Sep 13, 6:00pm
We are SO excited to invite you to the next
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a FREE Desi-inspired night market and mela featuring local vendors, restaurants, and musicians!
Sep 14, 6:00pm
Get ready to join us for a pickle party Saturday September 14th from 6-7:30pm! Keep an eye out for more details and tickets 👀 Let’s relish this fun!
Sep 12, 5:30pm
plazaPOPS is hosting a walking tour of our sites as part of a continuing education event hosted by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, and anyone is welcome to join.
Sep 6, 6:00pm
Scarborough Landmarks is an art workshop that invites you to reflect on your not-so-glamorous daily journeys and honour the mundane, everyday landmarks that make up the places we call home. Let’s gather and rethink how we decide what a landmark is – what heritage is.
Aug 30, 6:00pm
A FREE artistic exploration-focused night featuring local artists and vendors with great music and light refreshments!
Aug 29, 6:30pm
A77 is excited to be hosting a Community Identity & Expression Mural Workshop this Thursday at Wexford Heights!
Aug 25, 1:00pm
The Green Line is partnering with plazaPOPS (for the third time!) and Temple University to host a community meal and Story Circle focused on pedestrian safety in Wexford/Maryvale!
Aug 24, 12:00pm
Discover the art of sketching en-plein-air! This workshop is FREE and open to artists of ALL skill levels (including absolute beginners)! 🎨 Basic art materials will be provided but if you have some, you are encouraged to bring your own supplies 😆✨
Aug 16, 6:00pm
“SMRTI”: Lets dive into the ocean of Indian classical dance together. Your instructor, Raga Aadi, is looking forward to some fun discussions and lots of dancing 💃
Aug 11, 4:00pm
Muslims in Public Space is hosting a sidewalk chalk activation on site. Join our workshop on Islamic geometric shapes and learn about Islamic gardens and the plants within them by Global Sustainable Foods.
Jul 27, 6:30pm
We are so excited to invite you to our first
｡･:*˚:✧｡𝐖𝐄𝐗𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐃𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐀｡✧:˚*:･｡
a FREE Desi-inspired night market and mela featuring local vendors, restaurants, and musicians!
Jul 13, 4:30pm
Join us for a 12 km ride to visit some of Scarborough’s tastiest takeout spots in Wexford Heights! Grab some takeout, have a seat, and enjoy “Wexford Blooms 2gether’, this year’s plazaPOPS installation!
Jul 9, 4:30pm
We are excited to announce a special Arabic Calligraphy Workshop hosted by LunaLight Creations in collaboration with plazaPOPS! Whether you’re a beginner or have some experience, this workshop is perfect for anyone looking to explore the beautiful art of Arabic calligraphy.
Jun 22, 2:00pm
On June 22nd join Plaza Pops x GSF for a planting workshop for the beginning of summer!
Jun 22, 1:00pm
Scarborough has a special spot in our hearts and minds.
We’ve been planning a print and digital series focused on cartography and wayfinding. This is us mapping it out, together.
Presented with planner/professor/local-homie ajeev bhatia.
Focusing on the south west, we will end sharing a meal together.
ps. Jaana (jaa-na) means going.
Jun 15, 12:00pm
Join us for an opening day celebratory party at our hub site (2020 Lawrence Ave E) where we’ll be launching our 2024 season with a community planting day – many hands make light work and we need YOUR help greening the parking lots with native plants from Native Plants in Claremont!
Apr 18, 5:00pm
💡Have ideas on how we can make this year’s Lawrence Avenue East plazaPOPS the best ever? 🙌 Join us at our drop-in OPEN HOUSE, Thursday April 18th, 5:00 pm -8:30 pm, at Precious Blood Church (1737 Lawrence Ave E)!
Mar 28, 7:00pm
We hosted a Community Iftaar at Sahan Restaurant in Wexford Heights to break bread together, commemorate the month of Ramadan, and honour our community members, neighbours and community organizations.
