News: Tall Ships Headline Toronto Waterfront Festival June 28-29

Lettie G Howard

The Lettie G. Howard is a historic schooner built in 1893 by the Arthur D. Story Shipyard in Essex, Massachusetts, for Captain Fred Howard, who named her after his daughter.

June 26, 2025

The Toronto Waterfront Festival, presented by Redpath returns to Sugar Beach this weekend, June 28-29 to celebrate the start of summer. Explore the decks and meet the crews of a fleet of historical vessels, enjoy live nautical entertainment, local food and drink, interactive activities and much more! 

Meet the fleet of tall ships that will be sailing into Toronto to celebrate the start of summer.

THE FLEET

  • Empire Sandy – Canada’s Largest Tall Ship. 
  • SV Fair Jeanne – Has sailed 150,000 nautical miles and trained over 2,000 youth. 
  • Lettie G. Howard – One of the last surviving 19th-century fishing schooners.
  • Liberty Clipper – Named after John Hancock’s tea-smuggling ship. 
  • Pride of Baltimore II, presented by Menkes – Has visited over 200 ports in 40 countries. 
  • TS Playfair – Docking at Harbourfront Centre June 27 and 28. 

TIME:             Saturday, June 2810:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. 

            Sunday, June 2910:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. 

 WHERE:         Sugar Beach (11 Dockside Drive) – Main festival location

The schooner Liberty Clipper was built in 1983 at the Blount Shipyard in Rhode Island.  With a steel hull, she is a modern replica of a Baltimore Clipper style schooner, which were widely used during the 18th and 19th centuries.

 WHAT:            

  • Tour the decks of visiting ships SV Fair Jeanne, Pride of Baltimore II, presented by Menkes, Liberty Clipper and Lettie G. Howard.  
  • Sail aboard Empire Sandy, Canada’s largest tall ship, with four sail-aways per day including a coveted sunset sail each evening.
  • See TS Playfair docked at Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W. on June 27 and 28. 
  • Catch live nautical-themed entertainment on the George Brown Stage including Tap Dancing Sailors, Fire Dancers, the HMCS York Band, Envirodrum, and Captain Finn & the Salty Sea Dogs. Roaming stilt walkers and jugglers will surprise and delight throughout the weekend.
  • Enjoy a boatload of eats from local food vendors in the Billy Bishop Airport Picnic Lounge, with nautical-themed menu items like Captain’s Corn, Shark Teeth, Curry Shrimp Roti, Big Fish Baos, Sailor Cookies, Coastal Cool Lemonade, and more.
  • Explore on-land activations from the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Coast Guard, Live Green Toronto, and Moccasin Identifier. 

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