Product Design

IMPORTANT: You must also register at this Eventbrite link: [Sony Presents: Forever in Focus Wedding and Portraiture Event Tickets, Thursday, Mar 26 from 1 pm to 6 pm | Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sony-presents-forever-in-focus-wedding-and-portraiture-event-tickets-1983966356780?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true) Forever In Focus: A Sony Alpha Community Event for Wedding & Portraiture Photography and Videography Professionals *We invite you to join us at Forever in Focus, an immersive experience that blends realistic hands-on experiences with expert teachings. With a focus on both photography and videography, capture content via models in cultural wedding apparel, as they walk down the aisle, enjoy their first dance and cut the cake.* *Discover tips and tricks for capturing once-in-a-lifetime photos and videos with seasoned industry experts who are ready to interact with you.* *Check out Sony's latest and greatest gear, with an emphasis on premium G Master lens technology. Experience how G Master lenses give you the edge to capture moments with confidence, speed, and creative freedom.* *Explore hybrid photo and video workflows, low-light performance, advanced autofocus capabilities, and efficient production techniques.* *Whether you’re refining your workflow, expanding into hybrid storytelling, or considering your next system upgrade, this is your opportunity to test gear in realistic conditions, connect with fellow professionals, and discover tools designed to help you deliver exceptional results for your clients*.

***Tickets must be purchased in advance:*** https://luma.com/ecomTO2603?utm_source=meetup ***(limited early bird & discounted tickets available)*** \-\-\- Bring your ambition and connect with Toronto’s top ecommerce founders, brand builders, and digital entrepreneurs at Greta Bar - King West’s high-energy, two-floor venue known for its bold design, neon glow, and vibrant nightlife atmosphere. 🍸✨ ​ [Follow us on Instagram @Ecomnetworking](https://instagram.com/ecomnetworking) Hosted by the **Ecom Network**, this event brings together ecommerce and DTC founders, online sellers, and digital entrepreneurs for a relaxed yet high-energy networking night. Expect great drinks, curated music, and meaningful conversations with people building and scaling real businesses. **​​Who is this event for?** This event is suitable for all online sellers - whether you run a Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brand on Shopify, sell on Amazon (FBA), Etsy, eBay, Walmart, or manage a store on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.​ — **Event Highlights** **✨ Network in a Vibrant Setting** We’ve secured a dedicated section at at the venue just for our group. Enjoy meaningful conversations and great vibes while connecting with fellow entrepreneurs. We kindly ask that you support the venue by purchasing at least one drink or food item. **Share Your Story** Building a brand, product, or project? Looking for partners, feedback, or fresh ideas? This is your chance to introduce yourself and spark valuable connections in the ecommerce community. **Learn and Grow** Exchange insights on scaling, marketing, operations, and sales with fellow ecommerce founders. Many past attendees have walked away with partnerships, new clients, and fresh ideas - one conversation could be the start of something big. — **Dress code: Smart/Business casual** — Have questions or suggestions? ​Feel free to reach out to the organizers! ​We can’t wait to see you (again)! — *Notice of Photography* *​During the event, photos and videos may be taken for promotional purposes. By attending, you consent to being photographed and/or filmed. If you prefer not to appear in any media, please let one of the event organizers know.*

This is a ticketed event. Please register at [this link](https://luma.com/e69uao09). ​In his talk, Samuel Simko from ETH Zurich will present his recent work on adversarial defenses for LLMs, developed with the Jinesis Lab (University of Toronto). The talk will cover a series of approaches, ranging from triplet-based contrastive learning defenses to honeypot-style defenses designed to avoid worst-case behavior. He will also discuss patterns observed in contest-winning manual jailbreaking prompts, ideas for tamper-resistant safeguards, and the current limits of attacks, defenses, and evaluation methodologies. ​**Event Schedule** 6:00 to 6:30 - Food and introductions 6:30 to 7:30 - Presentation and Q&A 7:30 to 9:00 - Open Discussions ​​​If you can't attend in person, join our live stream starting at 6:30 pm via [this link](https://www.youtube.com/@Trajectory-Labs/live).

