User Group

***UPDATE -* Rescheduled to May 19th** \#\#\# 🏛️ ROM Museum Evening Visit & Social 📅 ⏰ **5:45pm - 6pm** 📍 **Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Toronto** Join us for a relaxed evening exploring the **Royal Ontario Museum** and connecting with new people in a casual, social setting. We’ll meet at the entrance and head inside together to explore select exhibits at our own pace—perfect for art, history, culture, and science lovers. This event is ideal if you: * Enjoy museums and cultural experiences * Want to meet new people in a low-pressure setting * Prefer small-group, meaningful conversations **Event Plan** * 5:45 PM – Meet inside the ROM ground floor (Near the Large Dinosaur) * 6 PM – Explore the museum together * 7:45 PM – Dinner at Mogouyan Hand Pulled Noodle (optional) **Important Notes** * Free Museum admission ticket is **included** in the meetup event fee. (You must provide your contact to the host for the Free ticket OR obtain your own free ticket from ROM website) * Please arrive on time so we can enter together. If you are late, you can text or call the Host to find the group. ✨ Come curious, come friendly, and enjoy a cultural night out in Toronto! **Event Fee** $3.99 (includes free ROM entry ticket) **Cash** \- In person when you arrive at event **Etransfer** [themoja@outlook.com](mailto:themoja@outlook.com) (use password **meetup**) **Credit Card** - [Click here to Pay](https://buy.stripe.com/00w5kD1dac4SaUk1hT0oM01) (via stripe) **Exhibits:** \- 1st Floor \- Special exhibit\, China\, Korea and First People \- 2nd Floor \- Dinosaurs\, Birds\, Bio\-diversity\, Rocks\, Natural World \- 3rd Floor \- History & Being Legendary exhibit \- 4th Floor \- Wildlife Photography of the Year *\*We may charge a small fee to help cover platform costs and to make sure people who sign up are committed to attending. It also helps us keep hosting more quality events in the future.*

**Learn to see the system, not just the problem** ​Complex challenges rarely live in one place; they span teams, touchpoints, and invisible connections. ​This session is a hands-on introduction to systemic design: an approach that combines systems thinking and design to help us better understand and work within complexity. In this interactive, learning-by-doing session, you’ll explore how systems thinking and design come together to tackle complex organizational challenges. Instead of jumping straight to solutions, we’ll step back to see the bigger picture - uncovering relationships, identifying patterns, and finding leverage points where thoughtful design can create meaningful impact. ​You’ll work through a practical case, collaborate with others, and leave with new ways of thinking about problems that don’t have simple answers. **👉 To secure your spot, please register via [Luma](https://luma.com/lqfccdiw):** https://luma.com/lqfccdiw (*Meetup RSVPs don’t guarantee a seat*) ​**What you’ll learn** * ​Core principles of systemic design (interconnectedness, leverage points, human-centered thinking) * ​How to map systems and uncover underlying dynamics * ​How to identify patterns and opportunities for intervention * ​How to move from complexity → clarity → action ​**Who this is for** * ​Designers who are tired of surface-level problem solving * ​People who jump to solutions (you know who you are) * ​Anyone curious about how ideas *actually* come together * ​Professionals who want to nerd out, experiment, and learn by doing ​ ​**Format** ​This is a **hands-on workshop**, not a lecture. Come ready to participate, think visually, and collaborate with others. We’ll have pizza and pop — come hungry :) ​ **Agenda** ​5:30 – 6:00 pm \| Arrival \+ settle in ​6:00 – 7:30 pm \| Workshop session ​7:30 pm onwards \| Stay back and connect **Location** ​Career Centre Lounge (Room 287), Rotman School of Management ​105 St. George Street, Toronto ​**In collaboration with Rotman’s Business Design Initiative (BDI)** ​Led by [Emma Aiken-Klar](https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-jo-aiken-klar-phd/?utm_source=luma), with Service Design Drinks Toronto ([Shivika Sood](https://www.linkedin.com/in/shivika-sood/?utm_source=luma)), this session explores systemic design in a hands-on, practical way. [Service Design Drinks Toronto ](https://linkedin.com/company/sddtoronto?utm_source=luma)is a community of practice - a space to learn, experiment, and connect through service design in an open, accessible way.

