I do a
lot of volunteering, to the point where I finally had to start saying no just so I would actually have some free time left over. I learned to be much more selective about the people and causes I donate my time to, and expect certain things in return (e.g. not having my time wasted standing around doing nothing, for one). I also tend to focus on events-based volunteering to test drive an organization before donating to them or committing any more of my time - it's a great way to not only have some fun and check out swanky events for free, but also gives you a great inside look at the organization in how on the ball the staff are and how well they treat their volunteers and guests.
Colour Me RAD was a bit of a mixed bag for me. A portion of the proceeds from the Toronto event went to
Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) and I signed up after a friend passed on the volunteer information. Or, rather, I
tried to. The first time I filled out the volunteer form (through the event website), nothing happened. I never heard back from the event organizers. However, about a week before the event, I got the BBBS newsletter with a call for volunteers and thought I might as well give it another try. That produced two volunteer shifts (I thought it was an either/or when I signed up, but oh well!). As I found out later, both the organizer and the charity had their own volunteer teams, though how exactly that worked is still a mystery to me. All I know is that my experience wasn't the same on the two teams.
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| Pre-colour bombing |
My first volunteer shift was on one of the two race kit pick-up days and I thought I was supposed to be on registration. When I got there at the start of my shift, I was handed a volunteer t-shirt and got walked over to the merch table instead (even though a couple of girls who came an hour later got spots on registration). There wasn't much of an orientation provided (it basically consisted of one of the other volunteers telling me in 2 secs what we were doing) and none of the staff introduced themselves. Two of the other merch volunteers were there the day before and they seemed to know the staff but the rest of us barely got a sidelong glance. And there wasn't very much for the new people to do until we went off and found our own work. The staff person at the merch table also didn't bother telling us when lunch arrived and we could go eat - we found that out from the other volunteers as well. Not impressed.
After that experience, I wasn't looking forward to wasting another day, but I made a commitment and it wasn't awful enough for me to back out last minute. My second shift was on the second race day and this time around the BBBS volunteer coordinator kept me with her all day and the experience was vastly different. Not only was I introduced to everyone at my station, but she kept an eye out for me all day to make sure I was enjoying myself. Night and day as far as my experience with the event was concerned. Most of our BBBS tent team ended up on the colour bombing squad pelting runners with coloured powder when it turned out that not enough Colour Me RAD volunteers had shown up. While this was a lot of fun, it was also exhausting and a greater commitment than you think when you factor in the clean-up requirements (yourself included!...plus the associated car, laundry, and home cleaning).
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| These didn't keep out very much |
The race was staggered but for us it meant the runners were spread out and coming through non-stop for two hours straight. Think pitching baseballs continuously for two hours and you'll get the idea (I have the limited range of motion today to prove it!). The main event organizers were on site working hard and did come around to give us a proper briefing on how to do it right, as well as jumped in to help out halfway through and were super helpful. Those guys earn their keep! The main downside was that we were covered in pink dust and often the cloud was so thick we couldn't even see the runners. Despite the masks and glasses, that stuff was in out eyes, ears, noses, and eyes (in addition to covering us completely!) and at times it was hard to breathe. On the other hand, the full-on powder coating kept us from getting sunburned. When it was finally over and we sat down to some well-earned pizza, I was dead on my feet, which I didn't realize until then. And the shift ended up being longer than I signed up for. Scheduled to be there until noon, I finally bailed at 1:30pm because I had somewhere else to be and was quickly running out of time.
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| We were seriously coated in this stuff |
The tricky part came when I thought about getting back in my car to drive home. BBBS ran out of volunteer t-shirts early on (the extras were handed out to drenched volunteers the day before because the BBBS volunteer coordinator cares about her crew). We got a pile of event shirts from the merch table but these were also gone and when I walked over to the merch table to ask if there was one I could put on so I had something clean to drive home in, the same girl from my first volunteer shift told me I could buy one if I wanted to. Having given up two days of my personal time to help with an event they made bank on, I wasn't particularly thrilled by the idea of having to shell out $20 just so I wouldn't have to spend an hour cleaning my car after
they put me on a job I wasn't even supposed to be on. Definitely a sour note to end the day on and one that would probably make me think twice about volunteering for their event again.
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| Check out the teeth! |
As for personal clean-up, I'm still not quite finished two days later. Whatever that powder was (a mix of corn starch and food-grade colour), it was much harder to get out than the liquid Crayola paint I got covered with at the
Corona Paint Party. After a good 30-min scrub in the shower (no joke!) I still have spots of pink colour on me and they're all in places that were actually covered by clothes. This is the first time I remember feeling exhausted after a shower. The colour also didn't entirely come out in the wash, so if you do the race, don't wear anything you're particularly attached to.
WHAT: Colour Me RAD Toronto
WHERE: Downsview Park
WHEN: June 22+23, 2013
COST: $50-60 for runners; free to volunteer
INSIDER TIPS: Those who volunteers on one of the pick-up days had the option of running in the race for free. If you do run, be sure you bring something to protect your face when you run because you will be running through clouds of coloured corn starch. As far as volunteering in general is concerned, try testing out a few organizations by volunteering for one of their events before making a greater commitment. It's a great way to test them out and see if their corporate culture is a good fit for you. If it's not, the time commitment is limited and it's very easy to walk away after the event is done without having to "break up" with them.
