OSSFEST RETURNS TO SHARE THE LOVE OF OSSINGTON
Toronto’s most dynamic strip comes alive for an experience-filled street festival, July 22
#OSSFEST #MeetmeonOssington
TORONTO,ON - June 29, 2017 - On Saturday, July 22 from 1pm to 11pm, OSSFEST returns for its second year to share the best of Toronto’s colourful Ossington strip with the rest of the city. Presented by the Ossington BIA, OSSFEST will take over Ossington Avenue, between Queen Street West and Dundas Street West, with an admission-free, all-day affair of eating, craft cocktail sipping, shopping, dancing, live music, patios and exclusive experiences.
Ossington Avenue is a go-to destination for Toronto’s foodies, style-seekers, wellness warriors and culture-cravers, and is full of innovative business owners who have breathed new life into the storied street over the past decade. OSSFEST offers a chance to interact with these small business owners – local restaurateurs, coffee connoisseurs, shop owners, wellness providers and artisans, both old and new – as members of the tight-knit community of over 190 local businesses take over the street to host special interactive activities and unique retail experiences.
“OSSFEST allows us to not only showcase so much of what the Ossington strip is about and to celebrate its ever-evolving vibrancy, but to get to know our customers – both local and visiting – a little better,” said Nicky Potter, Chair of the Ossington BIA. “We believe that unique, small businesses are what make neighbourhoods like the Ossington strip so talked about and frequented by people from all across the city and beyond. For the business owners, it’s also a chance to celebrate what we have created together. There’s no better cause for celebration than one that’s rooted in a collective love of the community.”
The experience-driven nature is what sets OSSFEST apart from other festivals. The featured activations will include professional basketball tutorials provided by Reigning Champ, silkscreen workshops taught by Crywolf, hairstyling demos from Parlour Salon, temporary tattoo application on the Tiger of Sweden patio, custom charm stamping lead by Anice Jewellery, fitness-competitions hosted by Academy of Lions, and a kid zone hosting an array of family-friendly activities, among others. Most of the eclectic retail outlets will also offer exclusive sales and discounted merchandise.
Toronto’s top restaurants – like Mamakas Taverna, Pizzeria Libretto, La Banane and Moliceiro Restaurant, to name a few — will dish up some of their favourites for the occasion. The Ossington hotspots will also offer everything from extended patios and food/drink specials, to outdoor barbecuing.
The day’s events begin with OSSCRIT, the four-corner, one kilometre bike race that takes racers through the neighbourhood’s vibrant mural-filled laneways and colourful main streets. Immediately following, the street festivities will begin, including live music from two stages with bands such as The Celebration Army, Kunle, Asiko Afrobeat Ensemble and more playing every hour. With its unique offerings and constant stimulation, OSSFEST has all the ingredients of a solid summer weekend spent in the city.
For more information on OSSFEST, visit
VENDORS AND ACTIVATIONS:
Participating vendors include: Academy of Lions, Anice Jewellery, Annie Aime, Barber & Co., Bellwoods Tattoo, Buffer Salon, CAMH, Canna Clinic Toronto, Côte De Boeuf, Crywolf, Home Hardware / Downtown Lumber, Jonathan+Olivia, LOLA Salon, Lost & Found, Loversland, Lower Ossington Theatre, Mindful Maelstrom, Ossington Chiropractic and Rehabilitation, Parlour Salon, Reigning Champ, Room Two One Six, Rotate This, Style Garage, Telegramme, The Local (Lululemon), Tiger of Sweden, Unleashed in the City, V de V, Victoire, & more.
RESTAURANTS
Participating restaurants include: Alex Rei Dos Leitões, Boralia, BQM, Hungry Amoo, Indian Grill, La Banane, Mamakas Taverna, Moliceiro Restaurant, Pizzeria Libretto, The Painted Lady, Venezia Bakery & more.
ABOUT OSSFEST
Presented by the Ossington BIA, OSSFEST shuts down Ossington Avenue, between Queen Street and Dundas Street, each July with a full day and night, admission-free festival that’s jam-packed with drinking, dancing, dining, design and wellness offered from local business owners on the Ossington strip. Attracting over 3,000 visitors, the festival offers an interactive and immersive experience for attendees as they get to know the local restaurateurs, coffee connoisseurs, shop owners and artisans, who make the colourful strip a go-to place for Toronto’s in-the-know set of foodies, partiers, wellness warriors and fashion-lovers. The tight-knit community of business owners — both old and new — will take over the street to host special interactive activities and unique retail experiences.
ABOUT the Ossington BIA
Founded in 2014, the Ossington Business Improvement Area (BIA) is a non-profit, municipal organization representing over 190 local business owners and operators on Ossington Avenue, between Queen Street and Dundas Street. A forward-thinking and tightknit community of creatives who have united in their love of the Ossington strip and their desire to maintain the vibrant and varied vibe of the neighbourhood, their repeat customer-filled restaurants, eclectic coffee shops, craft cocktail-producing bars, unique retail outlets and fitness facilities are what breathe life into Ossington Avenue, making it the place to be for the city’s cool kids. The BIA believes in the power of unique small businesses to create a strip as loved as Ossington is and aims to share its unmatched energy with the rest of Toronto. They want everyone to truly understand why “meet me on Ossington” has become the common opener for first dates, late nights, Sunday shopping and birthday dinners. www.ossingtonbia.ca