Join us for a fun **Tuesday evening** of interactive trivia (for a chance to win a prize) and make new friends in the city! 📅 **When:** Tuesday\, May 19\, 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:**[ \[Sign up Here\]](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/toronto-event-hub-x-pizza-rustica-trivia-tuesday-social-mixer-in-may-tickets-1988425687759?aff=meetup) ✅ Limited spots, so reserve your seat on Eventbrite! Check all of our events at [https://www.torontoeventhub.com/](https://www.torontoeventhub.com/)

https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/8/b/f/600_466702719.jpeg Be part of a supportive community of regular people looking to improve their wellness, shed a few pounds and have some fun! Come to our introductory class and learn about our effective and informative 5 week program! Lose up to 10 lbs** in 5 weeks and have the opportunity to win prizes for losing weight! Best of all; learn how to keep the weight off! • Weekly Nutrition Class • Weekly Weigh-in • Personal Wellness Coach to help you! • Support and Motivation • Learn how to keep the weight off! ** As part of a healthy lifestyle you can generally expect to lose around half a pound to 1 pound per week!

Practice and improve your English through conversation at St. Andrew's Church in downtown Toronto, while making new friends! \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **How to Get to the Event**: By TTC, exit at St. Andrew Station. Walk west on King St. West to Simcoe St. Do not enter through the church building; the large church front doors will be closed. At the corner of Simcoe St. and King St. West, turn south and walk on Simcoe St. Enter through **St. Andrew Centre**, behind the church building. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- If you have feedback, suggestions, or concerns about our program and events, please feel free to use our **[feedback form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdp9OY0GJULxQILkqa06zZEU0Fkh4jxMjvE36uaVizaK6dBGw/viewform?usp=header)**!

Looking to play at Eglinton Flats this Tuesday. Hopefully it isn't super packed or anything.

Come meet your people! We're a loose crew of tech hobbyists, coders, tinkerers, AI nerds, Linux geeks, self-hosters, and general wizards of the weird and cool. No agenda, no slides, no sales pitches. Just good conversation over drinks. Pull up a stool, tell us what you're building, breaking, or obsessing over lately. We want to hear about your home lab, your AI experiments, your side projects, your rabbit holes. All skill levels welcome, curious beginner or grizzled sysadmin, there's a seat for you. **Drinks are on you. Good conversation is on us.** See you there!

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/xwjDdVSw3E **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.

**Boss Ladies Networking Event** **Seats are limited.** **Registration required : https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/boss-ladies-tickets-1988939412323?aff=oddtdtcreator** **Every woman carries the power to lead, inspire, and create impact — because every lady is a Boss in her own way.** **Join us for an elegant evening of professional networking, meaningful conversations, and powerful connections with women from different walks of life.** **Come grow your circle, share your journey, and connect with ambitious, inspiring ladies in a highly professional and positive environment.** **✨ FREE EVENT** **☕ Hi-tea and snacks will be provided** **📍 6345 Dixie Road, Unit 302, Mississauga** **🗓 Thursday, May 21** **⏰ 5:30 PM onwards**

Python Toronto is back! Join us for our May meetup at the **Thomson Reuters office at 19 Duncan Street, Toronto, ON M5H 3H1 on Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 6:00pm!** If you are interested in giving a talk, we'd love to have you! Please fill out this form – [Submit a Python Toronto talk](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfpNKB0Sbs893xp72M4TxmYGrTyLm4Nh1SSXnCqChP9mx6_9A/viewform?usp=header)! Talks are typically short, typically 5 to 10 minutes, and up to 20 minutes if you've really got something to say, and on any topic that would be interesting to a room of Python people. This can be a Python library that has helped you, a research paper you've enjoyed, or an interesting application of AI. The Python meetup is a casual, community-oriented meetup hosted by companies that use Python in Toronto. Talks are short, informal, and sometimes ad-hoc. Space is limited! Register now to hold your spot. **When / Where** * When: **May 21, 2026, 6:00pm to 8:30pm.** * Where: **Thomson Reuters Office - 19 Duncan Street, Toronto, ON M5H 3H1** Come early to enjoy **snacks** and **drinks** provided. **Code of Conduct** Python Toronto is dedicated to providing a welcoming, harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment of any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for this venue, including talks, workshops, parties, Twitter and other online media. Meetup participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the meetup (without a refund where applicable) at the discretion of the meetup organizers. Please email elaine@eswong.ca to report any issues.

