Riverside Vintage Crawl – Holiday Edition: What’s Happening?

Mark your calendars: the Riverside Vintage Crawl is back for one more round of all-out vintage shopping just in time for the holidays.

Join us on Dec. 12, 2024 (6pm-9pm) as your favorite vintage shops in Toronto’s Riverside are coming together for the Riverside Vintage Crawl – Holiday Edition.

If you’re new to the Riverside Vintage Crawl, here’s what to expect from the much anticipated shopping event this time around:

Photo credit: Arts Market

Shop for holiday gifts.

Behind on your Christmas shopping? This is the time to tick off some names on your list. From stylish clothing to fun accessories, you’ll definitely find something for everybody.  

Photo credit: Second Voyage Vintage

Save the tax!

As usual, the shops will be covering the HST for all purchases made during the event. Don’t miss out on this sweet deal!

Photo credit: Good Juice Box Vintage

Enjoy holiday treats and tunes.

More than just cool, one-of-a-kind pieces, participating stores will also have refreshments and music during the event — good vibes all around.

Photo credit: Riverside BIA

Enter our local raffle in stores.

Don’t forget to ask about the raffle when you’re in the stores so you can have a chance to win a prize from our event collaborators.

Pop by Queen Garden Centre.

The popular garden centre-slash-cafe will be open for hot drinks, fire pit and s’mores! You can also get a holiday tree and wreath here.

Participating Locations:

Don’t forget to let us know you’re coming so we can send event deets straight to our inbox. RSVP to the Riverside Vintage Crawl – Holiday Edition here.

Be sure to follow @riverside_bia on Instagram so you’re always in the loop as to what’s happening in the neighbourhood!

Queen East Winter Windows Showcase: A Peek Behind The Windows (Part 1 of 4)

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.

Festive Finds and Yuletide Delights: Riverside Holiday Market 2024 Recap

It was a holly jolly Sunday on Nov. 24, 2024 as families from all over the city came to the East End for the Riverside Holiday Market at Riverside Common Park!

Thank you to our event collaborators, local vendors, visitors and volunteers who spent their day with us and helped spread holiday cheer.

In case you missed it, here are some highlights from our last outdoor market of the year:

What present are you asking from Santa Claus this year?

The kids were out crafting and taking up the challenge with our Queen East Winter Windows Scavenger Hunt. 

The free cupcake decorating really hit the sweet spot!

We can always count on DJ Stevie Kicks to bring the beats, including holiday tunes!

Visitors were treated to an excerpt of “The Nutcracker Sweet” by the talented performers from Danforth Dance Arts.

Check out these adorable stationery and paper goods by Sophupshop.

Bee’s Baking bgouth the Taylor Swift-inspired cookies.

bymonina’s handmade ceramics look even prettier in person.

ica Toronto specializes in alpaca blankets and cotton ponchos sourced from Ecuadorian artisans.

Oh, you thought that was it? We have one more community event before we wrap up 2024 — and it’s for a great cause! On Dec. 13, the Riverside BIA is having its annual Riverside Antler Breakfast fundraiser. Learn more about it here.

Be sure to follow @riverside_bia on Instagram and check the Riverside Blog regularly for updates on community programming like this one!

Meet The Vendors of Riverside Holiday Market 2024

The annual Riverside Holiday Market is happening on November 24, 2024 (10am-4pm) at Riverside Common located along 657 Queen St E in Toronto’s Riverside neighbourhood.

With the holidays officially just around the corner, the Riverside Holiday Market is a perfect place to work on your shopping list or simply indulge in a little well-deserved retail therapy. It’s a great opportunity to support local too.

Here’s a sneak peek into some of the small businesses and vendors who will be bringing their amazing products to the Riverside Holiday Market on November 24:

Photo credit: Bee’s Baking

Bee’s Baking (@bees.baking)

Gourmet micro bakery offering specialized patisserie treats inspired by different cultural backgrounds and travel destinations

 Photo credit: The Wine Stuff

The Wine Stuff (@floatingwineglasscanada)

Modern products for wine drinkers

Photo credit: DC Canada Education Publishing

DC Canada Education Publishing (@dceducation)

Small innovative publisher of children’s books, games and toys

 Photo credit: ica

ica (@icatoronto)

Latino- and female-owned business selling alpaca blankets and cotton ponchos sourced from Ecuadorian artisans

Photo credit: Marubashi Preserves

Marubashi Preserves (@marubashi.shop)

Pickled vegetables, spice blends, seasonings and sauces inspired by Japanese and Japanese Canadian foods

Photo credit: The Modern Witch

The Modern Witch (@themodernwitchca)

Handcrafted metaphysical lifestyle items such as intention candles, smoke bundles, simmer pots, spell bottles and mystery book bundles on non-fiction witchy subjects

Photo credit: Link Haus

Link Haus (@link_haus)

Unique gourmet sausages with over three dozen flavours available vacuum sealed or hot and ready to eat

Photo credit: Angelee & Co.

Angelee & Co. (@angeleeandcompany)

Natural handmade soaps

Photo credit: bymonina

bymonina (@bymonina)

Handmade ceramics and original art

Photo credit: sophupshop

sophupshop (@sophupshop)

Stickers, iron-on patches and paper goods inspired by Jamaican, Caribbean and diasporic culture

There will be more vendors at the market + FREE activities for the whole family. We look forward to seeing you there!

Don’t forget to RSVP here and let us know you’re coming. Follow @riverside_bia on Instagram for updates!

Let’s Get Ready for the Riverside Holiday Market!

In case you hadn’t heard, the Riverside BIA has one more outdoor market before the holiday season is in full swing!

Join us on November 24, 2024 (10am-4pm) at Riverside Common (657 Queen St E) for the annual Riverside Holiday Market. From local vendors to free cupcake decorating to meet-and-greet with Santa, we’ve got a fun Sunday prepared for you.

It’s the last of our Riverside C’Mon 2024! series of outdoor community programming, so let’s make it a memorable one. Here’s a few tips to keep in mind before the event:

Photo from Pexels

Come early.

If you’ve been to our previous Riverside C’Mon! events, you know that we’ve got a lot of FREE goodies and activities. However, they do come in limited quantities so be there as early as 10am so you don’t miss out on free cupcakes, crafts, hot chocolate and more!

Photo from Pexels

Prepare a list.

If you’re planning on getting some holiday shopping done, make a list and check it twice. We’ve got an awesome line-up of local vendors and small businesses showcasing their products at the market.

Photo from Pexels

Dress accordingly.

Since this is an outdoor event, make sure to dress warm. While we’re hoping for sunny skies, it’s still going to be chilly as we near the end of fall. If you do find yourself feeling underdressed, you can check out the vintage clothing stores in the neighbourhood and look for a cute jacket!

Photo by Riverside BIA

Tell your family and friends.

This is a community event so bring your community to ours! Also, Riverside Common is a dog-friendly space so the pups can come too. Everyone is invited. The more the merrier, right?

RSVP.

Let us know you’re coming. When you pre-register, you can get event deets and other important updates straight to your inbox. Sign up here to get your FREE tickets!

Follow @riverside_bia on Instagram so you’re always updated on exciting happenings in the neighbourhood. See you on November 24!