Major new ‘Celebration Common’ waterfront park planned at Ontario Place
The province is transforming Ontario Place into a more vibrant waterfront destination and creating a major new multi-use park for people and families to enjoy. Daiene Vernile, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, was at Ontario Place on May 2nd to announce plans for more green space on the iconic property and to unveil the design for Celebration Common, a new multi-purpose waterfront park that will be roughly the size of 14 football fields.
Celebration Common design concept. Photo via Province of Ontario / DTAH
The park – which is being designed by award-winning firm DTAH – will host large-scale festivals and events, feature an outdoor play area for kids and a beach where locals and visitors can play outdoor sports or simply enjoy the waterfront. According to the province, the development of Celebration Common is the next step in transforming Ontario Place into a year-round destination for everyone to enjoy.
“We have made tremendous progress on our vision to revitalize Ontario Place and bring new life to this iconic destination. The design of the new park boosts public access by providing an ideal location for festivals, cultural events and recreational activities. Celebration Common illustrates the wonderful progress we are making to transform Ontario Place into a vibrant year-round destination along Toronto’s spectacular waterfront,” said Vernile.
“It is exciting to see the great progress our government is making on transforming Ontario Place into a year-round destination. The preliminary designs for the Celebration Common give us a taste of the incredible space it will become — a beautiful waterfront park where people can go to relax or enjoy cultural events and recreational activities, ” added Han Dong MPP, Trinity-Spadina.
As revitalization moves forward, Ontario Place continues to welcome people to the site with new public programming throughout late spring and summer, including:
- IMAX movies at the Cinesphere, which will include a selection of documentaries such as The Trolley, Under the Sea and Aircraft Carrier: Guardian of the Seas.
- Trillium Park’s free Thursday evening performing arts series and free Sunday afternoon family-friendly interactive performances
- A variety of outdoor activities including beach volleyball and free skating on an outdoor synthetic rink on the waterfront
This summer, Ontario Place will welcome back the YMCA Toronto’s Day Camp, an outdoor children’s camp experience that includes games, crafts, cycling, and water sport activities.
A Vibrant #Waterfront Park is coming to @OntarioPlace #SpadinaFortYork! As a parent, I know how crucial green space and expanded public access is along #Toronto ‘s Waterfront, for families to live & grow in a safe & sustainable way news.ontario.ca/mtc/en/2018/05… #onpoli #Toronto #Family
Ontario Place will also be working with other non-profit organizations and local community groups on a program to give free tickets to Kids Up Front so children and youth can see movies at the iconic Cinesphere theatre.