April showers bring no shortage of things to do in Toronto.
From art-filled charity events to the return of the Jays, and stoner holiday 4/20, April is definitely a good time to emerge from hibernation and take full advantage of the city.
Here are 11 reasons that April is going to be amazing in Toronto.
The GTA’s first Jollibee shop
After weeks of swirling rumours, beloved Filipino fast food chain Jollibee Canada has finally opened up shop in Scarborough at 15 William Kitchen Road (and yes, it’ll be worth the Uber ride out there) on April 1. The chain has been met with lineups each time it opens a new location, with hungry fans craving their juicy chicken, spaghetti, and burgers.
The Jays are back in town
A true sign of spring in Toronto, the Toronto Blue Jays will hit the field running for their opening weekend (Thursday, March 29 to Sunday, April 1), as they take on the New York Yankees in Toronto to officially kick off the season. They then return to the Rogers Centre (aka the SkyDome) for nine more games throughout the month of April.
You can see “the hottest violinist alive”
If classical music is your thing, you have an extra special reason to check out a Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) concert in April, as well-known (and extremely fashionable) Taiwanese-Australian violinist Ray Chen joins the TSO on stage at Roy Thomson Hall (April 5-7) as a featured soloist for Sibelius Symphony 5. The musician, who has been called “the hottest violinist alive,” is sponsored by Giorgio Armani, has been featured in Vogue Italia, and is an Instagram star in his own right.
You have plenty of quality musical theatre options
Whether the folks are in town visiting, or you want to switch up your date night routine, a Mirvish production is always a no-fail option. While the uber-popular hit Come From Away continues (until October), other buzz-worthy Mirvish musicals to grace iconic Toronto stages this month include the Tony award-winning An American in Paris (March 27 to April 29) and Annie (April 24 to June 3).
Hundreds of yoga lovers will unite in one place
If you’re in the market to step up your yoga practice, you may want to register for the Yoga Conference Show, which takes over the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from Thursday, April 12 to Sunday, April 15. Here, you can expect 300 exhibitors, 700 hours of world-class sessions, and 80 master teachers to inspire you to unroll that yoga mat often and with purpose.
A caffeine wonderland will hit the city
The second annual Toronto Coffee & Tea Expo takes place on Saturday, April 14 and Sunday, April 15 at Evergreen Brickworks, filling the breezy venue with 5,000 coffee and tea lovers, iinviting them to experience the city’s top brews, and discover industry tips, emerging trends, and new beans from local vendors and indie cafés.
You can party in a massive gallery
One of the hottest tickets on Toronto’s event scene is The Art Gallery of Ontario’s (AGO) Massive Party. Taking over the sprawling AGO on Thursday, April 19, the party offers interactive and totally Instagrammable art installations, an eclectic assortment of guests from the arts world and social scene, flowing drinks, memorable eats, performance art, DJs, and a high-energy dance party.
You can shamelessly celebrate your love of weed
With the legalization of marijuana now just months away, we can expect this year’s 4/20 celebrations to take over the city in a bigger way than ever before. An added bonus for all the weed lovers is the fact that 4/20 falls on a Friday, making it a little easier to sneak out of the office an hour early to “go green” and shake off the workweek.
You can feed your documentary addiction
Now that you’ve spent hibernation season making your way through every documentary on Netflix, you can catch dozens beginning on Thursday, April 26 – and on the big screen – as part of the city’s annual Hot Docs competition. As North America’s largest documentary film festival, Hot Docs offers films on pretty much every subject – even if you’re not historically a doc junkie, you’ll find something that catches your attention.
The cherry blossoms will flood your news feed
If you have a soft spot for the spring’s cherry blossom flowers – particularly those found in High Park – you can expect to see dozens of snaps of them grace your newsfeed by the end of April. The limited appearance of the cherry blossoms provides all the incentive you need to swap your couch on a spring Sunday for a walk through the sprawling park.
Featured image: Instagram/ @jollibee