Patio season is back in full swing across Toronto, and the city is about to get a substantial addition to its outdoor dining portfolio as CF Sherway Gardens prepares for the return of the mall's enormous annual summer destination.

Opening on June 30, The Lot at CF Sherway Gardens transforms the mall's west parking lot outside the Gate 1 and 2 entrances into an outdoor destination offering dining and live entertainment, most notably a 30,000-square-foot patio.

It's an expansive patio measuring almost exactly the same size as the popular RendezViews patio in downtown Toronto. And like the colourful space downtown, The Lot offers a wide range of programming to draw in visitors.

Open to guests of all ages, The Lot allows guests of the mall to enjoy drinks and takeout from restaurants and food retailers in an outdoor setting with weekly entertainment.

The Lot's summer season will feature performances from musicians, and magicians, animating the barren expanse of asphalt with programming.

Other live programming and performances will be announced as the season progresses.

Visitors can take in all of the action comfortably with a mix of colourful seating and dining areas, including hammocks, swings, a pergola, and table seating, all available on a first-come-first-serve basis with a recommended seating time of one hour.

This outdoor "Playscape" will also include foosball, pool and ping pong tables for guests to enjoy.

The Lot will be open daily beginning Thursday, June 30, operating in the Sherway Gardens parking lot at 25 The West Mall from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.