In honour of Pride month, Toronto’s Distillery District is hosting a queer marketplace for the first time ever.
During the opening day of the market, Manager for Festivals and Events of the Distillery District Michael Strathmore shared how thrilled he is about the collaboration with Pride Toronto.
“As you know, the Distillery District is a champion for small business and for artists. And so, when we had this opportunity to partner with Pride Toronto, we thought, well, what better way to do it. And they proposed to us, why don’t you have queer artists, and queer vendors? And we thought this is a great opportunity,” he said.
He says the Distillery District emulates what Pride month represents, including the inclusion and appreciation of one another, aspects which bring the queer marketplace to life.
“The Distillery District is a safe place. It’s a place that believes in love and respect and the ability to come together to celebrate and I think that that’s a message that really translates well to all communities, especially the 2SLGBTQIA+ community,” he said on Monday.
The queer market features numerous local merchants and artisans representing the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, such as Out of the Closet by Herwood, Relaxing Rocco, My Lil Gem and Our Glowing Hearts.
“Everything that I’m presenting here for the queer marketplace is specific to this event…It’s been an exciting opportunity to be able to bring queer clothing and queer accessories to everybody in Toronto, but especially to queer people during Pride,” Founder and Creative Director of Out of the Closet Em Atkins said.
“I love that they’ve now brought in a very inclusive event, especially when it’s geared for artisans, because there’s not a lot out there that are exclusively for artisans,” Owner of My Lil Gem Kimberly Harvey-Chase said.
Administrative Coordinator Arron Manning and Head of Order Fulfillment Rueben Dowe for Our Glowing Hearts says their product is completely handmade and unique to each customer.
“If you’d like to buy one of the hearts as well and you want to designate it to one of your friends or family, we can put their name on the onset of the heart as well, or put love is love, whatever you would like. So, we try to make it as very personal as possible,” Dowe said.
In addition to vendors, there is also live entertainment from local queer music artists and bands from across the city, such as Kenny Kirkwood Band, Trash Panda Brass Band, Serafin LaRiviere, Mandy Goodhandy and lastly, Jenna Marie.
As visitors walk throughout The Distillery, they can also check out some new art installations by queer visual design artist, Terran McNeely, including a mural called Let it Grow created for Pride Toronto. The Distillery’s famous red heart sculpture is also newly wrapped in rainbow colours and is ready to be featured in social media posts.
Along with the marketplace, visitors can enjoy the rest of what The Distillery has to offer. The district has more than 70 shops, cafes, galleries, theatre and world class restaurants. At some of these restaurants, visitors can sip on special Pride-themed cocktails exclusive to the queer marketplace.
The queer marketplace runs from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. until June 11 at 55 Mill Street.
For a list of events, check out the events calendar, powered by Now Playing Toronto.
To list your event, click here.