**🎤 Friday Night Karaoke Meetup – Hot Dogs & Harmonies! 🌭🎶** Ready to kick off your weekend with music, laughs, and maybe a surprise showstopper performance? Join us for a fun and low-pressure **Karaoke Night Meetup** on **Friday, May 22!** **📍 Event Details** Karaoke starts at **8:00 PM** Nick will be there a bit earlier to grab a spot and welcome everyone **🎟️ Event Link:** [https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/free-event-hot-dogs-harmonies-tickets-1985944730148?](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/free-event-hot-dogs-harmonies-tickets-1985944730148?aff=ebemoffollowpublishemail&ref=eemail&utm_campaign=following_published_event&utm_content=follow_notification&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eventbrite) **🎶 What to Expect:** * A relaxed, welcoming vibe—no pressure to sing unless you want to * Great performances (from polished to gloriously off-key) * A fun crowd that appreciates both talent and enthusiasm * Hot dogs and good times included Whether you’re ready to belt out your favorite anthem or just want to enjoy the show, this is a perfect casual night out. **👍 Good to Know:** * Feel free to **just show up**, even if your schedule is up in the air * Come solo or bring a friend—everyone’s welcome Grab the mic… or grab a seat and cheer others on. Either way, it’s going to be a great night 🎤

Call on 416-938-2223 to find me :) -Ritik

***¡¡¡ Pura Vida !!!*** Come alone, leave with friends! This is what Meetup is all about. Being able to join and do what you wanted to do . . just not alone. We are going to Costa Rica for 9 nights/10 days of exploration and tropical adventures. . . . **Best Meetup ever!**! To see how fun it is . . . Here are photos from when we did go before [https://photos.app.goo.gl/cswRyeNZp1r6WW9t9](https://photos.app.goo.gl/cswRyeNZp1r6WW9t9) Costa Rica is a playground for the adventurous and an eco-tourist's dream! It is an unspoiled tropical paradise. * Beautiful beaches * Rainforest biodiversity * Misty volcanoes * Roaring rivers * Lush jungles * Exotic flora and fauna * And more!! **And we are going there to enjoy it, learn about it and make memories of a lifetime!** This event is a true Meetup. We are creating it from scratch, and bringing like-minded people together on this adventure. Along the way making lifelong memories and friendships. Together . . . let’s make a Meetup to remember! * Hike around the base of the Arenal Volcano * Selvatura Zip Line Canopy Tour * Guided visit to Finca Luna Nueva Farm * Caño Negro Refuge Tour/Visit * Rio Frio Wildlife Refuge Boat Tour * Hanging Bridges Walking Tour * Ecotermales Hot Springs * Monteverde Night Walk Tour * Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Tour (daytime) * River Floating Tour * Tamarindo Beach * Sunset Sailing * Snorkeling Tour * And more! For a detailed Day By Day itinerary **[Click Here](https://forms.gle/cQdqYw74gAYqphXX8)**[ to fill out our info request form](https://forms.gle/cQdqYw74gAYqphXX8) **Land Tour cost $3350 per person, double occupancy** (we match roommates for those traveling solo, and most of us are doing just that). If you want your own room: **Solo occupancy additional $950** The only way to secure your spot for this meetup is a $300 deposit that is refundable up to 90 days before departure. **[Click here for secure deposit link](https://www.paypal.com/instantcommerce/checkout/24X2UREP9XPKC)** When you make a deposit be sure to fill out this [ATTENDEES FORM](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/11uywUNCIB5ONrpZ-gU_4mk3bvpc4p_nhhL3ewsbkC5A/edit)**.** As we mentioned, . . . the cost is $3350. This is for the "Land" portion only. Airfare is not included. This gives you the flexibility to have a flight with timing that works best for you. Or to use points/miles. I can also help arranging your airfare. To receive an offer, **[CLICK HERE and send me a message.](https://secure.meetup.com/messages/?new_convo=true&member_id=14363992)** **What is Included in this trip:** * **9 Nights hotel accommodation** * **9 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 2 dinners.** * **Meet & Greet at the airport.** * **Pick-up from airport to our hotel, and hotel to airport at the end of the trip** * **Transportation throughout the trip** * **Private naturalist English speaking tour guide** * **All entrance fees and tours mentioned in the itinerary day-by-day description** * **Daily water bottles for the group** * **Hotel and Added Value Tax** Does not include: ***x*** *International Airfare* ***x*** *Meals other than specified* ***x*** *Optional Tours* ***x*** *All items of personal nature (telephone calls, Laundry, room service, etc.)* ***x*** *Tipping for tour guides and drivers* **Want more info?** **[Click Here to fill out our info request form](https://forms.gle/cQdqYw74gAYqphXX8)** **OR** **RSVP to the event with your email to receive additional info.** **OR** **[CLICK HERE to send me a message](https://secure.meetup.com/messages/?new_convo=true&member_id=14363992)** Whatever is easiest for you! *Still have questions?* **We do a Q & A Zoom once a month.** **[CLICK HERE](https://www.meetup.com/moretoexplore/events/296044209/)** for our Q & A Zoom. RSVP on that event to get a reminder for the zoom. [Click here for the ](https://www.meetup.com/moretoexplore/events/305233138/)**[MAIN ](https://www.meetup.com/moretoexplore/events/288444641/)[location of this event on Meetup](https://www.meetup.com/moretoexplore/events/305233138/)** RSVP there to post any discussion and to get notice of any comments and discussions. As well as any updates and reminders **We believe in good decent social.** **SOT 2000318-10** **[Click Here to see all our other events](https://www.meetup.com/CulturalArts/Events)**

