Halloween Saturday in T.O. — cool, clear, and plenty to do

Morning, T.O. It's Halloween Saturday, and the sky's doing that bright, crisp thing that makes you want to be outside with a coffee in hand. It's 6°C right now under partly cloudy skies, UV sitting at a gentle 3, so a warm jacket and sunglasses are all you need. Sunset is at 6:10 PM, which gives you a solid ten hours of daylight to work with, so plan your errands for the afternoon and save the costumes for later.

If you're heading out on the roads this morning, know that the Gardiner is closed westbound before Kipling Ave, so if you're coming in from the west end, give yourself some extra time or find another route. Bay Street has a stretch closed from 42 metres south of College down to 20 metres south of College, so downtown folks should plan around that. Up in the 905, Peel has planned roadwork closures today, and there are a couple of collisions causing detours: the 9 Bellamy is detouring northbound through Warden, Comstock, Pharmacy and St Clair East, and the 102 Markham Road is detouring southbound via Birchmount, Danforth and Warden. Take a bit of extra time if those are your routes.

On the news front, a motorcyclist was seriously hurt in a crash at Financial Drive and Derry Road in Brampton, so if you're riding, go easy out there. Ontario is also moving to give the cannabis regulator new powers to go after unlicensed shops, and the province is opening the Niagara casino market to new operators with a call for $3 billion-plus in investment. Police are looking for a man after an alleged sexual assault of a jogger near Black Creek and Trethewey, so keep an eye out and let's look out for each other on the trails. And four GTA residents have been charged in an alleged tobacco smuggling ring involving 116,000 kilograms of product.

For food, the Dirty Laundry on Queen West is turning into a Dirttty Little Xmas pop-up this November, so mark that down for later. Jacobs & Co. Steakhouse is hosting Hawksmoor for a three-night collaboration dinner, which is a serious treat if you've got a special occasion in mind. And Chapman's pecan butter tart ice cream just won an international best ice cream award, so you know where to go when the sugar craving hits.

The big one today is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers taking on the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL Eastern Semi-Final at BMO Field, kicking off at 1:00 PM. If you've got the tickets or you're watching from the couch, it's a great way to spend the early afternoon. Tonight, Ozmozis Halloween is running at Evergreen Brickworks from 4:00 PM, and Casa Loma's Legends of Horror family hours start at 4:30, with sessions at 5:00 and 5:30 too. Casa Loma is the one to catch if you want the castle glowing in the dusk, and Evergreen is a fun outdoor option while the weather holds. Daytime theatre fans have The Karate Kid - The Musical at the Princess of Wales and Operation Mincemeat at the Royal Alex, both at 2:00 PM.

Enjoy the weekend, and be safe out there tonight. Happy Halloween, T.O.