Father’s Day weekend is here, and there’s plenty happening around the city if you’re looking for a way to celebrate Dad or spend some quality time together.

This weekend brings a free Vietnamese festival at Saigon Park, a family stage show at the Living Arts Centre, and a National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration with live music at Celebration Square.

Let’s get into it!

Looking for a fun, enriching summer activity for your child in Mississauga?

If you're already hearing the familiar "I'm bored!" or looking for ways to balance screen time with something educational and engaging, music lessons may be the perfect solution.

One local program worth considering is Mississauga Fine Arts Academy, Mississauga's largest private music school, serving over 700 students each week. Their year-round music programs help children stay active, creative, and learning throughout the summer months.

Beyond being genuinely fun, lessons keep kids engaged while school's out and quietly build focus, memory, coordination and confidence, with a healthy break from screens built in. And because scheduling stays flexible, they slot in neatly around camps and vacations.

Right now, new students get a free Summer Music Lesson Pack worth $110. That covers free registration and a free first lesson, a $25 music retail certificate, an MFAA water bottle and frisbee, plus instrument-specific gifts and learning materials to get started.

Curious what other parents think? It's worth seeing why so many local families come back year after year.

Prefer to talk it through first? Call/Text 905-276-0251

📅 Saturday, June 20 | 📍 Saigon Park

Saigon Park comes alive Saturday with a free festival celebrating Vietnamese food, music, culture, and community.

Stop by for lunch, enjoy the live entertainment, and take in one of Mississauga’s most vibrant neighbourhood celebrations. With programming running throughout the day, it’s an easy addition to your Saturday without taking over the whole weekend.

Admission is free.

Details

📅 Saturday, June 20 to Sunday, June 21 | 📍 Living Arts Centre

Performing Dance Arts brings Zootopia to the Living Arts Centre for four shows across Father’s Day weekend.

With two performances on Saturday and two on Sunday, it’s an easy family outing to fit around lunch, dinner, or whatever else is already on the schedule. It’s a good pick for kids, grandparents, and anyone looking for something indoors that the whole family can enjoy together.

Tickets start at $57.65 plus fees.

Tickets

📅 Sunday, June 21 | 📍 Celebration Square

National Indigenous Peoples Day returns to Celebration Square with an evening of music, ceremony, dance, and community.

The lineup includes DJ Kookum, Qattuu, Manitou Mkwa Singers, MR. SAUGA, and headliner Tia Wood. There’s also an Indigenous artisan marketplace, so this is a good Sunday evening plan if you want something free, meaningful, and easy to join.

The event runs from 5 to 9 p.m.

Details

📅 Friday, June 19 to Sunday, June 21 | 📍 The International Centre

With Team Canada putting everyone in a red-and-white mood, the Made In Canada Expo is a fitting stop this weekend.

The three-day show brings Canadian-made food, retail products, technology, and homegrown brands to The International Centre. Go to discover local businesses, meet the people behind the products, and shop Canadian all under one roof.

Details

📅 Saturday, June 20 | 📍 Port Credit Memorial Arena

This free guided bike ride starts in Port Credit and explores public art through the Lakeview, Mineola, and Port Credit areas.

Routes range from 8 km to 16 km, so it’s more of a relaxed social ride than serious training. You’ll get waterfront trails, neighbourhood streets, public art stops, and a new way to look at familiar parts of the city.

Registration is encouraged.

Details

Keep Father’s Day easy this Sunday with a walk through Riverwood Park, followed by a visit to the Sauga Plein Air Exhibition & Sale at Visual Arts Mississauga.

Local artists will spend Saturday painting throughout the park, then display their finished work on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. inside the White Studio Gallery.

It’s a relaxed way to spend part of the afternoon with Dad, combining some time outdoors with a chance to see Riverwood through the eyes of local artists.

Details

📍 1275 Eglinton Ave E

Father’s Day is this Sunday, and La Sem has plenty worth bringing home for Dad and the rest of the family.

