The CNOY Toque
What the heck is a "toque"?
The winter toque is CNOY's way of saying thanks to all walkers who fundraise $150 or more (for adults 18 and older), or $75 (for youth 17 and under). Wear your toque proudly on your head as a sign that you've accomplished some seriously impressive and impactful fundraising for your local charity.
...It's some kind of winter hat?
Yes! Some call it a beanie. Other people call it a stocking cap. There’s also knit cap, snookie, bobble, woolly, tossle, skullcap, chook... some even just stop at 'winter hat'. But in CNOY, we call it a toque.
Is this a prank? How do I even say this?
It's real, we promise! And it's pronounced tewk - rhymes with Luke.
The Tale of the "Toque"
A long time ago, in an ancient age before streaming and Instagram, when Rolling in the Deep hit #1, Steve Jobs introduced us to Siri, and Google+ took the world by storm, a handful of Canadians wanted to start a winter event to raise money for cool local charities helping people experiencing hunger, hurt, and homelessness. They called it the Coldest Night of the Year.
To thank the wonderful people who fundraised for the event, they brainstormed some swag ideas, and finally landed on the CNOY hat. Of course, being Canadians, when it came time to name this famous hat, they just went with the baffling local French-Canadian word they all thought was normal: toque.
Well, the name stuck, and now it’s part of the tradition: stepping out into that cold evening air just as the sun's starting to set, high-fiving your friends in the crowd, and cozifying your head using this weird word that sounds like an owl sneezing. (It’s even started the great toque debate: pom pom or no pom pom?)
So go ahead: keep on calling it whatever you call it when you're undercover as a regular person, but when you transform into a super-fundraiser for the Coldest Night of the Year, that's when it becomes a toque. And anytime you meet someone who knows what it means, you'll know you've found another fellow cool person who cares the same way you do.
Plus, it’s just fun to say. Tooooque! Tooooooque! Hoot it loud and proud while you’re walking. Because it’s cold out there.