Protected: Guided Walk: Streets and Place Names
Protected: Guided Walk: Land Acknowledgement
Protected: Guided Walk: Land Acknowledgement
Protected: Lost Wax Ring Casting Workshop
PD Day: Celebrate Pride!
Date: Friday, June 5, 2026
Time: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location: Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor St. W.
Tickets: Included with General Admission
Spend your afternoon at the Bata Shoe Museum on the first Friday of Pride Month enjoying a special storytime presentation with Toronto-based Storyteller Jeffrey Canton. For more than three decades, Jeffrey has shared folk and fairytales as well as original stories that dig deep into the strata of Toronto’s history as well as, with a little soft-shoe and a gay show tune or two, his own queer past. Stick around for a guided tour of our exhibitions to learn about footwear through the ages and around the world.
Self-Guided Activities
- Explore our four galleries, including all current exhibitions
- Uncover hidden gems with a guided exhibition tour
- Lace up in our Try-On Shoes area for some hilarious fun
- Team up for iSpy challenges throughout the museum
- Put your new knowledge to work with a take-home activity book
Schedule
11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Storytime with Jeffrey
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: Guided Exhibition Tour
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Storytime with Jeffrey
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Guided Exhibition Tour
The Bata Shoe Museum is committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive, and affirming space for all. We proudly support all gender identities and expressions. Behaviour that makes others feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or unwelcome will not be tolerated. To ensure a safe and respectful environment, anyone engaging in such behaviour may be asked to leave. Thank you for helping us keep the BSM a safe space for all to explore.
A long-time member of Queers in Your Ears (QIYE), Canada’s only 2SLGBTQIA+ storytelling collective, Jeffrey has appeared at the Toronto International Storytelling Festival and the Replay Story Fest and Nuit Blanche as well as telling stories at The Village at Black Creek and City of Toronto Museums including Mackenzie House, Gibson House and Spadina! He’s currently collaborating on an exciting project with Big Pond Small Fish, Mammalian Diving Reflux and the Archives of Ontario. Jeffrey also teaches storytelling courses about telling personal stories through Storytelling Toronto including “Voices Seldom Heard”, the first 2SLGBTQIA+ storytelling course that focuses on the lives and experiences of queer tellers which he originally developed for Storytelling Toronto.
Please review our Terms and Conditions in advance and check in with Visitor Services upon arrival. Questions? Email us info@batashoemuseum.ca anytime.
Protected: Spring Exhibition Opening
Protected: Trivia: All Things Ancient Rome
Summer at the BSM: Little Boots
Date: Every Monday to Friday from July 6 – August 28
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor St. W.
Tickets: Included with general admission
Inspired by our newest exhibition, Unearthing Vindolanda: Footwear from the Edge of the Roman Empire, the BSM is excited to host a series of presentations, activities, and exhibition tours throughout the summer. Included with general admission, families and summer camp groups are invited to explore the entire museum, while taking part in self-guided crafts, including Roman puppet-making, 3D shoebox model-making of Vindolanda, iSpy games, try-on shoes, and take home a themed activity booklet.
For Families, this is a drop-in, self-guided program. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Regular admission rates apply.
For Summer Camp Groups, advanced registration is required. Groups of 12 or more children receive discounted group rates. Learn more and register here .
Daily Drop-in Schedule
11:00 am – Exhibition Tour
12:00 pm – Unearthing Vindolanda Presentation
2:00 pm – Exhibition Tour
3:00 pm – Unearthing Vindolanda Presentation
Each program runs for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour.
About Unearthing Vindolanda
Discover over 100 footwear-related artifacts from Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort and settlement located just south of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, England. On view for the first time in North America, these remarkable objects are part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is renowned for its ongoing archaeological excavations providing unprecedented accounts of ancient life at the edge of the Roman Empire.
Please review our Terms and Conditions in advance and check in with Visitor Services upon arrival. Questions? Email us info@batashoemuseum.ca anytime.