A little over a week ago, autumn officially came into our lives. Those of us in Canada have the joy of witnessing how these days the breeze begins to cool and the leaves of the trees turn all colors as they begin to fall. Suddenly, without realizing it, we are all thinking about drinks and hot foods. Living an autumn in Canada, and especially in cities like Toronto, is a magical experience. If you are already part of our English school in Toronto, or if you are going to start your adventure with us soon, here are the 5 activities that will make you fall in love with autumn in Toronto: Don’t miss the famous Nuit Blanche this Saturday weekend. This Saturday, October 5, the streets of Toronto will be filled with art, culture and life. The Nuit Blanche is a cultural event that has been held in Toronto for fourteen years. This weekend more than 300 artists and 90 contemporary art projects will take the city from seven o’clock on Saturday night. You dare?   Venture to pick apples with your English school mates in Toronto. Apple picking is one of the most popular fall activities in all of Canada. The apples that are collected in this activity are not only fresh and quite tasty, but you can also taste types of apples that are only seen at this time of year. Attend the Toronto International Festival of Authors. Lover of books? Don’t miss the biggest literary festival in all of Canada! Between October 24 and November 3, the Toronto International Authors Festival will celebrate its 40th anniversary with more than 60 unique events. This is an incredible opportunity not only to practice your English, but also to connect with locals and soak up culture and letters. Do you … Read more

  While the weather outside is frightful, at least you can enjoy a delicious meal at one of Toronto’s top restaurants.  January 27th marks the beginning of our annual winterlicious food festival.  Winterlicious offers the opportunity to dine at one of the city’s best restaurants at a somewhat reasonable price.  Participating restaurants offer a prix fix menu for lunch or dinner, or both. With more than 220 restaurants to choose from, you’ll have no trouble finding a delicious meal in the city during from January 27th until February 9th.  The three-course prixe fixe lunch menus go for $18, $23, and $28, while the dinner menus will set you back $28, $38, $48.  Featured restaurants include, Lena, Beaumont Kitchen, Miku, Canoe, Sassafraz, and Bar Buca.   For a list of participating restaurants, check out: Toronto.ca. Enjoy and make sure to leave room for dessert! For Toronto Homestay English Courses check out EC.

  By now you’ve probably come to realize what an amazing city Toronto is.  A wonderfully diverse and multi-cultural city, Toronto boasts lots of things to do and see, Toronto is definitely a top destination for travellers.  If you’re visiting Toronto, you might be interested to learn some fun/interesting facts about our fantastic city.  For example, did you know that over 180 languages and dialects are spoken here? Here are some more fun/interesting facts about Toronto: At 30 kilometres in length, Toronto’s PATH system is recognized by Guinness Book of World Records as the largest underground shopping complex in the world Toronto was ranked as the best place to live according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, a unit of The Economist magazine. (2015) Toronto has the largest population of Italians outside of Italy. When Italy hoisted the World Cup trophy as the top soccer nation in the world in 2006, St. Clair Street transformed into one big party. Viva Italia! Canada has the tallest freestanding structure in the world.  Completed in 1975, the CN Tower stands 1815′ and 5″ tall. In 2015, Toronto was ranked as the best place to live according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, a unit of The Economist magazine. Toronto hosts 80 film festivals each year, many reflecting the city’s rich, multicultural, multilingual and diverse communities. Toronto is Canada’s largest city with a population now of almost 5.6 million. The Greater Toronto area boasts 6,054,191 residents.   Check out EC for ESL Courses in Toronto.  

Fall in Toronto While the weather is cooling down in Toronto, the fun certainly is not! Check out our list of top 10 things to do in Toronto this fall: 1. Curl up with your laptop (or a book) and a warm beverage at one of Toronto’s fabulous cafés. Here are some of our favourites: Dineen Coffee Co. http://dineencoffee.com/ Cool Hand of A Girl http://www.coolhandofagirl.com/ Sam James Coffee Bar http://samjamescoffeebar.com/#harbord 2. Pick apples and pumpkins:Here are a few of our top farm picks: Head over to one of our fabulous farms for apple and pumpkin-picking, hay rides and nature walks. Whittamore’s Farm http://www.whittamoresfarm.com/ Country Apple Orchard Farm http://www.countryapple.ca/ Pine Farms Orchard http://www.pinefarmsorchard.com/ 3. Take a train ride to see the fall colours A number of train routes through the province offer beautiful views year round, but the view becomes truly breathtaking when the trees turn shades of red, orange, and yellow. 4. Catch a film festival: Although TIFF is over, there are still a number of other film festivals happening in Toronto over the fall months, featuring films and shorts from around the world. Check out the following fall film fests: HotDocs https://www.hotdocs.ca/ Toronto Urban Film Festival http://torontourbanfilmfestival.com/ Planet in Focus http://planetinfocus.org/ Check out EC Toronto for ESL Courses in Toronto.

