Christmas Fair in Toronto
Lowe’s Toronto Christmas Market appears to be a huge success, if one can judge it by the
thousands of visitors that streamed into the Distillery
District last Saturday, ignoring the minus 3 degree temperature
and the sharp, icey winds from the North, that were gusting to
35 mph.
 Since the orientation of the distillery main area is from North
to south, one can safely say that it was windy.
But the fair more than makes up for the discomforts. A multitude
of vendors were spaced – in small wooden huts or kiosks –
throughout the major areas of the venue. They were offering all
kinds of seasonal items such as gifts; food and decorative
 items
to the many visitors- including a wonderful “Gingerbread
Cottage” (Hexenhaus) at Fabian’s hut. Since Fabian’s were one of
our most loyal clients, their display was one of the first I
visited and later went back for their hot chocolate. Their
‘Café’ on
 Markham Road in Scarborough started its life as
“Kaffee Ricksdorf”, of ‘Berliner’ extraction, many, many years
ago and Fabian’s has already earned quite a reputation for it’s
delicious cakes and pastries – not to mention the excellent
lunch service.
 Other vendors had come from all over the world presenting the
seasonal items of many different nationalities. One could even
participate in a ‘taste-test’ of “Glenfiddich” Single Malt
Whiskey or by ‘Coin Art’ at one of the kiosks. A Mecca for coin collectors!
 Of course there was also a lot to entertain the young visitors.
Santa Claus had a tent – and a line-up in front of it, an
angelic looking ‘Angel’ was making the rounds of the area, much
to the delight of the kids and the young at heart. There was
also a long line-up at the Ferris wheel, and since the sun had
come out the kids took advantage of the carnival-like atmosphere
by the large Christmas tree.
Yes, some vendors offered ‘Glühwein’ (Mulled Wine) and a large
choir was caroling at the entrance to the market to get the
visitors into the proper ‘Christmassy’ mood. It was magical!
 If the visitors needed to warm up for a while and could not find
one of the brassieres – where wood-fires were burning to warm
their hands – they could visit all the heated artist’s studios,
art galleries and other restaurants and shops that the
distillery district is famous for.
 We have seen a number of outdoor Toronto Christmas Markets in
the past – I am thinking of the ones at City Hall and the St.
Lawrence Market – that have only been marginally successful, but
the new venue at the Distillery seems to be the ideal location
for a permanent annular event that a large city, such as
Toronto, actually needs and deserves!
 If you do not want to drive yourself and the parking – although
available – at the Distillery is a bit of a hassle, take the
TTC! Use subway to go to Union Station and walk over to the
south-east corner of Front and Bay streets – to the bus-stop –
and the number 72A bus will take you right to the front entrance
of the market. It will also take you back when you are done! The
market closes on Sunday, the 12th of December, so
there is still some time to visit it after you read about it, in
our paper. By the way, there is no charge to visit the Christmas
Market at the Distillery!
As always,
Dick Altermann
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