Kensington Market's long-running Pedestrian Sundays paused amid 'vendor war'

Naama Weingarten · CBC News

· Posted: May 25, 2025 7:59 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

People hoping to bask Kensington Market's archetypal pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare festival of the play were retired of luck Sunday, aft the section BIA enactment the lawsuit connected ice.

The Kensington Market Business Improvement Area (BIA) paused its fashionable Pedestrian Sunday for the period of May, citing information concerns implicit amerciable vendors and a rising "commercial tone" that shifted the festival distant from its purpose. 

The vibrant thoroughfare festival has been going connected for 2 decades, monthly from May to October. With postulation not being allowed connected astir roads connected the past Sunday of each month, concern owners and pop-up vendors usually acceptable up store extracurricular arsenic pedestrians roam freely. 

What started arsenic a contented to observe Kensington's creator civilization turned into a "vendor war," according to Rafi Ghanaghounian, who owns Cafe Marallo.

"Vendors [are] throwing each other's tables around, radical sleeping implicit the nighttime earlier to assertion a spot, similar it got truly aggressive," helium told CBC Toronto.

An influx of vendors without permits created crowding and analyzable logistics portion starring to "unregulated nutrient income and unauthorized substances," the BIA said successful a merchandise announcing this month's cancellation.

"These issues airs liability risks and make unfair contention for section levy-paying businesses that lend year-round to the assemblage and to [Pedestrian Sundays]," the merchandise said. 

Outside vendors person regularly taken up abstraction successful beforehand of businesses, said Polo Miranda, who owns the metallic jewelry store Silver With Attitude. 

"It ne'er stops," Miranda said. "They don't respect nothing, they don't respect boundaries, and they bash immoderate they want."

The BIA, which did not respond to requests for remark from CBC Toronto implicit the weekend, said successful its merchandise that it volition measure plans for the festival successful the aboriginal pursuing assemblage surveys.

The festival has go much gentrified arsenic Kensington becomes a bigger tourer spot, festival co-co-ordinator Pouria Lofti antecedently told CBC Radio's Here and Now.

LISTEN | Pouria Lofti talks astir information concerns that led to the pause: 

"It's mislaid a batch of its taste and creator aspects ... that consciousness of assemblage involvement," helium said.

"Hopefully we'll get a amended consciousness of however radical feel," helium said, speaking astir the BIA's community surveys. "But I bash get the consciousness that the cognition towards the festival has go much antagonistic successful the neighbourhood compared to respective years ago."

CBC Toronto reached retired to immoderate of the members listed connected the BIA's website, but did not perceive backmost earlier publication. 

"While we recognize that festivals people evolve, we judge it's clip to realign with the tone that made [Pedestrian Sundays] peculiar successful the archetypal place," the BIA merchandise says. 

Joy Zubair, who owns the vintage store Boho Chachkies, says that portion the cancellation caught her off-guard she hopes the BIA volition get the assemblage much progressive successful its reshaping. 

She said she typically mislaid income during the festival due to the fact that of however the thoroughfare closures were structured and unauthorized vendors bringing unfair competition. 

"Even close present during the week, determination are vendors conscionable mounting up and selling worldly connected Temu connected the broadside of the road, again, taking distant from businesses that wage rent and wage taxes," she said, referencing the Chinese-owned buying app wherever radical often bargain and resell inexpensive trinkets astatine a higher price. 

"People travel astatine similar 5 successful the morning. They acceptable up successful beforehand of your store. So you can't adjacent usage the beforehand of your store to merchantability your ain products oregon advertise," she said. 

Visitors anticipation for a swift return 

Vanessa Fralich brought her toddler connected his motorcycle to the marketplace connected Sunday, not realizing the lawsuit had been scrapped. 

"I was hoping to spell retired connected the streets and not interest astir squeezing ourselves onto the sidewalk with everyone else," she said. 

Robert Quance, who besides visited the marketplace Sunday, said helium hopes organizers fig retired however to reshape the event, though helium doubts they volition fig it retired successful a period earlier the adjacent festival day successful June. 

"I deliberation it's a existent shame origin it brings successful tons of tourists and locals arsenic well. I travel to it each the time, truthful I've spoken to a batch of radical successful the assemblage and radical are upset," helium said.