TEDxManitoba

June 13, 2014 - 9:28pm - by admin

Yesterday I had the good fortune to attend TEDxManitoba, which was held at the Tom Hendry Theater.

(also featured: my amazing Americano from Parlour Coffee, 'natch)
Of course I had to strong-arm John into being my wingman for the day.

The lineup was really stellar, but there were a few that really stood out for me:

David Gingera of CitiGrow's talk about sustainable, urban agriculture. Buying locally-grown food has become hugely important to me over the last little while, even more so since I've begun gardening through the West Broadway Community Center. It was really inspiring to hear someone be so passionate about such an important issue.

I also really loved Brian Bowman's talk about being caught in the crossfire of a gunfight in Mexico (what?!) and how it changed his outlook on life. I can't imagine how terrifying that must have been, but it was wonderful to hear how the experience shaped him, and how he used the experience to motivate himself moving forward.

Ted Geddert's performance with his son, in which he told the story of losing one of his sons at the age of 13, and how the family has coped with the loss and found hope in the aftermath. They incorporated singing as well, and it was hands-down my favourite talk of the day (I cried a little bit).

In-between talks I ate way too much (Sun Burger from The Underground Café for brunch, salad/sandwiches for lunch, pie in a mason jar and GORP bars omg) and hung around with the likes of Natalie Bell aka @pegcitylovely and we proceeded to weird everyone out in the backstage hallway.

Thank you so much to TEDxManitoba for having me out! I've loved being involved with these events so much that I'm thinking about volunteering next year (or speaking, maybe? Who knows!)