The Distillery District put up a gorgeous decorative tree last week. While some are saying this is a “tradition” in honour of  “Christmas,” we think it’s equally likely that the neighbourhood is getting festive in preemptive celebration of TED x Women, which is taking up residence in the ol’ DD on Thursday, December 5th.

Organised around the theme << Invented Here >>, thinkers, speakers and artists from a range of disciplines will gather with attendees to learn, mingle and shmooze the night away. We’re most excited about:

Hannah Alper: she’s been called the future of social media, a change-maker and eco-warrior. She’s probably also been called a butthead by her siblings, because she is TEN. In the grand tradition of Tavi Gevinson, young changemakers are so inspiring to meet and humbling and awe-inspiring to learn from. Go Hannah!

A talk called “The Secret to Health is in Your Poop”: I mean, it honestly sounds too good to be true. We’re real poop-chat enthusiasts over here, and who wouldn’t want to learn how to live better in general?

Jennifer Moss on the epidemic of smiles: This sounds like one of those TED talks you are basically forced to share with your friends because it makes you smile and think and (if you’re us) cry cry cry with happiness at the possibilities in the world. The study of positivity is a worthwhile endeavour.

Artist and activist Ilene Sova will speak about “The Missing Women Project”: We’ve been following Ilene’s work and career for years. In her ongoing series,”The Missing Women Project,” Ilene paints portraits of women who’ve gone missing in Ontario between 1970 and 2000—many of whom struggled with mental illness and life on the street. Her work is haunting, beautiful and raises important discourse on issues surrounding marginalized women in Canada.

The conference will be held from 11:30AM to 5:00PM, followed by a cocktail reception that will run from 5:00PM to 8:00PM. 

More info can be found here.