Marvelous March Events in Toronto

Below are some of our favourite upcoming March events, but check out our new Uniiverse events listings to purchase tickets! (applicable only to some events)

March holds that curious distinction of having one foot in winter’s miserable tundra and another in the elusive paradise known as spring. Either way, one can’t help but be optimistic and more chipper with the hope of warmer days dangling so closely in front of us. To help ensure that you make the most of the month, we’ve put together a list of all the best March events happening in Toronto now that we can finally leave our houses…

Toronto International Bike Show
February 28th to March 2nd
Just in time for spring, why not drop the TTC for another 6 months and go back to biking! Over 150 exhibitors will help you get back into spandex in no-time.

Carnival at Touro Steakhouse
February 28th to March 4th
Every year in Brazil, 5 million people come together to celebrate Carnival. As Toronto’s premiere Brazilian Steakhouse, Touro will be hosting a celebration that’ll make you think you’re right in the Rio heat. There’ll be live dancers all night Friday to Sunday and $5 Caipirinhas (the national drink, made with cachaca liquor and lime). Careful not to have too many of those though or you may actually wake up in Sao Paolo. We kid… except not.

Sarah Anne Johnson: Wonderlust Photography Exhibit
March 1st to 29th
Need a first date activity? Impress her with some wine, cheese and culture at the Sarah Anne Johnson exhibit at the Stephen Bulgar Gallery.

Sugar Bush Maple Syrup Festival
March 1st to April 6th
The GTA’s longest running maple syrup festival, the fest opens on March 1st and runs until April 6th at the Kortright Centre for Conservation in Vaughan and Bruce’s Mill Conservation Area in Stouffville. We’d give your dentist a heads up beforehand, just to be safe.

Dundas West and Ossington Food Tour
March 1st and March 15th
Best of the West! Take a tour of the city’s most uber-trendy area for an afternoon of neighbourhood and culinary exploring. Fingers crossed the Polar Vortex permits.

Bellwethers Vintage Monthly Opening
March 1st
Get some new spring clothes… vintage style! Bellwethers Vintage is a pop-up women’s clothing shop open only once a month. They have an extensive collection of hand picked vintage and “nearly new” designer beauties.

The Oscar Party at the Drake Hotel 
March 2nd
Hosted by cinema king Richard Crouse, this is your chance to get out of throwing + cleaning up after your own Oscar party. Dress up in your red carpet best for an evening of popcorn, Oscar pool, cinematic trivia, and lots and lots of bubbly.

Cake Walk at Momofuku Milk Bar
March 2nd to 3rd
Momofuku’s Milk Bar will be hosting a cake walk once an hour from noon to 3pm. What is a cake walk, you ask? It’s an opportunity for you and your fellow Marie Antoinettes to have an afternoon of music, dancing, and free cakes. Want your cake and to eat it too? The next day, Milk Bar will giving their first 100 guests free chocolate malt cake truffles. Sounds worth taking the morning off work to us!

Mardi Gras at Big Daddy’s
March 4th
Louisiana’s unofficial consulate on King West, Big Daddy’s will be playing host to the Deep South’s most fabulous and delicious party. As always, there’ll be beads, feathers, and jazz music ringing through the air. Lots of spicy food, spicy women, and cocktails abound. Seafood lovers: best to start ironing your lobster bibs now, it’s going to be a doozy y’all (in the best way, naturally).

SNAP! Toronto: a Fundraiser for the AIDS Committee of Toronto
March 6th
SNAP! is the AIDS Committee of Toronto’s (ACT) annual fundraiser featuring a silent auction, live auction, and Digital Photo Competition. The gala features Toronto’s most fabulous society members, who have so far raised over $2.1 million in support of the city’s fight against AIDS.

La Joie de Vivre au Chocolat
March 6th
If you didn’t overdose on the stuff this Valentine’s Day, you’ll want to check out Boccone’s sweet and savoury chocolate dinner La joie de vivre au chocolat. Hosted by foodie power-couple Chef Eyal Liebman and Sommelier Rebecca Meïr, you’ll experience chocolate in a whole new way with a six-course dinner complete with wine pairings. Life really doesn’t get much better than this, non?

Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival
March 6th to 16th
Hating the new cast of SNL? We have good news! The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival is an 11-day celebration of the best live, scripted comedy in North America. Each year, TOsketchfest takes over the city for performances, parties and professional development.

Mardi Gras Eh! Toronto
March 7th
At Canada’s largest Mardi Gras pub crawl you’ll bounce around seven College Street bars. Just be sure not to lose your beads… or your dignity… though that second one is less important.

