Bloordale BIA Member Spaces

This page is for local Bloordale businesses and local non-profit organizations with a storefront.

Please fill out the 2026 Festival Participation Form for BIA Members by June 19, 2026 to confirm if your business will be participating in the festival or not.

  • The fee is complimentary for 2026 and covers a 10′ x 12′ space on Bloor Street (as close as possible to your store entrance) between Lansdowne and Dufferin for the full days of the festival.* 

  • All storefronts will be listed on the festival site's Business Directory page.

  • Please coordinate tear down diligently, and no earlier than 7 pm.

  • The festival cannot be responsible for any loss or damage to goods left on the street.

  • You must supply your own electricity. If you bring a generator it must be a silent generator (an inverter). If your generator is not silent you will not be allowed to use it and penalties may apply if it is disruptive.

  • We have a zero tolerance of hostility or verbal abuse towards our festival team. 

*Storefronts are not "entitled" to a space on the physical road of Bloor Street as the festival is organized by 3rd-party producers, who are the permit holders. We will always try our best to place you as close as possible to your window and/or entrance or the most ideal location within festival grounds to avoid conflicting interests. 

Key Dates

Activity

2026 Dates

Notes

Guide and Participation Form distributed to BIA Members

First Week in June

Festival posters distributed

Mid June

BIA Members can also pick up posters from SL Graphics at 1246 Bloor St W

Participation Form submission due

June 19

Town Hall

TBC

6-8 pm / Location TBC / To address any festival questions or concerns you may have.

Rental Agreement sent to participating businesses

Week of June 29

Signed Rental Agreement and payment due

July 10

Festival Dates

July 18-19

2026 Festival Guide for BIA Members

What You Can Expect

  • A free festival for the community: 
    • No charge for BIA members to participate/extend their business to the street.
    • No charge for attendees. Always free, all welcome.
  • Our BIA members taking over Bloor Street and showcasing their products and services in a new and exciting way
  • Festival Infrastructure including: public washrooms, waste removal, security and police, water station, and fencing
  • Activities for kids
  • Art installations 
  • External vendors — never conflicting with storefronts
  • Two music stages — programmed by Uma Nota Culture. Emerson Stage focusing on emergent talent concerts, and Brock stage celebrating world performances.

Your Festival Space

We’ve received amazing feedback from both businesses and attendees when businesses use their allocated festival space to offer live painting, games, contests, DJ concerts, and many other unique and free to participate activities for festival attendees and we want that to grow!

Space Constraints 

The middle two center road lanes must remain open for emergency vehicles. This leaves the bike lanes and parking lane available to use during the street closure

Serving Alcohol 

You may serve alcohol, if one of the following applies to you: 

  • You participate in CaféTO, under which you are permitted to sell alcohol 
  • Your business has a liquor license and you have ordered proper fencing through the festival production team for patio extensions. 
    • NEW! Note that you are now required to notify the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) about your temporary patio extension. You can do so through your iAGCO online portal. 
  • You have applied to the AGCO for a Special Occasion Permit (SOP) for a patio extension during the festival. In this case, you must obtain insurance to cover the alcohol sales activity and follow all regulations established by the AGCO, including having servers who have smart serve certification.

Cannabis 

The promotion of cannabis by any means by anyone is essentially prohibited under the federal legislation and this would include promotion through the advertising of or participation in a BIA event. 

The only distinction between the promotion of cannabis for medical purposes and for recreational purposes is that cannabis for medical purposes may be promoted as a prescription drug in accordance with the Food and Drug Regulations as they apply to the promotion of prescription drugs. With the possible narrow exception of cannabis being promoted as a prescription drug (with the promoter satisfying the City or its agency or board that all the applicable federal requirements were being met), the City and its agencies and boards should not be accepting funds from cannabis companies that in any way promote these companies as per the Statement on Cannabis & City Partnerships. The values of the City and its agencies and boards would prevent such partnerships as these values do for tobacco.

Cannabis businesses should seek their own advice with respect to what they may or may not do to promote their businesses.

City By-Laws 

Selling Food

Food vendors are expected to operate in compliance with the following:

Providing Personal Services (e.g. hairstyling, manicures, aesthetics)

  • Personal services include hairstyling, manicures, aesthetics, etc.
  • Service providers must operate in compliance with the City of Toronto’s BodySafe information sheets.

Your Hours of Operation 

Road Closure Hours

Saturday, July 18 8 a.m.

Monday, July 20 2 a.m.

Festival Hours

Saturday, July 18   12 p.m.–12 a.m.

Sunday, July 19   12 p.m.–9 p.m.

Noise 

All amplified music outside of your venue must be turned off by 11.30 pm.

Most BIA members make their own hours within this timeframe. Please feel free to do whatever works best for your business.

Setting Up Your Space

It’s time to plan how you will use your space and organize or purchase what you will need. 

Plastic folding chairs, tables, patio extension fencing, and some pre-arranged special requirement rentals are available through the festival and benefit from a group order. These items can be requested through the Participation Form and will require signing a rental agreement and paying rental fees (if applicable).

Talk to your neighbors 

We are a great neighbourhood with great people! Please be mindful that the street closure is shared and talking in advance with your fellow neighbors will be very helpful!

Tents 

We recommend having a tent or any other type of coverage for weather protection — this is a rain or shine event. 

  • Safety Measure: Be sure to place proper weights on all four legs of the tent. 

Electricity

Please use electricity from your business. 

  • Safety Measure: You should be using cable mats (or even fabric mats or carpets as long as it’s not easy to trip on them) to cover any electrical cables on the street. Or you can string any electrical cables 7 feet in the air (for example, if you are running an extension cord from the door of your business to a tent).

Lighting

Be ready for when it gets dark. The festival goes until midnight, so we recommend having either string lights or battery powered lighting. 

Security

There will be roaming security guards during the festival and overnight, but you’ll have to put away your products at the end of each day as our guards don't have the capacity to look after every space. Tents can be left out overnight, as long as they’re properly secured with weights.

Fencing

If your business is a bar or restaurant serving alcohol on the street then you’ll need fencing. 

Festival Contact Information

If you have any questions please contact the festival organizers.

Festival Director

Street infrastructure, vendor placement, or high-level concerns.

Darren Leu

bigonbloor@gmail.com

 

Festival Outreach Coordinator 

Rentals, programming, and general questions related to your participation.

Niki Swain

bigonblooroutreach@gmail.com 

 

Bloordale BIA Manager

All inquiries related to your BIA Member business during and outside of the festival.

Meg Marshall

bloordaleinfo@gmail.com