Opening Weekend highlights include performances from Charmie Deller, Carmen Braden, the Toronto Ice Skate Group, and the Mayor’s Skate Party!

The Bentway, a new public space designed by PUBLIC WORK and Ken Greenberg Consultants located under the Gardiner Expressway, reimagines how Torontonians gather and experience art and events downtown. It is a unique and innovative public space that transforms 1.75 km underneath Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway, from Strachan Avenue to Bathurst Street, into a new gathering place for our city’s growing population.

The first section to be developed, The Bentway Skate Trail, officially opens to the public on Saturday, January 6, 2018 at 11am with special events all weekend.

Opening weekend festivities include performances from singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Charmie Deller and composer and performer Carmen Braden with her Black Ice Sound music project; demonstrations of Ice Breaking, a unique hybrid of break dancing and freestyle ice skating by the Toronto Ice Skate Group; and art installations, food and drink, music throughout the day from the best of Toronto’s DJ scene, pop-up curling, and free admission to Fort York National Historic Site.

The opening weekend will also host the Mayor’s Skate Party on Sunday, January 7 from 1-4pm with Mayor Tory and members of Toronto City Council. Complimentary skate rentals and hot chocolate will be available during the fun, family event.

The inaugural Winter Season at The Bentway will run from January 6 – mid-March, 2018 (weather permitting). Ongoing winter programming will include free Monday night skate rentals; Beats and Bents Friday night skate parties with a rotating cast of DJs, and skate instruction and DJ and Ice Breaking Workshops. A skating village, designed by + tongtong, will be installed at The Bentway and will house the skate rental shop, warming stations and a variety of seating options. On weekend evenings, skaters are invited to warm up in the Strongbow Lounge, which will be serving up Strongbow Apple Ciders and other fine Molson Coors products. A curated food truck program will serve hot food, warm and cold drinks, and decadent desserts.

Throughout the Winter Season, The Bentway’s inaugural public art exhibition, “Constructions of the Everyday,” will be on view. For over fifty years the Gardiner Expressway has been a defining feature of Toronto’s urban landscape. In a radical act of renewal, The Bentway reimagines this static structure and imbues it with renewed relevance for a contemporary city. Embracing the spirit of transformation, the visual artists commissioned for “Constructions of the Everyday” ask visitors to find new value and beauty in the structures of everyday life.

Additional seasonal programming will be announced at a later date. More information, including hours is available at TheBentway.ca/skate-trail-opening.

The initial phase, a 1.1km trail and series of public spaces, knits together seven local neighbourhoods with over 70,000 residents, becoming a gateway to the waterfront, while providing access to important attractions and destinations – from Fort York National Historic Site, Ontario Place and Exhibition Place to Harbourfront Centre and the CN Tower. The Bentway offers year-round activities and events, including gardens, a skating rink, recreational amenities, public markets, public art, special exhibitions, festivals, theatre and musical performances and more.

For more information, please visit: TheBentway.ca

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using @TheBentway and YouTube#TOBENTWAY   #REIMAGINEWINTER   #BENTONWINTER18

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.