Another Toronto event gets axed amid wave of festival cancellations
Toronto’s wave of community event cancellations continues, and this time, it’s affecting a beloved Halloween tradition in Scarborough.
Over the weekend, the Scarborough Bluffs Community Association announced its annual Pumpkin Parade at Sandown Park would not be taking place as scheduled this year due to “unexpected” circumstances.
“Dear friends and neighbours,” the group wrote in a message to residents. “After eight wonderful years, we are saddened to inform that due to unexpected circumstances, we will not be hosting our beloved Pumpkin Parade at Sandown Park this year.”
Organizers went on to ask the community not to drop off pumpkins at the park this year, as they won’t be collected, and instead directed residents to Oakridge Park, located on Danforth Avenue, which will be hosting its 10th annual Pumpkin Parade on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The long-standing Sandown Park event, located near Midland Avenue and Kingston Road, has been a seasonal local tradition for years, inviting neighbours to bring their carved pumpkins to the park for a one-night display.
“Thank you all for your understanding and continued support,” the association wrote. As expected, many locals expressed their disappointment online, with one resident calling the parade a “lovely community gesture,” and hoping the event will return next year.
blogTO reached out to the Scarborough Bluffs Community Association to inquire about the reasoning behind the cancellation. The association reiterated that the event was cancelled “due to unexpected circumstances,” and noted that their volunteer team was unable to host the parade this year.
Unfortunately, this most recent cancellation is just the latest in a growing trend of scrapped Toronto events throughout 2025. Earlier this year, organizers of Sugar Shack TO, a waterfront festival that ran for seven years, announced that the event was being suspended due to funding issues and rising production costs.
A few months later, Kensington Market’s BIA confirmed that the first edition of its summer-long Pedestrian Sundays was cancelled, as organizers worked to “reimagine” the street festival, although later events still went ahead as scheduled.
Then came the devastating news that Taste of the Danforth, once Canada’s largest street festival, would be shelved again in 2025, with organizers citing a mix of funding challenges and infrastructure constraints. Shortly after, Tamil Fest, scheduled to take over Markham Road in Scarborough, was called off just days before it was scheduled, with organizers promising a comeback next year.
More postponed events followed, including Oktoberfest and the Little Jamaica Festival, which both hinted at limited budgets and logistical hurdles. Even the Geary Art Crawl was recently put on pause as organizers cited “unstable funding” and construction along the street. The festival is now expected to return in March 2026.
For now, Scarborough residents will have to head down to Oakridge Park for their annual pumpkin celebrations and cross their fingers that next year brings better luck for the city’s community events.