Give Dad something he’ll actually look forward to with their fresh focaccia sandwiches, handcrafted Italian pastries, award-winning cannoli, and one of the beautiful cakes La Sem is known for.

Their sandwiches start with La Sem’s traditional focaccia recipe, made the same way for more than 60 years. That golden, herb-kissed bread is stacked with Italian meats, creamy cheese, peppery arugula, sweet peppers, pesto, fig jam, hot honey, and marinated eggplant.

Go bold with The Zesty Southern Italian, sweet and salty with The Italian Figgy Piggy, a little spicy with The Sweet and Spicy Rosemary, or meatless with Il Giardino.

And the pastry case is just as hard to resist, with row after row of delicious Italian sweets, from flaky sfogliatelle and glossy fruit tarts to éclairs and old-school bakery classics.

Add Dad’s favourite pastries, a box of their famous cannoli, and one of La Sem’s signature cakes to finish off the Father’s Day table.

Father’s Day is only a few days away. Get your order in now for Sunday pickup.

📍 2399 Cawthra Rd. #100

Continuing with the Vietnamese theme, Dai Bi Chay is a vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant on Cawthra with plenty for vegans, vegetarians, and anyone in the mood for a lighter meal.

Try the bún bò Huế chay, a spicy lemongrass noodle soup, or go with the pho chay for something warm and comforting. The spring rolls, papaya salad, crispy yellow noodles, and plant-based grilled sausage are also worth adding to the table.

It’s an easy choice for a relaxed dinner, with familiar Vietnamese flavours and enough variety for the whole group.

Menu

📍 3115 Winston Churchill Blvd., Unit 2

Soul Smash Burgers keeps the menu simple with double smash burgers, loaded fries, drinks, and sundaes.

The Standard comes stacked with two beef patties, American cheese, caramelized onions, pickles, and Soul sauce. The Core adds lettuce, raw onion, tomato relish, and aioli for something a little fresher. For the full order, add the Soul Fries, topped with sauce, cheese, caramelized onions, and pickles.

It’s a solid pick for a casual burger night, whether you’re grabbing a quick dinner or bringing the whole family.

Menu

Gulleden Park has been reimagined with a refrigerated skating rink, pickleball courts, tennis courts, a spray pad, upgraded playground, accessible trails, outdoor fitness equipment, junior skateboard features, new trees, and pollinator gardens.

The reopening celebration is Saturday, June 20, with a short ceremony, amenity showcase, BBQ, and marketplace. For families near Rathwood and east Mississauga, this is a big park upgrade to know.

Details

Mississauga’s Canada Day event at Celebration Square is set for Wednesday, July 1, with live entertainment, family activities, 30+ food trucks and vendors, and fireworks presented by Tim Hortons.

The lineup includes Tedy, Aiona Santana, bbno$, DJ Jelz, Sauga Sound Collective, and a freestyle soccer show.

Details

Mississauga is marking Pollinator Week from June 22 to 28 with a wildflower giveaway, a pollinator webinar, and guided walks at Jack Darling Memorial Park.

Good one to save if you garden, want to help bees and butterflies, or just want a free outdoor learning stop next week.

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Mississauga’s seven outdoor pools opened June 13, and the city is also expanding its free life jacket lending program.

If you’re planning pool days, beach days, or cottage trips and don’t want to buy gear for one weekend, life jackets can be borrowed from select library branches, including Erin Meadows, Clarkson, Meadowvale, Frank McKechnie, Malton, and Mississauga Valley.

Details

Garden Day returns Saturday, June 27 at Brueckner Rhododendron Gardens.

It’s free, with gardening experts, family-friendly activities, and a guided garden tour at 10:30 a.m. Save it if you’re trying to start a garden or just want a relaxed morning in one of Mississauga’s prettiest park spaces.

Details

The goal is simple: make it easier to know what's happening around Mississauga and prove our city is more interesting than people think.

See you Tuesday!

— Will