What is a Pride weekend in Toronto without some West End JOY?

This is why we threw the VERY SOLD OUT and VERY WILD party last year and are so happy to bring it back for you all again in 2025!

Grab your clutch, your boots, the good hair, tiny shirts and lip gloss - Joy returns for another Drake Hotel full-building takeover!

This year, instead of searching outside the city for headliners, we assembled a TORONTO ALL-STARS cast of DJs, performers and artists to help you kick off Pride weekend sweaty, weird and QUEER. From the rooftop, to the basement, this is a party for the freaks, the geeks, the dolls... and a chance to see all your girls before we can’t see straight anymore.

Taking inspiration from the ICONIC ‘90’s after-hours club of the same name, JOY was unlike anything else in Toronto at the time. A club for Queer folks, not just gay men. It was fashion, it was house music, it was late night, it was social and it was a place that birthed so many Toronto nightlife legends.

Our version of JOY celebrates queer Toronto in a very real way as we take over four different spaces within The Drake, including the Sky Yard (starting at 9pm sharp!), packed with DJs - including original Joy resident Scott Cairns who’ll be doing an all vinyl house set!- Drags, art installations and headliners that have been the most in 2025. We are also serving (booze) until 3am.

Make this your pre-or post-village stop if you’re heading into the wilds of the east, or make it your home all night long! It’s the first night of the weekend we’ll all be looking FRESH.

Once again this year, a very special thanks to JOY founder John Wulff for his blessing on the direction for this party name, look and vibe

• Related:
• LGBTQIA+,
• party,
• pride,
• music