Concerts & Events in Mississauga

Square One is the downtown core, built around the largest shopping centre in Ontario and the Mississauga City Hall and Celebration Square complex. The Living Arts Centre on Living Arts Drive sits steps from the mall, with three theatres running most nights of the week. Celebration Square hosts the city's free outdoor programming year-round: Friday-night concerts in summer, the holiday market and skating rink from November through February, Canada Day fireworks, and the Mosaic Festival in September. The Sheridan College Hazel McCallion Campus brings student-night energy to the area, and the MiWay transitway and forthcoming Hurontario LRT stations make the district the easiest neighbourhood in the city to reach without a car.

Port Credit is Mississauga's lakefront village, a walkable strip along Lakeshore Road East where Lake Ontario meets the Credit River. The neighbourhood is the live-music heart of the city: the Port Credit Memorial Park bandshell at the foot of Stavebank Road hosts free concerts most Friday and Saturday nights from June through September, and waterfront pubs like the Brogue Inn, Franklin House and Wally Hope's run music seven nights a week with no cover. The Southside Shuffle blues and jazz festival in early September is the year's biggest event here, closing Lakeshore Road for three days. Port Credit GO station gets you here from Union Station in about 20 minutes.

Streetsville is Mississauga's historic Main Street neighbourhood along Queen Street South, the kind of small-town strip that the rest of the city grew around. The Streetsville Bread & Honey Festival in early June is the city's longest-running street festival, drawing more than 100,000 people for a parade, midway and community-band concerts. Year-round, Queen Street South is the city's best small-venue circuit: pubs like the Franklin House and the older 1840s Locker Room host live music several nights a week, and the Streetsville Village Square hosts farmers' markets and free outdoor concerts on summer weekends. The Streetsville GO station is on the Milton line, with limited weekday service.

Heartland is the suburban events corridor along Mavis Road and Britannia Road in the north-central part of the city, anchored by Heartland Town Centre and the cluster of restaurants, banquet halls and entertainment venues that have grown up around it. Paramount Fine Foods Centre on Rathburn Road West is the marquee arena here, and the surrounding strip-mall restaurants — Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Caribbean and Halal-North-American — make it the city's go-to pre-show dinner zone. The Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga and Playdium arcade complex anchor the entertainment district, and the area is built around driving, with the 403 and 401 both a few minutes away.

Winter brings indoor concerts at Paramount Fine Foods Centre and Hammerson Hall, OHL Steelheads home games every weekend, and Raptors 905 G-League basketball through the playoffs. Celebration Square's outdoor skating rink stays open through February. Mississauga's Lunar New Year programming runs across community centres city-wide in late January or early February.

Steelheads playoff hockey runs through March, with the OHL post-season into April. The Living Arts Centre's spring Broadway and dance season opens. Easter and Vaisakhi community events run citywide. Mississauga's spring restaurant week and an early-season arts crawl across the Cooksville and Streetsville districts close out the cold-weather calendar. Raptors 905 G-League basketball playoffs run through April at Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

The Mississauga Marathon takes over the south end of the city on the first Sunday of May, with start and finish lines around Port Credit and a half-marathon, 10K and family runs across the weekend. Carassauga, the city's signature multicultural festival, runs over the long weekend at the end of May with food, music and dance pavilions at venues across the city. Celebration Square's outdoor programming begins.

The Streetsville Bread & Honey Festival kicks off the first weekend of June, closing Queen Street South for a midway, parade and community concerts. The Port Credit bandshell starts its weekend concert series, running every Friday and Saturday night through September. Italian heritage month brings the start of the Italfest run-up at Square One. Pride programming runs across the city's downtown core.

Italfest takes over Celebration Square for a long July weekend with southern-Italian music, food and family programming. Canada Day brings fireworks and an all-day concert lineup at Celebration Square. Free outdoor movies start in Port Credit's Memorial Park and at Celebration Square. The Mississauga Latin Festival, Tirgan Iranian Festival and the city's South Asian heritage events run mid-summer at outdoor venues and Square One.

August closes with the Southside Shuffle blues and jazz festival in Port Credit, three days of free outdoor music along Lakeshore Road East. The Mosaic Festival runs the second weekend of September at Celebration Square, a multi-day world-music event with food markets. Steelheads OHL season opens late September. Living Arts Centre fall Broadway and concert season begins.

Halloween programming runs across community centres and at Celebration Square. Steelheads and Raptors 905 home schedules fill weeknight and weekend calendars. The Living Arts Centre's Christmas and holiday tour season opens in mid-November. Diwali community events draw huge crowds at banquet halls along Dundas East and Hurontario, and the Mississauga Santa Claus Parade closes out November along Hurontario Street.

Christmas in the Square at Celebration Square is the city's signature winter event: an outdoor market, twinkling-light displays, holiday concerts, family movies, and free skating on the City Hall rink through December and January. The Mississauga Symphony's holiday concerts run at Hammerson Hall. New Year's Eve programming brings free outdoor concerts and a fireworks display to Celebration Square.