The Mónika Frías Story
A Behind-the-Scenes Story from Way Up North Florence
The Unexpected Challenge
Since 2015, Way Up North has experienced its fair share of behind-the-scenes moments – both amazing and challenging. While we often keep these stories to ourselves, today we’re sharing a special one from our recent event in Florence.
Learning from the Past
In our early days, we didn’t always handle line-up changes gracefully. We once made the mistake of drawing too much attention to a presenter’s withdrawal through a newsletter. Lesson learned: we now handle such changes more discreetly.
A Last-Minute Surprise
Fast forward to Florence. At 4:19 AM on the first day of the event, we received an email about a sudden line-up change. No blame assigned – we understand life happens. But now we faced a dilemma: extend a break, conduct on-stage interviews, or find a replacement presenter?
Enter the Hero: Mónika Frías
We knew Mónika Frías was in Florence with the Pic-Time team. Could she step in? Pic-Time didn’t hesitate to agree, but we still had to ask Mónika herself.
The WUNX Challenge
This wasn’t just any presentation we were asking Monika to deliver. It was a WUNX presentation – 10 minutes long, with 10 slides shown for exactly 1 minute each. A tough ask for even the most seasoned presenters.
To our amazement and gratitude, Monika agreed.
Going the Extra Mile
We wanted Monika to feel fully included, so we set out to create an intro video for her – a Way Up North tradition we take pride in.
We enlisted help from Mark Pacura of Wooden Banana to quickly capture footage of Mónika on his phone. Then, our brilliant editor Marq Riley worked his magic to create an intro video in record time.
In just a few hours, this whirlwind of activity came together. And when Monika took the stage? She absolutely nailed it.
The Power of Teamwork
This story exemplifies the team effort that makes Way Up North special. We’re grateful for these memories and the incredible people who make them possible.
Perhaps it’s time to share a few more of these behind-the-scenes tales. What do you think?
