Now in its 2nd year, the 2011 Toronto Christmas Market at the historic Distillery District grew by another thirty three percent! This December the cobbled lanes and red brick buildings located at 55 Mill Street south of Front St and Parliament are absolutely filled with seasonal curiosities. There are over a hundred street vendors selling crafts and tasty foods made from organic ingredients and costumed performers, and live stage shows and the entire place is licensed for alcohol.

Originally designed to emulate classic holiday markets that the event planners had experienced in Europe, the Toronto Christmas Market is now evolving by continuous improvement into its own uniquely Canadian festival. But there’s nothing else quite like it in Canada that I know of…

In Europe a proper Christmas Market is a street market which celebrates the traditional sights, sounds and smells of the season; the fun happens in the weeks leading up to Christmas to help get everyone in the mood. These markets originated in Germany, beginning in the early 1400's, and are now being held in countries all over the world. This year the crew here at the Distillery District had a lot of work to do to get the place into shape.

First they had to install and decorate a 45 foot White Spruce Christmas Tree that was donated by Trees Ontario. The Tree is decorated with 18,000 reed switch lights and ornaments. Working with partners, Trees Ontario is the largest not-for-profit tree planting partnership in North America. Their goal is to help plant ten million trees a year by 2015.

Next the staff had to resurrect the old fashioned clock post that was knocked over by a seafood delivery truck earlier in the year. This majestic ornament steals the scene and is the subject of thousands of pictures here at the distillery. The high tech clock is always on time and doubles as a light source at night. Can you see in the accompanying picture how the suction truck is busy at the base of the steel post? the water table is so high in the Distillery District that this truck is required to come and suck up the juice from the spongy ground before cement can be poured and foundations secured – even for such small things as old fashion clock posts. The 2011 Toronto Christmas Market exists in the shadow of the Gooderham building, looming unfinished in the background, and that 44 story monster represents the extension of the development upwards into the sky. The cultural mise-en-scene below is important to the real estate market above. The shopping mall below the two towers is reputed to include a medical center, movie theatre, a Toronto dentist and a Japanese Sushi bar, and a Mexican restaurant with state-of-the-art web karaoke machines. And that’s all happening in Spring 2012, which boggles my mind.

Between the tree and the old fashioned clock tower there’s a stage that has been erected from truss and fitted with rear tents that have been carpeted and are heated and put at the disposal of the performers. The stage hosts many activities and musical acts including carolers, and brass band concerts, classical organ concerts, trumpeters, children's choirs and more… oh and Steven Page from the Barenaked Ladies played on Friday Grand Opening . The outdoor seating area they’ve created around the stage was thronged with middle aged people, most with small children. There’s a reasonable large Ferris-wheel on site for people of all ages to enjoy. People can take rides on the rig and to see most of the cultural landscsape from an entirely new, almost aerial perspective. You probably won’t be able to see Santa’s Lane from the Ferris Wheel attraction though, as its tucked behind the Stone Building / and runs all the way down what’s normally called Distillery Lane to the Fermenting Cellar. Santa's Lane features a dozen or more vendors and fun things including a fairy tale forest maze, Santa's house is here, and Rudolph's reindeer zoo. At the far end there's a children's story telling warm-up zone and Santa's elves workshop presented by Lowe's.

All through the venue, especially late afternoon, there’s truly well thought out lighting designs and seasonal décor elements added to create an intensely romantic Christmas setting for visitors to enjoy. The street and squares of the Distillery District have now been transformed into a paradise of lights and colours, festive sounds and seductive smells until Dec 18th, 2011.