The holidays come early for 22 Distillery Winter Village vendors thanks to Google Canada

TORONTO, Nov. 16, 2022 – Google Canada today surprised the seasonal merchants of The Distillery Winter Village with an early holiday gift: $10,000 each, towards their booth rental and operating costs over the six weeks of the holiday market.

“The Distillery Historic District has always been an advocate of supporting locally-owned, small businesses and wants to thank Google Canada for the generous monetary gift they’ve given our seasonal vendors, just in time for the official opening of The Distillery Winter Village on November 17th,” said Rik Ocvirk, Vice President, The Distillery Restaurants Corp and Director, Experiences and Events, The Distillery Historic District. “This time of year is so important for our merchants, and this financial assistance from Google Canada is going to go a long way to making their holiday season that much merrier.”

The early morning “A Little Help from Google” surprise complements their year-round support in helping small businesses get online and reach holiday shoppers.

“Small businesses mean so much to all of us here in Canada – not only are they the economic engine of the country, but oftentimes they are the heart and soul of their communities,” said Natasha Walji, Managing Director, Google. “It’s no secret that the past few years have been tough for everyone, especially small businesses, so we hope that this takes a little bit of stress off the businesses during the busy holiday season.”

Google Canada launched “A Little Help from Google” at the Distillery Winter Village as part of its larger nationwide initiative to help small businesses reach holiday shoppers. Other programs this holiday season include:

• Google’s Holiday Hub, which features free tools, resources, and recommendations for small businesses to capture holiday demand. On the hub, businesses will find out how to stand out on Google Search and Maps with a free Business Profile, how to show their live store inventory with Pointy, and how to promote products across Google with free product listings. The holiday hub is available in English and French.
• Digital Main Street’s ShopHERE powered by Google program, which helps small businesses set up an e-commerce website for free, and provides consultation to small businesses looking to digitize their offerings to sell online. To date, over 40,000 Canadian businesses have signed up for the program.

The 22 small businesses receiving the $10,000 gift are:

1. Aunt Beth’s
2. Chippi & Co
3. COPS Donuts
4. Cracked Knot
5. Crimson and Clover
6. Designs by the Yard
7. Floorplay Socks
8. InstaCookie 
9. Lobster Made Easy
10. Marquin
11. More Natas Please
12. Panchos Bakery
13. Pierogi Miska
14. Provence en Couleur Home Décor Ltd.
15. Real Empanada
16. Salem’s Lott Hot Sauce
17. Smells Like Flowers
18. SowSweet Greetings Inc. 
19. Super Marché Express
20. Tea Freak Fine Teas
21. Urban Island
22. Wish Stars

Known as one of the country’s most magical holiday shopping and dining experiences, The Distillery Winter Village provides an opportunity for Canadian small businesses to sell unique gifts, seasonal items and food to festival goers.

This year’s Distillery Winter Village kicks off with the official tree lighting Thursday, November 17th and runs through to December 31st. No tickets are required for opening night.

To plan your visit to The Distillery Winter Village go to www.TheDistilleryWinterVillage.com or follow @distilleryTO, #DistilleryWinterVillage

Be sure to follow Google Canada as they continue to spread cheer this holiday season @GoogleCanada, #ALittleHelpFromGoogle.

Other articles from totimes.ca – otttimes.ca – mtltimes.ca