Upcoming Events
Countdown to Solstice Celebration Series
We’re celebrating 35 years of Kensington culture with a new winter festival running from November 25th thru December 21st 2024.
The Countdown to Solstice Celebration Series will spotlight some of the many communities that make up our beautiful market. We’ll also be
Keep scrolling for more information about each event.
Tues Nov 26 - Mid-December (TBD): The DRUM years: Kensington Market 1988-2000 (a retrospective) | 86 Nassau St | Tues - Fri: 10:30am - 9pm, Sat: 10:30am - 4:30pm
The Kensington Drum was a community newspaper that ran from 1988 to 2000. Over its history, this grassroots publication produced 66 issues and became an integral platform for community members to organize and tell their own stories.
Stop by 86 Nassau Ave for an interactive art exhibition and reading room culled from the Drum archives. The exhibition includes prints of key covers, columns and stories from The Drum Years, a near-complete bound set of the entire Drum archive, select individual print issues, photography– published and unpublished, and the launch of digital flip through editions of the entire publication.
The exhibition will be open Tuesday thru Friday from 10:30 - 6:30 and Saturday from 10:30 - 4:30.
Thurs Dec 12 - Mon Jan 13: Shared Ambition: Stories of Kensington-Chinatown Solo Exhibition by Eric Fong | Pamenar | 307 Augusta Ave | *Opening Party Dec 12 with a live performance by Hannia Cheng | 7pm *
Sat Dec 14: Kensington Market-Chinatown Friendship Walking Tour
Anshei Minsk Synagogue | 10 St Andrew St. | Meetup 10:45am, walk begins 11am | Ends at 1pm | Free Registration
Join Dominique Russell, Co-Director of the Kensington Market Community Land Trust (KMCLT), and Hannia Cheng, Co-Chair of the Toronto Chinatown Land Trust (TCLT), as they share stories of mutual aid, organizing, and fighting displacement in our neighbourhoods.
What do the KMCLT and the TCLT have in common? How do we differ? How are we working together to create communities of care and support non-extractive economic practices in our neighbourhoods? We will talk about history, buildings, policies, but mostly, we will talk about people.
Mon Dec 16: Global Poetics: A Multilingual Reading in the Market
St.Stephen-In-The-Fields Church | 103 Bellevue Ave | 7pm
Every Sunday in December: Toronto On VHS Films set and shot in Toronto that were released on VHS only. | Market Video (contact for location) | every Sunday in December at 8pm
Sat Dec 21: 35th Annual Kensington Market Winter Solstice !
6pm-10pm | Street Festival in Kensington Market | Free to attend
Experience a magical evening on the longest night of the year with Kensington Market’s Red Pepper Spectacle Arts. Enjoy live music, theatrical performances, tall puppets roaming the streets, and mesmerizing fire arts throughout the market. All are welcome!
Wander through the festival and take part in the return of light, reflecting on the warmth of community and connection. Don’t miss out on Red Pepper’s handmade Solstice Lanterns—available for purchase at 160 Baldwin St or from their Solstice Lantern Pedicab between 6:00pm - 10:00pm.
Past Festival Events:
Mon Nov. 25: Indigenous Treaty Education Pt I: Sharing Circle + Treaty Education
Fri Nov 29: Indigenous Treaty Education Pt II – Sacred Ceremony + Land Acknowledgement
Sat Nov 30: The DRUM years: Kensington Market 1988-2000 (a conversation) | 86 Nassau St
Tues Dec 3: Looking for Ida with the Kensington Market Historical Society