By Lana Hall

Illustration by Sasha Plotnikova/Torontoist.

Remember The NeverEnding Story? That 1984 film about some kid who gets lost in a magic book and ends up having an excellent adventure involving a giant, flying, luckdragon?
Well, it’s back. Or it will be if Dave Meslin, Toronto-based activist and artist, has his way. Meslin is the guy who brought us the live stage performance of Pee-Wee Herman’s Big Adventure in the spring of 2008 to support the Toronto Cyclists’ Union that he founded. Now, he wants to turn his efforts to the stage again, this time to create a version of The NeverEnding Story that’ll draw attention to the plight of Toronto’s independent bookstores.
With Pages Bookstore recently becoming extinct, along with Ballenford Books and David Mirvish Books, Meslin wants to attack people’s purchasing patterns and put the city’s remaining indie booksellers centre-stage. The money raised by the performance will go towards an “online campaign to promote our remaining independent bookstores using a new website, banner ads, PSA videos, and searchable maps,” Meslin explained on his blog when he announced his plans; he hopes the campaign will explain the benefits of independent vendors and encourage people to shop at small stores.
In spite of the bookstores that have already closed their doors, Meslin doesn’t think of his project as shutting the stable door after the horses have bolted. “There’s more than one horse,” he told Torontoist. “A few got out. But there’s still a few in there, and I think a few baby horses were born recently. Besides, the horses that ran out could come back.”
Meslin is still sorting out some details about the live stage performance. The production date is largely uncertain, and he’s soliciting backend help—including, he says, a research team that’s contacting wildlife reserves, searching for a flying luckdragon, or something like it.