Christmas in the Square 2019

Christmas in the Square 2019

By: Jovin Tardif

November 30, 2019 

I love the holidays, but I also understand the bigger picture.  We are all extremely blessed this time of year.  We are making our list and checking it twice.  Everyone is running around on Black Friday looking for the latest gadgets, new fashion, great deals, and gifts for the family.  It's the most wonderful time of the year.  However, there are others that aren't as fortunate.  They could be in a tougher situation and they need your help. 

After meeting the Salvation Army at Hope in the City, I was informed of another event that was happening in our city on Friday, November 29th, 2019 at Yonge-Dundas Square, 1 Dundas St E, Toronto.  Starting at 11:30am, you can head over to Yonge-Dundas Square, enjoy the festivities, a warm cup of hot chocolate and hang out with your friends at CTV and the Salvation Army.  You had the opportunity to participate in sing-alongs to Celebrate Christmas in the Square.  I also learned that it was the kick-off to the CTV Toy Mountain Campaign. Honestly, this touched my heart.

I arrived at around 4:45pm and when I walked out of the subway, I was smiling from cheek to cheek when I saw a massive red bell across the street.  I went over as quick as I can to capture the moment.  I also wanted to have a bit of fun on social media.  I played a little game called "Catch me if you can" with my friends at the Salvation Army.  Hmmm...I am still wondering if they caught me yet.

I had to leave for a few moments as I had to catch up with a friend of mine Nick Purdy at pairingwithbeer.com.  We spoke online but we wanted to meet in person after having such a fun #cinqque5tion interview.  We had a discussion over a craft beer at Dukes Refresher at 382 Yonge Street.  They happen to be raising money for Movember and I wanted to show my support and of course, meet my new friend Nick in person.

I returned as fast as I could in order to catch a short glimpse of Juno Award-Winning Dru Grange on stage singing to the crowd a little after 5:30 p.m.  As you may or may not know, I love filming.  So I decided to do a Live Feed of the event on Facebook.  As I was walking around, I felt a buzz in the air.  As I made my way around the Toronto crowd, I decided for some reason to make my way to the left side of the stage.  My gut felt like something special was about to happen. 

I am not sure how or why I did this but I am glad I did.  In a moment that I will probably never forget, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came out of nowhere with presents in hand he noticed I was filming and happened to say "Hey there".  I was stunned as a filmmaker, but I remained cool and collected in order to capture the moment.  I decided at this point perhaps I will just hang out here.  Who knows what will happen next.  As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau left the stage to exit, I happen to be filming again but this time, I got to shake his hand.  Let's just say I was not expecting that.  Again, I remained calm and I continued to film as everyone was heading over to get a selfie or a moment with our Prime Minister.  I kept rolling the tape as they say I made my way around the crowd to get another moment.  I tapped Justin Trudeau on the shoulder and said: "Thank you and Happy Holidays".  He smiled. 

I will probably remember this moment for a long time.