🦝 Pickles, Pickles, and Pickles

What's happening in the West End September 18th to 22nd.

Author

Xavier W
September 18, 2025

Happy Thursday Toronto!

This weekend is the final weekend of the summer! Don’t squander it. Nobody likes a squanderer.

I know everyone has been anxiously waiting for my opinion of Rogers Stadium. My final review is as follows: “Yeah not bad eh?” Definitely some room for improvement but it did allow us to have some cool concerts this summer.

Let’s get into it.

Featured Events

(Full list of events at end of newsletter)

🥒 YYZ Picklefest

Saturday and Sunday @ Henderson

A two day festival celebrating all things pickle. Over 50 vendors will be hawking every pickle product you can possibly imagine. Pickle beer, pickle pizza, pickle socks, pickle lemonade, even pickle ice cream. Plus check out the doggies entered into the pickle costume contest or enter your own former cucumbers into the homemade pickle contest. $23 tickets

đź“š Roncy Flea

Saturday 10AM at 240 Roncesvalles

It's the final Roncy Flea of the year :( Cons: Summer is over and so is our happiness. Pros: There'll be a massive book clearance sale for the final Flea, with all books priced at $3. Details

West End Updates

New Texas-Style BBQ Spot

Golden Horseshoe BBQ opened last weekend in the Annex by Christie and Dupont. The “pitmasters” behind this new operation are alumni of Carbon Bar, a super popular spot down on Queen. The menu looks exactly as you’d expect, meaning it looks amazing. Brisket, burnt ends, and Ontario Pork Ribs slow-cooked everyday for 6 hours.

For now they’ll just be open Wednesday through Sunday, opening up at 11:30AM and closing whenever they sell out. Instagram here if you want to salivate.

West End Breakfast Battle

The moment we’ve all been waiting for is here. Today, we will vote to crown the CHAMPION of the West End Breakfast Battle, enshrining it as our neighbourhood’s favourite breakfast. Skyline Restaurant already had a place in the final, and last week we voted to see who would face them. The result was……

Dirty Food DEFEATS Gold Standard!

Dirty Food came into this tournament as a favourite and have delivered on expectations, handily defeating both competitors it’s come across. On the other side of the bracket, Skyline arose as an underdog. Despite being seeded in 9th place after the nomination round, they ran a gauntlet of Masa Deli, Easy Restaurant, and Good Fork in order to secure their place in the final.

Will Skyline’s Cinderella run have a fairy tale ending? Or will Dirty Food continue their dominance through the final round? It’s time to decide. Vote by clicking on the links below (They will take you to the restaurant’s website).

Dirty Food - CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Fancy House of the Week - Presented by CARGO CABBIE

Moving soon? With a 4.9 star rating on Google, CARGO CABBIE is your West End go-to for packing, moving, and storage. Get up to 20% off with code LOCAL20 from your neighbours at CARGO CABBIE. Book your move today: cargocabbie.ca

207 Ellis Avenue is like if you took the grabbed a beautiful house in the countryside and dropped it next to High Park. A massive massive backyard that backs onto Grenadier Pond, an outdoor patio that’s perfect for grilling, and sunny balcony from which you can enjoy all that outdoor space. Add in 3000 square feet of interior space any you’ll see why this place is not priced like those other nice houses out in the country. $5.9 million, check it out.

Events

If you have an event you’d like included in the West End Raccoon, please submit it here.

Thursday and Friday

Dragon's Den Day @ CBC Toronto - Thursday 12 to 7PM
Okay not West End but a great piece of Canadiana so I had to include. A one day event celebrating the iconic Dragon's Den. Shop a market of products from the show and then hear some speeches from the Dragons themselves. Don't worry, O'Leary is gone. Details

Big On Bay @ Downtown - Thursday 5PM
From a reader: "Teams of 5 will engage in fun activities; helping to raise awareness of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto while getting the chance to win amazing prizes." Details

Typography Show @ Northern Contemporary - Thursday 6PM
Swash & Serif is a typography and lettering show where all sorts of artists will showcase their word based art. Technically this newsletter should also qualify, someone save me a spot for next year. I even use a fun font. PWYC

Wax Flower Workshop @ Shevchenko Museum - Thursday 6PM
Create a timeless flower arrangement. $70 tickets

The Bright Side @ Loohoo - Thursday 630PM
Opening reception for a new exhibit by Julie Agro featuring "dreamy, whimsical drawings, paintings & cyanotypes". Details

Board Game Night @ Junction Craft - Friday 6PM
Play Catan with your man while drinking a tan (ale). Details

Good Grief @ Super Wonder Gallery - Friday 630PM
An evening that "that brings together art, storytelling, and community to honour the ways we navigate loss and healing." Details

Treasure Bingo @ The Drake - Friday 730PM
At this bingo night contestants will bring in interesting things from their home that they no longer want. These items will serve as prizes for the rest of the night. As the old saying goes: "One man's trash is a Queen West vintage store's $300 window display" $9 tickets

