<img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://display.blogto.com/articles/20250417-asian-owned-market.jpeg?w=1200&amp;cmd=resize_then_crop&amp;height=630&amp;quality=70&amp;format=jpeg" width="100%" /><p>A <a href="https://www.blogto.com/events/asian-heritage-month-celebration-at-mel-lastman-square-toronto/">massive market</a> featuring a slew of Toronto's top Asian-owned businesses is coming to the city this May in honour of Asian Heritage Month, and it'll be the largest of its kind that the city has ever seen.</p><p>When it comes to artisan markets in Toronto, <a href="https://thewelcomemarket.ca/">The Welcome Market</a> is something of a household name.</p><p>What began as a grassroots effort&nbsp;to uplift small businesses and local vendors in 2021 has grown into a veritable market empire, putting up some of the&nbsp;most gainfully attended pop-up markets in the city year-round, and they're only getting bigger.</p><p>Founder Cindy Chau tells blogTO that it all started when she noticed some glaring gaps on Toronto's market scene as vintage and artisan markets began returning to the city in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>&nbsp;"In Toronto at the time, there wasn't a market that had both vintage and handmade&nbsp;vendors in the same space," Cindy says.</p><p>"As an online Vintage decor seller, I attended markets as a vendor and as a person of colour, I felt that diversity was missing in some of these spaces so&nbsp;The Welcome Market was created to&nbsp;provide space to both communities while prioritizing women-owned,&nbsp;BIPOC businesses."</p><p>The first market Cindy hosted featured just seven vendors, and, in the four years since, she's gone on to work with over 200.</p><p>Now, she's gearing up for her most ambitious market yet:&nbsp;a 20,000 sq. ft. Asian Heritage Month market in Mel Lastman Square featuring over 70&nbsp;Asian-owned businesses and expecting to see attendance upwards of 25,000.</p><p>"This is definitely our biggest market yet," Cindy tells me, and some real hometown heroes like <a href="https://www.blogto.com/restaurants/ruru-baked-toronto/">Ruru Baked</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lackofthreads/?hl=en">Lack of Threads</a> and <a href="https://www.wubaeats.com/">WuBao Eats</a> are all set to be in attendance, alongside a whole host of new favourites you have yet to discover.</p><p>They'll also be leveraging the square's outdoor stage to put on a day-long programme of live entertainment, including performances by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/queensofdimsum/?hl=en">Queens of Dim Sum</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elyssaplaza/?hl=en">Elyssa Plaza</a>,&nbsp; and <a href="https://chineseculturalarts.org/">Chinese Collective Arts</a>, to name only a few.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media"><div style="padding: 16px;"><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;">&nbsp;</div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;">&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;">&nbsp;</div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;">&nbsp;</div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DIJ2al0S-Se/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"></a></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DIJ2al0S-Se/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;">&nbsp;</div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;">&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;">&nbsp;</div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;">&nbsp;</div></div><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DIJ2al0S-Se/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by The Welcome Market (@the.welcome.market)</a></p></div></blockquote><p>Beyond being a major milestone in The Welcome Market's growth as a business, though, the Asian Heritage Market, which Cindy has been hosting annually in collaboration with <a href="https://representasianproject.com/">RepresentASIAN Project</a> since 2023, holds a more sincere meaning, too.</p><p>"This event is particularly meaningful because the&nbsp;first <a href="https://www.blogto.com/radar/2024/04/asian-owned-night-market-toronto/">Asian Owned Market</a> was a love letter to my&nbsp;parents, who&nbsp;both passed away in&nbsp;May 2022, and who always encouraged me and my sisters to embrace our Chinese and Vietnamese heritage," Cindy tells blogTO.&nbsp;</p><p>"With the constant turnout we have with our Asian Owned Market proves the importance of representation and how much Toronto&nbsp;celebrates community and support local."</p><p>The market will take place from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, and is totally free to attend.</p>