Toronto Comicon
March 7th to 9th
Once a purpose for those destined to forever be virgins, Toronto Comicon at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre has totally capitalized on the comic-book movie popularity and is a hotbed of culture and community. Dress up, see some Q&As with your fave celebs, and impress your inner/outer nerd.

Festival Della Donna Celebrating Women’s Day at Osteria dei Ganzi
March 8th
Show some love to all the ladies in your life by taking them to a fabulous dinner at Osteria dei Ganzi! The Italian hotspot will be giving back to the gals with a $6 featured cocktail and complimentary dessert along with their regular menu of delicious classics from the [Prada] boot of Europe.

“Women Supporting Women” Shop Local Event
March 8th
In celebration of International Women’s Day, Lilla Balint and Shellie Willms will be hosting their 2nd annual WSW: Shop Local event at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Yorkville to help support female business owners and their passions. From 10am to 5pm, be sure to bring your mom, sisters and girlfriends and enjoy shopping the day away all while supporting women!

Joel Schwartz Memorial Hockey Tournament
March 9th
Presented by RioCan, the tournament raises funds for both the Reena Foundation, in support of individuals with developmental disorders, and Joel’s Ongoing Inclusion Network (J.O.I.N.). There’ll be nearly 400 players and they’ve raised over half a million dollars in 4 years. Sounds like a great day for an even greater cause!

Pasta Week at Osteria dei Ganzi
March 11th to 16th
Osteria dei Ganzi is officially throwing a wrench into the gears of your “no carbs in 2014” rule but that’s okay. Who can resist an entire week of delicious homemade pastas, with a different dish each night for $10-$11? Not us. If you don’t tell our personal trainer, we won’t tell yours. Deal? Deal.

Little Ladies Spa and Brunch Party at Stillwater Spa
March 11th
Stillwater Spa is hosting the perfect March Break activity for you and all the Little Ladies in your life. Bring your princess (aged 3 and older) in for side-by-side manicures followed by a scrumptious brunch in the spa Tea Lounge. Given that you’ll be in Yorkville afterwards, this is the perfect way start off a day of shopping and girly-girl bonding!

Tasting and Raptors Game with Anne Martin
March 12th
The Ontario Wine Society invites you to an evening of b-ball and vino at the Air Canada Centre. Anne Martin, head sommelier for Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, will lead an informative tasting featuring four enticing Ontario-centric wines with delicious food pairings prepared by the Hot Stove chefs.

Food Fight Family Night
March 12th
Come out for a night of trivia, family time and cheese at Cheesewerks! Food culture and kids culture come together for the best March Break activity we can think of! Eat and compete together with your loved ones big and small as Cheesewerks’ “Big Cheese” hosts his very popular trivia night with his adorable daughter Taylor. This time the questions will be designed for kids 8+ and their parents to answer as teams so everyone in the family can join in the fun!

Lucky Ball 2014
March 13th
Hosted by the Fort York Food Bank, the Lucky Ball is the city’s premiere St Patrick’s Day-themed charity fundraiser. This year, they’re aiming for 500 of Toronto’s hottest young professionals to raise $50,000. Lots of beers, lots of great music, and lots of good vibes to raise funds for a great cause.

National Home Show
March 14th to 23rd
With over 750 exhibitors, get some inspiration for all those home and landscaping projects you plan on undertaking this spring at the National Home Show! Our buddy Kevin Durkee, the Big Cheese at Cheesewerks, will be hosting the Vitamix Stage (presented by Reno + Décor Magazine). It will be a busy week for him (and informative one for us) as he showcases his best Food, Finds and Friends. Kevin is looking forward to highlighting some great Toronto foodies including The Culinary Adventure Co., Hot Bunzz and our very own Nicki Laborie who will join Kevin on stage on Saturday, March 22nd at 2pm.

Canada Blooms
March 14th to 23rd
Canada Blooms, the nation’s largest flower and garden show, will be bringing a taste of spring to Toronto’s Direct Energy Centre for 9 days of floral fabulousness. Some of the world’s top designers, architects, florists and garden builders will be competing to win coveted awards along with educational events to make sure your garden is the envy of the neighbourhood.

A Taste of Kensington
March 15th
Take a foot and food tour of Kensington Market, one of Toronto’s most eclectic and historic neighbourhoods. FYI, you probably want to catch this place before gentrification fully takes over.

Murder at the ROM
March 15th
This murder-mystery scavenger hunt includes the dastardly murder of a curator with a trail of clues left connecting to series in the collections he curates. Clearly the murderer should have spent less time in museums and more time watching CSI.

