Canvassing in Downtown TO
Had a really fun day yesterday. Spent the day with Donna Maloney (from Buffalo) and Trish Taylor (from Oshawa) as they canvassed in downtown Toronto looking for sponsorships for the "Gathering of the Fellowship".
Donna and Trish are both on the convention committee for the Tolkien con in December and yesterday had been set aside to go to stores and restaurants looking for places that would be willing to a) buy a vendor table at the convention, b) place an ad in the program book or c) give a donation to the con in exchange for a mention in the restaurant map they are making of the area around the Sheridan Hotel. I was basically along for the ride, to hang out with the two of them and keep them company.
Donna had spent the night at Trish's place in Oshawa so I met the two of them and Trish's daughter on the subway line heading down into the city. Driving into TO yesterday seemed a foolhardy idea since the annual Summer Street Festival was on, a huge event with entertainment, games and food at five different sites along Yonge St.. They were anticipating an attendance of up to a million people, so we figured we didn't need to put a car into the middle of that.
Our first stop was a small sushi restaurant tucked in behind City Hall. Donna, a great fan of sushi, discovered this restaurant when she was here for Ad Astra (TO sf con) back in March, and she became so enamoured with it that it is a necessary stop each time she comes through town. The restaurant owners know her now and greet her with enthusiasm each time she comes in :).
After a yummy meal Trish's daughter went off to check out the Street Festival and Donna, Trish and I headed out to the Sheridan Hotel. Donna had made the alterations on the forest green gown she has made for me to wear when Urban Tapestry sings at "The Gathering" (and that she wants me to wear at Toronto Trek next weekend) so I needed to try on the dress to see if it fit. The fit was great and I'm so happy with how it looks. Donna says it's a bit short and she's going to let it down before next Saturday. I also passed on woven gold cord to her to make a belt to go with the dress.
After that we headed up Queen St. and Donna and Trish took turns heading into stores and restaurants with flyers and business cards looking for sponsors for the convention. They got a lot of interest and a lot of tips of other places they should approach (the Judith Merill sf collection, the Word on The Street Festival in September). We also dipped down onto Richmond St. right beside the convention hotel and they hit a lot of the restaurants along there, too.
After that we caught the subway and headed back north along Yonge St. and right into the heart of one of the Street Festival sites. It was the ethnic/world site, so we saw Chinese dragon dancing and hip hop dancing as we continued to canvas along the street. Yonge St. was blocked off in this section and the crowds were massive (as a Torontonian well aware of the troubles the city has gone through recently I was really glad of that). We had to push our way through to get to the stores we were looking for. We talked for a long time with Michelle West at Bakka Books, TO's sf book store, and she, along with a few other area writers, will be doing a panel at "The Gathering", which is very cool. I saw Michelle as a participant on a LOTR movie panel at Ad Astra two years back and her passion for the topic can't be denied. Donna and Trish also got good leads to sell more vendor tables from a few card, photo and poster memorabilia shops in that area.
Tired after a long day, Trish took us up into the Danforth area, where she used to live, to find a good Greek restaurant to rest and finish our excursion. Trish had lived in Greece for a few months and has a fondness for Greek food. She ordered us a very tasty Greek wine to go along with our excellent dinner. Once we were through we headed north on the subway again and Trish dropped me home before heading off to Oshawa again.
A really fun day! I'll be seeing Trish and Donna again at Toronto Trek next Saturday. John and I are heading over to the con for the day where I'll help work "The Gathering" booth in the Dealer's Room, participate in a Space Filk panel being run by Karen Linsley in the late evening and go to cheer Donna on in the Masquerade.
Exercise log- Our canvassing trip around TO added 6 miles to my pedometer, taking me to 250 miles on my Rivendell challenge and earned me my 10th 25 mile bonus shield!
Donna and Trish are both on the convention committee for the Tolkien con in December and yesterday had been set aside to go to stores and restaurants looking for places that would be willing to a) buy a vendor table at the convention, b) place an ad in the program book or c) give a donation to the con in exchange for a mention in the restaurant map they are making of the area around the Sheridan Hotel. I was basically along for the ride, to hang out with the two of them and keep them company.
Donna had spent the night at Trish's place in Oshawa so I met the two of them and Trish's daughter on the subway line heading down into the city. Driving into TO yesterday seemed a foolhardy idea since the annual Summer Street Festival was on, a huge event with entertainment, games and food at five different sites along Yonge St.. They were anticipating an attendance of up to a million people, so we figured we didn't need to put a car into the middle of that.
Our first stop was a small sushi restaurant tucked in behind City Hall. Donna, a great fan of sushi, discovered this restaurant when she was here for Ad Astra (TO sf con) back in March, and she became so enamoured with it that it is a necessary stop each time she comes through town. The restaurant owners know her now and greet her with enthusiasm each time she comes in :).
After a yummy meal Trish's daughter went off to check out the Street Festival and Donna, Trish and I headed out to the Sheridan Hotel. Donna had made the alterations on the forest green gown she has made for me to wear when Urban Tapestry sings at "The Gathering" (and that she wants me to wear at Toronto Trek next weekend) so I needed to try on the dress to see if it fit. The fit was great and I'm so happy with how it looks. Donna says it's a bit short and she's going to let it down before next Saturday. I also passed on woven gold cord to her to make a belt to go with the dress.
After that we headed up Queen St. and Donna and Trish took turns heading into stores and restaurants with flyers and business cards looking for sponsors for the convention. They got a lot of interest and a lot of tips of other places they should approach (the Judith Merill sf collection, the Word on The Street Festival in September). We also dipped down onto Richmond St. right beside the convention hotel and they hit a lot of the restaurants along there, too.
After that we caught the subway and headed back north along Yonge St. and right into the heart of one of the Street Festival sites. It was the ethnic/world site, so we saw Chinese dragon dancing and hip hop dancing as we continued to canvas along the street. Yonge St. was blocked off in this section and the crowds were massive (as a Torontonian well aware of the troubles the city has gone through recently I was really glad of that). We had to push our way through to get to the stores we were looking for. We talked for a long time with Michelle West at Bakka Books, TO's sf book store, and she, along with a few other area writers, will be doing a panel at "The Gathering", which is very cool. I saw Michelle as a participant on a LOTR movie panel at Ad Astra two years back and her passion for the topic can't be denied. Donna and Trish also got good leads to sell more vendor tables from a few card, photo and poster memorabilia shops in that area.
Tired after a long day, Trish took us up into the Danforth area, where she used to live, to find a good Greek restaurant to rest and finish our excursion. Trish had lived in Greece for a few months and has a fondness for Greek food. She ordered us a very tasty Greek wine to go along with our excellent dinner. Once we were through we headed north on the subway again and Trish dropped me home before heading off to Oshawa again.
A really fun day! I'll be seeing Trish and Donna again at Toronto Trek next Saturday. John and I are heading over to the con for the day where I'll help work "The Gathering" booth in the Dealer's Room, participate in a Space Filk panel being run by Karen Linsley in the late evening and go to cheer Donna on in the Masquerade.
Exercise log- Our canvassing trip around TO added 6 miles to my pedometer, taking me to 250 miles on my Rivendell challenge and earned me my 10th 25 mile bonus shield!