stampin4fun: On Stage Montreal

Whew! I just got home from an awesome several days in Montreal.

Stampin' Up! has an annual convention called On Stage and this year the live 2.5 day event was in Vienna Austria. There were one day local events in various locations in the other markets.

Two of the Team STIC girls went to Austria for the experience and had a great time.

I hooked them up with one of my German demonstrator friends (Siliva Werner) who was there and she was such a great mama hen to them. She made sure they got their photo with the top brass (CEO Sara Douglass) and invited them to join her team for dinner.

I had considered going to Vienna when they first announced that live location a year ago however now that I am a staff member with Stampin' Up! , I go where I'm told...;-)

I was told that I would be headed to the Montreal local location.

Perfect! Several of the Team STIC girls were headed to that location and I could use my French language skills. Yippee!

Here's a few pictures of the fun!

I arrived on Thursday and I had arranged to meet up with a few of my former classmates from the summer Explore French immersion program. They were so kind to meet with me and show me around a bit. Mai and Miguel were both students at McGill and knew the key things to do and see.

I had to try Bagels in Montreal (of course)

Thursday night I met up with the staff team from Stampin' Up! home office that I would be working with for the event.

Even though several of them were new to me, they were all welcoming and by the end of the weekend, it felt like I knew them forever!

All except two of them were bilingual so I just got into the habit of speaking whatever came out of my mouth. Sometimes French, sometimes English. I loved speaking and hearing French. Thursday night I was super tired but I couldn't go to bed until I had practiced my presentation for Saturday a few more times.

Friday morning we were up and at it bright and early to set up the event space and get ready for the Friday night leaders soiree and mingle.

I don't think I stopped moving all day!

From an empty hall to a beautiful, welcoming event space.

I loved mingling with the leader demonstrators at Centre Stage. I've always been a demonstrator attendee these special events but this time as a demonstrator development manager, I was extra excited to connect with demonstrators and hear about their stories, successes and challenges.

It was great to connect with so many!

I loved the expression of surprise and delight for those demonstrators that achieved Top Performer status and received a special gift at the leader check in.

As a staff member, I'm no longer eligible to be recognized as a top performer so I didn't receive the cute gift but I almost didn't miss it at all because I was so so happy for those that did receive it.

By the time I got back to my hotel Friday night I was exhausted and fell into bed. I worried I had used up all my energy before the big day actually arrived!

Fortunately I had a great night sleep and was ready to work on Saturday. The energy in the air was palpable! The last in person On Stage event was in 2019. Stampin' Up held some great virtual events but there was something about being back in person that made the energy electric!

Our staff t-shirts said "welcome back" or Great to see you again" in all the languages in the various markets.

Now I own a t-shirt with Dutch words!

I managed all my presentations and responsibilities without any major problems.

It was fun to stamp on stage!

We celebrated Stampin' Up! being in Canada 20 years!

I also got to meet some Team STIC girls I had only seen on zoom!

It was a great event, showcasing some great product from the upcoming mini catalogue (it's not too early to book saleabration and spring parties) but it was the room full of happy demonstrators that really made the event extra special.

It was a great gathering and I'm looking forward to doing it again in the future!

Thanks for letting me share my On Stage experience with you!

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