Construction may have taken forever, but Toronto’s glitzy Bloor-Yorkville area is now back in full swing, and more beautiful than ever. The entire area, between Avenue Road and Church Street was closed Sunday and covered with a red carpet to celebrate re-launch. Admission to the event was free, but there was a $5 charge if you wanted to try food samples from the area’s various restaurants, including the recently-opened La Societé, which served croc Monsieur with chips, Pangaea (mushroom risotto) as well as Holt’s Cafe and its pulled pork sandwich. Other restaurants and food-related shops included Bloor Market, Longo’s Market and Peridot. A portion of the ticket sales went to an organization called Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ), founded by Canadian director Paul Haggis. APJ encourages peace and justice and also addresses poverty issues all over the world.
Of course, the event was not just about food (after all, the area is known as a shopping district first) – though it was delicious. There were performances by musicians such as Keshia Chanté, Shawn Desman as well as local artists and of course, the annual Exotic Car Show. ET Canada’s Rosey Edeh was one of the hosts and interviewed celebrities on a stage near Avenue Road. There were also young women in black dresses, scarves and wide-brimmed hats passing around programs for the event. Many stores held promotions or events as well. In celebration of Father’s Day, Banana Republic had a beer and nuts bar in their store and Harry Rosen had a Hamptons-themed lounge. A Hermes Citroen 2CV was displayed outside the boutique. Also, two percent of all sales from David’s, the shoe store at the corner of Bay and Bloor, went to APJ.
The area is continuing to transform, of course. Over the past few months, some stores have closed, others have moved (or in the process of moving) and new stores will be opening in over the next few months. These new stores include Intermix and Michael Kors.
