The Toronto Easter parade goes down this Sunday (April 8th) in The Beaches. The annual parade, now in its 46th year, is put on by the Toronto Beaches Lion's Club and is their most visible event. Sunday's float-filled event is expected to draw crowds of up to 50,000 spectators for a family-friendly, non-denominational celebration. Past Easter parade highlights have included characters from the Muppets, antique Toronto street-cars and multiple marching bands, and of course, the Easter Bunny himself. The official parade guidelines state, quite sternly, that "there is only one Easter bunny" and that is "the one provided by the Beaches Lions Club." So there.

Where does it take place? The Beaches, of course. The parade route begins at Neville Park and heads west along a shut-down Queen St. until it reaches Woodbine Ave. Commuters beware: there'll be other small street closures in the area so plan a route beforehand.


To avoid the inevitably massive congestion of onlookers, you should try to arrive early. The parade officially kicks off at approximately 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 8 and will run until 4 p.m.

Photo by sniderscion in the blogTO Flickr pool.