Book Arts

Use parallel working/body doubling to help focus on your art, trade critiques or zines, study reference books or just get inspired! Meet on the ground floor of the Toronto Reference Library! The organizer will be wearing a bright orange t-shirt.

🪞 My Inner Mirror – Inner Alchemy Workshop Through Art Therapy 🎨 Immerse yourself in a unique and transformative workshop, blending artistic creation, meditation, and inner exploration. This guided introspective space will allow you to manifest your inner reality through art, shifting perceptions and strengthening your connection with your subconscious. 🌟 Why Join? ✅ Visually express your inner world and uncover its hidden messages ✅ Deepen your connection with your subconscious through guided meditation ✅ Use art as a tool for transformation and self-analysis ✅ Learn interpretation techniques to better understand your creations No artistic skills required – this workshop is accessible to everyone! 🧘‍♂️ Workshop Flow: 1. Breathing Exercises – Mental and energetic preparation for meditation 2. Guided Meditation – Activating the subconscious and awakening intuition 3. Mirror Drawing Creation – Representing your inner reality through art 4. Interpretation & Examples – Understanding the symbols and messages within your artwork 5. Sharing & Q/A – A space for discussion and guidance 📌 Required Materials: 🔹 Paper: Blank sheets (A4 or A3 format, no grid lines) 🔹 Artistic tools: Pencils, brushes, markers, or any medium of your choice ⏳ Duration: 2 hours 💫 Guidance: This workshop is led by Ludovic, exploring inner alchemy through yoga and art therapy. 🪞 Let your true essence emerge, observe your inner reflection, and uncover the secrets your subconscious wishes to reveal. ✅ Reserve your spot now and embark on this transformative journey! **✨ Join Our Wellness Community** More on [https://www.yogasource.org](https://www.yogasource.org)

Join other Gaymers this evening to work on your DIY project with others and show off your work in progress! Come chat, craft, and work on whatever project you wish! (Or just chill with us!) The only thing you have to do is bring your project, materials, and yourself! Your host, Nef, is also happy to teach you how to crochet :) While this event is free, we encourage folks to get some food or drinks if possible! (Only if this is a possibility for you!) We provide nametag stickers with a pronoun field; we want this to be a comfortable environment for everyone, kindly respect people's listed or stated pronouns. If you are unsure of someone's pronouns, don't assume: Ask, Respect and Practice Definitely ask before taking pictures/videos. \*\*\*Please reach out to [info@torontogaymers.ca](mailto:info@torontogaymers.ca) with any accessibility concerns. [https://linktr.ee/TorontoGaymers](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://linktr.ee/TorontoGaymers&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1753646882381297&usg=AOvVaw00IFqJeQVIkNQH04yjTL6E)

