Located in the former Pensieri Shoe store at 373 George St., the pop-up Holiday Hub will provide complimentary gift-wrapping services for all downtown shoppers.
With two ‘elves’ on scene, any shopper with a gift purchased downtown (receipt required) can get that gift wrapped every Friday from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. until Dec. 17.
The new hub will also host a local toy drive in support of the Salvation Army and The Children’s Foundation. Visitors are also invited to take a selfie with the Grinch of George Street, painted by local artist Tim Wales and colour a picture of their own.
“We wanted placemake this space and turn it into a space where people could gather and enjoy all the magic that is the holidays, while getting some perks for shopping downtown,” said Hillary Flood, Peterborough DBIA. “We also will be turning it into a holiday market where you can enjoy a slew of local art vendors that will be happening on December 11 and 18.”
Initially, the Holiday Hub was initialized by The Boro as a ‘placemaking’ initiative to help animate a section of George Street that was under construction.
While the construction wrapped up sooner than anticipated the Holiday Hub will still act as a place to enjoy the holiday season.
“The idea behind it all is that when you have closed store fronts it can make the downtown feel kind of drab. So this is the first model of a positive intervention where we take over a store front for whatever reason and turn it into something that people want to gather in.”