Ghadir Meats and Restaurant
1848 Lawrence Ave E
Thanks to Ali Dbouk and Vincent Law
Colony Plaza
202 Lawrence Ave E
Thanks to Steve Michalopolous and his team, Mahmoud Jirdeh (owner of Sahan Restaurant), and the Cafe de Paan team
The Wexford Residence
1860 Lawrence Ave E
Thanks to Bijaya Singh and Wayne Connoly
Project Team
Michael Belley
Building Up
Brennan Luchsinger
Building Up
Marc Soberano
Building Up
Fiona Persaud
Wexford Heights BIA
Michael Phan
Wexford Heights BIA
Scarboro Mazda
Edgar Tam
Wexford Heights BIA
Scarboro Mazda
Bryan Peart
Working Women Community Centre
Noor Khan
plazaPOPS Curator
Echo Railton
Lead Garden Steward
Hatim Shah
Youth Site Steward
Mohammed Abdu
Youth Site Steward
Abbas Awan
Youth Site Steward
Amit Raihan
Site Steward, volunteer
Rui Felix
ERA Architects
Tupac Espinoza
ERA Architects
Jennifer Wan
ERA Architects
Program leads
Mehedi Khan
Muslims in Public Space
Igor Samardzic
Muslims in Public Space
Minaz Asani
good futures collective
Anjum Chagpar
good futures collective
Quentin de Becker
Scarborough Zero Waste
Carolyn Heath
Scarborough Zero Waste and Community-based researcher
Wasifa Noshin + family
Local guardians, event leads, and volunteers
Amira Babeiti + Global Sustainable Futures crew
Collaborator and event lead
Liam Vu
Event coordinator, researcher, and volunteer
Asad Chisti + Ajeev Bhatia
Event coordinators
Marvin Macairag
Scarborough Cycles, event lead
Raga Aadi
Event lead
Aamina Farook
The Floral Confectionary, baker of delicious cupcakes!
Anita Li
The Green Line
Ahmad El Sarraff
A77, event lead
Faizaan Khan
Event lead
Parents Against Driving High
Event lead
Community Based Researchers
Mahima Patel
Community-based researcher and Lassi maker
Sandi Bolous
Researcher and volunteer
The Wexford Community!
Volunteers, visitors, supporters extraordinaire!
Project hosts
Mahmoud Jirdeh + team
Owner of Sahan Restaurant, project
Steve Michalopolous
Owner of the Colony Plaza, project host
Ali Dbouk + team
Owner of Ghadir, project host
Vincent Law
M&M Investments, project host
Bijaya Singh + Wayne Connolly
Wexford Residence
Cafe de Paan team
Project hosts
Project host
Wexford Heights BIA was formed in 2004 when the local community felt that there was a need to bring the business community and the residential community together to create a neighbourhood that would be a great place to live, work and play.
As a core partner and project host, the Wexford Heights BIA supported plazaPOPS by helping us locate sites and connect with property owners, connect with local businesses for sponsorship, and supported our programming throughout the summer!
Program Partner
Eat More Scarborough is a food tour company located in Scarborough, Ontario, home to some of the world’s highest quality and diverse cuisines – from some of the most humble and passionate chefs anywhere.
Eat More Scarborough included Wexford Blooms on its Food Tours of Scarborough, and screened their documentary “Meet me at the Plaza” at our second Wexford Dhaba.
Program Partner
SZW’s mission is to inspire, support and facilitate waste reduction initiatives among individuals, community groups, events or businesses while bringing Scarborough people together thanks to healing connections.
SZW was a key project partner, supporting plazaPOPS’ planting days, research projects, and a research initiative to understand how to reduce take out waste in the neighbourhood.
Program Partner
MiPs initiatives/projects are co-created by planners, designers, community-based advocates, policymakers, and educators. We are working together to build a more inclusive city in the hopes of addressing more complex challenges.
MiPS worked with plazaPOPS and local artist Noor Khan to create a series of welcoming decorative signage in Arabic and English atop our shade structures.
Local Economic Partner
The Inclusive Local Economic Opportunity Initiative (ILEO) brings together the private, public, and community sectors to find innovative ways to reduce gaps in economic prosperity at the neighbourhood level. ILEO is convened by United Way Greater Toronto and BMO Financial Group.
ILEO connected plazaPOPS with local entrepreneurs who participated in the night markets at the Wexford Dhabas!
Media Partner
The Green Line is an award-winning, hyperlocal publication that delivers information you can actually use in your daily life. Our team investigates the way Torontonians live to report on solutions, actions and resources that help you become happier in our city.
The Green Line hosted a Story Circle event at our Wexford Blooms hub site to understand the local issues that matter most to residents of Scarborough.
Program Partner
GSF is a non-profit organization founded with the goal to curate a food network supply chain on the principles of sustainability.
GSF hosted a series of events at Wexford Blooms 2gether and participated as vendors at our Wexford Dhabas!
Ecological Partner
Since 1957, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), as enabled through the provincial Conservation Authorities Act, has taken action to enhance our region’s natural environment and protect our land, water and communities from the impacts of flooding and increasingly extreme weather events — Ontario’s leading cause of public emergencies.
