NOTE: Due to health concerns, many events are being cancelled or postponed for March 2020. Check websites, social media, or call ahead to find out if the event will take place as planned.
This year, it just makes sense to stay in town for March Break. Take this opportunity to see what Toronto and the GTA have to offer. There are so many fabulous attractions that are right in your own backyard!
Maple syrup and museums, ComiCon and conservation areas, skating princesses and SpringFest – all this and much, much more are out there for your this March Break!
March Break Discounts
This March Break, kids’ admission is free Black Creek Pioneer Village.
Always free: Allan Gardens Conservatory, Rouge Park, High Park Zoo, Riverdale Farm, Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto Public Library, and kids’ entry at the Gardiner Museum.
Festivals
SpringFest TO is the big kids’ festival on through March Break. Other festivals around the city and beyond are all about kicking off the maple syrup season!
SpringFest TO
This indoor fun park at Exhibition Place will feature more than 25 rides and exhibits, including inflatable “bouncy” slides, carnival rides, bumper cars, birds of prey, a petting zoo, a dinosaur exhibit, stage shows, and more.
Dates: March 16–21
Cost: All-day ride pass (includes admission) $25+HST for children and $15+HST for adults
Sugar Shack TO
Head to the waterfront downtown for traditional cabane à sucre activities in the city: maple sugaring demonstrations, maple-infused “comfort foods”, the snowball toss, a lumberjack show, and fire pit warming areas.
Dates: March 14–15
Cost: Free
Nowruz Spring Festival
This festival celebrates the Persian New Year and features music, dance, theatre, visual arts, food, vendors, and a lot of fun for the kids, with storytelling workshops, face painting, crafts, egg colouring, dance workshops, and puppets.
Dates: March 13–15
Cost: Free (except for some ticketed performances)
ComiCon Toronto
The comic, cartoon, and movie fan in your house will love this convention of television and film stars autograph and photo sessions, costumes and cosplay, marketplace, and the Family Zone, with arts and crafts, face painting, Pokemon Park, Quidditch pitch, and Sorting Hat Ceremony.
Dates: March 20–22
Cost: $25–$35 adults, $15–$25 youth, $10 children.
Kids Fest 2.0
Chock-full of things to do for kids of all ages, Kids Fest 2.0 features bouncy castles, ball pits, movies, face painting, mini golf, an arcade, a mechanical bull, the boulder wall, an outdoor obstacle course, and community vendors.
Dates: March 14–15
Cost: $10 adults, $20 children, $55 families (up to 2 adults and 3 children)
Maple Syrup Festivals
It’s maple sugaring season! Get out of the city to do sugar bush tours at the source. Most of these include pancake breakfasts, wagon rides, tapping and syrup production demos, taffy tastings, and even live entertainment for kids and families at the four Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festivals.
Read more about all 15 Sugar Shacks and Maple Syrup Festivals in the GTA this year.
Brooks Farms Maple Sugar Festival (East Gwillimbury)
Dates: March 7–22, plus dates after March break
Cost: $10 per person
Bronte Creek Maple Syrup Festival (Oakville)
Dates: Every weekend in March
Cost: $18 per car
Maple Magic (Mississauga)
Dates: March 14–22
Cost: $9.25 adults, $6.25 kids, $23 family
Maple Syrup Festival at Westfield Heritage Village (Rockton)
Dates: Every Sunday in March, as well as March 18 & 19
Cost: $12 adults, $6.50 kids; free for ages 5 and under
Maple Town (Milton)
Dates: February 29 – April 5
Cost: $7.75 adults, $5.50 kids; free for ages 4 and under
Purple Woods Maple Syrup Festival (Oshawa)
Dates: March 13–15, 18–22, 28–29, and April 4–5
Cost: $7 online, $10 at the door
Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival at Bruce’s Mill (Stouffville)
Dates: March 14– April 12
Cost: $8.85+HST adults, $5.75+HST kids; free for ages 4 and under
Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival at Island Lake (Orangeville)
Dates: March 20, 21, 28
Cost: $8.85+HST adults, $5.75+HST kids; free for ages 4 and under
Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival at Kortright Centre (Woodbridge)
Dates: March 14– April 12
Cost: $8.85+HST adults, $5.75+HST kids; free for ages 4 and under
Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival at Terra Cotta (Halton Hills)
Dates: March 14–22, 28–29, April 4–5
Cost: $8.85+HST adults, $5.75+HST kids; free for ages 4 and under
Sweet Water Season (Milton)
Dates: February 29 – April 5
Cost: Admission $7.75 adults, $5.50 kids; free for ages 4 and under
Family Shows
Whether you’re up for an afternoon at the ballet, life-size rescue pups on stage, or a full-on pop concert, March Break is full of amazing kids performances this year.
