Miz Moffatt: Volunteerism-Junkie

OH. MY. WORD.

How to summarize a weekend spent in the vast world of volunteerism and Toronto-based excitement?

It was overwhelming, stunning, exhausting, and oh-so-rewarding on numerous levels. I felt alive crossing the streets of Toronto and barreling across railroad tracks and through subway lines to find new adventures throughout our fair city. The weather was blissful, the crowds were pulsing and polite, and I discovered I am not the wallflower I paint myself to be.

So, let's start where we left off with the May 22nd recap, shall we?

Sunday, May 23rd/2010

It is now official -- I am a fully-credited, bona fide volunteer for The Harbourfront Centre, Toronto's artistic and cultural hub located on the steps of Lake Ontario. The main event for the May long weekend was the HarbourKids circus-themed celebration. Indeed, clowns and performers of all sorts were on hand in addition to a host of colourful, varied activities to engage the wee ones and activate their imaginations.

Granted, I was wary of what I had signed up for. Me + children = Recipe for disaster. I am controlled, anal-retentive, and quiet. Children tend to lack these qualities. Chalk the experience up as Lesson the First: the kids were fantastic. On Sunday, I helped out with an indoor animation flipbook station. A professional animator taught groups of 24 kids how to draw a simple, two-page animation of a frog in a clown hat jumping on his lily pad. I was in charge of signing kids up for the half hour lessons and I got to try my hand at animating, too. Serious, I was shocked over how focused the groups were and just how proud all of them were with the end results.

What is this? Am I reconciling my differences with children?

Weird.

The one flaw with the station: we were the only ones who required sign-up times. Parents would register their kids and either A) Bail out on the slot without alerting us, or B) Arrive ten minutes after the next session started. It was a touch frustrating to juggle, but it's easier to keep a light attitude when you are a volunteer, I find. And folks are less inclined to get cruel with people choosing to volunteer their free hours to a free weekend event. So, thumbs up to all involved.

***

In the evening, we had the extended Moffatt clan over to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of an Aunt and Uncle and to also celebrate the May birthdays (me, the Cuz, and another Uncle). I arrived home from the volunteer shift exactly five minutes before our guests arrived. Oh, GO Train and your ill-timed maintenance. I was two hours later than the scheduled arrival time. *Sigh*

Anyhow, regardless of the mad dash, us Moffatts still had exclusive, great times. The Cuz and I exchanged first impressions of The Eleventh Doctor on Doctor Who and we talked about other sci fi wonders and general Hollywood buzz. It was still warm out and the sky was taking on that rosy, early evening haze and I nursed a Sleeman's Honey Brown as we all caught up.

Dinner consisted of tapas appetizers and a three-mushroom/arugula/balsamic reduction pizza pour moi and some type of stuffed chicken for all the omnivores in the house. So. Delicious. I wish I could eat like this on a regular basis. Of course, we followed it all with three types of cake, ice cream, and a giant fruit platter, you know, as you do.

Dad bought a pack of sparklers and a small group of us took to the backyard for some fun. Lil' brother and I were pretending to LARP while "attacking" one another with lightning bolts from our wands. My Aunt tried to trace her name into the night sky and Ruby (the Sister's basset hound) ran between us all, barking at the embers filling the air. As kids, Victoria Day always = SPARKLERS. It was lovely to revisit it all and discover I still had that inhibition in me.

Monday, May 24th/2010

Monday was quite the intense crush of action. I spent the morning planting beans with children and spent the evening watching a Spanish musical about a pre-op trans woman. Eventful start to the week, no doubt.

So yes, I returned to The Harbourfront Centre and dug in to the Cirque Dirt Fairy Garden station. Since it was fairy-themed, I donned a pair of pillowy wings covered in pink sequins. It clashed appropriately with the bright yellow gardening gloves I also procured. Pinnacle of fashion right here, people.

I will be the first to admit I do not know the first thing about gardening. I know you need to water plants and I know plants need sunlight to grow. Yep. That would be the extent. But our facilitator, Garden Jane, knew a smart trick or two about all the potted flowers, the decorative additions, and the actual planting process of the beans we were handing out to all the young'uns. It was a steady stream of visitors and, again, the enthusiasm of the kids was amazing. I helped out with planting the Ireland Creek beans and watering them before the kids took them home to care for. It was a quick four hours -- and I got to take in the gorgeous morning air with our outdoor station this time around.

***

I spent a couple of hours wandering the Church/Yonge area before the next shift with the Inside Out Film Festival. Activities included:

• Late lunch/early dinner at one of the Pizzaiolo locations in Toronto. Oh, dear readers -- I dream of this pizza. It's gourmet and affordable and fresh, all wrapped into a slice of sheer perfection. I recommend the Spinotta slice to all the vegetarians out there. It's layered with crisp spinach, marinated tomatoes, and goat cheese. *Drools at the recollection*
• Quick stop at The Glad Day Bookstore on Yonge St. I went there with O'Neill back in 2008 and the store is just as I recalled it. It's a small, independent bookstore specializing in queer lit and other LGBT publications. Readers can find anthologies, queer-authored novels, political texts, historical collections, magazines, independent zines, and so much more.

I reported for duties at Buddies in Bad Times once again and donned the Inside Out Film Festival t-shirt once more to appease the queer masses descending on our lil' theatre. I covered the screening of The Watermelon Women (1996) and 20 centímetros (2005) and reveled in more queer film gems throughout the night.

***

I will have to save details for tomorrow evening as I am still recovering from the hustle and bustle of the weekend activities (aka. I am right tired and about to collapse). All in all, it was a splendid, hectic weekend and I look forward to more times like these to follow.