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Day to love Locke Street held after vandalism spree

On Saturday there was a large outpouring of support for business owners on Locke Street impacted by the damage left behind by vandals last Saturday night.

People rally in support of community after incident causes $100K damage

Laura Clementson · CBC News ·
On Saturday people from all over the city went to Locke Street in the Hamilton Kirkendall neighbourhood to celebrate Love Locke Day after it was hit by a mob of vandals last Saturday night. (Laura Clementson/CBC)

A week ago tonight, a mob of vandals went on a rampage in Hamilton's Kirkendall neighbourhood — causing an estimated $100,000 of damage — but this Saturday, it was about supporting the neighbourhood and loving Locke Street. 

On Saturday there was a large outpouring of support for business owners impacted by the damage left behind by vandals last Saturday night — setting off fireworks, damaging vehicles and throwing rocks at store windows. 

"Like everybody, I don't know what their message was or why they did what they did, but we're saying clearly is we understand how important small business is," said MPP for Hamilton Centre and Ontario NDP leader, Andrea Horwath to reporters.

Horwath dubbed Saturday as "#LoveLockeDay" when she announced last Sunday that she was calling for people to come together to support the businesses on Locke Street.

On Thursday, Hamilton city council voted to condemn the incident. Council also vowed to do whatever it could to help police lay charges.

Donut Monster employee Alyssa LeClair sells boxes of doughnuts from a shop window. Last Saturday night, eight of them were smashed by vandals. (Laura Clementson/CBC)

The day kicked off at Donut Monster just after 10 a.m. The shop was hit hard in the rampage with eight of their windows getting smashed. 

Both the store and its owner, Reuben Vanderkwaak, were praised throughout the community for maintaining a positive attitude after saying last week that it was "pretty devastating to walk into" the store. 

Vanderkwaak says they've received an abundance of support — something he's thankful of.

During Love Locke Day, cupcake shop Bitten had a steady stream of customers. Last Sunday it had to stay closed after the damage caused in Saturday night's rampage of vandalism. (Laura Clementson/CBC)

Why people celebrated Love Locke Day

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laura Clementson

Laura Clementson is a producer for CBC's The National. She can be reached at laura.clementson@cbc.ca. Follow Laura on Twitter @LauraClementson.

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