Rene Trim's weekly arts & crafts round-up: January 2

** 2015 Living Locally Fair (Russell) ** The Russell and District Horticultural Society takes credit for the (to my knowledge) first fair of 2015. On January 17, the Society organizes its annual “Living Locally Fair”, a one-day event that’s all about local foods and other products that go in or on your body, as well as environmentally friendly ways of living. The event was launched in 2009 and – although still predominantly a food event - has since branched out to include a group of local artisans in a variety of disciplines such as painting, pottery, knits, woodworking, re- and upcycled products, and weaving. Admission is free although donations for the Food Bank are gladly accepted. The event is held at Sir Thomas Aquinas High School, 1211 South Russell Road, Russel from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday 17 January. ** Fun with Knitting & Crocheting ** The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte Is offering a series of workshops in crocheting and knitting throughout the months of January and February. Whether you are a beginner or a more experienced knitter or crocheter, the instructors will have just the right project for you! For more information on these 2-hour workshops, please visit the Museum’s website here .

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In case you’d forgotten, this is what winter is supposed to look like. Painting by Cosbie Fine Art.[/caption] ** Tie the Knot ** ‘Engaged and getting ready to plan your wedding? Here’s an event you don’t want to miss. On February 21, 2015, the second edition of “Tie the Knot” – the Urban Ottawa Wedding Show – will take place at the Museum of Nature. If you are an urban, modern, trendy and hip engaged couple or if you’re simply curious about the wonders and excitement of weddings, this is the event for you. Not your typical wedding show, “Tie the Knot” aims to be an interactive experience that lets you taste the food, hear the music, smell the flowers and see the fashion. Think cool. Think trendy. Think urban glam. For more information and to buy tickets, please visit the show’s site here . ** Promoted Pins on Pinterest ** As per January 1, Pinterest is giving advertisers the option to promote their pins via paid “boosts”, expanding on a test program the site launched earlier this year. The so-called Promoted Pins will look like regular “pins” (images which Pinterest users post - or “pin” - to their boards but will include a tag that informs users that the pin is promoted by a company.

Pinterest was created in 2010 and now claims to have more than 70 million users. It lets people create, collect and share photos by “pinning” them to their boards. People can also search on Pinterest for specific tags, such as “travel” or “recipes.” The site has been valued at $5 billion.

According to Pinterest, the test results that came back from its brand advertisers such as Nestle, Kraft, Expedia and General Mills were so promising that it has decided to go ahead and open up the program to all of its advertisers. Brand advertisers saw a 30% bump in “earned media” - free impressions gained by users posting the Promoted Pin to their own boards - as well as a strong user engagement (as the average pin is repinned 11 times)

Users will be given the option to filter out the ads after they appear by clicking an “X” in the lower-right corner of the pin. Companies will be able to pay to promote any pin and target pins based on users' location or sex and specific tags or topics, the New York Times reported.

With the program, Pinterest creates its first major vehicle for making money, following in the footsteps of other social-media sites such as Instagram, Twitter and - of course - Facebook. ** Promote your event on OttawaStart.com ** Lastly, a shameless plug for the site you are currently visiting. If you have an event coming up - be it a show, an open house, a workshop - why not give it the publicity it deserves by adding it to OttawaStart.com’s event calendar ? I do it all the time for the OVCC events (April 25/26, folks - speaking of shameless plugs..!). It’s fast, it’s free and it’s guaranteed to draw attention - so what’s keeping you? Check it out here: http://ottawastart.com/start/ _ Well, folks, that’s all for 2014 - I wish you all a healthy, happy, prosperous and creative New Year! _