EDITORIAL: Celebrate Simcoe Day by having fun in Toronto

InsideToronto.com
July 28, 2016

For Toronto residents, the coming long weekend is known as Simcoe Day and now is a good time to learn a little bit more about Upper Canada’s first lieutenant-governor and the founder of our city.

John Graves Simcoe is honoured across the province with a lake, county and more streets than we could ever mention named after him. But it is only Toronto that celebrates the first Monday in August as Simcoe Day. The August long weekend holiday has many other names across Ontario and Canada ranging from the fairly bland civic holiday to the City of Vaughan’s Benjamin Vaughan Day and the City of Ottawa’s Colonel By Day.

Simcoe, though, deserves a special place in the hearts of Torontonians.

Named Upper Canada’s lieutenant-governor in 1791, he founded York which later became Toronto as the capital city, and also had a key role in naming Scarborough because the bluffs reminded his wife Elizabeth of Scarborough, England.

Though only lieutenant-governor until 1796, his accomplishments were many, including taking a strong stand against slavery and banning it in Upper Canada years before it was abolished across the entire British Empire. He also laid out Toronto’s famous grid street system of north-south and east-west roads, earning the thanks to this day of those travelling through and around the city.

So how do we celebrate him some 230 years after his time as lieutenant-governor ended? Well, like all long weekends in Toronto, we have fun.

There’s numerous fun events set for our city this weekend, many drawing huge crowds of both local residents and tourists. Of course, there’s the Toronto Caribbean Carnival on this weekend, which features the King and Queen competition Thursday night at Lamport Stadium and then the Grand Parade on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Lake Shore Boulevard and Exhibition Place.

Also, there’s the 15th annual Scarborough Rotary Ribfest from Friday through to Monday at Thomson Park and the Veld Music Festival at Downsview Park on Saturday and Sunday.

And if you’d like to step back to a time closer to Simcoe’s, you can take part in Simcoe Day activities on Monday at Fort York.

Whatever you do this Simcoe Day long weekend, please have fun and stay safe whether you are in the city, travelling the highways or enjoying Ontario’s lakes and wilderness areas.