Here's something to check out this week-end.
The Calgary Foundation is partnering with the Calgary Public Library and the Federation of Calgary Communities to host Jane’s Talk – a film and discussion exploring the legacy of urban writer and activist, Jane Jacobs. The feature film, Urban Goddess: Jane Jacobs Reconsidered considers the livable city; an issue that directly impacts the quality of life of Calgarians.
To read more about Jane Jacobs click here.
March 5 to March 29
EPCOR Centre +15
Peep Show blurs the boundaries between entertainer and entertained in a way that is both impulsively humorous and unsettlingly carnivalesque. Hundreds of anthropomorphic eyeballs dangle in the window, watching the passing parade. These ridiculous and unnerving objects put the viewers on the spot as the pupils fix upon the viewer, twisting the subject/object relationship into a "who sees who" game. Peep Show creates an absurd carnival of role shifting between performer and performance, which is discomforting, beguiling, and irresistible.
The +15 Window Project is located in the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts +15 pedestrian walkway, 235 - 9th Ave SE
For more information about the +15 Window Project Space Submissions or Programming, contact the gallery at TRUCK.
CBC Radio 3 is holding a contest to find THE BEST music festival in Canada. The BEST. And our Centre City's own Sled Island music festival (running this year June 30 - July 3) is on the list of nominees - and so it should be! But now it needs to be recognized as the best. Just this month, Sled Island organizers have confirmed these guests for the upcoming festival: The Melvins. THE MELVINS!!!!! (do you understand me better when I yell this? Good!) Les Savy Fav, Girl Talk...this is craziness - there was a day, you know, when these bands - bands like these bands - just wouldn't bother coming to our city. Calgary was never even on their radar. Sled Island has changed all of that.
**(Sled Island poster from last year)
Just think of how stupendous it would be if this festival were to grow even more. To become a destination festival would be great not only for its organizers and music acts but also for Calgary tourism. We used to have to travel elsewhere if we wanted to see these bands. Now they come to us. This is a very big deal. And there's so much good news still to come from Sled Island. Make sure to watch their blog for more "leaks" on upcoming guests.
Wouldn't it be great for us to give a little to them now as well (which in turn gives back to us - the musical boomerang effect)? Please go here and vote for Sled Island - let Canada know we host the best music festival. Today is the last day to vote and well, if we ask you nicely, would you mind doing that one little thing? Please? Let's own the podium in music festivals here in Calgary's Centre City.
How well do you know your Centre City? We've been trying out this new game here on the blog where every Monday, we post a section of a photograph taken from somewhere in the Centre City (click here for parameters). The photos are meant to be a little more difficult for people to figure out, thus the title "Hidden Centre City". We're looking to show off some unique aspects of design, architecture and style found within the CC area. The photos will be from places we might not always get to in our day-to-day travels. But the hope is, we might inspire people to get out there and explore our Calgary a little more.
Here's the full photo from last week:
Mike guessed correctly - this giant bronze turtle taking flight in front of Bankers Hall is Irene Whittome's work and it's called A Tribute to Life. When we asked about details of the piece, we discovered that the artist drew inspiration from Aboriginal mythology. The turtle in its emerging-from-the-land pose is meant to show a connection between earth and animal.
And now here is our clue for this week's location:
Now...if you think you know what and where this is - good for you! But not so fast...this time, we're looking for details/perspective/location on this one. Leave us a comment if you think you have the answer. We'll give the full answer next Monday. Thanks for playing along.
(books photo by BabblingDweeb)
One of the best ways to inspire change; to get people really fired up to embrace their city and make it the best it can be, is through books. Reading a book takes an investment of time and in doing so, the reader then is more likely to take ownership of some ideas - to share them, to act on them, to add to them.
So starting this month, we thought we'd be a little nosey with our colleagues on the City of Calgary's Centre City Implementation and Urban Design teams. We asked them to share with us the titles of the city-minded books they are currently reading -- books that help them with their approaches to developing an even better Centre City.
Our first responder was David Plouffe. He's the Acting Executive Assistant for the Director of Land Use Planning and Policy. He actually was kind enough to supply us with several titles but the first one we're featuring is: Civic Tourism: The Poetry and Politics of Place by Dan Shilling. David explains:
Author Dan Shilling encourages communities to "reframe" tourism's purpose, from an end to a means -- from a market-driven growth goal to a tool that can help the public preserve what they love about their place. Shilling encourages communities to ask, "Why do we do tourism?" Are the comings and goings of guests little more than a backdrop for a growth policy that pays slight attention to its costs and consequences? Or can you imagine tourism as an enabler of healthy place-making, as a means to provide the sense of purpose and connection more people seek?
If you're interested in finding out more about this title, you can check it out here. And we wanted to mention to you - if there are any city-aware books that you have come across that you'd like to share with us, we definitely want to hear from you. Leave a post when you can with a short description of what the book is about and why it has had an impact on you.
