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Ask kids about their favourite foods and chicken fingers are likely to land on the list. For Sandi Boulanger, the favourite comes with a childhood memory as sweet as a side of honey dill.

The William Avenue take-what-you-need, pay-what-you-can depot is a Santa’s workshop for a community of artists, educators and anyone who loves to create.

French, 64, began volunteering with the festival in his early 20s. “I wanted to give back to the community and it happened to be going on at the time,” he said.

Rui Dias is three years in to his lifetime dream as the owner of the computer store Nothing But Tech.

The timing wasn’t perfect for Darcy Hannah, but owning her own business turned out to be the perfect fit.

It can seem counter-intuitive in the age of globalization to advocate for local. Does this thinking make sense?