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Through a picture window at the front of Beyond Flowers on Corydon Avenue, passersby see buckets and buckets of fresh flowers.

Joanne Toupin and Beau Burton opened Sleepy Owl Bread on Wall Street in 2013, with baked goods that highlight flavours of local ingredients, from prairie berry Danish pastries to round rustic loaves of whole wheat sourdough miche.

Constance Menzies remembers the Christmases of her childhood as lovely and lavish. “Our holidays were rich,” even if her family was not, she said.

When you first enter Hollow Reed Holistic, the scent of frankincense envelopes you first, before you take in the warm wood grain furnishings with accents of black, and the tidy apothecary shelves filled with vials of essential oils and packages of dried herbs.

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.

“All you need is love” – the Beatles

Amy Tung is an entrepreneur, yoga teacher and community advocate who decided she needed to do something that would fulfill her passion for helping people.