The West LRT project will mean more freedom for Calgarians, better traffic flow and increased transportation sustainability (check out the City's amazing video of the plans here). This new 8 kilometer line will connect the Centre City with the westerly part of our city (all the way to 69th Street SW) via two major routes. And did you know the last time a light rail transit line was built in Calgary was before the '88 Winter Olympics (the University line)? That's a long time ago. Calgary has grown exponentially since then and this West LRT line will be a welcome addition upon its completion. Here is The City of Calgary's dedicated website to the West LRT project - it's a great place to keep up to date on lane closures, suggested alternate routes, building timeline info, and all other news surrounding its construction.
Now about those traffic headaches surrounding the West LRT build..here are a few things you can do to prevent them:
1/ Plan ahead by reading up on the West LRT site for the latest on road closures - plan for delays especially during peak hours. Keep in mind westbound Bow Trail is down to two lanes until fall 2011 and in mid-March, 17th Avenue S.W. will be reduced to four lanes - two in each direction until fall 2011.
2/ Find alternate routes and share them with friends - in doing so, maybe you could start up a carpool group in your community to help reduce the number of cars on the roads. You could aim to leave later or earlier when heading to work or school so that your commute is not during peak travel time.
3/ Check out Twitter when you can for updates from real commuters. When we did a quick search of "West LRT", quite a few posts came up. As the days progress in this project, there will surely be more frequent, regular updates from fellow drivers and cyclists. Maybe you'll find great ideas for alternate routes this way.
4/ Speaking of bikes...dust yours off! Ride, run, walk when and if you can.Take the bus a few days a week - leave the headaches to someone else.
5/ Stay informed - sign up for updates on the West LRT website.
6/ Keep in touch here. If you have any tips you want to share with fellow commuters heading in or out of the Centre City while this project is going on, leave us a comment. Maybe we can get a productive dialogue going here as well.
It's Hidden Centre City time so put on your sleuthing caps. We're trying out this game here on the blog where every Monday, we post a section of a photograph taken from somewhere in the Centre City (click here for parameters). The photos are meant to be a little more difficult for people to figure out, thus the title "Hidden Centre City". We're looking to showcase unique aspects of design, architecture and style found in the core. The photos will be from places we might not always get to in our day-to-day travels within the Centre City. It's meant to inspire us all to get out there and explore our Calgary a little more.
Here's the full photo from last week:
(photo by Sherlock77)
This is part of St. Stephen's Anglican church on 1121 - 14th Avenue, S.W. - this is such a great building and the lush ivy (in the summertime!) is so lovely to look at.
Now on to our clue for this week... ...any guesses? Leave us a comment if you think you know what and where this is. We'll post the answer next Monday.
(Louise Station Project photo by Dean Bicknell, Calgary Herald)
It's official - the City of Calgary has opened an affordable housing tower in the Centre City. This is great news for Calgarians in need. People with disabilities (there are 11 wheelchair accessible units) and also lower-income families will benefit from the housing tower at the Louise Station. The 22-storey, 88-unit facility came about thanks to a partnership between both the private and public sector (LaCaille Group, The City of Calgary and the Alberta Government). The building also houses an EMS station (AHS EMS), a fire station, two commercial retail units and market housing units.
To find out more detail about this building, you can click here and here. And if you're interested in checking it out yourself, it's located at 872 - 4th Avenue, SW.
The Centre City is sporting its first, spiffy new outdoor map! Since the weather was kind enough to cooperate this week, the City had a chance to put up the first new and updated sign.
You can see it up close and in person at the NE corner of 3rd Avenue and 7th Street SW in Eau Claire. Here's what the new map looks like:
What you will see on these new maps: Bow Tower, Eighth Avenue Place, and much more!
The City of Calgary's Plus 15 Coordinator, Ray Ference, is overseeing the new map project. He says the remainder of the signs (there are 14 in total) will be updated over the course of the next three weeks, weather permitting. So keep your eyes peeled for these improvements in the Centre City and let us know what you think.
And hey, here are a few links to some other resources to help you explore the Centre City:
- The Plus 15 walkway system is currently equipped with interactive maps of downtown Calgary, with a building locator and information locations. Pick-up a pocket version at the Municipal Building.
- Log onto Calgary.ca, Calgary Downtown Association, Tourism Calgary or Discover Calgary- Use Google Maps or Map Quest
Remember these?
1. Design from London-based ARUP and Falco Schmitt Architects
2. Design from Vancouver-based Buckland and Taylor Ltd. along with Victoria-based Kitchell
3. Design from Paris-based RFR and Calgary-based Halsall
These are the three finalists in the competition to see which design will be used in building a new bridge at St. Patrick's Island over the Bow River.
Tonight (Feb. 25th 6 - 8:30 p.m.), the three groups will gather to present their concepts and also to answer questions. It's an open house but with limited seating so if you're interested in hearing what they have to say, send an RSVP to rsvp@calgarymlc.ca to see if there are any spots.
If you're just interested in reading more about the projects and also in seeing mock-ups of the proposed bridges from different perspectives, you can click here. And if you'd like to read the latest about the St. Patrick's bridge development, click here.
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