Festival & Parade This Weekend

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Burlington’s long anticipated Lakeshore Music & Arts Festival kicks off this weekend, and with it so does The Burlington Summer Parade this Saturday, bringing marching bands through downtown for the first time in years. Parts of Baldwin, Brant, Caroline, and Drury will close from 9:30 a.m. to noon as the parade runs from Central Park to Central High School.

The parade was a longstanding tradition of the old Sound of Music Festival, which started as a city-run marching band event more than 40 years ago before evolving into what residents remember as Canada's largest free music fest. This year's scaled-down version features the Burlington Teen Tour Band, Junior Redcoats, and Top Hat Marching Orchestra on a 1.5km route starting at 10 a.m.

The Teen Tour Band Boosters will collect non-perishable food donations for the Burlington Food Bank along the route.

Burlington's Canada Day celebration is back at Spencer Smith Park on July 1, with a full day of free family entertainment running from morning pancakes to a late-night fireworks finale over Lake Ontario.

The day kicks off with an 8:30 a.m. fun run and a pancake breakfast hosted by the Burlington Lakeshore Rotary Club. A Kids Zone, local vendors, and live performances run throughout the day, with the official opening ceremony at 4 p.m.

The celebration wraps up with live music from Hayley Verall and Ol Child, followed by a synchronized drone light show and fireworks around 9:40 p.m. Burlington Transit will be free all day, with shuttle service from the GO station starting at noon.

The province has proposed a 2,715-home development on a vacant 10-acre site just south of Aldershot GO Station, between the station's south parking lot and the Stationwest Townhomes.

The mixed-use project would include retail and office space supporting about 80 jobs, a public park, bike lanes, and direct platform access to the GO station. About 40 per cent of the units are expected to be two- and three-bedroom apartments.

The site is currently zoned for employment uses, not residential, so the province will need rezoning approval from the city. Community engagement is expected in July, coinciding with Burlington's planning review.

🚧 Road Closures for Music & Arts Festival

🧹 Street Sweeping Program Continues

🚆 GO Transit Adds Service for World Cup Summer

Ontario is offering licence-free fishing this Saturday and Sunday as part of Father's Day weekend. Canadian residents can fish anywhere in the province without buying a licence or Outdoors Card on June 20 and 21.

All other fishing rules still apply, including catch limits and sanctuary closures. This is the third of four free-fishing periods this year, with the last one coming during Family Fishing Week from June 27 to July 5.

First-timers can borrow rods and reels through the province's TackleShare program or check out Ontario's online Learn to Fish guide.

Looking for a last minute volunteer opportunity to log some hours or just do a good deed? BurlingtonGreen is looking for volunteers for this weekend's Lakeshore Music & Arts Festival. The local environmental charity needs residents at Spencer Smith Park on Saturday and Sunday to help festivalgoers sort recyclable and compostable waste from garbage.

Volunteers 14 and up are welcome. No experience is required, and BurlingtonGreen will provide training, gloves, and a t-shirt. Tasks include directing attendees to the right bins and picking up litter around the site.

Sue Alksnis, BurlingtonGreen's manager of volunteers and community engagement, called it a great way for high school students to earn required volunteer hours. Over the past 18 years, the organization's Event Greening program has diverted 85 tonnes of waste from landfill at more than 90 local events.

Friday, June 19
🌦️ Partly sunny, chance of showers
High: 22°C | Low: 13°C

Saturday, June 20
🌤️ Mostly sunny, possible afternoon thunderstorm
High: 23°C | Low: 14°C

Sunday, June 21
⛅ Mostly cloudy
High: 23°C | Low: 14°C