Once Wexford Blooms’ popped down, all of plazaPOPS’ native plants were transplanted in the nearby Meadoway, a project by the TRCA to transform a hydro corridors into a native meadow and trail! The TRCA worked with plazaPOPS to select native plants that were suitable to grow in the Meadoway and participated in our events throughout the summer.
Local Anchor Partner
The WWCC is the largest women-focused settlement agency in Toronto, dedicated to supporting newcomers and their families, and striving to create a welcoming environment where immigrant women can find the resources they need to thrive, making us a trusted friend and, in many cases, a vital lifeline.
As our local anchor partner, the WWCC facilitated the creation of our Community Working Group and helped us administrate our Youth Site Steward positions!
Project Partner
This isn’t only the Somali restaurant in the city, it’s an essential community hub!
The Sahan Team has supported plazaPOPS by sharing their storage space, always providing tea to our guests and crew.
Funders
Wexford Blooms 2gether was funded by the City of Toronto’s Main Street Recovery and Rebuild Initiative and Main Street Innovation Fund, as part of Government of Canada support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
The project was also funded by the City of Toronto’s Planning Division, and Economic Development and Culture’s Dining District TO grant.
Funders
Wexford Blooms 2gether was funded by the City of Toronto’s Main Street Recovery and Rebuild Initiative, as part of Government of Canada support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
Funders
The University of Guelph-led plazaPOPS research initiative is funded by SSHRC’s “Partnership Development” Grant.
2024: Wexford Blooms 2gether
March 24, 2025
Globe and Mail
2024: Wexford Blooms 2gether
November 21, 2024
Toronto Star
2024: Wexford Blooms 2gether
August 29, 2024
CBC News
Oct 14, 12:00pm
Celebrate harvest time and the community spirit of Wexford Heights!
Sep 23, 7:30pm
A Late Night food tour with a stop at Wexford Blooms!
Sep 17, 10:00am
Join us for our a farmers market at Wexford Blooms featuring DJs, fruits and veggies, and local artisans!
Sep 14, 6:00pm
An exhibition featuring the history of plazaPOPS all the amazing partnerships and work that has gone into popping plazas!
Aug 26, 4:30pm
Join us for a 12km ride to visit some of Scarborough’s tastiest takeout spots in Wexford Heights.
Aug 17, 5:30pm
Join us at Wexford Plaza for Summer Blooms Fest, a celebration of the opening of WexPOPS: Wexford Blooms, and all the brilliant community spirit that went into this year’s plazaPOPS in Wexford Heights!
Aug 11, 6:00pm
On August 11, For You Telecare Family Services took over Wexford Blooms as part of their “Expressive Art Workshop”!
Aug 8, 8:00pm
Movie night at the strip mall! We’re thrilled to be screening Scarborough Icons in Wexford Plaza!
Project Team
Michael Belly
Building Up
Marc Soberano
Building Up
Rui Felix
ERA Architects
Tupac Espinoza
ERA Architects
Stuart Chan
ERA Architects
Steven Shuttle
ERA Architects
Bryan Peart
Working Women Community Centre
Alyssa Bharat
Working Women Community Centre
Luanne Rayvals
Working Women Community Centre
Fiona Persaud
Wexford Heights BIA
Michael Phan
Wexford Heights BIA
Edgar Tam
Wexford Heights BIA
Liam Doyle
Planting Lead
Margot Kapache
Lead Student Researcher
The Wexford Blooms
Community Working Group
R Wolfe
Boys and Girls Club East Scarborough
Michelle Joseph
Boys and Girls Club East Scarborough
Elvis Appiah
Local resident
S Ahmed
Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture
Valerie Kerr
Native Child and Family Services
Raymond Mitchell
Local resident
Abdillaahi Mohamed
Local Resident
Suyeon Kim
For Youth Telecare Family Services
Minaz Asani
Local resident
Idil Jama
Local resident
Carolyn Heath
Local resident
Quentin de Becker
Local Resident
Kevin Bassi
Local resident
Aunti Amal
Auntie Amal Community Centre
Amira Babeiti
Global Sustainable Foods
Event leads and collaborators
Howard Tam
Eat More Scarborough
Marvin Macaraig
Scarborough Cycles
Derek Spooner
Scarborough Arts
Emily Peltier
Scarborough Arts
Faith Rajasingham
Scarborough Arts
Sylvie Stojanovski
Scarbrite Collective
Frannie Potts
Scarbrite Collective
Anita Li
The Green Line
Amira Babeiti + crew
Global Sustainable Foods
Faith Rajasingham
Scarborough Arts
Sylvie Stojanovski
Scarbrite Collective
Frannie Potts
Scarbrite Collective
Frannie Potts
Scarbrite Collective
Community Based Researchers
Saara Liinamaa
Research lead
Mervyn Horgan
Research Lead
Naziha Nasrin
Community-based researcher
Mahima Patel
Community-based researcher
University of Guelph Masters of Landscape Architecture Students
Tyler Brown
Madison Costello
Ryan De Jong
Liam Doyle
Paul Hiff
Maryalice Keirstead
Craig Klomp
Margot Kapache
Victoria Big Yue Lau
Julia Loach
Mitchell Miron
Seyedeh Sara Mokhberi
Harley Schneider
Quian Wan
Emma Zacharias
Local Anchor Partner
The WWCC is the largest women-focused settlement agency in Toronto, dedicated to supporting newcomers and their families, and striving to create a welcoming environment where immigrant women can find the resources they need to thrive, making us a trusted friend and, in many cases, a vital lifeline.