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| The pink colour-bombing squad, including our awesome BBBS volunteer coordinator |
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| AFTER the first clean-up stage. Not a sunburn. |
Tall ships were back in Toronto last weekend for the Redpath Waterfront Festival in commemoration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812. The full fleet was stretched out along the waterfront from the HTO Park all the way to the Sherbourne Common. The festival itself was free but those looking for an extra kick could purchase tickets for deck tours of these majestic vessels. I stopped by on the Friday in between two other events and had a great time. There was food, music, sightseeing, giveaways, and a whole host of activities for both adults and kids. Definitely worth checking out.
In addition to providing a lot of visual stimulation, this festival is quite informative, with information boards posted throughout and cultural reenactments of life in the 1800s. If you made the trek further east to Sugar Beach (a bit of a walk and not quite a pleasant stroll with all the construction), you could also catch some quality live music at the beach with the EMERGE Artists Showcase. I spent a great hour there enjoying some free PEI fries and mussels while listening to some great tunes and enjoying a live Flyboard demonstration (that stuff is way cool!).
If you've been on this blog before, you probably noticed that I'm quite partial to food events. Anything that involves delectable edibles in a sampling-friendly format makes me very, very happy. Unfortunately, many local food festivals have either always been or have now made the transition to being overpriced and are simply not worth the price of admission. That's why I always get excited when a new one appears on the scene and why I made the trek to Scarborough despite being quite literally wiped out after the Colour Me RAD event (I actually got a kick when I got recognized by my RAD tattoos that I didn't have the energy to scrub off).
It was worth the drive. With free admission, free parking, and no sampling tickets to contend with (you could simply hand over cash to the vendors, eliminating the need to somehow use up those pesky leftover tickets), this was a very low-risk event to begin with and the great food on site pushed it into the winning territory. Prices were very reasonable, dishes were varied and delicious, and the crowds manageable. Some of the vendors sold out (this was towards the end of the event) and there were a few line-ups for the popular items, but these were totally manageable and moved quickly, and there was plenty of other deliciousness to compensate for the items we didn't get to try. My friend and I had a great time and would both go again next year if the event returns.
I was actually quite surprised to discover that this event was organized by Youth in Business, as I've been to larger professionally-run events that left a lot to be desired. These guys knocked it out of the park. Well-run, good social media presence, and fabulous exposure for small-scale food entrepreneurs. I hope they meet their goal of making this an annual event and growing it further. Best of luck to them! 
I do a lot of volunteering, to the point where I finally had to start saying no just so I would actually have some free time left over. I learned to be much more selective about the people and causes I donate my time to, and expect certain things in return (e.g. not having my time wasted standing around doing nothing, for one). I also tend to focus on events-based volunteering to test drive an organization before donating to them or committing any more of my time - it's a great way to not only have some fun and check out swanky events for free, but also gives you a great inside look at the organization in how on the ball the staff are and how well they treat their volunteers and guests. 
After that experience, I wasn't looking forward to wasting another day, but I made a commitment and it wasn't awful enough for me to back out last minute. My second shift was on the second race day and this time around the BBBS volunteer coordinator kept me with her all day and the experience was vastly different. Not only was I introduced to everyone at my station, but she kept an eye out for me all day to make sure I was enjoying myself. Night and day as far as my experience with the event was concerned. Most of our BBBS tent team ended up on the colour bombing squad pelting runners with coloured powder when it turned out that not enough Colour Me RAD volunteers had shown up. While this was a lot of fun, it was also exhausting and a greater commitment than you think when you factor in the clean-up requirements (yourself included!...plus the associated car, laundry, and home cleaning). 
INSIDER TIPS: Those who volunteers on one of the pick-up days had the option of running in the race for free. If you do run, be sure you bring something to protect your face when you run because you will be running through clouds of coloured corn starch. As far as volunteering in general is concerned, try testing out a few organizations by volunteering for one of their events before making a greater commitment. It's a great way to test them out and see if their corporate culture is a good fit for you. If it's not, the time commitment is limited and it's very easy to walk away after the event is done without having to "break up" with them.
NXNE takes over the city for a week each June and is jam packed with sights and sounds for every taste. This is the one festival where you get a chance to check out both the yet undiscovered home-grown talent (and be among he first to see some of the future stars before they make it big!) and some of the biggest international superstars. Venues are spread out all over the city and the extensive local media coverage makes it easy to find a show you'll like even for those who consider themselves music scene neophytes. NOW Magazine and BlogTO are two of the outlets that always publish guides to the festival, along with their recommendations, and SOCAN provided a nifty pocket-sized (well, kinda) guide this year that made it easy to see what was happening when and where. For the die-hard music lovers, there is always the option of taking a few days off work (and many do!) and taking advantage of the very reasonably priced festival wristbands that get you into all the shows (and/or movie screenings). The only challenge is trying to be at a multitude of locations at the same time! Because the line-up is pretty stellar and it is always tempting to try and see it all.
For those not sure about their commitment to live music, there are quite a few free shows that are either part of the official festival or one of several spin-off events throughout the city. For example, free shows at Yonge-Dundas Square this year included such headliners as The National, Ludacris, and Billy Talent. You can rest assured the crowds were out in full force for these. I didn't have time this year to check out much of the festival but I did carve out some time in my calendar to check out The National (and catch the tail end of Hayden) at the square.
