Here we are again. After just under a month in semi-lockdown during the Omicron wave of COVID-19, Ontario is once again thawing out for a phased reopening.
Starting today, January 31, restrictions have loosened and many things are reopening: gyms, restaurants, movies, bars, music and comedy venues, museums, galleries and more.
After so many reopening plans, it’s helpful to know exactly what’s allowed and what isn’t, what’s open and what isn’t. With COVID still spreading, remember to gauge your comfort level and follow safety measures in place.
Here’s what you can do this week.
Gyms and restaurants
If you’ve been acquainting yourself with YouTube’s greatest hits of at-home workouts, you can now leave your living room to exercise again. Gyms are reopening as of today.
Restaurants are also back for indoor dining today. You can find the full list of rules here, but here’s a quick rundown:
Dining rooms will be limited to 50 per cent capacity, proof of vaccination is required via QR code and masks are required everywhere but when you are seated at your table. Bars can also reopen and food and drink establishments can now sell alcohol after 10 pm.
Third-party delivery apps are no longer capped at 20 per cent commission fees, but restaurants are still relying on takeout and delivery orders in case you don’t feel comfortable dining out with others just yet.
Movies
Don’t cancel your Netflix subscription just yet, but you can now head out to see movies in cinemas again.
Movie theatres are also capped at 50 per cent capacity and require proof of vaccination. But a ban on concessions has been lifted, so you can now take off your mask to eat your popcorn or sip your soda while watching the latest slasher flick. (Though if you’re going to scream at Scream, please keep your mask on.)
Cineplex theatres open today, while Imagine and Revue cinemas open tomorrow (February 1). TIFF reopens Thursday (February 3).
Here’s a full list of movies that are only in theatres, including some blockbusters and Oscar favourites.
Concerts
Music venues are allowed to reopen today with maximum crowds of 500 or 50 per cent capacity (whichever is lower). Concert-goers will have to be seated.
Those restrictions rule out a number of the bigger concerts or shows by major touring artists, and so many that fall in the period before the planned full reopening on March 14 – like Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and City & Colour – have already cancelled or postponed their Toronto dates.
Most venues are waiting until then to start throwing concerts again, but there are a handful of exceptions.
After various postponements, Dan Burke’s year-forecasting Class of 2022 series – filled with up-and-coming Canadian bands to watch – is officially starting this weekend. It kicks off Saturday, February 5 at Monarch Tavern with Vintage Boring and Nora Kelly Band.
Burke is also presenting a concert on Thursday, February 3 at the Monarch Tavern featuring local genre-defying electronic singer/songwriters Scott Hardware and Kat Duma.
Eastern European music bar Drom Taberna was one of the few to try outdoor live music on its Queen West patio during the lockdown, and they’re wasting no time getting back into things. They have a full week of PWYC music starting tonight with “gypsy Jazz and swing classics” from Nathan Beja Trio.
Comedy
Theatre companies have had a tough go with the latest wave of restrictions, with some like Mirvish’s latest version of Come From Away cancelling their productions altogether. The Next Stage Festival, meanwhile, is continuing with its digital shows until February 7.
Comedy, however, is ready to return. The Bloor location of Comedy Bar is back at 50 per cent capacity tomorrow (Tuesday, February 1) and already has over 20 shows on the calendar – just this week. That includes the long-running alt-comedy institution Laugh Sabbath, which has a show Thursday, February 3, with a solid lineup of Chris Locke, Brandon Ash-Mohammed, Adam Christie and host Jackie Pirico.
Dundas West comedy bar Nothing Fancy is also back on February 1 with the Nothing Fancy show.
Galleries and museums
“Museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos and similar attractions” are reopening today, also at 50 per cent capacity with proof of vaccination.
The AGO is reopening February 1 and already has a full slate of exhibits: Fragments of Epic Memory, Matthew Wong: Blue View and Robert Houle: Red is Beautiful.
The ROM returns a night later on February 2. Tickets are available in advance here.
The MOCA, meanwhile, is waiting until March 10, when it will return with a full program of new exhibitions.
We’ll keep adding events as they come in, so keep your eye on NOW’s listings for more.
