Torontonians aren’t that cold, even if we have to be given a reason before hugging a stranger. If you’re tired of handing over cash every time you simply want someone to gather you in a warm embrace, or you’ve collected so much money from selling hugs that you want to do some charity work, then luckily for you the Free Hugs Campaign has unofficially deemed September 10 International Free Hugs Day (one of many).......

WARNING: The following report may shock and offend some readers. The Toronto Hug Coalition, one of many local factions of the global Free Hugs Campaign, claimed full responsibility for Saturday afternoon's Hug Day uprising at Nathan Philips Square. Total strangers of all ages made eye contact, shyly said hello, and HUGGED each other while a band of young men called The Bicycles played indie pop music. Skating at the nearby rink was disrupted when......

While we vehemently disagree, many people believe Torontonians to be an unfriendly bunch: impossible to approach, quick to end conversations with strangers and constantly averting their eyes. This has been the motivation for a number of excellent projects like Loosen Up Toronto and a recent free hug event on Yonge Street, inspired by the original Free Hugs Campaign by Juan Mann. Toronto just can't get enough of the meme that keeps on giving, however: a......

From left to right (roughly): Vivian Li, Zoe Higgs, Matthew Corker, Melinda Montgomery, Adam Martin and Kerri (aka: Adam's girlfriend). While most people are uncomfortably hugging their relatives and McDonald's employees are still rolling their eyes when you ask for a free smile, six UBC students/Torontonians were out at Yonge and Dundas yesterday voluntarily hugging people. This epidemic is known as the Free Hugs Campaign and was started a couple years ago in Australia......