Our story

Hi, I'm Diego

I'm Diego Arnedo, an artisan and dad of three in Montreal. My grandfather comes from a small village in La Rioja, in northern Spain, where espadrilles have been stitched by hand for generations. For twenty years, through my company, Diegos (diegos.com), I've been documenting this tradition and keeping it alive, bringing the original, real espadrilles from the village to North America and around the world. I also teach espadrille making at universities and colleges across Quebec, including UQAM and the Université de Montréal.

Diegos is a tiny family business, and so is Freeyo. It's really just me and my wife Gabrielle, a team of two. We're not a big company. We're dedicated, a little thrifty, and we love espadrilles, going out and having fun, without spending a fortune to do it. It's sad to see how many people stay home these days because going out costs too much. That's why we do this.

The idea

Why I built Freeyo

Every now and then I'd stumble on something wonderful by pure chance: a big free party for kids in a park, a free festival in the Old Port. Each time I thought, "Really? I had no idea!"

Montreal is packed with people and things to do. It hosts around a hundred festivals every year, and on any given day there are free concerts, workshops, parks, pools and classes all over the city. But most of us never hear about them.

That's because most of what you find online is what you pay for. The people with money to advertise show up first. Free things are just hard to find.

So I built Freeyo: the place to find everything free in Greater Montreal, on a map, so you can see what's free near you today or plan ahead. No tickets, no hidden costs.

The best part

You can add your own

Finding free things the city offers is great. But what makes Freeyo special is that anyone can add something free. Teach a ballet class in the park, juggle for an hour, invite people to see your art, or hand out free tastings in your shop from 4 to 6. If it's free, it belongs here.

Family

A little shout-out

My son Esteban is a young gymnast and a budding YouTuber. He'd be thrilled if you checked out his channel, Acrobateb:

youtube.com/@acrobateb

He's also always hunting for fun new things to try, which makes him Freeyo's best tester.

Join in

Share something free

Know something free? A class in the park, a Scrabble night, a craft circle? Post it. It's free too.

Diego