Join us on March 26th for an exciting **AWS User Group Toronto meetup** focused on **AI-driven development with Kiro**! The evening kicks off with a presentation and live demoes showcasing how Kiro transforms the development workflow, followed by AWS experts sharing the best practices and approaches to get most out of AI-driven development. We'll wrap up with a hands-on workshop and Q&A session — Kiro credits will be provided for participants who want to explore at their own pace. As a bonus, enjoy pizza on us and take home some exclusive Kiro-themed swag! To make the most of the workshop, please come with Kiro pre-installed on your own computer and/or AWS account ready to go. **Agenda:** 6:00-6:15: Welcome Introductions, and community update 6:15-7:00: AI-driven development with Kiro - Presentation and Demo 7:00-7:30: Lessons from field - Best practices and accelerators 7:30-8:00: Workshop set and Q&A **Details:** Address: **18 York St., 7th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5J 2T8** Date: **March 26, 2026** Time: **6:00 pm to 8:00 pm EST** **Speaker:** * **Simran Singh** \- Sr\. Solutions Architect @ AWS * **Divya Jadav** \- Solutions Architect @ AWS * **Abhijith Ramesh Chandra** \- Solutions Architect @ AWS Please plan to arrive between 05:30 PM and 06:00 PM to ensure time to check-in, before the event begins at 06:00 PM. Visitors will need to present a government-issued photo ID to verify their identity and will have their picture taken to receive a visitor badge. Please wear your badge and remember to return all visitor badges to reception at the end of the visit. Parking is available onsite. There is a parking garage located beneath the building. You can pull an access ticket at the garage entrance off 120 Bremner Boulevard or Lower Simcoe Street. If you are arriving via the Union station, the building is conveniently located next to the Union station. Please enter through the main entrance on Bremner Boulevard or via the PATH Network and proceed to the elevators.

March 26th for the OpenClaw Meetup. Fraternal Order of Eagles - 17 Elm St, Toronto, ON M5G 1H1 [https://maps.app.goo.gl/tKyQGWh6pqSu5KTi8?g_st=ic](https://maps.app.goo.gl/tKyQGWh6pqSu5KTi8?g_st=ic) from 5-8p More information to come.. speakers, guests, talks..etc

Observability is supposed to help us understand our systems but for many teams it has quietly become one of the most expensive and least flexible parts of the stack. Plenty of organizations take polished SaaS platforms like Datadog to get real value quickly early on, only to hit the same wall later: runaway costs, pricing tied to architectural decisions, and vendor lock-in so strong it makes Rogers and Bell both blush. In this talk, I’ll walk through a real-world case study of a JVM-based production system that migrated away from a Datadog-centric observability setup to an open-source, OpenTelemetry-based platform. We’ll dig into the why behind the move, the architectural decisions that mattered, the mistakes along the way, and how the team ended up with pragmatic visibility into latency, errors, and resource usage at a fraction of the cost. The second half of the talk is practical and forward-looking. I’ll show how OpenTelemetry unlocks real choice by acting as a neutral data plane for your telemetry. From there, we’ll look at modern, off-the-shelf observability backends you can plug in within minutes without rewriting applications or installing new agents. Want to dual-write, swap vendors, or route data somewhere new? This is how you do it without a big-bang rewrite or another long-term commitment with a new vendor. This session is for engineers and CEOs who are feeling the observability cost squeeze, want leverage back from vendors, and are looking for realistic ways to modernize monitoring without lighting their entire stack on fire each time they decide to change their tools of choice. **About the venue** Free Times Cafe has bistro-style seating and a full food and drink menu. Please consider helping to support the venue by planning to have supper during the talk. **Speaker Bio** Alexei Zenin is a Platform Engineering Consultant based out of Toronto, Canada. Over the course of his career he has worked across the Healthcare, Marketing, Video Games, and Banking industries. He loves to tackle hard problems in the distributed systems space with a focus on scaling platforms both from a technical and process perspective. He is a strong advocate for highly maintainable and well tested code while at the same time pragmatically delivering value to the end user. He has contributed to the broader tech community, namely to Confluent’s blogs on Apache Kafka, spoken at Current 2022 in Austin, Texas, and spoken at XP Game Summit 2025 in Toronto, Canada. During his 5 years at Uken Games he contributed to several games like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Jeopardy. One title of note he saw from inception to completion was a game for Tim Hortons built right into the official app, Tim’s Word Challenge. Millions of Canadians have played it along with their morning coffee. He also got to work with Netflix on several unannounced games during his time at the studio. Currently, Alexei is working with various clients, both large and small to modernize and streamline their platforms with the most appropriate tools and practices. Outside of his professional life, he gives back to his community by volunteering at UofT. He also enjoys paddleboarding and attending live rock concerts to reset after long coding sessions.

