This holiday season, Queen Street East has come alive with festive window art by local artists on 45+ storefront businesses in Riverside and Leslieville.
Read on to know the inspiration behind the window designs of this year’s Queen East Winter Windows Showcase.
“The Bakers’ Dance”
Artist: Square (IG @squarepopsicle) | Location: Blackbird Baking Co. (635 Queen St E)
Inspired by the Toy’s Dance from “The Nutcracker” and the beautiful baked goods at Blackbird Baking Co., ‘The Bakers’ Dance’ celebrates the warmth and whimsy of winter by reimagining Tchaikovsky’s dancing bears as bakers mixing up something delicious.
“Winter Elegance”
Artist: Asli Alin (IG @aslialin) | Location: Album Hair (639 Queen St E)
The art captures the serene beauty and grace of the season, blending delicate patterns with the softness of winter flowers and flowing braids. Itcelebrates the timeless charm and refined spirit of the holidays, inviting a sense of calm and sophistication.
“Floral Flake”
Artist: Victoria Day (IG @artistvictoriaday) | Location: Oma Chiropractic & Wellness (1 Munro St)
Victoria embraced the theme of winter by tapping into her love of symmetry and pattern through the snowflake. A lotus motif is at the centre of the flake design as a reminder that peace and wellness are the best foundation we can build upon.
“Ribbons of Celebration”
Artist: Wandy Cheng (IG @wandy_cheng) | Location: Aura (686 Queen St E)
An abstract approach to showcase the elegance and unique cocktails offered at Aura, resembling topographic heat maps with wavy lines and shapes with twisted citrus and ribbons.
“The Alligators’ Dance”
Artist: Square (IG @squarepopsicle) | Location: Riverside Burgers (688 Queen St E)
Inspired by the Toy’s Dance from “The Nutcracker” and the delicious food at Riverside Burgers, ‘The Alligators’ Dance’ evokes some of the scrumptious silliness of winter and the holidays by showing a procession of hungry, hungry ‘gators.
“Smiling Nutcrackers”
Artist: Erin McCluskey (IG @mcclusk) | Location: Riverside Dental (690B Queen St E)
Two nutcrackers framed by a laurel wreath, smile and show the importance of healthy teeth.
“Season for Smiles”
Artist: Daria Domnikova (IG @domnikova.design) | Location: Dent Leslieville (875 Queen St E)
The two murals are representative of the neighbourhood and feature happy and content residents, each having given or received the gift of a healthy and beautiful smile this holiday season at Dent Leslieville. “’Tis The Season for Smiles” is an inviting message that brings attention to the fact that the business is a local Dental Practice, and encourages people to come in for their end-of-year mouth care and healthy smiles.
“Peppy Penguins”
Artist: Talie Shalmon (IG @talshal_) | Location: Purple Penguin Cafe (889 Queen St E)
The art depicts six cute penguins doing winter activities and enjoying food and beverages served at Purple Penguin Café. These peppy penguins show us how much fun winter can be!
“Source of Joy”
Artist: Daria Domnikova (IG @domnikova.design) | Location: The Source Bulk Foods Leslieville (901 Queen St E)
This joy-filled mural is reflective of the neighborhood and of the bustling, lively and busy spirit of the holiday season. Happy and excited neighbours, and a variety of healthy, responsibly sourced festive bulk foods are at the heart of the mural. So much of the holidays is centred around sharing meals, and this mural invites the passerby to come in and get everything they need for their table at The Source!
“Snellen Chart Spruce”
Artist: Christine “Chris” Kilfoil (IG @c.tinfoil) | Location: Glass Monocle Eyewear (909 Queen St E)
In case you didn’t already see it, look at how this eye chart is actually in the shape of a festive tree! If you didn’t notice it before, the opportunity has never been greater to update your vision with Glass Monocle’s stylish selection of eyewear, all of which helped inspire the contemporary, minimalist aesthetic of this window display.
“Delicious Wishes!”
Artist: Marg Cresswell (IG @muralsbymarg) | Location: Leslieville Pumps General Store & Kitchen (913 Queen St E)
Once upon a time in a cozy neighbourhood, a troupe of gingerbread cookies set out on an adventure to spread magic wherever they went. They snuck out of the kitchen and on to the windows at Leslieville Pumps. Each gingerbread cookie brings warmth and joy to symbolize the spirit of the season. Wishing you a magical and delicious holiday season!
“Cheery Wishes!”
Artist: Marg Cresswell (IG @muralsbymarg) | Location: Ollie Quinn (918 Queen St E)
Once upon a time there was a neighbourhood adorned with decorated windows and twinkling lights, which celebrated the importance of kindness, community and the joy that comes from caring for even the smallest of creatures. The cardinal, a symbol of hope and unity, is perched on the branches of the windows here at Ollie Quinn. These bespectacled birds are keeping an eye on the holiday cheer this year! Wishing you a bright and cheery holiday season!
The Queen East Winter Windows Showcase will run until Dec. 31, 2024. You can view all the locations on our online map or by grabbing a physical copy at participating businesses.
Don’t forget to scan the QR code on the windows to vote for your favourite windows and enter our raffle — see poster below for the mechanics.
Follow @riverside_bia on Instagram for updates on our holiday programming!
The Queen East Winter Windows Showcase is a joint program of the Riverside BIA and Leslieville BIA, thanks to funding support from the City’s Transit Construction Mitigation Grant Program.
Photo credit: Bee’s Baking
Photo credit: Marubashi Preserves
