Michael Shermer in Toronto
October 8th, 2009
I know it’s a week late but last Friday, CFI Canada hosted Michael Shermer at the University of Toronto.
It was a sold out crowd of 500 people which is great since Richard Dawkins only attracted the same amount a few days earlier. This should be a good indication that you should consult with CFI when hosting an atheist event since they have all the contacts and volunteers with the skills and experience needed to pack the house.
The talk was ok. It was a little bit stale since Shermer has given it a few times so most of it now available online from different sources. TVO had a recording team set up, so expect to find their show as well (although the tech guy was complaining about the lighting conditions and Shermer used a lot of videos so it might not have made a very good show for television).
Shermer is a really cool guy. He has a grassroots feeling to him and didn’t mind hanging out in a pub with a few of us before the event (he likes Kilkenny beer), compared to a few of our past guests who don’t look very comfortable in a campus pub (i.e. Ron Lindsay looking ridiculous drinking a martini in an Irish pub). The after party at CFI was equally successful except I got stuck serving the booze again (curse my smartserve designation) so I couldn’t have any fun but it was nice to see the place packed with new people and everyone seemed to be having a good time. A few ladies bought Shermer drinks (hoping to get lucky?) so he had a few glasses of cheap white wine in him by the end of the evening so all was good.
Special congrats to the UTSA for their good work. It was nice seeing some new people helping to host events.
