Making Change at Honest Ed’s Walking Tour

About the Tour

Discover a Toronto institution! Join us at Bloor and Bathurst this Saturday, July 20th to explore one of the most vibrant intersections of the city, once the proud home of Honest Ed’s. We’ll explore how Ed Mirvish’s bargain store transformed the surrounding neighbourhood, including the nearby Mirvish Village arts community. We’ll also explore the important legacy of Blackhurst Cultural Centre, a hub for Toronto’s Black community. Visit the site of Beverly Mascoll’s beauty company, which launched a revolution in Black hair care. We’ll also visit the former offices of Contrast newspaper, the “eyes, ears, and voice of Canada’s Black community” for over 22 years.

The tour will end at Blackhurst where participants can learn more about the centre and browse their bookstore, A Different Booklist, showcasing literature of the African and Caribbean diaspora, and more.

This tour will be led by Emerging Historian Alanna Brown.

Further Information

This tour runs rain or shine and is approximately 90 minutes long. Please wear comfortable walking shoes and consider bringing sunscreen and water to make your tour as enjoyable as possible.

This tour is approximately 1.1 kilometres in distance, and takes place mostly on city sidewalks and some non-paved urban parks.

If you have any questions prior to the tour, please contact us at [email protected]. If you have any issues finding the group on the day of the tour, you can reach staff on-site at (647) 542-3450.

This tour uses individual audio headsets. All registered participants will be provided with an individual headset that will allow you to hear the live tour guide throughout the tour.

If you share our passion for accessible and inclusive heritage programming, we invite you to make a donation while on the tour to help fund one of our next walks. Staff can accept donations via credit or debit card onsite, and gifts of $20+ will receive a charitable tax receipt. Cash donations will not be accepted.