As our local anchor partner, the WWCC facilitated the creation of our Community Working Group, hosted our working group meetings, and co-planned and facilitated major events throughout the summer and fall. They also helped us administrate our Youth Site Steward positions!
Project host
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Program Partner
Scarborough Arts is one of Toronto’s six Local Arts Service Organizations (LASOs) mandated to serve the Scarborough region by offering inclusive, low-barrier and community-driven arts and cultural programming and services.
Scarborough Arts partnered with plazaPOPS to deliver a wide range of arts programming throughout the summer and fall.
Program Partner
Eat More Scarborough is a food tour company located in Scarborough, Ontario, home to some of the world’s highest quality and diverse cuisines – from some of the most humble and passionate chefs anywhere.
Eat More Scarborough included Wexford Blooms on its Food Tours of Scarborough in the summers of 2023 and 2024!
Program Partner
SZW’s mission is to inspire, support and facilitate waste reduction initiatives among individuals, community groups, events or businesses while bringing Scarborough people together thanks to healing connections.
SZW participated in our Community Working Group and programmed a sustainability event at Wexford Blooms.
Program Partner
The role of Auntie Amal Community Center is to encourage community spirit for individuals/families living in our community through integrity and professionalism. To develop and maintain facilities, enable volunteers, support programs and related services based on community needs.
Auntie Amal was part of our Community Working Group and programmed our Wexford Blooms hub site throughout the summer.
Program Partner
MiPs initiatives/projects are co-created by planners, designers, community-based advocates, policymakers, and educators. We are working together to build a more inclusive city in the hopes of addressing more complex challenges.
MiPS brought their Islamic Mosaic workshop to Wexford Blooms’ Harvest Fest!
Local Economic Partner
The Inclusive Local Economic Opportunity Initiative (ILEO) brings together the private, public, and community sectors to find innovative ways to reduce gaps in economic prosperity at the neighbourhood level. ILEO is convened by United Way Greater Toronto and BMO Financial Group.
Media Partner
The Green Line is an award-winning, hyperlocal publication that delivers information you can actually use in your daily life. Our team investigates the way Torontonians live to report on solutions, actions and resources that help you become happier in our city.
The Green Line used Wexford Blooms as an opportunity to connect with local Scarborough residents on issues that matter to them. They hosted a Story Circle and had an interactive “speakers corner” booth at our hub site.
Program Partner
Toronto Korean Community FUTFS assists individuals and families from all walks of life to overcome cultural, emotional, and psychological barriers through a wide range of counselling and educational services and programs.
Youth participating in FYTFS’ summer program supported Wexford Blooms by volunteering throughout the summer, especially at our larger events! FYTFS also hosted an outdoor exhibition at Wexford Blooms.
Program Partner
GSF is a non-profit organization founded with the goal to curate a food network supply chain on the principles of sustainability.
GSF members were part of our Community Working Group and programmed a Farmers Market at Wexford Blooms – the first drive through Farmers Market in Scarborough!
Ecological Partner
Since 1957, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), as enabled through the provincial Conservation Authorities Act, has taken action to enhance our region’s natural environment and protect our land, water and communities from the impacts of flooding and increasingly extreme weather events — Ontario’s leading cause of public emergencies.
Once Wexford Blooms’ popped down, all of plazaPOPS’ native plants were transplanted in the nearby Meadoway, a project by the TRCA to transform a hydro corridors into a native meadow and trail! The TRCA worked with plazaPOPS to select native plants that were suitable to grow in the Meadoway and participated in our events throughout the summer.
