Information about club communication resources and meetings.
First, the google group. https://groups.google.com/g/esperanto-toronto-grupo This is our chosen format for an email distribution list. We post announcements there, and everyone subscribed to the list receives them. You can subscribe via the link.
You can also email the whole group. Just send your email to esperanto-toronto-grupo@googlegroups.com. Currently the group is not highly moderated. We haven’t had problems with spam so far. If we do, we will implement a moderation system to screen posts, but we haven’t felt the need yet.
If you only want to email the leadership of the club, not all the members, you can send a message to the club’s email address, esperanto.toronto@gmail.com.
Meetup
We use meetup.com to announce and advertise events. Historically this has been a good place to advertise for us and has helped us attract many new members and people getting casually interested in Esperanto. If you plan to attend an event, we encourage you to RSVP on Meetup. RSVPs encourage other members to attend, and help grow our events. Also, it is helpful to know if people are coming, in case the group moves around, which we generally do during our Social Meetings (see below).
https://www.meetup.com/esperanto-toronto/
Telegram
Telegram is a messaging app for smartphones, much like Whatsapp or Signal. It can also be used on a desktop computer. Telegram seems to be especially popular among Esperantists worldwide. We have a telegram group for our club, called “Torontanoj.” We use this frequently during events. So if you are showing up late and want to ask “Where are you guys?” this is the best method.
We have a Facebook group, although we don’t use it as much as we could. Posts by our members relevant to Esperanto in Toronto are always welcome.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1614834202095573
Twitter / X
Again, we don’t use this is much as we could. If you would like to manage the club’s Twitter account and make it more active, please let us know. https://www.twitter.com/torontanoj
Ongoing events.
Zamenhof-festo: Our club always has a party in the Christmas season, and usually it includes a general meeting of the membership and elections of club officers. This is typically scheduled on a Saturday close to Zamenhof’s birthday, Dec. 15.
Socia-kunveno: After a long pandemic pause, we are back to meeting monthly in person. We meet first at a coffee shop at 6pm, and then proceed to a restaurant at 7:30, with those present choosing the restaurant. This has been our system for a long time, and although it is a bit complicated going to two places, we find that it works best this way. It’s too hard to get everyone to show up at the same time to a restaurant on a weeknight otherwise. Currently we are having our meetings at the food court tables of the Loblaws supermarket at 60 Carlton St. It is quiet and although food and drink are easily available, there is not much pressure to buy anything if you prefer not to.
The socia kunveno happens once a month on a Wednesday night. We generally schedule it for the first Wednesday of the month. However, this is flexible, and if there is a guest visiting Toronto, we try to accommodate them by scheduling the meeting on a date when they can attend.
Esperanto Conversation for Beginners – This is a weekly get-together that has been running virtually for a few years. It has become something of a worldwide meeting, not necessarily limited to people in Toronto, but it is still managed by our club. We try to have at least one “host” for every meeting to make sure there is someone there to greet newcomers. If you’d like to sign up to host, here’s a spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EYMytYXAm92iWkTP8PiLHhs5dN8TPoobaCF-FMSrMVs/edit#gid=0
We are interested in recruiting a stable permanent host but are still looking for a volunteer for this role.
Other Repeating Events to be Aware of:
MeKaRo – Mez-Kanada Renktontiĝo is an annual long weekend get-together in Central Canada, generally alternating between locations in Ontario and Quebec. The Toronto club hosted it in Midland, ON, in 2023. Quebec is expected to host in 2024. In 2025, we are considering hosting it in Peterborough. MeKaRo is one of the largest regional Esperanto events in North America, and takes place every year on Victoria Day weekend in May. Information will appear on mekaro.ca.
ARE – Aŭtuna Renkontiĝo de Esperanto is another long weekend get-together, occurring over Columbus Day / Canadian Thanksgiving in October. It takes place in upstate New York, with the location varying year to year. It attracts a number of Esperantists from Ontario and Quebec as well as the Northeast US.
Paralela Universo – a one-day celebration of local Esperanto groups sees simultaneous events occurring in cities worldwide, typically including 20-30 groups. Our club in Toronto was central to founding this event and continues to put on an event every year. This takes place on the third Saturday of August.