13 h. ago Toronto's biggest tourist attraction is about to reopen with a new name

Just like in the case of the Rogers Centre (née SkyDome), it will likely take a while for Toronto residents to think of the former Yonge-Dundas Square as Sankofa Square, the new name that the attraction will officially adopt on a just-announced date next month.Yes, as of this week, we have a formal opening date for the downtown site under its controversial new moniker: Saturday, August 23, when a kick-off celebration will take place.Though the renaming process has been in the works for many months, this day will mark the inaugural event in Sankofa Square, which will have a new mandate, new programming, new signage and even new board members than the public plaza did in its former, long-running iteration.A release sent on Monday confirms that the final touches of the rechristening journey are finally being wrapped up, with the public invited to take part in the "historic cultural milestone" of a debut next month.The all-day event wi...

Society

14 h. ago CN Tower workers ratify new contract with employer, ending two

The union representing hospitality workers at Toronto’s CN Tower says members have voted to ratify a tentative agreement with the employer, ending a two-week lockout. Unifor Local 4271 members voted in favour of the new agreement with Canada Lands Company, the federal Crown corporation that owns and operates the iconic tourist attraction. The union represents […]

Society

17 h. ago The team behind Toronto's biggest celeb hot spot is opening a new restaurant

The people behind Toronto's always-popular Thai staple, Pai, are gearing up to open yet another restaurant in the city.Just months after opening their latest concept, Tha Phae Tavern — a playful, nightlife-inspired Thai restaurant — Chef Nuit and Jeff Regular, the unstoppable duo behind Pai, Khao San Road, and Kiin, are teaming up with Jeff's brother, Joel Regular, and preparing to open something entirely new in the city.Boasting Michelin recommendations for their Northern Thai cuisine at both Pai and Kiin, it would be all too easy for the team to rest on their laurels and stick with what they've already proven themselves to be good at — goodness knows the people of Toronto wouldn't stick their noses up at another Thai restaurant from the Regulars — but that's not what they're doing.Instead, while all of the team's past ventures have been odes to Chef Nuit's Thai background, their new venture, Makilala, will be an exploration of Jeff and J...

Other

6 d. ago Upcoming Toronto rib festival hailed as biggest in North America

Get ready for a weekend of saucy, smoky barbecue, Toronto, because North America's biggest rib festival is coming back this weekend.If the last major rib festival to take over Toronto — whether it was Toronto Ribfest at Centennial Park over the Canada Day long weekend or the Toronto Beaches Ribfest on Father's Day — left you hungry for yet another weekend full of sticky fingers and beautiful barbecue, you're in luck.After taking over Woodbine Park in the Beaches for the Toronto Beaches Ribfest last month, Northern Heat Rib Series, the largest rib and beer tour in North America, now has its sights set on downtown Toronto, this time cranking up the heat at Sankofa (formerly Yonge-Dundas) Square this weekend.You can expect appearances from some of the top pitmasters and barbecue artists that Ontario has to offer and, while ribs are the name of the game, of course, they're just one of a broad variety of the charred, juicy, saucy delights you ca...

Culture

7 d. ago The CNE returns to Toronto next month and here's what's coming for 2025

Toronto's biggest summer tradition is back — here's what's coming to the CNE 2025.It's that time of year again — the Canadian National Exhibition (a.k.a. the CNE or simply The Ex) is set to make its epic return next month, bringing over a century of summer tradition back to Exhibition Place.Running from August 15 to September 1, 2025, the CNE is one of Toronto's most iconic annual attractions. Whether you come for the wild food creations, the heart-racing midway rides, the free concerts, or the endless people-watching, there's something for everyone at The Ex.Get ready for the wildest food mashupsIf there's one thing we can always count on from the CNE, it's the food — and we're not just talking about corn dogs and funnel cakes.The Ex is famous for going totally unhinged when it comes to culinary creativity. In previous years, we've seen pickle cotton candy, cheeseburger ice cream, and pink Malibu mac & cheese hit the foo...