Looking for something to do this weekend?  How about a beach day?  Toronto has a few great beaches for you to check out before the summer is out.  So, grab your beach towels, pack a picnic, and head to one of these fabulous beaches this weekend. Bluffer’s Park Beach Bluffer’s Park Beach is a wide, sandy beach at the foot of the Scarborough Bluffs.  This beach offers lots of room for building sandcastles, games of Frisbee and volleyball.  Bluffer’s Park Beach is one of eight swimming areas in Toronto that have earned a Blue Flag swimming destination, so feel free to go for a swim.   Centre Island Beach Located on Centre Island (a short ferry ride away from Toronto’s Harbourfront), the Toronto Island Beach is an oasis away from the downtown.  This family-friendly beach offers bike and boat rentals.  Centre Island Beach is also Blue Flag certified, so swimming is safe.   Cherry Beach Cherry Beach is one of the more popular beaches in Toronto, so it tends to be a bit more crowded than some of the other beaches.  Cherry beach is known for its rugged landscape and is great for water sports.   Gibraltar Point Beach Also located on the Toronto Island, Gibraltar Point Beach is one of the less crowded beaches in Toronto.  If you’re looking for a quiet, relaxing day at the beach, Gibraltar Point Beach is a safe bet.   Hanlan’s Point Beach Hanlan’s Point Beach is also located on the Toronto islands and is the only officially nude beach in Toronto.  This beach also has one of the best views of the CNE’s annual air show, so keep that in mind when the time comes. Check out EC Toronto for Toronto Homestay English Courses.

Friday July 1st is Canada Day!  If you’re lucky enough to be in Toronto for the Canada Day long weekend, you won’t have a shortage of things to do.  From parades to fireworks, there’s lots to look forward to (and lots of fun to be had) this coming weekend! Friday July 1: 1. Redpath Waterfront Festival: The festivities include sailing tall ships, ship deck tours, a cook-off, an artisan market, buskers, live music, and boat races. 2 Canada Day at Harbourfront: The Harbourfront Centre celebrates Canada Day with live music, a history exhibit, and a fireworks display. 3. Electric Island at Hanlan’s point: Electric Island features a massive concert and picnic featurig electronic music.  Bring a blanket and comfortables shoes and dance the day away. 4. Union Summer Food Festival This festival features a variety of different food vendors and delicious food! Saturday July 2: 1. Toronto Ribfest: Celebrate Canada Day at Ribfest, a Canada festival and BBQ competition. 2. Taste of Downsview: The Taste of Downsview is a weekend long street festival featuring food vendors, live music, a kids zone, and food trucks. 3. The Beaches Jazz Festival: The annual Beaches Jazz festival features jazz, blues, big band, vocalists, African, Carribbean, Reggae, Hip Hop, South American, Latin, R&B, and more.  The event takes place at the Queen East/Beaches area. Sunday July 3: 1. Toronto Pride Parade: The annual pride parade celebrates our wonderfully diverse population in Toronto. 2. Digital Dreams Music Festival: The Digital Dreams Music Festival is Canada’s biggest electronic music festival.  This year’s festival is headlined by Above and Beyond, Armen Van Buren, Axwell Ingrosso, Bassnectar, Borgore, Danny Tenaglia, Knife Party, Pendulum, and Umek.  This event is 16+. 3. Shakespeare in High Park: Canadian Stage gives us productions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and All’s Well That Ends Well, … Read more

Toronto is known for it’s summer parades, activities, and festivals.  This weekend Toronto is hosting the Taste of Toronto culinary food festival.  Taste of Toronto features signature dishes from the city’s finest restaurants, meet-and-greets and demonstrations from world-class chefs, gourmet food and drink samples, and much more!  The Chef-Line Up includes culinary superstars Rick Moonen, Ela Herreria, David Lee, Mark McEwan, and many more.  The festival runs from June 23rd to June 25th at Garrison Common (Fort York). General Entry tickets can be purchased online for $29.00 and include entry to the festival.  You may also choose to get a VIP Upgrade which includes fast track entry to the festival, exclusive access to the VIP Lounge, a complimentary Pilsner Urquell beer or wine, and access to private washrooms.  VIP Ugrade costs $74.00.  There are also a number of private dining packages available. Be sure to arrive hungry and get a taste of Toronto this weekend! For more information, or to purchase tickets visit: http://tasteoftoronto.com/ Check out EC Toronto for Adult English Courses in Toronto.

The May long weekend marks the first weekend of summer in Toronto. If you’re visiting Toronto in the summertime, you’re in for a lot of fun! There’s no shortage of fun things to do in the city during the summer months. Restaurants open their patios, weekends are filled with festivals, and our amazing parks and beaches are open for you to enjoy and explore.   Here’s a list of some fun things you can do in the city during the summertime:   Check out a movie at one of Toronto’s drive-in movie theaters: Enjoy a movie under the stars at one of Toronto’s theaters. Check out the Summerworks Festival Summerworks is annual celebration of live performance art in Toronto. This year’s festival takes place from August 9th until August 18th. Check schedule here. Check out a band at Adelaide Hall Adelaid Hall is Toronto’s newest live music venue. Located just west of University (on Adelaide), Adelaide Hall hosts lots of great bands and performers. Check out Corktown Common, Toronto’s newest park Corktown Common is the latest addition to Toronto’s modern green spaces. The new space features a splash pad, a gorgeous pavilion, and wetlands. Take a Hike There are lots of great trails close to the city centre. The Don Valley Trails are a top choice, but there are a number of others to check out. Check out EC for Intensive English Courses in Toronto.