Youth Staff Partner
The West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre is one of the largest multi-service agencies in Scarborough.
The WSNCC participated in our Community Working Group and facilitated the Toronto Youth Job Corps program that trained and funded our Youth Site Stewards.
Funders
Wexford Blooms 2gether was funded by the City of Toronto’s Main Street Recovery and Rebuild Initiative and Main Street Innovation Fund, as part of Government of Canada support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
Funders
Wexford Blooms 2gether was funded by the City of Toronto’s Main Street Recovery and Rebuild Initiative, as part of Government of Canada support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
Funders
The University of Guelph-led plazaPOPS research initiative is funded by SSHRC’s “Partnership Development” Grant.
Sponsor
An award-winning team with over 22 Years of combined experience In real estate across GTA, but with local roots in Wexford.
The Rad Team sponsored our Wexford Blooms Harvest Festival on October 14, 2023!
Sponsor
The Scarborough Mazda team have been essential supporters and sponsors for Wexford Blooms. They hosted our shipping container and sponsored the watering of our installations!
Sponsor
Well Grounded Real Estate provides thoughtful and sustainable multi-residential and retail properties throughout Southern Ontario.
Well Grounded sponsored our Wexford Blooms Movie night on August 8, 2023!
Sponsor
One of the most delicious Bahn Mi and Pho spots in the GTA, Pho Metro has been a big supporter of plazaPOPS! They have hosted community meetings and in 2023, sponsored the gardens at our hub site in the Wexford Heights Plaza.
Sponsor
This isn’t only the Somali restaurant in the city, it’s an essential community hub!
The Sahan Team has supported plazaPOPS by sharing their storage space, always providing tea to our Building Up Crew, and in 2023, they sponsored the gardens at our Tuk Tuk site in Colony Plaza.
Sponsor
Grow Better Gardens supported plazaPOPS by donating all the soil and mulch that helped transformed the parking lots into green oases!
2023: Wexford Blooms
October 10, 2023
Ground Magazine
2023: Wexford Blooms
July 30, 2023
BlogTO
Oct 22, 1:00pm
OUR LAST EVENT OF THE YEAR! Please join us for a Harvest Festival featuring Diwali celebrations featuring: free food, giveaways, DJs and dancing, musical performances, Diwali fireworks 🎆 and the Mobile Sauna by Public Sweat!
Sep 16, 5:00pm
This Friday Sep 16, 5-8pm, join us at ThistlePOPS (950 Albion Rd, in front of Grow Fitness) for “The Summer of Innovation” back-to-school event hosted by Rexdale Community Hub with support from Albion Islington Square BIA!
Sep 14, 5:30pm
🎉 we are so excited for this music and dance celebration hosted by Arts Etobicoke at ThistlePOPS!
After Indian folk music and Bharatanatyam dancing, @khaulasart will be presenting her digital piece as part of her @culture_to as part of #artworxto Sites of Significance project.
Aug 24, 3:30pm
Arts Etobicoke’s free After School Art Classes are coming to North Etobicoke! Experiment with different mediums, learn new skills and techniques, and express your creativity!
Jul 30, 1:00pm
This Saturday! We are celebrating the launch of ThistlePOPS with “Summer of Joy”, a festival programmed by the Rexdale Hub and the Albion Islington Square BIA!
DJs, Dancers, Henna, BBQ, we can’t wait!
Jul 24, 2:00pm
We need your help to transform the parking lot of Grow Fitness into a green oasis!
Project Team
Nilay Gaboni
Building Up
Brennan Luchsinger
Building Up
Marc Soberano
Building Up
Vinita Kalia
Albion Islington BIA
Amra Munawar
Rexdale Community Hub
Aiman Malhi
Rexdale Community Hub
Warda Sharmeen
Rexdale Community Hub
Talal Malhi
Youth Site Steward
Hadeed Pall
Youth Site Steward
Rui Felix
ERA Architects
Tupac Espinoza
ERA Architects
Stuart Chan
ERA Architects
Program Leads
John del Rosario
Arts Etobicoke
Mary Bond
Project Manager
Benjamin Lawrence
Community Coordinator
Ryan Harris
Building Volunteer
Maria Taylor
Building Volunteer
Michael Mathis
Researcher
Vanessa Marshall
Researcher
Wanda Howard
Project Manager
Jacob Pullman
Project Manager
Warren Russell
Building Volunteer
Keith Fraser
Event Planner
Victoria Chapman
Researcher
Thomas Lee
Project Manager
Warren Taylor
Public Relations
Victor Knox
Event Planner
Mary Bond
Project Manager
Benjamin Lawrence
Community Coordinator
Ryan Harris
Building Volunteer
Maria Taylor
Building Volunteer
Michael Mathis
Researcher
Vanessa Marshall
Researcher
Local Anchor Partner
The Rexdale Hub seeks to provide a welcoming space where members of the community feel valued through arts, sports, and activity-based workshops. The Rexdale Hub and plazaPOPS emphasize shared values of community engagement and diversity, and host events catered to the needs of the community.
