Do You Need a Hug? Get One Tomorrow from the ‘Free Hugs’ Guy

The leader of the “Free Hugs” movement is coming to Tucson tomorrow, and he hopes you’ll be there waiting to get a hug. 

For the past seven years, Montreal-native Arié Moyal has been spending the holiday season traveling across the U.S. and Canada, spreading some much-needed love.

“Financial difficulties, family issues, seasonal affective disorder and social isolation make the holidays particularly stressful for many people, and sometimes the smallest things—like a hug—can make the biggest difference,” Moyal said in a statement. “I want to inspire others to spread some joy, and to know that doing small things can make a big difference in their communities.”

“The act of hugging lays the biological and structure for connection to other people. We need that more today than ever before,” he added.

This time around, Moyal, founder of “Hug Train,” made 30 stops in a trip that was scheduled to take nearly one month. The trips are funded through donations from friends, a crowd-funding campaign, and money Moyal saves throughout the year. 

Moyal will be in town Tuesday, Dec. 29 at the Amtrak station downtown, 400 N. Toole Ave., from 6:45 p.m. to 7:35 p.m. His train will depart at 7:35 p.m., headed to California.

This article appears in Dec 24-30, 2015.