Join us for presentations, snacks, and discussion! This time around we have an agenda of monitoring topics on the complete opposite spectrum. We'll talk about pure hobbyist monitoring topics, AI prompt based workflows and debugging your production Kubernetes clusters when they are on fire. **Special thanks to Nokia and Mark Prosser for hosting us at their downtown office.** **Agenda:** 6:00-6:15 PM: Arrivals and introductions 6:15-6:35 PM: Observability Sidequests 6:35-6:40 PM: Q&A 6:40-7:10 PM: Uh, is this a good idea? Examining the viability of reusable AI prompt-based workflows for developers 7:10-7:15 PM: Q&A 7:15-7:35 PM: Debugging your Kubernetes Cluster when it's on fire. 7:35-7:40 PM: Q&A 7:40-8:00 PM: Q&A, networking and wrap up **Talk 1: Observability Sidequests! - Eldin from Grafana** Eldin will demo some of his personal use dashboards, like monitoring his 3D printer and household CO2 and temperature sensors. **Eldin** helps people make sense of their systems through better observability. He's spent years in support, services, and advisory roles, so he knows what it really takes to make tech work in the real world. These days, he's all about helping teams solve modern observability challenges and systems that actually make life easier. **Talk 2: Uh, is this a good idea? Examining the viability of reusable AI prompt-based workflows for developers - Adriana - Dynatrace** It’s tempting to throw AI onto everything we do these days. But do we have to? Can we be lazy enough to tell our AI assistant to set up our local developer tooling for us with just some well-constructed prompts, without having to rely on our platform engineering friends? Can we achieve the Star Trek dream of saying, “Computer, run level 10 diagnostic.” and the computer would just know? And could it be repeatable and shareable? This talk explores the developer's journey of creating a natural-language, reusable prompt-based workflow with Block's Codename Goose to provision a local development environment. Attendees will learn about: \* MCP and Goose \* The target demo workflow \* Challenges faced, and key takeaways Attendees will also come away with an understanding of the possibilities and limits of creating reusable prompt-based workflows, answering the question: can developers self-provision tools using natural language? And just because they CAN, SHOULD THEY? **Adriana Villela** is a blogger, host of the Geeking Out podcast, CNCF Ambassador, and maintainer of the OpenTelemetry End User SIG. By day, she focuses on Observability and OpenTelemetry, as a Principal Developer Advocate at Dynatrace. By night, she climbs walls. She also loves capybaras, because they make her happy. **Talk 3: Debugging your Kubernetes Cluster when it's on fire - Nikola Grcevski - Grafana** Imagine you have a Kubernetes cluster that’s hosting some number of services, perhaps these services are written in different programming languages, perhaps there are some databases in the cluster too. Now, imagine that this cluster is intermittently experiencing errors and it’s not easy to tell what’s going on. In this talk I will show you how you can add detailed telemetry immediately to a problematic production environment cluster, without any changes to your existing cluster configuration or applications, with the new OpenTelemetry eBPF Instrumentation project. We’ll show you how you’ll be able to get insights into what’s wrong with your cluster or services, by leveraging on-demand distributed traces and connectivity graphs, even if it’s the first time you have heard the term OpenTelemetry. **Nikola Grcevski** has worked as a software engineer for more than 20 years, mostly in the field of compilers, managed runtimes and performance optimization. Most recently he's working on low level application instrumentation with eBPF at Grafana Labs.

Hi everyone, this is the very first social event we are organizing for the group! We are heading to **Taste of Thailand Cuisine** (near Kipling Station) for a relaxed evening. Here’s what to expect 👇 * We will start at **6:00 PM** on **Monday, February 9th**. * We wanted to create a space where founders can meet other founders in an easy environment. * We are defining 'founder' quite broadly here. Whether you run a tech startup, a small business, an eBay/online store, or a service agency—you are welcome. We are mainly looking to find and connect with people who have started their own thing. * Please keep in mind that this is mainly intended as a social gathering. It is not designed as an event to pitch investors or find leads. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, just meant that it is not the intention for this meetup. * Everyone pays for their own meal. * Since this is a new event, we are restricting it to **6 people** to keep the conversation intimate. * If your plans change, please cancel at least a day before so we can adjust the reservation. Come join us for our first meetup and connect with a few new friends who understand the journey. PS: About myself, I am a tech product startup founder in the GTA area.

| February 9, 2026 | | ---------------- | | Send me an email to let me know you are joining us at: | pcalleri@thegaap\.net \| **The CPA Toronto Accounting Group Presents a Casual Get Together** for a few of us to get together, network, learn, have a few laughs, share ideas, make new friends. become more successful etc. I will put a very casual agenda together, but the goal is having a good time. I tried to find a venue that is easy to get to. It is near the 401 and DVP. We will meet at: Swiss Chalet **[Address](https://www.google.ca/search?sca_esv=197713b87bf2beb1&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWIKmSo8ztb94J6BUHqec-EeQUWwHRw:1725296229930&q=the+queens+head+pub+scarborough+address&ludocid=4250126838100046784&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiS46qn3aSIAxUS5ckDHbw5GJQQ6BN6BAgrEAI):** 2555 Victoria Park Ave, Scarborough Our reservation is made under Paul. I look forward to seeing you. PS Seats are limited, let me know you are attending; quickly. Send me an email to let me know you are joining us. pcalleri@thegaap.net Sincerely yours, Paul Calleri, Founder of TheGAAP.net, TheGAAP.netCareers, and the CPA Toronto Accounting Group

D60 Advanced Leadership Toastmasters is dedicated to exploring the many dimensions of leadership and helping members elevate their leadership skills to the next level. This includes in depth evaluations, workshops, debates and presentations. Join us and discover how our club can support your leadership growth by registering for the zoom link and in-person information (close to King subway station) at https://bit.ly/d60alt_mtg.

