Winter Stations returning to Toronto and you can watch the sunrise through a doorway

A wintertime tradition in Toronto now entering its 11th year, Winter Stations is gearing up to transform the city’s beaches with a brand-new selection of one-of-a-kind art installations.

While the middle of February in Toronto tends to yield weather that makes spending a day at the beach far from desirable, the annual Winter Stations event makes for a serious bid in favour of taking a trip down to the waterfront.

Founded in 2014, the event kicks off as an international design competition, where artists and firms from around the world are invited to submit their ideas for stations, four to six of which will be chosen, built and exhibited along the city’s east beaches.

In years past, featured works have ranged everywhere from a larger-than-life raccoon sculpture to an interactive UFO that attendees could climb into and peer out of, and the lineup for 2025 promises yet another year of unique, inventive and breathtaking installations.

This year, the installations all adhere to the theme of ‘Dawn,’ reflecting ideas and imagery of new days, clean slates and sunrise.

Parade by Jesse Beus, United States.

Hailing from the United States, Jesse Beus’ Parade is a “celebration of those who live in the warm dawn of self-acceptance,” Winter Stations describes, and features six unique structures that you can climb, slide down, sit on and explore.

WATCH by Trae Horne, United States.

Perhaps one of the most breathtaking installations this year, Trae Horne’s WATCH features an elongated, slanted wall that faces due east so that passersby can lean comfortably against it as they watch the sunrise, while an open doorway allows a corridor of light to illuminate the sand.

Ascolto by Ines Dessaint, Tonin Letondu, France.

France’s Ines Dessaint offers a space for quiet contemplation with her work, Ascolto, which, taking a horn-like shape, which two to three people can enter at a time and experience shelter from not only the chilly winter air, but the hustle bustle of the city, as the station amplifies the sounds of nature.

Slice of Sun by Cláudia Franco, Mariam Daudali, Thomas Byrom, Portugal.

While the summertime may seem impossibly far away, Slice of Sun by Portugal’s  Cláudia Franco, Mariam Daudali and Thomas Byrom brings a taste of warmer days to the frosty beach with a structure that blankets visitors in golden light, reminiscent of the sun at dawn.

Peak by Anita Hu, Catherine Zheng, Isaac Walsh, Jason Cai, Nadine Hijazi, Ricardo Espinoza, with faculty supervisor Fiona Lim Tung, University of Waterloo – Department of Architecture.

Peak, which was designed by a team of students and faculty from the University of Waterloo’s Department of Architecture features a variety of structures that surround a lifeguard tower, reshaping the landscape around them as sand and snow settle in the alcoves their arrangement creates.

Solair by Arjun Jain (Lead), Jade Wong (Lead), Finn Ferrall, Marko Sikic, Nick Kisil, with faculty supervisor Vincent Hui, Toronto Metropolitan University – Department of Architectural Science.

Representing Toronto’s very own art and design community, Solair was created by a team from TMU’s Department of Agricultural Science, and, with a series of dynamic, reflective surfaces that reflect the sun and move with shifts in the wind, embodies the beauty of nature’s elements.

Winter Stations 2025 kicks off on Family Day, Feb. 17, and runs until March 17.