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In 2023, we returned to the Wexford Heights BIA for Wexford Blooms!

Wexford Blooms 2023 featured four sites along Lawrence Avenue East, celebrating the beauty and cultural diversity of Wexford Heights, Maryvale, and surrounding communities!

Wexford Blooms was popped up from August 8 to October 15, 2023. The sites were designed and programmed in partnership with Wexford Heights Business Improvement Area and the Working Women Community Centre.

Installation locations

Wexford Heights Plaza (2071 Lawrence Ave E)

Colony Plaza (2020 Lawrence Ave E)

Better than Yia Yia’s (1841 Lawrence Ave E)

Ghadir (1848 Lawrence Ave E)

Wexford Blooms 2gether Hub Site at Wexford Plaza
2072 Lawrence Ave E
Illustration: Craig Klomp
The Wexford Blooms hub was animated with programming throughout the summer and fall!
Photo: Tupac Espinoza
Our hub site at Wexford Heights Plaza created a comfortable space for people to gather, meet friends, & eat!
Photo: Kat Rizza
Wexford Blooms Tuk-Tuk site at Colony Plaza
2020 Lawrence Ave E
Illustration: Craig Klomp
Nestled into the corner of Colony Plaza, our tuk-tuk site hosted daily gatherings
Photo: Tupac Espinoza
Wexford Blooms park-style at Better Than Yia Yia’s
1841 Lawrence Ave E
Illustration: Craig Klomp
Hammocks under an existing tree created an unexpected calming oasis along otherwise busy Lawrence Ave E
Photo: Kat Rizza
The landmark “zig zag” Wexford sign created seating along the sidewalk and protected visitors from fast moving traffic
Photo: Tupac Espinoza
Booths along Pharmacy Ave complemented nightly gatherings at Ghadir
1848 Lawrence Ave E
Illustration: Craig Klomp
The Ghadir booths provided comfortable places to eat take out and catch up with friends
Photo: Kat Rizza

Engagement process

plazaPOPS partnered with the Working Women Community Centre (WWCC) as our local anchor partner in 2023. The WWCC is well versed in city-building and community economic development and were the perfect collaborator to connect us to a network of local residents and community organizations that formed our Community Working Group.

The Wexford Blooms Community Working Group met 3 times to collaboratively design the sites and programming for the 2023 season.

To reduce barriers for participation, Working Group members received honoraria, meetings were catered (by delicious local restaurants!), and transit fare, childcare, and translation services were provided.

The community design process was integrated into a Masters of Landscape Architecture studio at the University of Guelph led by Brendan Stewart, and students helped translate the community’s vision into designs that were implemented.

The Community Working Group met 3 times to vision, design, and refine the Wexford Blooms sites
Photo: Videsh Brijpaul
Local residents, business owners, & community orgs give feedback to initial ideas designed by University of Guelph Masters of Landscape Architecture students
University of Guelph Masters of Landscape Architecture students created models based on the community visions expressed at previous workshops
Student models based on the vision of the community became reality! The zig zag sign was eventually built at our park site in 2023.
We make sure there are multiple methods for communicating feedback: discussions, posters, and work booklets to name a few
Back at the University of Guelph, design professionals came to offer feedback on student work based on the community workshops
A workshop participant shares their groups ideas for the installations theme by drawing a flag representing Wexford Heights!

Events at this POP
Summer Blooms Fest

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!
Mind in Motion Exhibit

Aug 11, 6:00pm

On August 11, For You Telecare Family Services took over Wexford Blooms as part of their “Expressive Art Workshop”!
Wexford Blooms Movie Night

Aug 8, 8:00pm

Movie night at the strip mall! We’re thrilled to be screening Scarborough Icons in Wexford Plaza!

‘Movie Night’ at the strip mall!

On August 8th, our Wexford Blooms hub site at the Wexford Heights plaza (2072 Lawrence Avenue East), hosted a ‘pop up’ screening of “The Wexford” (2017) — a short doc about the 3 generations of the Kiriakou family that ran the eponymous, iconic restaurant until it closed in 2020 — and “Scarborough” (2021) — which explores the struggles, endurance, and resilience of this culturally diverse Toronto community.

Photo: Kat Rizza
Photo: Kat Rizza
Photo: Kat Rizza
Photo: Kat Rizza
Photo: Kat Rizza
Photo: Kat Rizza
Photo: Kat Rizza
Photo: Kat Rizza
Photo: Kat Rizza
Photo: Kat Rizza
Photo: Kat Rizza
Photo: Kat Rizza

plazaPOPS supports the local economy!

Our Wexford Blooms 2023 Economic Impact Report is an opportunity to share the catalyzing effects of investment in community economic development, from hiring 39 Building Up trainees (who went on to get long term jobs in the construction industry), local youth (for many, it was their first job), supporting local artists, and of course, eating all the delicious eats that Wexford restaurants are famous for!

Download report

Wexford Blooms Collaborators

We are so grateful to the Wexford Heights community for our second year of pop ups in this delicious and vibrant corner of Toronto!

None of this would be possible without our vast network of collaborators

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

Site & neighbourhood context

The Wexford Heights BIA, known for its creativity and its annual ‘Taste of Lawrence’ street festival, is home to over 60 diverse restaurants within its two-kilometer jurisdiction.

Wexford Heights Plaza in Scarborough in 1977 (Toronto Star)
Tony Kirakou and his family ran the Wexford Restaurant for 63 years, and now own several plazas in the neighbourhood
In the early 1960s, Wexford transitioned from rural to suburban land uses
Today, Wexford-Maryvale is a typical Toronto suburb with residential enclaves line by strip mall main streets
Pharmacy and Lawrence Aves looking southest, 1973
Murals throughout the neighbourhood commissioned by the Kiriakou’s tell immigration stories that all end in Wexford
54 East magazine proposed a “Souk Shade” shelter in the early 2000s as part of new ways of thinking about strip malls’ role in urban vitality
Wexford Heights hosts the annual Taste of Lawrence festival, closing all 7 lanes of Lawrence Ave E and transforming a strip mall main street that usually prioritizes cars into a haven for pedestrians
During the Taste of Lawrence, the huge parking lots become stages for vibrant urbanity: here, the iconic Wexford Plaza transforms into a huge patio, complete with liquor license!
Despite a growing number of pedestrians, cyclist, and transit users, Lawrence Ave E remains a risky spot to cross the street
Strategies for safety: without any infrastructure supporting cyclists, riders have taken visibility into their own hands!

Funders and Sponsors

Wexford Blooms was made possible by our funders!

Well Grounded
Real Estate

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!

Aiden Rad Realty

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!

Scarborough Mazda

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!

Pho Metro

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.

Sahan Restaurant

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.

Grow Better Gardens

Sponsor

Grow Better Gardens supported plazaPOPS by donating all the soil and mulch that helped transformed the parking lots into green oases!

City of Toronto

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).

Federal Development Agency for Southern 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).

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Funders

The University of Guelph-led plazaPOPS research initiative is funded by SSHRC’s “Partnership Development” Grant.

Wexford Blooms Media Coverage

plazaPOPS’ return to Wexford Heights in 2023 was covered by local media, highlighting the positive impacts of trading parking spaces for people places!

See more media coverage

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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.