There There is the debut novel by Cheyenne and Arapaho author Tommy Orange. Published in 2018, the book follows a large cast of Native Americans living in the Oakland, California, area and contains several essays on Native American history and identity. We will start our discussion at 7:30. Food and drink are available for purchase. The $3 fee helps to offset Meetup costs.

Hello everyone! Join us for our next meetup! Bring along any art or craft you’re currently working on, drawing, painting, knitting, writing, or anything else, and enjoy a relaxed, creative hangout together. Date: February 15th Time: 2 pm Place: Paris Baguette (midtown location) \*Note: If you RSVP 'yes' but aren't able to make it, please try to change it to "no". This will allow people on the waitlist to join in!

( SOLD-OUT ) ## Overview \*\*\*Four of today's most acclaimed writers visit the Salon to explore the nature of ***imagination***. **Join four of today's premiere literary artists as they explore the role of the imagination in contemporary literature.** ***FREE Eventbrite ticket link is below***. Check your calendars. Can you attend? You will need an entry ticket--follow through please. The novels of Patricia Lockwood, Elif Batuman, Sheila Heti and Gwendoline Riley each take a different approach to the relationship between imaginative and real-life elements. Some have been classified as autofiction, while others are products of so-called "pure imagination". What does all this mean? Imagination. **So when does a piece of writing become fiction? What is proper admixture of observation and imagination? What is the imagination, anyway?** **NOTE: In this once-in-a-lifetime gathering of talent, Lockwood, Batuman, Heti, and Riley discuss some of the fundamental questions of art-making, and expose the innermost nature of their creative processes.** **ABOUT THE GUESTS:** **Patricia Lockwood** is the bestselling author of *No One Is Talking About This*, a novel which was a finalist for the Booker Prize, and a memoir, *Priestdaddy*, which won the Thurber Prize and was named one of the 10 Best Books of 2017 by *The New York Times Book Review*. She is a contributing editor at the *London Review of Books*, and her essays and reviews appear regularly in *The New Yorker* and *The New York Times*. **Elif Batuman**'s first novel, *The Idiot*, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and for the Women's Prize. The sequel, *Either/Or*, was published in 2022. She is also the author of *The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them.* She has been a staff writer at *The New Yorker* since 2010, and holds a PhD in comparative literature from Stanford. **Sheila Heti** is the author of eleven books, most recently *Alphabetical Diaries*, a novel which was named a Best Book of the Year by *The New Yorker* and a *New York Times* Critic Top Book of the Year. Her novels include *Pure Colour, Motherhood,* and *How Should a Person Be?,* and her books have been translated into twenty-four languages **Gwendoline Riley** is the author of *My Phantoms*, which was shortlisted for the Folio Prize; *First Love*, which won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize; and *Cold Water*, which won the Betty Trask Award. In 2018, the *Times Literary Supplement* named her one of the twenty best British and Irish novelists working today. Her forthcoming novel, *The Palm House*, will be published in April 2026. **FREE ticket link--for ENTRY--** https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/what-is-imagination-lockwood-batuman-heti-and-riley-tickets-1974936293618?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

