Hot Tubbin' For Justice

My friend Julie and I attended the v. 26 of the Pecha Kucha Vancouver series titled: Women Transforming Cities .  The Vogue Theatre was ram jammed with people - yep I said people. While the audience was mostly made up of women I was pleasantly surprised at the number of men attending this session. Our seats were fairly high up but we got a clear view of the stage. A band called Onelife was playing and they were great!  The line up of presenters was really eclectic and I was excited to see the evening unfold. I have never been to a pecha kucha before - the format is 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each so each presentation is just over 6 minutes long. The evening started with a bang with Ellen Woodsworth. A former city councillor and founder of COPE she asked us all - what is your dream for an idea city for women and girls? She was followed by Chantelle Buffie and Sonam Swurup - two young and passionate firecrackers who were described as having "private sector brains" a

So after a whirlwind tour of Eastern Ontario we head to the Ottawa Marriott, our home base for the next 4 days. Inside the hotel, it feels like it did in Halifax. Everyone is back from their study tours from around the country and the feeling is electric and exhausted. We have a couple of hours before we have to meet downstairs to head to Parliament Hill for dinner. The Peace Tower at twilight... Ah, hotel - I have a view of the tops of the Parliament buildings and the river. A far cry from the windowless shoe box in Halifax. It's really nice to relax , sleep in a real bed and stay in one place for a few consecutive days. Downstairs I meet up with O2 - wowee! What a fancy group of people! You can tell we're all happy to have new clothes meet us in Ottawa since we've been wearing the same clothes for the past 8 days. The men are in suits and the ladies are all dressed up, hair and make-up done. It's a beautiful night and we're excited to walk to Parliament