On Stage Metro Toronto Convention Center Nov. 16, 2019

Three of my team  members and myself drove to Toronto in the wee hours of the morning to attend what we did not know would be, the last "On Stage" Stampin' Up would put on.  Changes are in the wind!  More about this later.

It was held in the Metro Toronto Convention center in the heart of down town Toronto.  When you come from a smaller city, the traffic, and number of pedestrians in Toronto can be somewhat overwhelming!  Throw in the mix a fire and fire trucks.......

The event was being held in the South Building of the Convention Center, which has its own parking garage. We were advised to park there as it was closest to the event.  Unfortunately, due to unfamiliarity to the area, the traffic, and the fire trucks, we could not find this garage, so we parked in garage of the North Building.  As a result, we had to walk miles and miles to get to the south building, up several elevators and across a bridge over the railway tracks.  I was ready for a nap by the time we arrived at the conference rooms.

Directions on how to get there

• Take Highway 401 West to the Don Valley Parkway South
• Follow the Don Valley Parkway South to the Gardiner Expressway

North Building 

• Exit at Spadina Avenue
• Proceed north on Spadina Avenue and turn right at Front Street
• Turn right on Simcoe St. then turn right into the garage

South Building 

• Exit at the Yonge/York exit
• As you exit the ramp continue west along Lakeshore Blvd. to Lower Simcoe St.
• Turn right at Lower Simco St. then turn left into the garage

Upon registering, we received a back pack filled with goodies - a stamp set, note book, pens, a name tag and a letter indicating that I would be recognized for leadership and annual sales. Also included were some trading pins and a pin for prize patrol.

The theme this year centered around poppies, so all the decor etc was in shades of red and black. This colour scheme was carried over into the new Mini Catalogue and the Sale-a-bration brochure.

Of course we were all excited to receive a copy of the new Mini Catalogue (aka Occasions catalogue) as well as the Saleabration brochure.  The whole world stopped when they were handed out.  I can show you a picture of the cover, but not anything on the inside. so have a peek below.

One of the perks of going to On Stage is the ability to preorder specific predetermined products from these catalogues

The presentations were wonderful and informative, but little or no time was provided to complete the make and takes, so I brought the kits home.  For example, 45 minutes were given for us to eat our lunch and to complete 2 of the make and takes.  This was too rushed for me!

I met some people and reconnected with others.  The swaps were a lot of fun and I came home with about cards to pore over. Plus we all received many prizes for prize patrols. So many prizes, that everything was hard to pack into the trunk of the car for the homeward trek.

Below are pictures of my team members.

Instead of going straight home, we went to Swiss Chalet for supper.

On the drive home we were all awestricken by how large, low, and orange the moon was. Apparently this almost full  moon, the largest it has been seen in 68 years, is known as a Beaver  or Hunter's moon. In ancient cultures beaver traps used to be  set at the first sighting of this moon.

Now to decide on my preorder!!!