July 1st is Canada Day, and Canada’s largest metropolitan area offers many unique and exciting events to attend with friends, family, and as many fellow patriotic Canadians as you can handle to celebrate the country’s 147th birthday.

The City of Toronto’s official Canada Day celebration is at Mel Lastman Square in North York. Musical and circus performances as well as many family activities will provide the entertainment until the main event after dark: the 10:15 pm fireworks display, choreographed to great Canadian music. The best part, of course, is that it’s free.

Another highly popular fireworks display is held at Ashbridges Bay, next to the Beaches community on Lakeshore Blvd East at Coxwell Avenue. It usually begins around 9:30 pm. North of the city, Canada’s Wonderland amusement park in Vaughan hosts a massive fireworks show of its own that can either be watched from inside the park (with the cost of admission) or just outside. The first fuses are lit around 10 pm. A smaller display will also be held at Harbourfront Centre on Queen’s Quay West on the night of June 30th, part of a long weekend’s worth of events at the facility.

For those less inclined towards such explosive displays, there are food- and entertainment-centric events like the four-day CHIN Picnic, a free multicultural celebration at Exhibition Place, or Toronto Ribfest in Etobicoke’s Centennial Park. Both of these events run from June 27th to July 1st. Alternative rock station 102.1 The Edge runs an all-Canadian edition of its Edgefest concert series at Echo Beach (on the old Ontario Place premises) on July 1st. In the suburbs of Toronto, communities like Mississauga, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Brampton, and Barrie all have their own Canada Day parties to throw as well, many of them with music, food, games, and fireworks.

With the knockout stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup beginning on the Saturday of the Canada Day long weekend as well and the weather expected to be spectacular and warm, it’s a fine time to get outdoors with other proud Canadians to celebrate the national holiday in style in the Greater Toronto Area.