**Come workout, have fun, relieve your stress, and meet your fellow neighbours!** Welcoming interested people to join our FREE classes every Tuesday evening from 7:00pm to 9:00pm and every Sunday afternoon from 2:30PM-4:30PM near Bathurst/Lake Shore area. Classes are led by our event organizer, Master **Dave Crook**, a seasoned 4th degree black belt Hapkido practitioner from a respected academy with many years of experience in this art and various others. **About this form of martial arts:** Hapkido is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks. **How to join:** Join this group/event and directly message me with your interest. **Q: Is this completely FREE?** A: Yes, classes/lessons are completely FREE **Q: Do I require a gi/uniform to participate?** A: Gi is completely optional, only required when doing groundwork grappling/throw techniques **Q: Are there grading and belt progression?** A: Yes, there are grading and belts, which will cost $30 just to cover the cost, testing will done when YOU are comfortable and ready! **Current Martial Artists Belt Status:** 1x Masters - 4th Degree Black Belt 1x Yellow Belt (former red belt) 1x Yellow Stripe Belt 134x White Belts **Belt Colours - Progression in Descending Order:** * White Belt * Yellow Stripe Belt * Yellow Belt * Orange Stripe Belt * Orange Belt * Green Stripe Belt * Green Belt * Blue Stripe Belt * Blue Belt * Red Stripe Belt * Red Belt * Black Stripe Belt * Black Belt **Curriculum of Techniques** **White Belt to Yellow Stripe:** **Strikes (all strikes from left wrist grab, striking with right)** 1\. Sword Strike to Clavicle 2\. Nunchuk Strike to Temple 3\. Companion Sword Strike with Elbow Strike to Solar Plexus 4\. Spear Hand to Femoral Artery 5\. Palm Strike to Floating Rib 6\. Spear Hand to Trachea **Breakaways (all breakaways from right wrist grab)** 1\. Latissimus Dorsi push with bucking back fist 2\. When pulled with bucking back fist 3\. When pushed with bucking back fist 4\. Downward break away with elbow strike 5\. Live\-hand tricept push up with elbow strike 6\. Assisted tricept push\-up with elbow strike **Take Downs (performed both sides)** 1\. Pivot throw Joint Locks (all joint locks from right wrist grab) 1\. 'Kul Nut Key' to elbow 2\. 'Kul Nut Key' to elbow 45 degrees 3\. One inch bow 4\. Side wrist lock \- bend elbow 5\. Side elbow lock 6\. Elbow lock controlled **Escapes From Mounted Position (all from opponent on mount position - performed both sides)** 1\. Escape to Mount 2\. Escape to Guard 3\. As punches are received \- buck \- single arm hook \- roll 4\. As punches are received \- buck \- shoulder walk \- two arm hook \- guard 5\. Escape when head is locked 6\. Escape when head is locked with high mount **Kicks (both sides)** 1\. Side kick **To learn more about Hwa Won Yue Hapkido visit our website here:** http://www.hapkidohwawonyue.ca/toronto.html#

*Unwind, get creative, and connect with cool people.* Looking for a calm space to do some art, have meaningful (or silly) convos, and meet new friends in the city? This is your spot. I’ll be bringing **colouring pages and markers** for anyone who just wants to show up and relax. You're also totally welcome to bring whatever creative activity helps *you* unwind — think **sketchpads, mini canvases and paint, journals, clay sculpting, wire bending, model building kits, and collage supplies**. We’ll hang out, make art, and enjoy chill conversations in a cozy, no-pressure environment. No experience or talent required — just bring yourself and whatever helps you feel creative and calm. **✦ What to Bring (optional):** * Any relaxing art or activity you enjoy **✦ I’ll provide:** * Colouring pages, markers, and good vibes **Where to Meet (MADO Cafe at the Food Hall inside The Well):** * The easiest way to get to the venue is to make your way to La Plume restaurant or The Dorset restaurant and turn towards the statue then take the stairs to the lower level. * Shoppers will be on the right and across from Shoppers will be an entrance to The Well's food court. * Make a left and you should see the long tables and MADO cafe. * **We'll meet at the long tables in front of MADO Cafe** Come solo or bring a friend — this is all about slowing down, making connections, and enjoying a creative evening together ✨

**Celebrate National Pizza Day with pizza, trivia, and a night of social fun 🍕** Join us for a lively mid-week mixer filled with interactive trivia, laughs, and social fun at one of Toronto’s favourite spots, Pizza Rustica! 📅 **When:** Wednesday\, Feb 10\, 2026 \| 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM 📍 **Where:** Pizza Rustica (37 Blue Jays Way, Toronto, ON M5V 9G9) 👥 **Who:** Open to singles and couples, ages 19+ 🎟️ **Tickets:**[ ](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/toronto-event-hub-x-pizza-rustica-october-trivia-social-mixer-tickets-1751146178359?aff=meetup)[\[Sign up Here\]](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/national-pizza-day-social-trivia-by-toronto-event-hub-x-pizza-rustica-tickets-1981078758897?aff=meetup) ✅ Limited spots, so reserve your seat on Eventbrite! Check all of our events at [https://www.torontoeventhub.com/](https://www.torontoeventhub.com/)

Join us for the next Creative Sundays: a relaxed, hands-on creative hangout focused on **air-dry clay**. We’ll be working with clay to create small functional pieces like ring dishes, trinket trays, or pinch bowls. This is **not a class** and there’s no instruction to follow step-by-step, just a calm, shared creative session where everyone works at their own pace in a friendly, low-pressure setting. **All supplies will be provided**, and no prior experience is needed. A **$15 materials fee** will apply to cover supplies. Location details will be shared with confirmed attendees.

