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WHEREAS, the Joy of Cookies, Cookie Tour began as a holiday open house at a single Lawrenceville shop in 2000, with a goal of highlighting Lawrenceville's retail shops, local restaurants, small businesses, and nonprofits, and has since expanded to include over sixty organizations to serve as cookie spots; and
WHEREAS, currently in its 17th year, this event has grown to become a beloved community event in Lawrenceville’s thriving business district, driven by the community’s collaborative spirit; and
WHEREAS, the neighborhood's retail shops, local restaurants, other small local businesses and nonprofits come together to kick off the holiday season with a festive spirit unique to this neighborhood, drawing in around 5,000 attendees from across the country; and
WHEREAS, this event invites visitors to stroll, shop, enjoy free cookies and visit Santa at the Cookie Mall and was aptly dubbed "equal parts cookie crawl and buy local movement" by Next Pittsburgh in 2014; and
WHEREAS, this massive effort is organized by the Lawrenceville Corporation and has recently started to include a bike share station and two wheelchair accessible trolleys, creating diverse transportation options for visitors; and
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend Lawrenceville Corporation for their work to organize this festive event and to promote local business; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Thursday, December 1st thru Sunday, December 4th, 2016 to be “Joy of Cookies, Cookie Tour Days” in the City of Pittsburgh.