Join us for a relaxed and welcoming café meetup designed for Muslim professionals in their 30s and 40s looking to connect, unwind, and enjoy meaningful conversations. Come as you are, grab your favorite drink, and let’s enjoy a great time together. Looking forward to meeting you!

## **Let’s Make Something Real** You’re invited to **Session 001**—the kickoff of a new collaborative series designed for one thing: **Pure Creation.** We’re stripping away the gatekeeping and the endless tutorials. This isn’t a masterclass; it’s a digital jam session where the goal is to walk out with a track that has everyone’s DNA on it. Whether you’re a professional sound designer or you just bought your first MIDI controller yesterday, if you have ideas, we want them in the mix. ### **The Vibe** * **Genre Agnostic:** From lo-fi beats and cinematic soundscapes to heavy techno or glitch—if it sounds good, it stays. * **DAW Agnostic:** Logic, Ableton, FL Studio, Bitwig? It doesn't matter. Use the tools that help you speak. * **Creation Over Teaching:** We believe the best way to learn is by doing. You’ll pick up tricks by osmosis, but our primary mission is the "Export" button. * ### **How It Works** We’re keeping the workflow lean so we can stay in the flow state: 1. **Bring Your Setup:** Laptop + DAW + Headphones. Ensure you’re ready to make noise the moment you plug in. 2. **The Master Mix:** We’ll have a central project running. 3. **The Drop:** We’ll use a shared Dropbox folder to swap stems, loops, and one-shots in real-time. You create a part, drop it in, and watch the track evolve. ### **The Essentials** * **Who:** Creatives, noisemakers, and rhythmic thinkers of all skill levels. * **The Goal:** Ensure every person in the room makes a tangible contribution to the final piece. * **The Energy:** High vibes, zero ego, and a shared love for digital alchemy. **Ready to plug in?** We’re keeping these sessions intimate to ensure the best workflow. Location and final logistics will be sent once your spot is confirmed. **"Good energy, good people, and most importantly, good music."**

**Join us for Dinner and Stations of the Cross** Friday March 27, 2026 @ 6PM St. Patrick's Hall, 139 McCaul St $5 for Dinner Stations of the Cross to Follow in the Church **Register Now** - [https://bit.ly/Ignite-DinnerandStationsoftheCross](https://buy.stripe.com/aFa00jbu8eDy08wes7a7C0k) *All young adults are welcome!* Looking forward to seeing everyone! Spots are still open - invite a friend!

**SUBSCRIBE TO [THE MAILING LIST](https://torontorationality.beehiiv.com/). EVENTS ARE NO LONGER POSTED HERE.** ​Arguing about important things doesn’t usually lead to people changing their mind. Double Crux is a technique for making discussions more productive and understanding the actual reasoning of those who disagree with us. Sometimes it even helps to better understand the foundations of your own beliefs. Together, we'll learn about [Double Crux](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ya59PtGeYnCG25eWn/double-crux-in-a-box), and then break into pairs with someone we disagree with to practice finding out why our views are different and what might change our minds. ## Location Enter the Mars Atrium via University Avenue entrance. We'll meet at the food court in the basement. I'll be wearing a bright neon yellow jacket. ## Detailed Directions to the Food Court Enter from University Avenue and walk east until you see escalators. Take the escalators down. The food court is to the east of the escalators. If you are lost/confused, ask a security guard to direct you to the food court. [This event is cross-posted from LessWrong.](https://www.lesswrong.com/events/wuMwSJJEKZHfccoRs/toronto-acx-meetups-everywhere-spring-2025)