Calling all founders, CEOs, lawyers, doctors, and entrepreneurs to join our special *Founder Edition* of Sip & Read meetup event. Let's sip on fine wine and discuss our first book **The 5AM Club- Own Your Morning Elevate Your Life, by Robin Sharma**. We will pair this book with our favorite wine at **Wine on High** and engage in thought-provoking discussions on startup businesses and entrepreneurship, and network with like-minded individuals in a cozy book club setting. Come prepared to discuss this month's book. At the end of each book club meeting, we will take next book and venue suggestions from the participants for the next meeting. Whether you are a book lover, women entrepreneur, or a content creator, this event is perfect for sharing ideas and insights with other funders and founders in the entrepreneurial world. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to connect, learn, and grow together. Sign up now to reserve your spot! *Fun fact! This meetup was established in 2015 and had over 1,000 members. I had to shut down operations while attending law school, but we're back!!*

**I’m planning future book club meetups and would love your input. Please choose your top three from the list below—your picks will help decide what we read next!** **Book Options** *The Hong Kong Widow* – Kristen Loesch *American Spy* – Lauren Wilkinson *God of the Woods* – Liz Moore *Listen for the Lie* – Amy Tintera *The Swallows* – Lisa Lutz *The Drowning Kind* – Jennifer McMahon *The Eights* – Joanna Miller *The Quiet Librarian* – Allen Eskens Thanks so much for sharing your pick! Please **reply in the comments** with your top three. I can’t wait to see which books rise to the top and to discuss them together at our next meetups.

**Our February novel is: Julia by Sandra Newman** **This month is a classic, dystopian, fiction, literary fiction, women’s fiction, and science fiction novel. The book is 394 pages in print and 14 hours and 20 minutes on audiobook.** **An imaginative, feminist, and brilliantly relevant-to-today retelling of Orwell’s 1984, from the point of view of Winston Smith’s lover, Julia, by critically acclaimed novelist Sandra Newman.** Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It’s 1984, and Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. In short, everything about this world is as it is in Orwell’s 1984. All her life, Julia has known only Oceania, and, until she meets Winston Smith, she has never imagined anything else. She is an ideal citizen: cheerfully cynical, always ready with a bribe, piously repeating every political slogan while believing in nothing. She routinely breaks the rules, but also collaborates with the regime when necessary. Everyone likes Julia. Then one day she finds herself walking toward Winston Smith in a corridor and impulsively slips him a note, setting in motion the devastating, unforgettable events of the classic story. Julia takes us on a surprising journey through Orwell’s now-iconic dystopia, with twists that reveal unexpected sides not only to Julia, but to other familiar figures in the 1984 universe. This unique perspective lays bare our own world in haunting and provocative ways, just as the original did almost seventy-five years ago.

Welcome, readers! Our February read is **_1984 by George Orwell._** In 1984, George Orwell imagines a world where the government watches everyone, rewrites reality, and punishes even private thoughts. Winston Smith dares to question this system, believing that truth and love might still exist. His rebellion draws him into a chilling struggle against a power that knows him better than he knows himself. The novel leaves readers asking whether freedom is possible when reality itself can be controlled. Looking forward to discussing with everyone! We will meet at Zaftig Brewing Co in their event room in the back. We are welcome to bring in our own food, but **drinks must be purchased at the bar.** Happy reading! 📖

Join us for our February Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss *A Master of Djinn* by P. Djèlí Clark in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.

12;45-3:45 in Conference Room A, Library lower level. Bring your yarn projects, meet new friends. If you plan to attend, please RSVP yes. If you can’t attend, please change your RSVP to no. This helps anyone who is waitlisted and it allows me to have an accurate count of attendees as our space is quite limited. Plenty of parking in the lot, in the overflow lot across the street, and on the street. See you there! Winter Note: If the weather is bad and I have to cancel the Meetup, i will issue the cancellation not later than 10:00 a.m. of that day.