Just as the lights of Broadway are once again shining brightly after being dimmed the day of his funeral, so is Toronto ready to end its period of mourning for Ed Mirvish - and primed to celebrate his life.

This Sunday morning, under the twinkling lights of Mirvish's famous discount emporium, Mayor David Miller will proclaim Aug. 12 "Ed Mirvish Day" in Toronto. What is set to follow that announcement is eight hours worth of festivities that long-time friend and Honest Ed's general manager Russell Lazar said Mirvish himself would have heartily approved of.

"If it involved the public, Ed was happy," Lazar told the Guardian this week. "He loved to hold his annual birthday party, so this celebration of his life will be in the style of all those 20 years (of parties)."