Community Animators from the Rexdale Hub facilitated our community working group design process, and are taking a lead role programming the space throughout the summer and working with your Youth Site Stewards.
Project Host
Found in Rexdale, the Albion Islington Square Business Improvement Area (BIA) is overflowing with culture. The intersection is filled with traditional clothing imported from around the world, spas and salons, and South Asian and Caribbean cuisine. This BIA even has the largest concentration of designer and high-karat jewelry stores in all of Toronto – which is why it’s sometimes called the “24 Karat Corner”
Program Partner
Arts Etobicoke is a not-for-profit charitable organization that focuses on improving people’s lives through the arts. We have developed an inclusive and creative community hub that is open to all people in West Toronto.
Arts Etobicoke programmed ThistlePOPS with free art classes for local youth, an exhibition and concert, and tabling at all our festivals including a DIY lantern station at our Harvesting Diwali Fest!
Program Partner
Every Saturday, Catch the Fire activated our hub site with music and free food!
Funders
ThistlePOPS was funded by the City of Toronto’s Main Street Recovery and Rebuild Initiative and Main Street Innovation Fund, as part of Government of Canada support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
The City of Toronto also provided funding through its ShowLoveTO grant and Cultural Hotspot program.
Funders
ThistlePOPS was funded by the City of Toronto’s Main Street Recovery and Rebuild Initiative, as part of Government of Canada support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
Funders
The University of Guelph-led plazaPOPS research initiative is funded by SSHRC’s “Partnership Development” Grant.
Funders
Arts Etobicoke provided funding to support ThistlePOPS’ arts programming throughout the summer and fall of 2022
Funders
The Province of Ontario’s Tourism Economic Development and Recovery Fund supported events at ThistlePOPS and throughout the Albion Islington BIA during the summer and fall of 2022.
2022: ThistlePOPS
November 10, 2022
University of Guelph
2022: ThistlePOPS
September 14, 2022
BlogTO
2022: ThistlePOPS
August 5, 2022
The Green Line
The first plazaPOPS, funded by Park People’s Public Space Incubator Grant, funded by Ken and Eti Greenberg and the Balsam Foundation, popped up in the Wexford Heights BIA in July 2019. As a pilot project, WexPOPS demonstrated the potential for a community lead design process in partnership with a Business Improvement Area in creating equity in Toronto’s urban landscape. Throughout the installation, the site was programmed by events, concerts and other community initiatives.
For WexPOPS, plazaPOPS was engaged in a community design process with the help of our Community Working Group, comprised by local residents, Scarborough community organizers and business owners. Masters of Landscape Architecture students from the University of Guelph were engaged in the community design process through Professor Brendan Stewart’s Community Design studio.
Aug 17, 5:00pm
We cordially invite you to Wexford Heights, grab your fave local takeout, and enjoy it at WexPOPS during an evening of music by Pete Eastmure, spoken word/DJ by Berma, printmaking by Nigel Martin, dance by Megha Subramanian, and an inspiring talk by Howard Tam. Co-curated with Scarborough Arts.
Aug 13, 6:30pm
Join us for a group ride from our Lawrence-Orton Bike Hub to ‘plazaPOPS’, Scarborough’s newest pop up community gathering place located at Wexford Heights Plaza.
Aug 3, 6:00pm
WexPOPS was featured as a stop on Howard Tam’s Scarborough Food Tour!
Aug 1, 4:30pm
Come lime with us at our WexPOPS PATTY-O with sounds by Mix Master Caesar, a talk by Howard Tam, eats by local Jamaican Halal resto Rose’s, and much more! FREE! This pre-Caribana weekend hang is brought to you by our partners the Working Women Community Centre!
Jul 28, 4:00pm
An evening of local musicians, dancers, and artist workshops, featuring Tamla Matthews, Diar, Neetika Sharma and Krystyna Czereyska. Co-curated by Scarborough Arts, and featuring an urban ecology walk hosted by the Toronto Region Conservation Authority.