*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 ✨

Let’s do some coding together at a cafe! No more working alone in the weekend. Here, we write code together. And I mean together together. Not occupying-the-same-space-but-separate together. Here’s how it works: Jennifer brings her mobile app project, tells everyone that it is like Pinterest for recipes and she’d like to work on the nav bar. Paul and Chloe think Jennifer's project is fascinating, and they join the group. They gather around Jennifer’s laptop and work on the nav bar for 2 hours. Jennifer is the one typing out the code while Paul and Chloe research, brainstorm, and offer suggestions. If you’re feeling stuck on your own project or need a motivation boost, bring it to mob programming! Want to learn by watching how others code and solve problems? Join someone else’s project at this event! Oh and we love your half-done projects that you are a bit embarrassed to share. Absolutely bring those to the event! **Discord**: We use Discord to share screen & code snippets during the event. Also feel free to share your projects here before the event! https://discord.gg/yvAGbh4PpD **Event policy**: * We have 0 tolerance for harassment. * We don’t allow the projects that are not meant to be shared in public such as school assignments, interview tasks, or trade secrets. * The goal is to write code. We discourage you from pitching business ideas here, doing code reviews, or spending the whole event on planning what to do. * Please buy a drink, and tip the barista well.

Join your community of fellow Intuitives and MBTI nerds for a casual evening of engaging conversation. We get together every second Sunday – with a mix of regulars and new friends. There is no fee to attend, though we ask that you support the venue by ordering something to eat or drink. **Feel free to contact event host B. via Facebook/Meetup messenger, or text/call 416-712-8635 for directions**. About the venue: The Pint Public House Nearest Subway: Union Station Map / Directions: https://maps.app.goo.gl/G5GfXDSQXeifJ5ot5 We make an effort to find pubs that are quiet and introvert friendly, with a section to ourselves. We make no effort to muffle our extroverts, but should they get out of hand, our resident INTJ will use their death stare, to pull them back in line.

We meet to learn and practice American Sign Language and to grow our familiarity with Deaf culture. Facilitated by hearing folks (with a connection to a professional interpreter) using Deaf-created content. People of all ASL skill levels are welcome! As we learn, we hope to connect more with the Deaf community in Central Ohio. Join us as you're able! Come regularly or just once - whatever you're looking for! Each meetup will explore different topics related to ASL/Deaf culture, and will feature time to practice conversation with one another. Just bring yourself and a willingness to learn!

Columbus Code & Coffee is excited to partner with GiveBackHack to put on the Healthtech Impact Sprint from 3/28-3/29 at Rev1 at The Peninsula! RSVP here using promo code CODEANDCOFFEE: https://luma.com/tk2jdrxk This is a health-specific version of GBH’s traditional weekend event. Participants pitch, research, and prototype health-focused projects for a chance to earn to $5K in funding from The Columbus Foundation and IGS Energy. On Saturday, folks will pitch their idea, form teams, and build. On Sunday, they’ll finalize their pitches before showcasing their work to the community and judges. # ​Schedule ​**Sat, Mar 28** * ​​9a: Doors open & breakfast * ​9:30a: Kickoff and intros * ​​10a: Ideation session * ​​11a: Pitches & team formation * ​​12p: Working lunch * ​​2p: Mentor visits * ​​5p: Free work (optional) * ​​9p: Doors close ​​**Sun, Mar 29** * ​9a: Doors open * ​10a: Mentor visits * ​​12p: Showcase * ​​1p: Final pitches & awards * ​​2p: Wrap *** # ​ FAQs ​**Do all ideas have a chance at getting funded?** ​​Not all ideas will move forward after initial pitches on Saturday. Once pitches are complete, we’ll vote for top ideas and form teams around the 4 – 7 ideas with the most votes. You must recruit **at least four total team members** (including the founder) to move forward and have a chance at getting funded on Sunday. If your idea doesn’t move forward, you can join another team! ​​**Do I have to submit my idea online prior to the event?** ​​Unlike previous years, we don’t have the option to submit your idea online prior to the event. Instead, everyone will be going through a brainstorming exercise on Saturday that’ll help you prepare for your initial pitch. ​​**Will we be working for 24 hours straight?** ​​Nope. The event is split over two days. You’ll be building on Saturday and pitching on Sunday. ​​**Do I have to pitch an idea?** ​​Nope. You can also simply join a team. ​​**What types of entrepreneurs does GBH support?** ​​While GBH most often works with technology startups, we support *any* organization (for- or non-profit) that makes an impact on health in the US or across the world.

