Fall has officially arrived, and we’re ready to embrace all things cozy and pumpkin-spice related!
For the perfect way to welcome the season, you’ll want to check out Toronto’s newest fall festival, transforming Toronto’s waterfront for two back-to-back weekends of family-friendly fun. The inaugural Water/Fall Festival will take place on September 27 and 28, as well as the following weekend on October 4 and 5, 2025.
Presented by the Waterfront BIA and more than a dozen local partners, the free celebration will feature large-scale art installations, live music, interactive performances, food and drink markets, and unique on-the-water experiences.
Must-see activations at the festival include “A Lake Story” by international artist Melissa McGill, a mesmerizing performance featuring 100 choreographed canoes paddling across Toronto’s harbour, taking place on September 27 and 28. Another waterfront attraction, “Water Wonders,” will feature a floating 3D wildlife-inspired installation by Melissa Mathieson at Spadina Pier, available for viewing throughout the festival.
Both the Toronto Music Garden and Harbourfront Centre will host free concerts and performances over the course of the festival. At the Toronto Music Garden, you can catch acclaimed artists such as Land of Talk, Sean Jones, Begonia, and Charlotte Cornfield. Over at Harbourfront Centre, don’t miss “Gatsby Redux”, an outdoor dance show inspired by the Roaring ’20s.
On September 27, catch Tkaronto Open III at Union Station, a Pow Wow dance competition celebrating Indigenous culture.
If you get hungry, there will be plenty of options for foodies – especially at the Street Eats Market Fall Harvest Market at HTO Park, with up to 40 vendors serving up seasonal dishes alongside fire pits, pumpkin patches, outdoor games, and live DJs.
Along the waterfront, you can peruse public art installations during the festival, or hop on a 90-minute Harbour and Skyline Tour on the water, where guides will share stories about Toronto’s industrial past, the transformation of the waterfront, and the evolving skyline.
Nuit Blanche, which takes place October 4, will add even more creative energy to the festival, with a large-scale projection mapping installation on the Canada Malting Silos by Italian artists OOOPStudio and the Union Art Crawl, a late-night art and shopping event at Union Station that same evening.
From canoe performances and floating wildlife art to harvest flavours, boat tours, and interactive installations, Water/Fall Festival just might become your new favourite way to celebrate fall in Toronto! For the complete schedule of activities, visit their website here.