Jul 20
An exhibition featuring youth artists that were part of the For Youth Telecare Family Services program
Jul 5, 6:00pm
We invited the community to help us transform the Wexford Heights Plaza into a green oasis!
Jul 4, 12:00pm
We invited the community to help us transform the Wexford Heights Plaza into a green oasis!
The Kiriakou Family – Owners of Wexford Heights Plaza
2072 Lawrence Ave E
Hosted the project, providing 10 parking spaces
Wexford Heights BIA
Our anchor project hosts and connection to the local business community
AC Waterjet
123 Crockford Blvd
Donated CNC milling services to create the WexPOPS signs and the Wish Tree.
CAS signs co
2080 Lawrence Ave E
Donated all the printing for WexPOPS signs
Photo fast
2078 Lawrence Ave E
An employee from photo fast provided a DJ set for our Patty-O event!
Working Women Community Centre
Hosted PATTY-O community event
Rose’s Kitchen
2602 Eglinton Ave E
Provided reduced cost food for the PATTY-O event.
Project Team
Brendan Stewart
Co-Lead
Daniel Rotsztain
Co-Lead
Linda Raeside
Wexford Heights BIA Coordinator
Kasia Knap
ACCT Youth Coordinator
Angela Koh
Working Women Community Centre program coordintor
Bryan Peart
Community Centre program coordintor
Ben O’Hara
Fabricator
Echo Railton
Mural artist
Youth Site Stewards
Abiola Ramat Ayorinde
Adebayo Fortunatus Adeoluwa
Aderibigbe Dasola
Adeyemo Funmisola Adebisi
Daniella Dan-Agboola
Efe Riches Uwuigbe
Ehiagwina Eghemen Rebecca
Fashina Baqiat Olajumobi
Kowe Fortune Olamide
Okoh Favour
Community Working Group
Minaz Asani-Kanji
Local resident
Roger Bissoon
Local resident
Huda Bukhari
Arab Community Centre of Toronto
Laura Dijana Higgins
Friends of Edge Park, Friends of Wexford Park, Local resident
Mariana Hernandez
Local resident
Hanbo Jia
Agincourt resident
Suyeon Jin
For You Telecare Family Services
Tim Mowers
Maryvale Community Association
Louise O’Neill
Friends of Cedarbrook & Thomson Memorial Parks
Shadi Shami
Arab Community Centre of Toronto
Sudipto Sengupta
Local resident
Nadira Tabassum
Shwasti
Hanna Kassim
Al-Isra
Debra McGonegal
Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities
Wehbe Zeidan
Local resident
Abboud Zleik Working
Local resident
Yani Zhao
Wexford BIA board member, owner of Blue Ocean Spa
University of Guelph
Masters of Landscape Architecture design students
Carly Balestra
Kimberley Beech
Skylyssa Carville
Kendra Cheeseman
Sihao Chen
Sita Ganesan
Massimiliano Gatta
Brennan Guse
Samuel Heaman
Quinn Howard
Jessica Karafilov
Sima Kuhail
Hanna Leufven
Christine Pedersen
Amirhossein Sadeghiesfahani
Kevin Todd
Bim Troell
Alanna Van Ommen
University of Guelph
Research Assistants
Beth Bray
Skylyssa Carville
Sima Kuhail
Kevin Todd
University of Toronto
CityLab Students
Lucy Cu
Michael Gubermani
Fi Nguyen
Igor Samardzic
OCADU Research Assistant
Molly Connor
Project Advisors
Rafael Gomez Associate Professor
Centre for Industrial Relations
and Human Resources
University of Toronto
Howard Tam
Principal
ThinkFresh Group
Project Host
There are more than 245 business members that form the Wexford Heights BIA who are governed by a Board-of-Directors. This is truly a vibrant community and the most multi-culturally diverse area of the Greater Toronto Area. With so many cultural groups making Scarborough their home, this area is rich in restaurants that cook-up a variety of food from every corner of the world. Just a drive along Lawrence Avenue East (The Wexford Area) and you can see, shop and taste items from many cultures
The Wexford Heights BIA was our anchor partner and project host, connecting plazaPOPS with the business community and co-presenting our summer of programming. WexPOPS launched alongside Wexford Height’s landmark “Taste of Lawrence” street festival.
Partner
The University of Guelph is like no other university in Canada. Research-intensive and learner-centred, our campuses span urban hubs and rural communities. We are known for excellence in the arts and sciences and for our commitment to developing exceptional thinkers and engaged citizens.
