Community Market Summer 2025

Sep 17, 2025

Our Fridays were very eventful this summer here at the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee, with the Community Market buzzing with people, food and activities. 

With an average of 10-15 vendors coming every Friday, the market was always a lively hub for the community. Women of the community were able to sell items like jewelry, clothes, artisan food, supplies/accessories, and much more, providing entrepreneurial opportunities and support to them. Along with the vendors, we always had our bread-baking demo in the tandoor oven, where we made both fresh naan and bolani, a crowd favourite that kept everyone coming back week after week. Simultaneously, we had the Arts in the Park, specifically our Clean Park Campaign, every week for children ages 5-12 to join in art workshops and park clean-ups. As always, during the markets and the other weekdays, our Park Café was open to everyone who wanted a snack, drink or fresh food. We served gourmet foods like chicken biryani, samosas, pakora, kachori and much more, cold treats like freezies and popsicles and a variety of drinks and other snacks.

We had two major festivals this summer, the first being Canada Day, our 9th consecutive year celebrating as a committee. We had a beautiful traditional Afghan dance, face painting for children, and henna. For our Arts in the Park activities, we invited everyone to create artwork about Canada and their home country, celebrating how far we have come. It was a beautiful celebration of our diverse and pluralistic country and how grateful we are to call it home, all with different backgrounds and ethnicities.

In mid-August, we had our 4th annual Culture Fest at the Community Market. We had a lot of entertainment from the Shadowland Theatre parade to a fun hula hoop performance for everyone to enjoy. There were also many activities for children, like the Shadowland Theatre art workshops and hands-on science activities through the Science Centre. We also had Allan Colley come and share his knowledge and skills about traditional indigenous bread baking (Bannock) in our tandoor oven. As an extra, we set up a pop-up booth with fresh produce like cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, lemons, spring onions and more. With so much diversity in our community, our Culture Fest showcased the traditions and talents that make our community unique.