On Sunday we headed to Wayne Gretzky’s to give cookies to the hockey fans waiting outside all morning for a good spot to watch the big game – Canada vs America. The showdown everyone was waiting for. After losing to the USA during the semi-finals Team Canada was not going to let that happen again.

The fans here are a passionate group, and Janet and I personally got to experience just how intense they can be with their love. As we turned the corner to park the truck they cheered for us louder than we could have ever expected. And when we announced that we had free cookies for everyone, they managed to somehow cheer even louder. We knew at that point that this was going to be a really fun crowd.

As Janet went down the line giving cookies to the excited fans I documented the experience, and groups of friends proudly showed off their cookies right next to their Team Canada jerseys for pictures. Here is one of my favourites:

What made this day all the better was the fact that Canada did manage to win the game, our game, and brought the Gold back home. I thought the crowd at Gretzky’s was hardcore, but they were actually pretty tame compared to the street party that broke out after Crosby scored the overtime goal that ensured Canada broke the gold medal record.
Hockey fans, thank you for welcoming Redpath’s Acts of Sweetness with such excitement, we hope to meet you all again!

I remember where I was when I first learned about the earthquake in Haiti – leaving a Mexican restaurant on a beautiful resort just a few hours away from the crumbled nation. Until I arrived back home and opened a magazine with a photographic essay I had no idea of the true magnitude of the disaster.

We often feel so overwhelmed by such a devastation that we can get lost in hopelessness, but during such times there are always those rare people who rise up in the face of tragedy. Susana Molinio is one of those people. She decided that you can make a difference with sugar, flour, the resources at hand and a strong community.

Susana woke up the morning of the earthquake and instead of sitting around feeling sad about what happened, she choose to take action and raise money for Haiti. She wasn’t sure how she to do this at first, but in the end she decided on the best way she knew how – a bake sale. As a mother of two and the co-chair of her children’s parent council, Susanna had been a part of many bake sales in the past and knew just how successful they can be. She settled on cupcakes as a simple staple and immediately started spreading the word throughout her community.

After contacted a few friends the plan was put into action. Over thirty bakers were excited to participate and worked away in their various kitchens making the cupcakes, including the successful Toronto Bakery Desmond and Beatrice . Through Facebook and Twitter word of Cupcakes For Haiti spread quickly.

Saturday January 23rd arrived like any cold Toronto winter day, but on Susana’s front lawn, hearts were being warmed. Cupcakes (and some brownies and blueberry muffins) went from $2.00 to $437.50 a piece (from some extremely generous buyers), and by the end of the day Susana’s bake sale had earned over $10,000. This amount was matched by the government of Canada, bringing the grand total to over $20,000 but the efforts didn’t stop there. She felt that the impact they made with the bake sale was good but was only a small step towards the large amount of money Haiti needs to get back on their feet. She decided that the next step towards reaching it would be a recipe book, and from there the Cupcakes For Haiti recipe book was born.

We were lucky enough to be invited in to take a behind the scenes look at the photo shoot for the recipe book, and had the opportunity to meet the great bakers that made it all happen. We interviewed them about the process and were even invited to taste test any of the cupcakes we wanted – they were all delicious.

This was a great opportunity to see what the people of Toronto are truly capable of, and to see baking making an impact to better our world. This was a true act of sweetness, and its impact will definitely be felt for years to come as Haiti continues to rebuild and these amazing bakers continue their efforts to support it. Haiti may no longer be all over the news but we should not forget about the devastation that remains and all the help that is still needed.

To keep up with Cupcakes 4 Haiti stay tuned to our YouTube channel where we will be featuring a segment with the wonderful Susana and a recipe from the upcoming book. For more information on the recipe book you can visit the Cupcakes For Haiti Facebook fan page.

Last weekend we took the Acts of Sweetness truck to Barrie for Winterfest. This was an exciting event with all kinds of different activities.

I tend to not be a fan of winter, the constant cold and painful wind, the grey skies and early darkness, lack of sunshine and so forth make me wish it would go by faster every year. So the interesting thing about going to Barrie for Winterfest to me, was just how much fun it was purely because it was winter. I can’t remember feeling so much excitement about being outside in the snow since I was a little kid.

This is exactly the kind of event that I wish more towns would have during winter. There was so many great things to do and see. This was my first time seeing dog sled rides in action and it looked like so much fun. They are so graceful and fast, and so perfectly trained. The ice sculptures were beautiful and the ice maze was my favourite part. There was woodcutting and snowmobiles and the lake was iced over so anyone could walk or skate on it. There was a slide made out of snow! There was even a little carnival set up with fair rides and food stands. As if that wasn’t enough – helicopter rides.

Events like this break up the monotony of winter and bring people outside. If my town had something like this when I was growing up, I might have grown to look forward to winter rather than count down the days till it is over.

Great job Barrie. Thanks for welcoming us into your event and showing us how friendly your city is. Look forward to going back again.

While changing the calendar the other day it hit me that February is here – which generally means winter is at its worst, and the novelty of snow and colder weather activities has worn off for most of us. Despite the majority of the population wishing winter was over now, we know we live in Canada, so six more tedious weeks of dreary grey skies and wind that burns your face are still to come.

Here at the Acts of Sweetness headquarters we have fought against the winter blues by giving out free cookies at events around the GTA. It is an initiative we are very proud of and we hope we can start a sweetness revolution here in Toronto, where instead of ignoring each other people start helping each other out.

It doesn’t take much to make someone’s day, as our program continues to prove. Something as small as a free cookie manages to light up a child’s face and take some of the cynicism out of the spirits of the average Torontonian. You don’t need to have a lot of money to give back. It is about acknowledging people and doing what you can. The little thing’s in life are the most important.

So this is our call to action. What have you done recently to help your fellow neighbors? Has someone helped you out in an unexpected way? We want your stories. Nominate yourself or someone else and the sweetest acts will be featured on our website. Submit stories to me at lisa@actsofsweetness.com or Janet at janet@actsofsweetness.com.

Hope to hear from you soon!

The wagon rides have been a tradition at High Park’s Winter Fun Day for over twenty years now.

Horses weren’t the only animals joining us, there were llamas there as well. This was my first time seeing one in person. They are rather shy but very friendly creatures.

Towards the end of the event it started to rain, which definitely slowed down the crowd as everyone looked for shelter, but we had our Redpath umbrellas so we didn’t mind. Someone even asked us if we had any Redpath umbrellas for sale!

Overall it was a great event filled with lots of young families. This was actually my first time being in High Park as I tend to stay downtown probably more than I should. It is an incredibly beautiful park that reminded me of New York City’s Central Park, and I actually wish I lived closer so I could spend more time in it.
We plan on touring this bus all year-long so to all you High Park dwellers, we will be back next year. Please come see us again.