Marvel Super Hero Spectacular (Uxbridge)
Come dressed in your favourite Marvel costume and meet Iron Man, Spiderman, and Captain Marvel. Help solve puzzles and save the station before time runs out, then reward yourself with a pizza party.
Dates: March 21
Cost: Tickets from $19.99 to $44.98
Splash ’n Boots (Brampton)
Sing and dance along to the Juno Award-winning children’s entertainment duo as they put on a rousing show.
Dates: March 18
Cost: Tickets from $25 to $40
Disney on Ice: World of Enchantment (Hamilton)
Characters from Cars, The Little Mermaid, Toy Story, and Frozen join Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy for a spirited ice spectacular.
Dates: March 18–22
Cost: Tickets from $26.65 to $89.40
Sesame Street on Rails (Uxbridge)
Meet Elmo and Cookie Monster, enjoy a sing-along, meet the conductor, do some colouring, and enjoy a tasty treat.
Dates: March 14–15
Cost: Tickets from $34.99 to $39.98
Masters of Illusion (Markham)
Amazing illusions, interactive mind tricks, dangerous escapes, and hysterical comedy make up this evening of magic, featuring an international cast of magicians and illusionists.
Dates: March 14–15
Cost: Tickets from $15 to $75
Museums & Attractions – Special March Break Programs
The kids will never be bored with all the exciting things to do at museums and attractions in Toronto and the GTA this March Break.
March Break at the AGO
Kids can try out tricks in the Magic Trick Lab and then head onstage for their own command performance, check out exciting animated short films, create some art, try on costumes, and enjoy musical performances this March Break.
Dates: March 14–22
Cost: Included with museum admission (AGO admission free for ages 25 and under)
Aga Khan Museum March Break Fun
Enjoy Art Cart activities, make your own artwork to take home, hear live music from around the world, and explore the intricacy of carpets and textiles.
Dates: March 14–22
Cost: Included with museum admission
March Break at the BSM
Bata Shoe Museum is hosting a Magical March Break, with colourful costumes, fabulous games, fantastic puppet shows, and creative crafts for kids of all ages.
Dates: March 14–22
Cost: $8 kids and adults
March Break at the Village
Help Sherlock Holmes solve a March Break Mystery as you attend Watson’s detective school, hunt for clues, and question subjects. While you’re there, check out the maple syrup show and sugar shack or take a wagon ride through the historic village ($2pp).
Dates: March 16–22
Cost: $15 adults, ages 0–13 free with adult admission
Casa Loma: Imagine Dragons
For a third year, Casa Loma is transformed into a fairy-tale castle in an era of dragons and adventure. This special event features a knight school show, Circus Dragonus, performances by Famous Peoples Players, and discover how to train a dragon.
Dates: March 9–17
Cost: Included with regular admission
March Break at the CN Tower
Celebrate National Engineering Month this March Break with fun activities like a marble maze, button making, balloon rockets, building a hurricane-resistant tower and more, along with all the everyday CN Tower attractions for kids.
Dates: March 16–20
Cost: Included with regular admission
March Break Family Adventure at Fort York
This 43-acre national historic site is featuring some March Break family fun, with music workshops, costume dress-up, treats from the 1826 kitchen, and the chance to take part in soldiers’ drill class. Get a Kids’ Guide to the Fort and follow the clues to complete games and puzzles throughout the fort.
Dates: March 14–22
Cost: Included with regular admission
Hockey Hall of Fame: March Break at the Hall
Meet the mascots, hear stories of the Stanley Cup and get a photo with it, try your hand at goaltending and shooting the puck, call the play-by-play of hockey’s big moments, check out the hockey artifacts, and challenge friends and family in the Video Game Kiosk Zone.
