StreetFest brings the jazz to Queen Street East in the Beach this weekend

One of the Beaches International Jazz Festival’s most popular events, StreetFest, is set to take over Queen Street East in the Beach for three nights this week, and the fun begins this evening.

This year’s StreetFest is slated for the nights of Thursday, July 24, Friday, July 25, and Saturday, July 26.

From 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on all three of those nights, Queen Street East will be closed to vehicle traffic between Woodbine Avenue and Beech Avenue as music lovers fill the street to hear dozens of bands perform. The road closures on Queen Street East will begin at 6 p.m. each night.

The StreetFest will finish each night at 11 p.m., and the street will then be re-opened for cars, buses and streetcars at midnight.

A total of 36 bands and musicians will play nightly during StreetFest, between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. at numerous locations along Queen Street East.

For the full list of bands playing and where they will be performing, go to https://www.beachesjazz.com/streetfest

StreetFest is an extremely popular event and a decades-long Beach tradition, and large crowds are expected to attend on all three nights.

Food and treats from the city’s best restaurants will be part of StreetFest, along with local artisans and vibrant market stalls from businesses along Queen Street East.

Transit routes will be altered by the TTC during the times of StreetFest.

To avoid Queen Street East during Street Fest, the TTC’s Main Street 64 bus will take an alternate route during the street closure hours. The 64 bus will go south on Wineva Avenue, past Queen Street East, along Alfresco Lawn and then up north on Lee Avenue to Kingston Road.

Residents are also reminded not to park cars on Queen Street East, between Woodbine and Beech, after 4 p.m. on July 24, 25 or 26 as they will be towed in advance of the StreetFest road closure.

Along with StreetFest fun, the final weekend of this year’s Beaches International Jazz Festival is set to begin this week.

To wrap up the 37th annual version of the festival, the OLG Weekend Series is set for Woodbine Park on Friday, July 25, Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27.

Friday and Saturday will feature Groovin’ in the Park from 6 to 10 p.m. each night.

This will be 10th anniversary for Groovin’ in the Park, which features a gathering of dancers, DJ’s and music lovers to party together to a variety of sounds.

The fun kicks off on July 25 with the Friday Dance Party featuring house, disco, funk and global rhythms.

On July 26, it will be Saturday Night Fever at Woodbine Park celebrating a decade of dance, community and culture.

The festival’s final performances for this year will take place on Sunday, July 27.

The performances will be from TANDM at 1 p.m.; Avery Raquel at 2:30 p.m.; CHLORINE at 4:30 p.m., and finally concluding the festival with a performance from SheBad at 6:30 p.m.

Woodbine Park is located at 1695 Queen St. E.

For more information, please visit https://www.beachesjazz.com/