Toronto Indie Arts Market Spring Fashion Extravaganza
March 15th
Just in time for corporate fashion week, The Indie Arts Market will be featuring over 50 vendors of local, handmade clothing, accessories, jewellery and bodycare items. Just think of it as everything created by an extremely independent designer.

TFC Season Opener 2014 Party
March 15th
It’s soccer season and we’re excited! Open up the Toronto Football Club’s 2014 season at An Sibin Pub in Leslieville in their upstairs party area. Enjoy a massive screen for the game along with crazy good drink deals on craft beer, Irish import beers, and Jameson. With drink deals like these, whether you’ll remember the game or not remains to be seen.

St Patrick’s Day Parade
March 16th
While most of the time we’d associate mountains of children and copious drinking with an idea akin to self-immolation, this is the one exception to the rule. The St. Patrick’s Day parade is always fun for the entire family… if you’re into crowds, crying babies, and 905ers. #SorryNotSorry

World MasterCard Fashion Week
March 17th to 21st
Toronto’s premiere fashion event, catch up on what’s going to be huge for Fall/Winter 2014 from top Canadian and international designers. Beautiful peoples, fabulous after parties, and clothing most of us can only dream of wearing. Darling, this is fashion don’t you know?

Hart House Art Tours
March 19th
Did you know that Hart House has some of the best Canadian art including 59 artworks now deemed National Treasures? We didn’t! Honestly though, date night two days after St. Patrick’s Day is probably best spent doing something quiet that actually develops brain power.

Folklesque
March 20th
While we wouldn’t go so far as comparing it to water and oil, burlesque and folk music are a bit of an interesting mix. That said, this is Toronto and almost anything goes as long as you’re nowhere near the 905 area code.

First Annual Outreach Dinner Benefitting Humber River Hospital
March 22
Did you know that Toronto is building an entirely paperless hospital? So cool, right? Help raise funds for it at the First Annual Outreach Dinner to benefit the new Humber River Hospital. Get into your cocktail best for a fabulous gala dinner at La Gondola Banquet Hall along with a raffle!

Cuppa Teas – High Tea and Burlesque
March 23rd
This is definitely not your granny’s Sunday High Tea. Or maybe it is, we don’t judge. Cuppa Teas is another innovative take on burlesque, this time combined with steeped beverages and pastries. Why not?

Collaboration of Chefs
March 27th
Splendido, our favourite Harbord hotspot, will be hosting a culinary gathering of the minds akin in scale and epicness to the Fellowship of the Ring (at least to us foodies). Chef Victor Barry will be hosting seven of his fellow Toronto chefs for the Collaboration of Chefs. It will span the breadth of the Canadian food spectrum, and those present will be treated to an 8-course tasting feast and 8 snacks courtesy of culinary genius from Nadege, Auberge du Pommier, Nota Bene and more! Who needs Hobbits when you could have foie gras? Can we get an amen…?

Baring it All For Breast Cancer Exhibit
March 28th to 30th
The world-renowned photo exhibit “The SCAR (Surviving Cancer Absolute Reality) Project” will open this year’s Breast Fest at the Edward Day Gallery on March 28th. Shot by acclaimed New York-based fashion photographer David Jay, this thought-provoking exhibit is a series of topless portraits of young breast cancer survivors. This marks the first time the project will be shown to Canadian audiences.

Shakesbeer
March 29th
Held at the Artscape Wychwood Barns, locally brewed theatre and brews is what Shakesbrew is all about. Spending the day enjoying beer and the Bard’s tales may sound like something you’d do in university, but really, on occasion, isn’t that kind of a good thing?

3rd Annual Memory Ball
March 29th
Brought to you by Friends for a Benefit (FFAB), Memory Ball promotes Alzheimer’s awareness among a young demographic and works to dispel the myths and stigmas related to Alzheimer’s. Another great night for a great cause if we’ve ever seen one.

Shoot Your Own Food Porn
March 30th
If you’re tired of having food shots a la Martha Stewart (look it up if you don’t know what we’re talking about), then you’ll definitely want to check out the Culinary Adventure Company’s Shoot Your Own Food Porn class. You’ll get 4 hours with expert photographer Kyla Zanardi, full with tips on how to make food look actually edible. BYOC (Bring Your Own Camera).

Spring Thaw by the Canadian Chefs’ Congress
March 31st
Spring Thaw will be bringing together the spring creations of over 20 chefs, featuring all the best organic and non-GMO food Ontario has to offer. Start spring guilt-free, we say!

Planning to attend one of these or have we missed one you’re looking forward to? Comment below or tweet us @ViewTheVibe!