Monarch Migration festival set to celebrate butterflies this Saturday at Tommy Thompson Park

Tommy Thompson Park in East Toronto is inviting residents to celebrate the Monarch Migration at the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA) Butterfly Festival this weekend.

The festival takes place on Saturday, Aug. 22, and will mark the start of monarch butterflies beginning their journey from southern Canada to the mountain forests of Mexico.

The event is meant to highlight Tommy Thompson Park as a key location among urban wildlife habitats. On the shores of Lake Ontario along the Leslie Street Spit and filled with pollinator friendly plants such as milk weed, the park serves as a safe haven for the monarchs who will soon begin their journey south.

Throughout their migration, Tommy Thompson Park is a major area of monarch congregations, as they settle in through late August to November, waiting for the ideal winds to help them cross Lake Ontario.

Saturday’s free all-ages event is set to begin at 10 a.m., ending at 3 p.m.

The festival will include hands-on activities, guided nature walks and displays, allowing guests to learn all about the monarchs, as well as the 55 recorded butterfly and moth species at Tommy Thompson Park.

Tommy Thompson Park is located at 1 Leslie St.

For more information, please visit https://trca.ca/butterflyfestival