Our November 29 event is live! Our tradition of celebrating all and yet none of the traditional holidays continues. We have three great presentations ready, plus trivia and ugly sweaters a plenty!
Presentation 1: “Watches, Clocks and Time” by Craig Fay
Comedian/Recovering Engineer Craig Fay talks about humanity’s ongoing quest to keep track of time. A project that spans from cave paintings to atomic clocks and has had some surprising impacts on history, language, fashion, culture and well…pretty much everything.
Craig Fay is a Toronto based comedian/recovering mechanical engineer known for his thoughtful and intricate stand-up performances. He has also built a dedicated online following where he talks about science and its frequent intersection with pop culture.
He has performed at the world famous Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, appeared on CBC Television as part of the Winnipeg Comedy Festival’s “Technology” Gala and is co-host of the long running and award winning podcast The Villain Was Right, where he and fellow comedian Rebecca Reeds defend the villains of TV and film.
Craig’s debut comedy album “Helicopter Rich” was praised as “observational and self-reflective…worth playing multiple times over” (Exclaim) with his sophomore release “Performance Review” being selected as one of the best comedy albums of the year by Paste Magazine. His third comedy album “World’s Deadliest Cat” was released in October of this year with the full, filmed special due out later on Comedy Bar Max.
You can follow Craig (@CraigFayComedy) on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Or just Google him. You’ll probably just Google him.
Presentation 2: “Inside Santa’s Workshop. Blinking purses, flying fairies, and remote control Batmobiles; the diaries of a Toy Engineer” by Vanessa Raquel Raponi
Ever wonder how thousands of toys make it to the shelf every Christmas, to bring joy into the eyes of little ones every year? Canada has its very own version of Santa’s workshop right in downtown Toronto – filled with very real adult humans bringing creative and innovative toys to the mass global market. As you can probably imagine, playing with dinosaurs, Rubik’s cubes and sensory sand compounds can come with endless fascinating twists and turns. Join Vanessa as she shares insights about working in the toy engineering world, her journey as a queer woman of colour navigating a male dominated industry, and how she got to where she is today.
Vanessa is a born and bred Torontonian turned Toy Engineer! Graduating with a dual degree in Materials Engineering & Management from McMaster University, Vanessa is now the Manager of Manufacturing Engineering at Spin Master – a Canadian founded kids toy company! She leads a team of engineers all over the world who bring toy ideas to life, from Paw Patrol to the Rubik’s Cube to Kinetic Sand, she’s worked on countless awesome products over the years. She’s also the founder of a national non-profit called EngiQueers Canada that advocates for inclusion in engineering, because diversity is badass.
Presentation 3: “Santa 101: The Jiggling Underbelly of the Professional Santa Industry” by Zac Kauffman
‘Insurance for Santa: What You Need to Know,’ ‘Santa and Sign Language,’ and ‘Designer Beard and Hair Care’ are just a sample of the informative seminars offered at various Santa Claus conferences across North America each year.
Standing at the intersection of camp and craft, consumerism, collective myth making, and yuletide LARP, we’ll explore the deliciously niche world of professional Santa Clauses, its ideological fissures, and some of evolving norms and standards within the community.
Born and brined in the tender ennui of suburban Toronto, Zac Kauffman is an audio storyteller, podcast producer, and aspiring grownup. He dabbled in farming and wilderness education before eventually moving to Jerusalem to work as an audio journalist. He has a stubborn belief that a microphone can be a passport to another soul and his stories have aired on NPR stations and the CBC. He plans on moving into a dreamy loft apartment above a croissant bakery with his two brilliant children and eco-start up founder husband, as soon as he meets them. Until then, you can find him wandering Toronto’s Annex neighborhood, editing podcasts, and generally trying his best.
TRIVIA presented by Nerd Nite Bosses Lauren and Virve
Yes, Virginia, there will be an ugly/creative Holiday Sweater competition. Bust out your coziest nerdery for whatever you celebrate this time of year!
Tranzac Club – 292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON M5S 2M7 Saturday, March 8, 2025 7:00 Doors open, 7:30 Start Tickets here https://www.register2meet.com/nerdnitemar2025 – $15 including HST
It’s true, we changed our minds and decided to continue Nerd Nite in Toronto. For now, we’re looking at twice a year.
On March 8 we’re celebrating the holiday that combines pastry and periphery… Archimedes and à la mode. Pi Day! We’ll have lots of pies available for a reasonable price per slice. You’re welcome to bring one! We’re insured!
Presentation 1:“The Toronto Circus Riot: A True Tale of Sex, Violence, Corruption and Clowns” by Adam Bunch
The strangest riot in Toronto history broke out in the summer of 1855, sparked by a brawl at a King Street brothel. When some rowdy clowns picked a fight with a battle-hardened crew of firefighters, they would quickly learn they’d made a terrible mistake. The circus performers found themselves facing off against Toronto’s powerful Orange Order in a bloody clash that revealed the fault lines that once violently divided our city.
