Meet "Diana"

Couple of weeks back, my friend Ashraf asked me if I'm willing to volunteer and help with some creative work, so my answer was positive and he arranged a meeting with Diana Khong, who is the Marketing and Community Manager at Inside Out, who organizes the Toronto LGBT Film Festival, that takes place in May at TIFF | Bell Lightbox.

We had to postpone the meeting couple of times between my trip to Montreal and then Beirut, but finally we met at the cafeteria of Richmond 401, where their office is.

I didn't know at the beginning what was expected from me, or what will be the scope of work, but it was very simple, Diana needed to hear a different creative opinion, get a different point of view to decide how to move forward with the materials they are preparing for the next festival..

Diana was extremely thankful, and I assured her that I can help with more if needed.
After a long chat about the festival, the creative campaign and a nice tea, I left happy with yet another great person I meet, and getting to know more about another cultural event that happen in Toronto.

Meet "tiff | Bell Lightbox"

When you like movies, when you like the cinema, you can't but be super happy for having a place life "tiff | Bell Lightbox" offering less mainstream movies, and bringing culture from around the world.. On top of hosting the great events like the FFW advertising and Marketing week that I attend last month..

I went already for two movies, and will definitely keep going, and I'm so looking forward for the Toronto International Film Festival for more movies and more magical moments.

Meet "Snowman"

When I started planning a trip to Ottawa to see my uncle and my cousins, they recommended that I book for the first weekend of February as it's the time for the Winterlude festival and all Ottawa celebrates the snow, the ice and all the beautiful side of the winter..

So once in Ottawa, I was excited to see what it's all about, and we agreed to go evening time to the Winterlude outdoor party, check the ice sculptures, dance, and taste the famous beavertail..

It took us more than 25 minutes to find a place to park, but at the end we manage to find a spot really far and do a long walk, where we met couple of my cousins friends and started our tour by checking the wonderful ice sculptures, and hearing the story of how complicated is the process of creating each ice block to make sure it has no air bubbles for the esthetic and to avoid cracks.. Each sculpture was better than the other.. And I thought how bold it is from an artist to put lots of efforts behind a piece of art knowing that eventually it will melt and disappear after couple of weeks, but it's a good lesson as well to know how to let go and don't get attached to material things..

And then it was the time for the beavertail.. We were lucky that the queue wasn't long and managed to get ours quickly.. I got one with chocolate & hazelnut even though everyone recommended to try the original one with powder sugar, but I was happy with my choice and indulged with every bite.

Then it was time to dance and have some fun.. But it was so cold and dancing on the snow for an hour was a bit too much for me.. My whole body was fine except my toes.. So I kept jumping, and moving them maybe they will get warmer but that didn't help much..

I met my friend the snowman, he seemed like the happiest person at the party, dancing and making sounds.. I took a picture with him and we left to go grab couple of drinks to get us warm..

Sometimes, it's nice to meet people without really meeting them but you still feel they make you smile and they spread some positive energy..

Regardless the freezing cold, I enjoyed a lot my first Winterlude experience and promised my cousins to repeat it again next year.