Creativ Festival

I have been going to the Creativ Festival in Toronto since it started. Well, ok I missed the first year but have been going every year since and have gone to most of the Spring shows since they started having them as well. It means I have been goings for around 28 or 29 years now.

The Spring Creativ Festival is not as big a show and it doesn’t offer the classes that the Fall Creativ Festival has. The spring show normally means that I can spend a bit of time walking through the event show floor and see some friends that I sometimes only see at these events. The spring show also has been at the International Centre which is further than going downtown where the fall show has been held. The fall show has been at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for quite a few years and it is very easy to get to for people that transit either by TTC or GO transit. It also has a hotel attached to it and quite a few other hotels and many food options within a short walking distance from it.

The Fall Creativ Festival was an event that I did enjoy attending because when it offered classes it meant that I got the opportunity to learn a lot of different things. I have taken lots of cross-stitch and needlepoint classes as well as knitting and crocheting classes. I have tried some scrap booking, spinning, quilting and jewellery making as well because I wanted to try these various things. The classes that were offered gave me a chance to actually try out of the different crafts to see if I enjoyed the various crafts.

The Spring Creativ Festival does offer a few hands on quick 45 minute sessions but you really don’t get the opportunity to learn like you did at the Fall Creativ Festival. I always enjoyed the classes at the fall show as they varied in length from 1 hour to 6 hours and were also for various skill levels.

I went to the Spring Creativ Festival this year and walked around the show. It is a show that I can normally do in under 2 hours and that has been normal for the last few years. This year I actually completed the show in around an hour and a few of the booths that I wanted to see weren’t there so that meant I didn’t spend much money at the show. Sure I picked up a kit for a shawl but other than that I walked out of the show disappointed because the things I wanted to pick up weren’t there this year like they have been in the previous years.

Over the last few years I haven’t been taking as many classes at the fall show as there weren’t as many classes that interested me. Maybe after 15+ years of classes it was time for me to take a break from attending as many as I was taking. There were years that I would have 30+ hours of classes in just over 4 days which left minimum time for any shopping on the show floor. Last year I actually didn’t take any classes and I really didn’t miss that. Maybe I have needed the break from classes and also there weren't the classes that caught my attention after they got rid of the instructors I loved.

This year the Fall Creativ Festival is going to be up at the Toronto International Centre which means there aren’t the hotels within a quick walking distance from the show. Sure, parking is free at the International Centre but there have been a lot of people that have come into Toronto to attend the show and have stayed at the hotel. I am not sure how the show is going to work this year because it is going to be harder for people that live out the east of the city to get to the show.

I estimated that for me to get across the city during rush hour would take around 2 hours using public transit. I didn’t figure it out on the Saturday until writing this entry and it actually is a bit shorter at 1.5 hours each way which is still more than double what it takes to get to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. I don’t live at the outskirts of the city either so I am wondering how long it would take other people to make this trip. I have determined that I doubt I'll be taking classes if classes are offered because it just really isn’t worth my time.

At least I know that the cost of taking all of the classes that I have in the past isn’t going to be part of this fall. I have learned a lot through taking all the classes that I have in the past. The friendships that I have made will last a lot longer than the classes did and I have had the opportunity to meet some wonderful instructors along the way as well. Some of the instructors are now friends and that makes me very happy.

I will go to the Fall Creativ Festival to look around the show floor but I doubt I'll be taking any classes if classes are offered this year. I liked the idea of the show being in two different locations because it meant that different people benefited from the locations. Now if you live out the west end of the city and drive you are the lucky ones for both of the shows. For the ones that have travelled to Toronto to attend the show and for us that live out in the east end of the city we aren’t so lucky. I hope the Creativ Festival does well but I am aware that there are a few people that have also said they won’t be taking classes if any are offered as it is too hard to get to the show where it is going to be this fall.