We’re excited to bring the community together for an evening of learning and connection. This time, we'll have a community member from Chainguard sharing a use case and, as usual, an Elastic employee sharing their expertise as well. Come support your fellow developers, learn something new, and meet others who are passionate about search, observability, and security. **Date and Time:** Tuesday, May 19th, from 5:30-7:30 pm EDT **Location:** Elastic Arlington Office - 4100 Fairfax Drive, Ste 500, Arlington, VA 22203 **Agenda:** * 5:30 pm: Doors open; say hi, grab a seat, and eat some food. * 6:00 pm: The SBOM Pile in Your S3 Bucket: Turning Bills of Materials Into a Risk Dashboard; and Watching It Shrink with Chainguard, by Mike Barreta, Senior Manager, Engineering at Chainguard * 6:30 pm: Q&A * 6:40 pm: **Agentic Observability: Next-Gen Alerting and Auto-Detected Significant Events**, by Jason Rhodes, Senior Manager, Software Engineering at Elastic * 7:10 pm: Q&A * 7:20-7:30 pm: Networking & refreshments **Talk Abstracts:** **"The SBOM Pile in Your S3 Bucket: Turning Bills of Materials Into a Risk Dashboard; and Watching It Shrink with Chainguard**" Most organizations now generate SBOMs because someone — EO 14028, a FedRAMP auditor, an ISSM — told them to. They land in an S3 bucket, get versioned, and are almost universally never queried. This talk is about what happens when you finally do. I'll stand up a self-contained Elastic stack, pour in SBOMs (SPDX), SLSA provenance, Sigstore signatures, Grype vulnerability scans, the CISA KEV catalog, and OpenVEX adjudication for 30 container images, and show the queries that only become possible once SBOMs stop being compliance artifacts and start being telemetry: which packages I actually run right now, which CVEs are real exposures versus VEX-suppressed noise, what swapping a stock image for its Chainguard equivalent would buy me, and how much of my CVE list is just stuff I inherited from the base layer. Then the cleanup. The same dashboards on Chainguard images show what disappears when the SBOM is small, the signatures verify, and the advisory feed is active: \~9,000 fewer CVEs and \~2.5 GB saved across 20 image pairs, KEV exposure dropping from 7 hits to 0, compliance pass rate going from 0% to 76.5% against NIST 800-218 / FedRAMP Moderate / SSDF. **Bio:** Mike Barretta leads Chainguard’s public sector solutions engineering team, focused on helping ensure the federal government receives its fair share of the future. Barretta has worked across civilian, defense and intel programs in a variety of roles—software developer, data scientist, solution architect—for a variety of organizations—system integrators, consulting companies, software vendors—with the common purpose of creating and championing technologies and techniques for simplifying the extraction and utilization of information from lots of data. Having witnessed the ever-increasing threats to those systems, Barretta is now focused on methods and mitigations to secure them **Agentic Observability: Next-Gen Alerting and Auto-Detected Significant Events** We're rebuilding Elastic's alerting engine to make alerts more flexible\, more powerful\, and more valuable as data\. Next\-gen alerting rules will run anything ES\|QL supports and capture whatever fields matter to you\, so alerts carry the context you need for real downstream analysis\. And if you'd rather not manage these rules yourself\, AI agents can help\, drafting them from natural language\, recommending tuning and configuration changes\, and reducing noise through deduplication\. On top of this, we're also building a new Significant Events system which automatically builds a continuously updated knowledge base of your incoming data's own metadata. Using this deep understanding, our agentic tools will detect significant events from log patterns, anomalies, and predicted behavior — without you having to create a single rule. **Bio:** Jason Rhodes is a software engineering lead at Elastic, where he works on alerting and observability features. Based in the DC area, he has over 15 years of experience in software development and has been an active contributor to the local tech community — creating and organizing Baltimore NodeSchool and charmCityJS. When he's not writing and reviewing code, he's probably watching too many movies. **Parking:** * The building’s parking garage is operated by Colonial Parking and is located off N. Randolph Street * Book a spot on[ SpotHero](https://spothero.com/search?kind=address&latitude=38.8818514&longitude=-77.1095268&search_string=4100+Fairfax+Dr+%23500%2C+Arlington%2C+VA+22203%2C+USA) * A Metro Station is located across the street

