, featuring an array of different styles including a taste of Sake Ice Cream and a light history on ice cream across the globe. www.gotourscanada.com Gone Sailing ADventures is launching its newest addition to their luxury sailing yachts this summer. Australian Kiss is a 2017 Beneteau Oceanis 41. With a capacity for 10 guests, GSA provides intimate and personal sailing excursions along the Toronto Waterfront, Lake Ontario and Island Lagoons. This addition increases the Gone Sailing Adventures fleet to five luxury yachts ranging from 22'-41' and a capacity of 50 guests for multi-yacht racing/team building events. Their professional crew will cater to your personal desires and share their world sailing experiences. www.gonesailingadventures.com EXHIBITS The NHL Centennial Exhibit at the Hockey Hall of Fame is a tribute to 100 years of NHL hockey, highlighting some of the most memorable players and moments in league history. Artifacts on display include the stick used by Wayne Gretzky to score his NHL single-season record 92nd goal, the gloves worn by Sidney Crosby to capture the 2009 Stanley Cup and Gordie Howe’s 700th-goal puck. Plus, on display for the first time in the last Quarter century, is the original Minute Book of the National Hockey League – the only behind-the-scenes account of hockey’s forefathers and their task in shaping the NHL from its inception in 1917. On until December 31. hhof.com/htmlNewsPromo/NHL-100-Display.shtml The Toronto Railway Museum has a new display, a railway that runs across the country and is famous for its luxurious views. In addition, they have a GO Transit exhibit celebrating their 50th anniversary. This new exhibit includes a new cab car in the park and a display within the museum itself. torontorailwaymuseum.com/ Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO): Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience the beautiful innovative art of Georgia O’Keeffe, a trailblazing figure in American modernism. Making its only stop in North America at the AGO, Georgia O’Keeffe features more than 80 works of art capturing the essence of her deeply personal connection to the landscape, architecture and nature that inspired her iconic style. On until July 30. ago.net/georgia-okeeffe For the first time ever, the AGO presents its extensive collection of Latin American contemporary art as the focus of its own exhibition. The artists, originating from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela, are each influenced by the specific geographic, political and social contexts and artistic legacies of their respective countries. Brought together, these artists' works provoke visitors to reflect upon issues of time, place and identity and to question issues of belonging, precarity and transience. On until August 6. ago.net/latinamerica Free Black North features photographs of men, women, and children living in Ontario in the mid-to-late 1800s, descendants of Black refugees who escaped enslavement in the Southern United States.