Dates: March 14–22
Cost: Included in regular admission; $10 Esso gift card given out to the first 100 families on each day of March Break
March Break Family Adventure at Mackenzie House
Discover the stinky history of Toronto’s waste and the roots of modern recycling, take part in the Historic House Scavenger Hunt, and enjoy cookies and warm apple cider as you design your own image block to try out the 1845 printing press.
Dates: March 14–22
Cost: $8 adults, $7 youth, $6 kids
March Break Family Adventure at Spadina Museum
Create a family crest and learn about the meanings of colours, plants, and animals and how they could represent your family at this special March break event. Take a tour of the grand Austin family mansion and play some 1920s games.
Dates: March 14–22
Cost: $10 adults, $8 youth, $6 kids
March Break Family Adventure at Todmorden Mills
Historic treats, toys, and games are scheduled for March Break week at this 19th-century heritage site and former industrial community in the Don Valley. Tour the 9.2-hectare wildflower preserve and play outdoor Nature Bingo!
Dates: March 14–22
Cost: $8 adults, $7 youth, $5 kids
March Break Madness at the McMichael Gallery (Vaughan)
Enjoy some March Break Madness, with First Nations, global music, and Canadian folk music performances each day at 2pm.
Dates: March 18–20
Cost: Included in museum admission
March Break at the Ontario Science Centre
There’s so much to do at the Science Centre this March Break, from magicians to STEM experiments, gaming to PJ Masks! Watch paper get made, explore the sky, ponder the sun, and have a fun time learning.
Dates: March 14–22
Cost: Included with museum admission
STEAM into March Break at PAMA (Brampton)
PAMA offers a week of art and science fun, with slime, zoetrope, and optical illusion workshops, magic, music, and Bubbleology performances. And, while you’re there, check out exhibitions on Peel’s Black communities, WWI, and waste and recycling.
Dates: March 16–20
Cost: Regular museum admission + $2
ROM: March Break
Discover more about the reality behind Winnie-the-Pooh and meet the bear himself, get up close and personal with exotic animals, meet some sensational snakes, make some fabulous communal art, all at the ROM this March Break. Plus, there are more than 20 galleries with dinosaur skeletons and other treasures to discover.
Dates: March 14–22
Cost: Included in museum admission
Toronto Public Library March Break Programs
Cool science experiments, LEGO workshops, interactive magic shows, music performances, puppet show, movies, and more are at library branches throughout the city—all for free! Registration may be required for some programs.
Dates: March 14–21
Cost: Free
More Museums & Attractions
These places don’t have special March Break programming but are just fun destinations during any day, weekend, or school break.
Museum of Illusions
Museum of Illusions packs a lot of weird and wonderful experiences into a small space. Walk on the ceiling in the Rotated Room, feel the illusion of never-ending space in the twinkling Infinity Room, and more. It has six illusion rooms and more than a dozen installations in total.
Open: Daily 10 am–8 pm
Cost: $23.50 adults, $19.50 kids
Ripley’s Aquarium
With over 20,000 aquatic animals, Ripley’s Aquarium will immerse you in your own underwater adventure. After you take in all the sharks, jellyfish, clownfish, and other underwater creatures in the dimmed galleries and see a dive show, visit the Shoreline Gallery to get up close and even touch a stingray.
Open:Daily 9 am–11 pm
Cost: $39 adults, $26 ages 6–13, $13 ages 3–5, free ages 2 and under; discounts available for timed ticket
Gardiner Museum
This museum devoted to works of clay hosts hands-on family workshops every weekend. To celebrate its anniversary, the Gardiner is offering free admission to everyone on March 14 and 15. Current exhibitions are RAW, with raw clay works by four leading artists, and Fable, featuring Nurille Stern’s cats, mice, and mythical creatures.
Open: Mon., Tue., Thu., Fri. 10 am-6 pm, Wed. 10 am–9 pm, weekends 10 am–5 pm
Cost: $15 adults, free for kids under age 18; free admission for everyone March 9 and 10
Zoos & Parks
March Break marks the first opening to the public of many of the farms for kids in the GTA. Most have farm-themed play spaces, farm animal petting and feeding opportunities, and more fun activities. And the Toronto Zoo will be open every day during March Break.
