Happy Canada Day folks … to all of those born here, and to all those who have found their way to our shores. Remember to hug the ones you love today. Or a stranger. Or, preferably, both!!
Hugs,
M&M
P.S. A shout-out today to our wonderful friend Glennis, who wrote this beautiful poem back in 2019: Free Hugs
P.S. II, the sequel – a reminder that next Saturday (July 6, 2024) is International Free Hugs Day! Let your hugging inhibitions go and embrace the love!!
Hi Folks:
This being the first Saturday in July, as you’re likely well aware, today is International Free Hugs Day! If you’re lucky enough to live here, today is also Canada Day! 🇨🇦
To that end we thought we’d combine the celebrations and take our sidewalk chalk down to our old hugging spot at the Homecoming Memorial. For full disclosure, we scanned the Canada flag image into the computer and used CorelDraw to create and print out the template.
We had fun making the drawing and interacting with those who stopped to chat, and when we were finished cleaning up, we retired to a nearby bench to people watch. While it felt a little strange not to be there with our FREE HUGS posters, in the short time we were there we were immensely gratified to see people stop to photograph the hugging spot and even more so to watch two couples and a group of three engage in hugs at our hugging spot! We know our hugging tree (a western white pine) was also happy to witness these events.
Speaking of our hugging tree, the oldest image we have is from July 2, 2011. At that time our tree was a sapling, barely reaching the top of the fence:
Eleven years later, you may notice that our tree has grown, just a little bit. We’ve been feeding them love, hugs and gentle needle caresses for 14 years.
Same hat, same jacket, same beautiful smile. 🙂
We had such fun downtown that we decided to use the same pattern to update the hugging spot in front of our house.
So, if you’re in Canada, help us celebrate Canada Day and International Free Hugs Day by hugging the ones you love! Today and every day…
Hugs,
M&M
Hi Folks:
Today is officially our country’s birthday! We were a part of the Living Flag event here in Victoria for Canada’s 150th birthday a few years ago, and after the past couple of years it’s good to see the city starting to come to life again. People still need to be cautious, but people are being cautiously optimistic as well. Yes, we have challenges to overcome, both as a country and as a planet, but Canadians overall are quietly proud of who we are. We can’t forget the past, but we can move forward together.
2022 also marks the third Canada Day we haven’t been out with our Free Hugs posters (maybe next year) so we wanted to share an image with you from our first Canada Day Free Hugs session back in 2010. This was just three weeks after our first ever session, and we were already hooked!
image © D. Gibson
Whatever Canada and Canada Day means to you, we encourage you to invest some time with loved ones! Continue Reading →
Hi Folks:
As you all know, the first Saturday in July (today!) is International Free Hugs Day!! Normally (what does that even mean anymore?) that would mean we’d be downtown, by our Hugging Tree, sharing hugs, smiles, waves, handshakes, fist bumps and conversations with locals and tourists alike. Not last year, however, and not today… but soon! The world is starting to re-open, slowly. In the meantime, to paraphrase the song:
If you can’t share hugs with the ones you love, hug the ones you’re with!!
Hugging a Chinese lion, 2019
Hugs,
M&M
P.S. We have a late entry in this year’s Creampuff Derby: our granddaughter, who was born this morning. A most auspicious day!!
Hi Folks:
As we’re sure you’re all aware, tomorrow is International Free Hugs Day! Grab your markers, find a piece of cardboard and go out and hug someone!! As for us, we’ll be at our usual spot at the Homecoming Memorial by Ship Point tomorrow afternoon at some point. If you’re in the neighbourhood, stop by for a hug!
Hugs,
M&M
10 Years of Hugging
Hi Folks:
As last Saturday (the first Saturday in July) was International Free Hugs Day, we were out at our usual location (Victoria’s Homecoming Memorial, by Ship Point) offering hugs to locals and visitors alike. This was our 9th hugging session this year, but because it was International Free Hugs Day we extended an invitation to friends and members of our local photography group to come and join us… and join us they did! Continue Reading →
Hi Folks:
In our last ‘Free Hugs’ post we detailed the process of making our new ‘Free Hugs’ posters. Below we have the lovely Marcia modeling one of them for us.
New Posters in Action!
We’ve been offering free hugs to locals and visitors (and other species) for seven years now, and (without question 🙂 ) the one question we get asked more than any other is, “Why are you doing this?” Continue Reading →
Hi Folks: As you likely know, last Saturday (July 4) was a pretty special day. Not only is it our son’s birthday, but it was International Free Hugs Day! (the first Saturday in July every year). As we’ve done for the past six years, we took our Free Hugs posters downtown to the Homecoming Statue at Ship Point and shared hugs with an amazing group of people.
Basic Hugging Attire – Poster, Sun Hat, Winning Smile…!
Hi Folks:
Well, this is our fifth year of hugging Victorians (and others); mid-July and we’ve already had six free hugs sessions this year!
Basic Hugging Attire – Poster, Sun Hat, Winning Smile…!
Hi Folks:
As you’re surely all well aware, Saturday, July 6 (the first Saturday in July) was International Free Hugs Day!! Marcia and I dutifully marched down to our spot at the Homecoming Statue at Ship’s Point and unrolled our ‘Free Hugs’ posters, then eagerly awaited the onslaught. We didn’t have long to wait. We both commented on how terrified we were the first time we did this down at the inner harbour, and how much we look forward to these outings now! We meet some amazing people from around the world (and around the corner), shared some great stories and some great hugs!
Thanks to everyone who came by for sharing your hugs, smiles, waves, air hugs (from across the street), and best of all, yourselves. We appreciate every one!
International Free Hugs Day, 2013
So go out and hug someone today, and be sure to check out our other ‘Free Hugs‘ posts!
M&M
P.S. We recently came across a FB page for a woman named Rita who is also a hugger. You can check her out here: 10,000 Hugs in 100 Cities. Rita is also based in Victoria; we may not have all of the world’s best huggers, but we’re certainly on the map… ;-) We haven’t (yet) met Rita in person, but the hugging will be epic!