leslieville holiday wanderlust

This Thursday night from 6-10pm a bunch of Leslieville galleries, restaurants & shops (including purveyors of handmade goodness nathalie-roze & co., Eye Spye, and the spanking new Damzels Doll Factory) are open late, serving drinks and sweet treats, and offering up special holiday deals. This night marks the launch of the Damzels/Doll Factory store, and there will be free festive crafting going down in the nathalie-roze & co. studio (as well as a 20% discount on everything in the store).

Check out the website for more info on the event.

Edited to add:

There's a bit of a big box vs. small retailer political dimension happening in relation to this event. This is a little excerpt from a Toronto Star article by Kim Izzo (Nov. 25, 2006 available here).

Andrew Wyatt, who runs http://www.eastendnoise.com, a neighbourhood website that helps promote the event, says one major benefit to doing holiday shopping in his part of town is that, "you ensure you'll have greater variety and a one-of-a-kind experience."

He makes the case for the "little guy" who runs his or her store in this trendy 'hood where evidence has been mounting that a developer has his eye and wallet on a stretch of Eastern Ave. to open a power centre.

The neighbourhood opposition has been huge, says Wyatt, and local businesses are rallying to the street's defence. The Holiday Wanderlust event will attempt to show that the intimacy of on-street shopping is superior to the frenzy of big box consumerism, particularly at this time of year. Wyatt is also convinced the independent retailers have more variety in their offerings than big box centres. "By shopping locally you help keep the variety," he says.