Hugs can brighten up a person’s day. Scientifically speaking, hugs have been shown to release mood-enhancing chemicals such as oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin. We’d like to consider this mission an exercise in scientific discovery, but let’s face it: we all just love a good hug. And we know there are many people out there who need one.

We walked around downtown Toronto holding colourful signs that read “Free Hugs”, calling out to anyone who would like one. Many people welcomed us with arms outstretched. For some, a single hug sufficed, while for others, it took many individual hugs or one big group hug.

Below is the video for our Free Hugs 2010 event.