Adam Bunch is the author of The Toronto Book of the Dead and The Toronto Book of Love, the host of the Canadiana documentary series, and the creator of the Toronto Time Traveller newsletter, the Festival of Bizarre Toronto History, and the Toronto Dreams Project. He teaches Toronto history at George Brown College and the LIFE Institute and his work popularizing Canadian history was recognized with the Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media — the Pierre Berton Award.
Presentation 2:“Healthcare at the End of the World: An evidence-based approach” by Dr. Ted Morris
When the apocalypse finally hits us, who will you turn to for your healthcare needs? Dr Ted Morris presents compelling evidence for including a veterinarian in your party as civilization crumbles all around you.
A veteran of the Canadian comedy scene, Dr. Ted Morris started his comedy career while looking for a way to blow off steam during veterinary school. His most recent achievements include the release of his long-awaited debut comedy album “Dawn of the Ted” , being insulted by Simon Cowell on “America’s Got Talent”, his 6th appearance at the Halifax Comedy Festival, 3rd appearance at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, a stand-up set and interview on Comedy Night with Rick Mercer on CBC, continuing his undefeated streak on CBC Radio’s “The Debaters”, a Gala taping at Just for Laughs Montreal which was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award and a Canadian Comedy Award nomination for Best Stand-up Comic.
He’s pretty funny. Even his cat patients think so.
Trivia will be presented by Nerd Nite Toronto regular and former speaker, Daniel Moneta
**If you’re interested in coming on board as an organizer, let’s talk! Email . To be clear, there’s no monetary profit involved — just the satisfaction of being the dot-connectors between a curious and engaged audience and delightfully nerdy content.**
March is always a weird and tough month (gotta love smarch weather and Daylight Savings Time!), but this one is particularly notable: we have a full year of the pandemic behind us. But, not everything is terrible! Look forward to Nerd Nite on March 25th and celebrate a little with two great talks!
Talk # 1: A fearful risk of explosion: Technology and failure in the British Empire by Dr. Ryan Patterson
The British Empire was not as universally competent as we tend to remember it (or fans of empire tend to claim). In this talk, historian Ryan Patterson will introduce you to the 1873 Anglo-Asante War, Britain’s first big push into West Africa, without discussing any fighting at all. The British forces brought an impressive array of cutting-edge technology on the expedition, believing that it would give them the edge over their non-industrial African enemies. Yet, one-by-one, each marvel of technology failed to work in the jungle.
About Ryan:
Dr. Ryan Patterson is a lecturer in history and research associate in disability studies at Carleton University. He studies race, environment, and technology in the British Empire, particularly the central roles that Victorian climate science and exhibition culture played in Britain’s conquest of African states. His publications include The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, the open access Carleton University exhibit Transnational Representation, and the forthcoming book Queen Victoria’s Wars.
Talk # 2: Star Trek vs Star Wars: Modern Perspectives on Past Future and Future Future Technologies by Shyaporn Theerakulstit
Fan fave Shy is back!
As the Singularity approaches, it is important to examine the technological and socio-economic patterns bringing it about. From Empire to Federation, we will compare the scientific advances of far away civilizations from a long time ago, with those exploring the final frontier. Pew pew
About Shy:
Shyaporn Theerakulstit is an actor, writer, YouTuber, cosplayer and general “nerd about town.” He has given talks on subjects such as Godzilla biology and how to become Batman at Nerd Nite, TEDx and the Smithsonian Institution. He has written and produced for Dark Horse Comics and is also the host of the science lecture series “Real/Fake Science.” His YouTube channel has over 5 million views.
Talk # 1: Resilience in the time of COVID by David Donaldson
Building on my TEDx, how do we remain resilient during a long-term, systemic disruption.
In October 2019 I delivered a TEDx on resilience. In it, we examined a bit of the brain science and looked at the 7 Resilience Muscles model as defined by The Resilience Alliance.
We are approaching 1 year of lockdown, 1 year of disruption, 1 year of needing to draw on our resilience muscles. Sprint vs. Marathon, in this Nerd Nite talk, we will look at how we need to approach a long term, systemic disruption differently than a short term, event disruption.
David is a professional facilitator and amateur nerd. An important arrow in his quiver is resilience. A certified Resilience Practitioner since 2017, these skills are essential both personally and professionally. While only working in the world of resilience a short time, David is proudly a long term nerd.
Talk # 2: To Nerds, With Love: An Elementary Teacher’s Reflection on Pop Culture and Fandom in the Classroom by Stephanie Cooper
Throughout Stephanie’s- aka Miss Cooper’s- 17-year-old teaching career, she has never failed to inject her fangirl enthusiasm into her lessons and extra-curricular activities with her students. In this talk, she will explain how she has observed a change in the nearly two decades since she began educating young minds on what fandoms are a hit with students, and how her multicultural bunch has responded to the diversification of characters in comics and movies. And as she is often known to do in everyday conversation, demonstrate how being a nerd is changing in its label and what activities have helped the next generation with understanding subjects and improving their self-esteem in performances from a Star Wars club and superhero group.
It sucks but due to COVID-19, we’re on hiatus until further notice. We love all of you nerds and can’t wait until we can see you again safely and in-person.
In the meantime, follow us on Facebook & Twitter for your fix of nerdiness!