Join our new group’s third meeting. Meet fellow tech enthusiasts west of the beltway. ​Because our group is new, we have a poll for the direction we want to take this new group. ​[https://submatrix.net/article/Meetups/e9ym4fr8Ca](https://submatrix.net/article/Meetups/e9ym4fr8Ca) ​For this event, we will be running a working meetup. ​Our meetings are a great place to work on and show off what you do. We are always welcoming. ​Our format is great for people who have started on but not finished one or several side projects. ​We will start off with basic introductions and what we are working on and what our goals are. We’ll break the rest of the meeting into two working sessions. In between, we’ll do a quick check-in to see how folks are going. If the RSVP is full, come anyway. We'll likely have space.

**Studio 151 Learning Lab: Photography Foundations Series — Lighting Basics** Photography starts with light—but understanding how to actually *use* it is where most people get stuck. This session is designed to simplify lighting in a way that makes sense for real-world shooting. Instead of a traditional lecture, we’ll learn through curated video content, pausing to break things down, ask questions, and connect it to real studio work. You’ll see how lighting works, talk through it as a group, and then have the chance to explore it hands-on. *** **What We’ll Cover** * Natural light vs. studio light (and when to use each) * Simple one-light setups that work * How light direction shapes your image * Creating clean, consistent results *** **What to Expect** * Guided video learning (watch + pause + discuss) * Real-time breakdown of concepts in plain language * Hands-on opportunities to experiment * Open networking with other photographers * Snacks will be available, bring a bagged lunch if you like! *** **You’ll Leave With** * A clearer understanding of how light works * Simple setups you can try immediately * More confidence in any shooting environment *** Free to attend (limited spots)

Most AI meetups end up as just networking. **We’re different.** At **AI Tool Explorers Night \| Connect & Make New Friends**, you’ll: ✨ Walk away with a *real learning nugget* (a tool, workflow, or strategy you can use immediately) ✨ Connect with people who share your curiosity for AI, productivity, and automation ✨ Enjoy a fun, casual setting where new ideas and friendships spark naturally 👉 **Our promise:** every session delivers structure, substance, and takeaways you can use when you get home. ### 📅 Event Flow * **6:00–6:15 PM** → Arrivals & intros * **6:15–6:45 PM** → AI demo / learning nugget * **6:45–7:00 PM** → Q&A and group discussion * **7:00–8:00 PM** → Networking & contact sharing ⚡ Please hold networking until after the presentation so we can all learn together. Plenty of time at the end to connect and exchange cards! **Let's explore AI Tools that actually *work* in our day-to-day life!** *** #ChatGPT #Claude #Grok #Gemini #Perplexity #DeepSeek #NotebookLM #Cursor #GitHubCopilot #Replit #Windsurf #v0dev #Lovable #Zapier #Makecom #n8n #Descript #OpusClip #Synthesia #Runway #Sora #Kling #Veo #PikaLabs #LTXStudio #AdobeFirefly #Vidu #Hailuo #LumaDreamMachine #Wisecut #Elaiio #Capsule #Filmora #Gling #Magisto #AdobePremierePro #ElevenLabs #Suno #Udio #Soundraw #Riffusion #Mubert #BeatovenAI #AIVA #Loudly #SplashPro #Soundful #MagentaStudio #WavTool #MakeBestMusic #BandLabSongStarter #TadAI #EcrettMusic #Midjourney #DALLE3 #CanvaMagicStudio #NotionAI #Gamma #Fathom #FirefliesAI #MLX

Laser tag with the GLTech community

First event! Let's get together and set some ground rules for the group. 21 and up for this event.