Distillery Winter Village warns of ‘unaffiliated’ Toronto Christmas Market website

Distillery District Winter Village. (Scott Heaney/iStock Editorial/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

There’s an apparent Grinch posing as the former Toronto Christmas Market’s website, prompting the Distillery Historic District to warn potential visitors about the unaffiliated webpage.

When looking at the website (tochristmasmarket.com) at first glance, it does appear to advertise the annual market, noting seasonal activities, the run-time for this year, hours of operation and how to buy tickets.

There’s even a Santa Claus waving from his cherry red throne at the top of the webpage—nestled above an advertisement for SpinsUP Online Casino. There’s also a tab for “entertainment,” which lists various Christmas-themed slots.

“And for an online player, there is no present better than a good game with some good bonuses, potentially bringing some good wins,” the page reads, before listing the “25 best Christmas online slots” for online gamers to peruse.

CTV News Toronto attempted to contact this webpage for comment but our email bounced back.

The legitimate site for the Distillery District’s event, which has been called the Winter Village since 2021, is thedistillerywintervillage.com.

While today the two websites look glaringly different, the Toronto Christmas Market webpage looks similar to the prior Distillery District’s website from 2019.

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, the Distillery Historic District Management confirmed they informed the Toronto Police Service about the fake website and emailed a complaint. A spokesperson for the Toronto Police told CTV News Toronto it could not find record of an official report.

“The Distillery Historic District is aware of an unaffiliated website that has been using our imagery and event information without authorization,” the statement reads.

They add that they are incapable of acquiring the domain name of the unofficial website currently, as it is registered to a third party outside of Canada, but did not provide further details.

“We strongly encourage guests to rely solely on this website (thedistillerywintervillage.com) for accurate event details and ticket purchases,” the management team said.

“The Distillery Winter Village looks forward to welcoming visitors from around the world to experience Toronto’s most magical holiday tradition.”

This year’s event kicks off on Thursday, with the tree lighting at 6 p.m. The weeks-long event runs until Jan. 4, 2026, though it is closed on Christmas Day.