Concerts & Events in Etobicoke

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony was founded out of necessity; in 1945, the Grand Philharmonic Choir was preparing a recital and needed tuneful accompaniment for the harmonic voices. Once its backup duty was over, however, the newly convened orchestra quickly established itself as an independent source for both classical and pops concerts performing more than 100 concerts annually in the Waterloo region. Now home to 52 on-staff musicians, the orchestra continues its decades-long tradition at venues around Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, and Cambridge. From his position as music director, Edwin Outwater oversees the joyful noise, which ranges from baroque to Beethoven to the Beatles and Broadway. Since assuming the role in 2007, Outwater has been one of the orchestra's most vigorous boosters, arranging the group's first commercial recording in a decade, engineering an exploration of prog rock in collaboration with the Institute for Quantum Computing, and knitting sweaters for each musician's instrument.

Vaughan Sportsplex sprawls its diversified athletic facilities across a 20,000-square-foot plot of land on Woodbridge's Westcreek Drive. Competitive and recreational athletes report to three indoor sports fields to engage in myriad sports from friendly touch football sessions on FIFA-rated X-Treme turf to more unique diversions such as full-field Nerf dart lazer tag. Vaughan Sportsplex also organizes league competition open to nearly all ages and skill levels, including adult competition in co-ed volleyball or men's soccer as well as kids' leagues in floor hockey and competitive sand-castle demolition.

As the American Hockey League affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Marlies take to the ice with a roster of young skaters on their way to an NHL career. Named after a legendary (but since dissolved) Junior A team, the Toronto Marlboros, the Marlies have had their share of success since their move to the city in 2005, including a 2011–2012 campaign in which they captured the Western Conference title and nearly hoisted the league's hallowed Calder Cup. Crowds of up to 8,200 fans cheer the Marlies on from their home at Ricoh Coliseum, where team mascot Duke the Dog—his own name an homage to the Duke of Marlborough—dances in the stands.

Now in its 60th year, Remax's expansive National Home Show is North America's largest yearly home and garden convention, attracting more than 800 exhibitors. Attractions include the environmentally efficient Dream Home—a 3,600-square-foot monument to "sustainable luxury"—and a slate of home savvy entertainers on the HGTV celebrity stage. Visitors trust their design sense to guide them from booth to domestically themed booth while running into famed home and garden savants such as interior design wizard Janette Ewen and master contractor and Builder Boss television host Jim Caruk. As an official charity of the benefit, the March of Dimes Canada will host pro wrestler Bret "Hitman" Hart at its booth to engage fans with an autograph session and share his method of getting stains out of upholstery with sofa-cushion sleeper holds.