Easter In Toronto

Easter is just around the corner, and Toronto is packed with family-friendly activities over the holiday period. Along with all the usually parades, egg hunts and church services, Easter is the perfect time to visit the multicultural city, with a mild spring like climate. If you’re traveling on a budget, Easter time in Toronto is packed with free things to see and do in the city, and with plenty of Toronto hostels to choose from, it makes for a bargain spring break. Here’s a guide to what’s going on in the city.

The Easter Parade

Toronto’s Easter Parade differs from other candy-colored processions of Easter Bunnies and Eggs, as it takes place on the beach. For the past 40 years the beach in east Toronto has been the setting for the Toronto Annual Easter Parade, hosted by the Lions Club. The parade kicks off on Easter Sunday in Neville Park at around 2pm, and runs along Queen Street. Kids love watching the spring-themed parade, although often the floats veer far away from the Easter theme!

Easter Egg Hunts

For most people, Easter is not about celebrating the resurrection of Christ, but scoffing copious amounts of chocolate! Not just for kids, Easter Egg hunts are great fun and a brilliant way to explore the city. Toronto Zoo puts on an educational Easter Egg Stravaganza for kids age 12 and under (big kids may have to sit this one out), with a trail to egg-laying amphibians in the zoo. The Easter Bunny will be on hand to give out tasty treats!

Puck’s Farm, in Schomberg, a small town on the outskirts of the city, hosts a fun day of Easter games, egg-hunts and pony-rides. Admission is $10, but you can print off a coupon for a discount online.

It’s unlikely you’ll have a canine in tow on holiday, but head to Cetennial Park and check out one egg-hunt with a difference. The Easter Egg Hunt for Dogs is run by a charity for the service dogs of Canada, and persistent pooches can sniff out plastic eggs filled with doggy treats and prizes.

Egg-Decorating

Forget food coloring, head to Mackenzie House, 82 Bond Street on April 7th and you can learn how to decorate eggs using a series of artistic techniques. Perfect for crafty-types, the workshop teaches you how to create your own eggs-traordinary work of art, using glitters, beads and textiles. For a more traditional take on egg-decoration, head to Colborne Lodge, a historic home at the south end of High Park, and discover what Easter was like in the 19th century, including decorating eggs with natural dyes.

Tuck into an Easter Brunch

It’s a Toronto tradition to tuck into a huge Easter lunch on the Sunday, and restaurants all over the city have special menus with pancakes, French toast and Bloody Mary’s galore. For something a little different, take a long and lazy meal in one of the most atmospheric rooms in the city. Castle Loma, 1 Austin Terrace, is Toronto’s castle and hosts an Easter Royal Brunch fit for a King. The price of the extravagant buffet includes entry into the castle, so fuel up on the extensive menu before soaking up some history. Dishes include gourmet delights such as a Cast Iron Seared Crab and Avocado Quesadilla, and Vanilla Challah French Toast with Maple and Raspberry Cream. If you’re craving a chocolate egg fix, there’s even a chocolate fountain with Rice Krispie treats for dipping!

An Offbeat Easter

If you want an Easter holiday celebration with a twist, check out Mysterion’s Rock and Raunch Holiday Eggstravaganza, at the Cadillac Lounge, 1297 Queen Street.

On April 7th, Mysterion, Toronto’s infamous illusionist puts on a bizarre spectacle of the weird and wonderful, from spoon bending and mind – reading to a burlesque show by his assistant Virginia Devine. Blue Mercury Coupe will be providing the soundtrack to this surreal holiday celebration.

A Traditional Easter

Sick of fluffy chicks and chocolate bunnies? If you’d rather attend a church service or learn about the true meaning of Easter, there are plenty of more traditional events happening across the city. Queensway Cathedral hosts the Toronto Passion Play, a grand and professional show where 250 volunteers and live animal are on stage to present the story of Christ’s death and resurrection. On Good Friday, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, 1585 Yonge Street, will be hosting a Mass at the Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Tickets start at $15, and the performance promises to be more than atmospheric.

Meet the Easter Bunny

If you are looking to extend your stay, choose other hostels in Canada and stay in Toronto’s surrounding towns over the Easter break. The small towns of Stouffville and Woodbridge are home to the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival, celebrating Canada’s most famous export. The festival ends in Easter, but goes out with a bang – with a meet-and-greet with the Easter Bunny and a scavenger trail across two conversation areas.