Bots and Babes @ Parkdale Hall - Friday 8PM
A robot themed cabaret. If this is your thing this is your THING. $35 tickets

Saturday

Queen West Art Crawl @ Trinity Bellwoods - Saturday and Sunday
This weekend Trinity Bellwoods will be turned into a massive outdoor gallery as artists gather to exhibit and sell their work. There’s also a stage set up to host live music, comedy, and drag performances. Details

FAN-tastic Market @ Loohoo - Saturday and Sunday
A market for proud pop culture geeks of several varieties. Details

Bruce Peninsula Hike @ Dufferin Mall - Saturday 7AM
Get picked up in a bus and brought to Tobermory for some guided hikes. A great and environmentally friendly way to see the best parts of Ontario without a car. $160 tickets

Pin + Patch Show @ Parkdale Hall - Saturday 10AM
Do you like pins? How about patches? No way, you have a deep obsession with both of them!? You named your daughter PinPatch? What're the odds. There's going to be a big pin and patch show this weekend with artists from around the world, I'd imagine you're interested. Details

Oktoberfest @ Bellwoods Brewery - Saturday
Grab your friends Hans and Franz and come smash some mega-stiens yaaaaa. Details

Silent Book Club @ Danu Social House - Saturday 230PM
Attendees will chat for a bit and share their current read, then settle in for an hour of silent reading. Details

Parkd-alien Night Market @ Elm Grove and Queen - Saturday 5PM
This market in Parkdale is like a regular street market in that it'll feature a bunch of local vendors, artists, and food trucks. It's also not at all like a regular street market because it's alien themed, with UFO sculptures and costumes aplenty. Details

Swing Dancing @ Society Clubhouse - Saturday 7PM
A swing dancing lesson followed by a night of swing dancing. All levels welcome, $10-25 tickets

Indie Night @ Dance Cave - Saturday 10PM
I think the Arctic Monkeys get played more in Toronto now than they ever did in 2010. $10 tickets

Sunday

Pedalling the Parks @ Little Norway Park - Sunday 11AM
A cycling tour run by Heritage Toronto where you'll bike along Lake Ontario and learn a bit about the city's history as you go. Kind of like a run club but you'll talk about Toronto rather than gels and knee pain. $10 tickets

Muscles and Matcha @ Periodt - Sunday 230PM
A full-body strength workout followed by some matcha. No boys allowed! $40 tickets

Baby Point History @ Etienne Brule - Sunday 3PM
"On this walk, we’ll visit the former site of Teiaiagon, a 17th-century Seneca village and explore thousands of years of Indigenous presence, the impacts of colonization, and how Euro-Canadian settlement reshaped the land." $10 tickets

Saute Sundays - Sunday 630PM
A club where they pick a cookbook every month, and each person prepares one recipe from it for all to sample. This month's meeting is sold out but now you know that this is a thing and you can sign up for future events. Details

🎵 Live Music Report đźŽµ

🎵 Justin Karas and Geordie Gordon (Folk) @ Burdock - Thursday 7PM
🎵 Julia Cleveland Tribute @ Blue Bird Bar - Thursday 8PM

🎵 The Lifers w/ Emily Steinwall (Folk) @ Burdock - Friday 8PM
🎵 Wargasm UK (Metal/Electronic) @ The Garrison - Friday 8PM
🎵 Arcane Ghosts (Pop-Punk) @ The Baby G - Friday 815PM
🎵 Grupo Ray @ Rosario's - Friday 9PM
🎵 Salsotica @ Rosario's - Friday 10PM

🎵 The Pearl Motel (Swing-A-Billy) @ The Local - Saturday 2PM
🎵 Tia Brazda Trio (Jazz) @ NeuLokal - Saturday 530PM
🎵 Culture Reject (Jam) @ Burdock - Saturday 630PM
🎵 Billy Joel Tribute @ Old Mill - Satuday 8PM
🎵 Hot Fix (Alt-Rock) @ Burdock - Saturday 9PM
🎵 Neu Turkish Night @ NeuLokal - Saturday 930PM

🎵 Rick St. Clair (Folk) @ The Local - Sunday 2PM
🎵 Mellow Casualty (Indie) @ Burdock - Sunday 730PM
🎵 Kolya Drake @ The Local - Sunday 9PM

🎵 Sean McCarthy (Jazz) @ Steadfast Brewing - Monday 7PM
🎵 Ryder The Eagle (Art-Rock) @ The Baby G - Monday 8PM
🎵 Projectwhatever (Alt) @ Burdock - Monday 8PM
🎵 Odd Marshal (Americana) @ The Local - Monday 9PM

Thank you!

Thanks for reading the West End Raccoon!

As always, if you know a friend or family member who might be interested, please share the newsletter with them: www.westendraccoon.ca

Have a great weekend, and talk to you next Thursday!
Xavier