I just returned from a week-long trip to Canada, with stops at Niagara Falls, Toronto, and Montreal. Unfortunately, the NHL didn't want to modify their schedule to conform with my vacation, so I missed out on any major sporting events. However, I still got to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, as well as as the AHL affiliates of the Senators and Canadiens play at the Bell Centre in Montreal. While I didn't get any sports autographs on the trip, I did manage to meet a well-known comedy duo while they were on tour in Toronto.
My girlfriend and I were looking for a late night place to eat and found a diner called Fran's across the street from a local performing arts theater. As we sat down for dinner I looked at the billboard at the theater and noticed that Penn & Teller were performing that night, but the show had started about an hour earlier. After our meal was just about finished, I noticed the theater crowd pouring out next door and didn't think anything of it until I saw a freakishly tall man with a beard and pony tail surrounded by a sea of people.
We quickly paid for our meal and found our way into the sea of people that had traffic blocked on a busy downtown Toronto street. I felt incredibly unprepared without a pen or sharpie to speak of, but fortunately both comedians had sharpies and were more than willing to take pictures and sign autographs with everyone that waited. After about 20 minutes, I made my way to the front of the mob and met Penn. The crowd for Teller was much more subdued, but he was just as friendly (and expectedly less talkative) and took a picture with me as well.
Since I didn't attend the show, I didn't have a playbill. Fortunately, I bought a few postcards of Toronto earlier in the day, so I had them sign one as a unique souvenir from my first international autographing experience.
Penn & Teller- souvenir Toronto postcard