The University of Guelph supported plazaPOPS as a co-presenter and research lead for the project.
Arts Partner
Scarborough Arts, a not-for-profit charitable organization, serves the Scarborough community by developing, delivering, and promoting innovative arts programming and cultural initiatives in collaboration and partnership with the community.
Scarborough Arts participarted in the Community Working Group process and co-presented several events at WexPOPS. They funded interactive artist workshops throughout the summer, supported funding of our mural artist, and provided honoraria for the musicians and performers at our landmark events!
Arts Partner
Mural Routes activates communities by facilitating the creation of responsive, collaborative murals, and provides opportunities to build and advance careers in mural art.
Mural Routes facilitated our call for mural artists to provide the landmark stage mural at the centre of WexPOPS!
Ecological Partner
Since 1957, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), as enabled through the provincial Conservation Authorities Act, has taken action to enhance our region’s natural environment and protect our land, water and communities from the impacts of flooding and increasingly extreme weather events — Ontario’s leading cause of public emergencies.
All the native plants in WexPOPS were transplanted to the Meadoway, the TRCA-lead transformation of a hydro corridor in Scarborough into a vibrant 16-kilometre stretch of urban greenspace and meadowlands that will become one of Canada’s largest linear urban parks.
Partner
The City of Toronto supported plazaPOPS by participating in the Community Design Process. Maili Sedore and Robert Mays from Transportation Services contrbuted their expertise to the design and safety considerations of WexPOPS!
Youth Partner
The Arab Community Centre of Toronto (ACCT)is a non-political, non-religious, and non-profit organization that works with newcomers of all backgrounds across Toronto.
We worked with the ACCT throughout WexPOPS, initially hosting an open house to discuss potential designs, which lead to a core-partnership to hire our Youth Site Stewards in a supportive hiring process that gave over 50 youth employment skills!
Programming partner
Working Women Community Centre is a women-focused settlement agency that provides support to newcomers in Toronto. Since 1974, we have been making a difference in the lives of immigrant women and their families.
We hosted an open house at the WWCC’s Victoria Hub location and partnered with them to produce our PATTY-O Caribana party!
Funder
Park People launched its Public Space Incubator (PSI) program in 2018 to spur on new models of publicly accessible open spaces in dense cities like Toronto
Funder
Ken Greenberg is an urban designer, teacher, writer, former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the City of Toronto and Principal of Greenberg Consultants. He is the author of Walking Home: The Life and Lessons of a City Builder and Toronto Reborn; Design Successes and Challenges. He was selected as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2019 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Toronto.
Eti Greenberg has managed Toronto’s Euclid Cinema, acted as an art dealer, worked for two Toronto city councillors, teaches Tai Chi, and is a Shiatsu and acupuncture therapist. She is passionate about Toronto and walks everywhere, while also discovering new places via tandem bike and kayak.
Funder
The Balsam Foundation exists to enable and galvanize the well-being and potential of our communities.
They are committed to a future where all Canadians benefit from a high standard of health and well-being. For this reason, our funding will reflect approaches that put people first, strike a balance between personal and collective wellness, and acknowledge the impact of social determinants of health and the context within which people live, work and play.
Funder
In partnership with the Wexford Heights BIA, plazaPOPS received a BIA Innovation Fund.
The BIA Innovation Fund was a grant that provides funding to BIAs to test innovative and creative solutions to local challenges and share their findings/results with other BIAs.
Funder
As a core project partner, the University of Guelph’s Landscape Architecture program contributed administrative services and countless in-kind donations including the time of Professor Brendan Stewart
Sponsor
Grow Better Gardens donated all the soil and mulch that were essential to transforming 10 parking spots into a green oasis!
Sponsor
Local waterjet cutters donated the labour for the landmark WexPOPS sign and Wexford Wish Tree!
Sponsor
We were lucky to have a sign shop so close to WexPOPS, right in the Wexford Heights Plaza!
The Saboohi family were extremely generous in their donation of all the signs at WexPOPS, and we continued to work with them in future years
Sponsor
The University of Guelph’s Physical Resource department grew and donated the decorative and edible annuals that called WexPOPS home!
2019: WexPOPS
August 19, 2019
Toronto Star
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PlazaPOPS is funded by the City of Toronto’s Main Street Recovery and Rebuild Initiative, as part of Government of Canada support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
Research for plazaPOPS is funded through a SSHRC Partnership Development grant, in partnership with the City of Toronto and the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD) in the Ontario Agricultural College.
