95 local brands and one massive beer garden are taking over Toronto this weekend, Canada Reviews

Toronto has a packed festival season ahead (just in time for the warm-ish spring weather), and the celebrations include a major North York takeover this weekend! The Welcome Market is bringing its Asian Heritage Month celebration to Mel Lastman Square for two full days of food, shopping, live performances and community programming, with more than 95 local businesses expected to pop up across the square.

The Welcome Market is a woman- and POC-owned organization created to give small businesses more opportunities to connect with customers in person through curated retail pop-ups. It started as a small market with only seven vendors and has since grown into a platform that has hosted more than 60 local brands and artists.

This weekend’s Asian Heritage Month event marks one of its biggest community showcases yet!

This year’s lineup brings together Asian-owned vendors across food, vintage, handmade goods, art, stationery, accessories and curated retail, with organizers teasing everything from Hawaiian dishes and sushi tacos to Korean vintage, South Asian art and Filipino desserts! Alongside the vendor booths, visitors can expect more than 16 live performances across the two days, a free SUKOSHI Stamp Station and a Sapporo Beer Garden.

For shoppers, the market area will be packed with local makers and small businesses, with everything from Love Your Vintage and You Look Good VNTG for second-hand finds to ArtketGoods, StickersbySuzie, Bowl Cut Paper Goods, Amor Ceramics and more.

And then there’s the food. Petite Paire returns this year with some of Toronto’s most unforgettable macarons, and the food hall will feature faves like WubaEats, Japan Taco, Kubo Tea, Bear Pung Emso Bakery, Panda Tanghulu and more!

Several vendors are also teasing special drops for the weekend. Matcha Made is launching Asian-inspired flavours, like egg tart, brown sugar silken tofu and red bean matcha, while StickersbySuzie is selling new washi tapes, a sticker book and unreleased sticker sheets at booth 36!

The Welcome Market takes place Saturday, May 9 from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, May 10 from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 5100 Yonge St. Follow @the.welcome.market for more info.