Rouge National Urban Park
Rouge Park, which spans parts of Scarborough and Pickering, is Canada’s first national urban park, designated as such in 2015. It will soon be 79 square km in size—23 times larger than New York’s Central Park. Take part in a family-friendly guided walk or just explore the natural beauty on your own.
Open:Daily 24 hours
Cost: Free
March Break at the Toronto Zoo
This March Break, the Toronto Zoo is hosting a Wild Toy Animal Hospital for your injured stuffs, a kids’ paint party, daily keeper talks, the wildlife health centre viewing gallery, and carnivore feedings.
Dates: March 14–22; zoo open daily 9:30–6 pm during March break
Cost: $22.20 adults, $13.50 kids, free for ages 2 and under; (Kids’ Paint Party is $50pp)
Allan Gardens Conservatory
Families are invited to drop in for seed planting, a scavenger hunt, and hot apple cider on March 17 . Meander through the variety of plants and flowers sheltered in the Allan Gardens greenhouses downtown, including tropical plants, lush exotics like gingers and hibiscus, and a thriving collection of various palms, bananas, and tropical vines.
Open:Daily 10 am–5 pm
Cost: Free
Riverdale Farm
This historic working farm is a great place for city kids to meet farm animals, tour the barns, and learn about feeding, egg collection, milking, and horse grooming, and more aspects of farming life.
Open:Daily 9 am–5 pm
Cost: Free
High Park Zoo
You don’t have to travel to the Toronto Zoo in Scarborough to see some exotic animals. High Park Zoo hosts a variety of interesting animals, like capybara, highland cattle, yaks, and wallabies. High Park’s popular “castle playground” is adjacent to the zoo.
Open: Daily 7 am–dusk
Cost: Free
Evergreen Brickworks
Wander Lookout Path for a specular view of the city skyline, bike the many trails through 40 acres of thriving green space, take a weekend guided tour, play in the Children’s Garden (weekends only) at this urban nature park.
Open: Daily 9 am–5 pm
Cost: Free
Toronto Music Garden
Enjoy the Toronto Music Garden while listening to commentary and music on an audio tour. The garden was designed by internationally renowned cellist Yo Yo Ma (in conjunction with landscape designer and architects) and inspired by a Bach Suite.
Open:Daily 24 hours
Cost: Free; audio tour $6
Conservation Areas & Outdoor Adventure
Some conservation areas have extended hours during March Break, and many are inexpensive (less than $10 admission) or even free for kids. Find what’s on at all the Toronto and Region Conservation parks.
Treewalk Village Adventure Park for Kids (Stouffville)
Open temporarily for March Break as part of the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival at Bruce’s Mill, this outdoor adventure park for ages 3 and up has elevated tree houses connected by rope bridges, hammock nets, and wooden walkways, plus log courses, tunnels, slides, and climbing walls.
Dates: March 13–22
Cost: $5 adults, $10 kids (Treewalk); $15 for ages 5–8 Discovery Course; free for ages 2 and under or 65 and older. Additional festival entrance fee applies to all visitors
Ski Resorts
Snowmaking machines are in full force for the end of the ski season, whether Mother Nature cooperates or not. Several resorts are advertising March Break specials. Find a list of GTA and southern Ontario ski resorts in our online directory.
Indoor Activity Centres
Too cold to play outside? Take it indoors but still stay active at indoor playgrounds, trampoline centres, and climbing gyms.
Indoor Playgrounds
Head to an indoor playground from our round-up of the best indoor playgrounds in Toronto or search for more indoor playgrounds in Toronto and the GTA.
Trampoline Gyms
Play trampoline dodge ball or basketball or just jump, jump, jump at a Toronto-area trampoline gym—they have programs for kids of all ages, and grown-ups, too!
Find a Trampoline Gym Near You
Climbing Gyms
Get vertical at Toronto-area rock climbing gyms with climbing walls and/or bouldering. Most have equipment rentals for kids, so drop-in is easy.
Find a Family-Friendly Climbing Gym Near You
March Break Camps
Didn’t book a camp in advance? Not a problem. Some of these more than 50 Toronto/GTA March break camps have last-minute bookings. In some cases, you can even book for just one or two days of March Break—or even just a half-day.
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