Kensington Market goes international for the upcoming FIFA World Cup

On Feb. 11, 2026, the Kensington Market Business Improvement Area held a meeting discussing summer plans. These include the upcoming FIFA World Cup and a potential farmer’s market in the neighbourhood.

Last summer, the KMBIA proposed a street festival allowing Kensington to celebrate the different cultures competing in the soccer matches. After the success of those events, the neighbourhood planned to host outdoor screenings of World Cup games and apply for funding.

At the Feb. 11 meeting, KMBIA’S coordinator Swareena Rajkhowa announced the City’s approval of their grant application. 

Pedestrian Sundays are the neighbourhood’s monthly street festival filled with live music, yummy food and more. On June 18, the special edition event will feature a celebration featuring the countries competing in World Cup matches on June 26 and July 2. A few of these countries include Senegal, Belgium and New Zealand. 

Besides the World Cup, members discussed a special town hall meeting focusing on Pedestrian Sunday for the beginning of March. The date has not been decided but will be held at the Church of St. Stephen’s-in-the-Fields. 

Potsothy Sallapa, the owner of 4 Life Natural Foods, proposed Kensington Market host a farmer’s market this summer. This BIA will consult Dufferin Grove and Trinity Bellwoods given their experience hosting similar events. 

Rajkhowa said she they will need to apply for a park’s permit. This KMBIA will  hold the farmer’s market later into the summer after the FIFA World Cup has ended. 

If you’d like to be involved with KMBIA’s summer plans, they host monthly meetings at Red Pepper Spectacle Arts every second Wednesday of the month from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Key takeaways

• The KMBIA’s grant application for hosting a Kensington Market FIFA World Cup street festival has been approved.
• The street festival, on June 28, will be a special edition of Kensington’s Pedestrian Sundays featuring the countries playing in the June 26 and July 2 matches. 
• The KMBIA is discussing a potential farmer’s market in July or August. 

On-the-ground observations from our documenter, SEBASTIAN TANSIL

The City of Toronto affirmed that Kensington Market’s Heritage attributes that embody the values of the neighbourhood include the “long-standing tradition of a diverse variety of businesses including food, trades, services and dry goods,…and the affordability of the accommodations making it attractive to successive waves of immigrants.” As someone who lives in Kensington Market, I have observed the increasing pedestrianization of the neighbourhood coincide with the decline of diverse essential amenities (i.e. grocery stores, barber shops, etc.) for the residents. Special events that attract tourists such as Pedestrian Sunday and the annual Jazz Festival bring in more traffic for establishments like Bars and Weed shops. At the same time, rising rents from the increasing property values of the Market threaten the viability of grocery stores and fruit markets. Overall, I observe that both these neighbourhood level conversations about planning for more festivals are complemented with conversations around declining residential amenities.

CHECK YOUR FACTS

• https://thegreenline.to/stories/kensington-market-bia-world-cup/
• https://www.instagram.com/kensingtonmarketbia/?hl=en