Other

2 w. ago Union says 250 CN Tower workers locked out ahead of Canada Day

TORONTO — Canada’s largest private-sector union says more than 250 CN Tower workers have been locked out by the Crown corporation operating the Toronto tourist attraction. Unifor says the decision by Canada Lands Co. to lock out workers, including hosts, wait staff, bartenders and cooks at the start of peak tourist season “speaks volumes,” and […]

Society

2 w. ago Home to North Carolina iconic attraction reopens after Hurricane Helene’s devastation

CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. (AP) — An iconic tourist attraction in an area of western North Carolina among the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene reopened to the public on Friday, nine months after the storm brought historic flooding, destruction and loss of life. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and other officials attended a reopening ceremony at […]

Transport

2 w. ago The world’s biggest users of cocaine are in Australia and New Zealand

While more people use cocaine in the Americas than anywhere else, per-capita consumption is most prevalent in Australia and New Zealand

Other

2 w. ago North Korea will open its biggest tour site next week, though it still largely blocks foreigners

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea next week will open a signature coastal tourist site that it says will usher in a new era in its tourism industry, though there is no word on when the country will fully reopen to foreign visitors. The Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone has hotels and other accommodations for nearly […]

Other

2 w. ago World's biggest TikToker surprises Toronto restaurant staff weeks after ICE arrest

Khaby Lame, the most-followed TikToker in the world, just stopped by a Toronto burger joint unannounced, and it made the staff's day.It's not every day that you clock in to your Monday evening restaurant shift and have a huge star stumble in; let alone the most-followed TikToker in the entire world. For staff at Little Italy's Authentic Shawarma and Burger, though, that's exactly what happened.On the evening of Monday, June 23, Halil Ibrahim Uzunparmak, the founder of Authentic Shawarma and Burger, which only just opened in early May of this year, was shocked to see a familiar — albeit wholly unexpected — face walk through the doors of his doors: none other than the most popular TikToker in the world, Khaby Lame."It wasn't planned at all," the Authentic Shawarma Burger team tells us," He just walked into our store casually!"The Sengalese-Italian superstar has gained a massive audience on the short-form video sharing app since 2020 ...

Technology

3 w. ago That time a Canadian warship was a popular Toronto attraction

Did you know that an esteemed Canadian warship was once a popular tourist attraction on Toronto's waterfront?Toronto has built a legacy of preserving the many places that remind us of the past, although one of these landmarks has moved some distance away; specifically, this warship that once sat docked at the waters of Ontario Place, once a mainstay of the now-defunct attraction.Meet the HMCS Haida, a "Tribal" class destroyer originally built during WWII for the Royal Canadian Navy, named after the Indigenous Haida people. Perhaps the most interesting tidbit about this ship is that it's the last surviving Tribal-class destroyer in the world, a class of warship constructed for the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Australian Navy.Though the Haida has been gone for decades, it's still remembered as one of Toronto's coolest attractions, once upon a time. HMCS Haida docked at Ontario Place. Photo: City o...

Other

3 w. ago ’The biggest betrayal’: A year on, staff grieve Ontario Science Centre’s snap closure

In the year since the abrupt closure of the Ontario Science Centre, the cost of a new site at Ontario Place has escalated, its opening date has been pushed back, there is no sign of a temporary location — and the old building’s roof that was said to be at risk of collapse appears to […]

Other

3 w. ago New elevated subway station will be unlike anything else in Toronto

Toronto is witnessing the most significant transit expansion in history, with three new TTC lines on the way, along with other extensions of the local and regional transit network.But it is the new Ontario Line subway that has stood out as the biggest leap for Toronto transit in generations, and the project continues to captivate the public as construction for the 15-stop, 15.6-km transit line ramps up.The Ontario Line will eventually link an expanded interchange at Exhibition Place with a brand-new transit hub at Eglinton Avenue and Don Mills Road.This northern terminus for the Ontario Line — known as Don Valley Station — will be an intermodal stop at Eglinton Avenue and Don Mills Road, where passengers will be able to transfer between the Ontario Line (future TTC Line 3) and the Eglinton Crosstown LRT (future TTC Line 5).Don Valley Station (which was formerly known as Science Centre Station before the Ford government closed the namesake attraction and scrubbe...

Other

4 w. ago As Kananaskis locks down for the G7 summit, Banff carries on with its touristy vibe

It was hard to tell the G7 in Kananaskis had spilled over into Banff, where on its main street, a Mountie could be seen fraternizing with visitors, more of a tourist attraction than anything

Politics