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 **Abstract** Web Forms gave .NET developers a powerful abstraction for building reusable UI controls long before design systems were a thing. Web Components finally bring that same idea to the browser natively. This session explores how the Web Forms mindset translates into Custom Elements, Shadow DOM, and HTML templates. We’ll examine how Web Components enable design systems that work across frameworks, how they differ from server‑driven controls, and why they’re becoming a foundational layer for modern UI. Whether you’re maintaining legacy apps or building greenfield projects, you’ll leave with a practical understanding of how to apply familiar patterns in a modern, standards‑based way. **YouTube Link** [https://youtube.com/live/fD2cYeKp_UU?feature=share](https://youtube.com/live/fD2cYeKp_UU?feature=share)

**The Data-Driven Brand: Using Analytics to Shape Perception** Can you use analytics to improve tacos? This being CBUSDAW, we think the answer is probably “yes”, but we’re not sure how to implement or test this theory. For our April meetup we’ve got Sara Kear, CMO of Condado Tacos, to investigate this delicious question. Sara will explore how she blends quantitative data and qualitative customer feedback to shape brand positioning and drive business decisions. We all know that marketing and analytics go way beyond attribution. Sara will show how Condado uses customer insights to inform product and pricing strategy. She’ll also highlight how Condado leverages customer feedback at scale to influence operational priorities, positioning marketing as the voice of the customer across the organization. In the last 12 years Condado has gone from one location in Columbus to 52 locations across 10 states, so we’re guessing there’s more to that growth than really good guac (though the guac probably helps). Ultimately, this talk focuses on the intersection of art and science—using data to inform creativity and build a brand that resonates with customers in a measurable way. **About Our Speaker** Sara Kear is Chief Marketing Officer at Condado Tacos, where she oversees brand, restaurant design, menu and pricing strategy, off-premise including catering, and customer data strategy. Since joining in 2021, she has helped grow the brand from 19 to 52 locations while building a data-driven marketing organization focused on loyalty and customer insights. Condado has since been named to the Inc. 5000, recognized as Breakout Retailer by Chain Store Age, and consistently ranked among FastCasual’s Top 100 Movers & Shakers. Thanks to our 2026 sponsors: [Clarivoy](https://www.clarivoy.com), [What Box Consulting Group](https://www.whatboxconsultinggroup.com), [Conductrics](https://www.conductrics.com), and [Piwik PRO](https://piwik.pro) More info at [cbusdaw.com](https://cbusdaw.com)

Central Ohio Radio Enthusiasts—CORE—is an informal community for anyone enthusiastic or curious about radio—whether you're new to radio and want to learn or you've been tinkering for years and want to share. Ham radio operators, GMRS users, Meshtastic fans, software-defined radio nerds, makers, and technical and non-technical folks are all welcome. No experience required or expected. This month we have **WiFi HaLow: Introduction and Practical Use** with **Alex Barbur**. Details are are [core.radio](https://core.radio).

**TBA**

Builders, creators, architects, admins, consultants - come one, come all. This one's for you. We're bringing a little friendly competition to the Columbus ServiceNow community while highlighting the cool things people have built on the platform. Five presenters will take the stage to showcase something they've built, solved, designed, or imagined on the ServiceNow platform - and a panel of judges (plus YOU, our amazing audience) will score them live. So basically, America's Got Talent but make it ServiceNow's Got Talent. Bring a notepad if you'd like 'cause you'll definitely be learning something new. Each presenter gets 10 minutes max to wow the crowd with: • A demo • A real-world business solution • A bold idea • A UX transformation • Or a creative use of the platform Judging Criteria: 🏆 Business Value 🚀 Innovation ✨ User Experience This event is about celebrating ideas, sharing knowledge, and showing how ServiceNow can drive both business impact and meaningful user value. Come learn. Come support. Come get inspired. Refreshments and bites will be provided. And maybe next time… you’ll be on stage.