Stouffville to host Lego-like mini city at holiday market Nov. 26 and Nov. 27

Structures include booths for local businesses, gathering areas, stage, enormous Christmas trees

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 25, 2021
Simon Martin

The Stouffville Holiday Market is getting set to welcome people to Main Street Stouffville Nov. 26 and Nov. 27, and this year, it is a little different.

The town is partnering with GRIPBlock to build a Lego-like mini city for the outdoor market. The holiday market's GRIPBlock structures include booths for local stores and restaurants, gathering areas, seating, a stage and enormous Christmas trees all built from the wooden blocks.

Montu Khokhar, CEO of GRIPBlock, recently relocated to Stouffville and met with Stouffville Mayor Iain Lovatt, and within days, the market project was underway.

At the market, residents and visitors can enjoy a warm, holiday-themed beverage, horse-drawn wagon rides, photos with Santa and live entertainment on the event stage.

“The Stouffville Holiday Market is an opportunity for residents and visitors to get into the holiday spirit," Lovatt said. “The magic of the season will be palpable along Main Street, and now more than ever, I know that people want to feel that incredible sense of joy that only the holidays can offer, and we are very happy that GRIPBlock could help bring this vision to life.”

The structures will be assembled in under two days and deconstructed in a single day following the close of the market. The blocks will then move on to build structures for other events.

“This market is built for the community, to be enjoyed by the community, and we are thrilled to contribute to Stouffville with this new partnership,” Khokhar said.

The structures require no foundation and can be built on any terrain.

Once completed, the Stouffville market will look like a Lego city, consisting of over 40 structures constructed from more than 10,000 individual GRIPBlocks.

GRIPBlocks are lightweight reusable building blocks that can be stacked like Legos to create strong sustainable structures such as pavilions, rinks, barriers and patios.

The market runs from 6 to 10 p.m. Nov. 26 and 12 to 10 p.m. Nov. 27.

Main Street event hubs include the Stouffville Junction, 6240 Main St., and 19 on the Park.  The tree-lighting ceremony will be held at 19 on the Park at 6 p.m., Nov. 26.

For more information, visit townofws.ca/events.