Things to Do During TIFF 2025: Free Events, Celeb Sightings & Local Culture

Free activities during TIFF 2025 

You don’t need a blockbuster bank account to feel the TIFF 2025 magic. Here are some free activities to shore up your film festivities, whether or not you have tickets.

Check out TIFF central’s Festival Street Art Market (September 7–10, 2025) for art installations, live music and food trucks, plus contributions from sibling film fests Inside Out, imagineNATIVE, Reel Asian, and Hot Docs.

For Insta-worthy Toronto moments, hit Graffiti Alley, Roundhouse Park (with epic CN Tower views), or the iconic TIFF Bell Lightbox steps.

But let’s not forget the jetloads of celebs who are coming in hot…

Celeb sightings at TIFF 2025

In addition to previously announced Hollywood royalty like Angelina Jolie, Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogan, Ralph Fiennes and others, there’s a fresh crop of just-announced talent coming to town to attend major premieres. 

• Sydney Sweeney punches into TIFF 2025 with Christy, the boxing legend biopic everyone’s buzzing about

• Ryan Reynolds, Canada’s own king of charisma, pays homage to comedy legend John Candy in John Candy: I Like Me, which he was a co-producer on

• Charli xcx is ready to shake up the screens in Erupcja, a steamy sapphic romance, while Scarlett Johansson flexes her directorial muscles in Eleanor the Great

• Idris Elba is taking home the Impact Media Honour, and Jacob Elordi is getting spooky in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, shot right here in Toronto

Want to pad your Instagram feed with candid celeb snaps of any of the above? Check TIFF’s Gala guide and Fan Zone guide, then head to the fest’s top premiere site: Roy Thomson Hall. Fans typically start lining up around the venue at 5 p.m., but check Gala times to see showtimes.

Where to eat & drink during TIFF 2025

Bartenders and mixologists are the true stars of TIFF! Celebs swarm the bars nearby TIFF Bell Lightbox at hotels such as Bisha Hotel and Shangri-La Toronto, and plenty of restaurants near TIFF venues.

TIFF also inspires special menu offerings to help diners catch the cinematic spirit…or cut down on option fatigue so they can order their pre-screening meal with ease.

Local hotspots offering TIFF specials include:

• A cinematic culinary journey in four courses (plus cocktail pairings) at Fairmont Royal York’s Reign

•  The Bar At Alo, which has a four-course tasting menu showcasing Redbreast Irish Whiskey (TIFF’s official whiskey)

• TIFF Lightbox’s on-site Canteen restaurant offers prix-fixe menus during the festival

• Madrina Bar y Tapas has a bevy of TIFF-inspired cocktails on offer during TIFF 2025

• Italian fave Toca has a three-course TIFF prix-fixe menu

• EPOCH Bar & Kitchen Terrace has DJs on deck for both weekends of the festival and will keep its kitchens open late

• A special menu of TIFF 50 cocktails at Shangri-La Toronto, which takes its cues from cinematic creativity and expression

Read more about TIFF special menus and events here.

Toronto art galleries to explore during TIFF 2025

Feast your eyes on Toronto’s art gallery scene in between TIFF screenings. The Moments in Modernism exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) features works by Andy Warhol alongside Canadian artists Alex Colville and Kazuo Nakamura. Before you leave, check out the extraordinary work from one of the city’s most venerated art heroes, Joyce Wieland (her exhibit, Heart On, is spectacular). 

Smaller downtown galleries like Paul Petro Contemporary, Daniel Faria Gallery, and Elaine Fleck Gallery are well-known belles of the local art scene. 

For a trip through TIFF’s most glamorous celeb sightings, visit the first floor of Portland Square, where 30 works by the city’s own iconic celebrity photographer, George Pimentel, are on display.

Where to shop local near TIFF venues

The TIFF shop stocks Tiff50 commemorative mugs, tees, tote bags and other essential merch, as well as film buff finds such as beautifully bound David Lynch and Greta Gerwig scripts, DVDs of hard-to-stream classics, and a two-thumbs-up selection of anime postcards.

Within walking distance of TIFF central, check out Queen West’s plethora of independent boutiques. For the best in gently used designer labels, visit VSP Consignment. Rumour has it that celebs have been known to sell their clothes here. 

Kops Records is a Toronto institution, as its vast vinyl selection (from Taylor Swift to T-Rex, with forays into electronic, roots, R&B, jazz, spoken word and Japanese collector editions) is, by far, the best in the country. 

A cinematically perfect indie bookshop, Type Books is the place to go for Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Toronto-centric Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series (brought to the big screen as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Anne Michaels’ Fugitive Pieces (which got its cinematic premiere at TIFF), and Margaret Atwood’s full catalogue, some of it set in Toronto. 

Best brunch spots during TIFF (and where celebs might go)

TIFF is a portal to many of Toronto’s best experiences—including brunch. Walk over to Sky Dragon Chinese Restaurant, located on the top floor of Chinatown’s Dragon City Mall, for dim sum with Hong Kong-style cart service.

Feel like splurging and indulging? Oretta on King Street West, a fusion of Italian and Continental menus, serves a fantastic burrata and egg dish. 

For the post-late-night-out brunch, head to Queen West for Hugs & Sarcasm. After their famous-for-a-reason breakfast sandwich, you’ll be ready to write your own screenplay. 

Planning on going off-the-TIFF grid? Brunch away from the hustle and bustle by taking transit to the Eastside or the Westside. Head east to Lady Marmalade or The Broadview Hotel Bistro. Or take the streetcar west to Mildred’s Temple Kitchen or The Mission Eatery.