CentreCity

Riverwalk Grand Opening

(photos courtesy CMLC website)

There's been lots of buzz so far about East Village's brand new RiverWalk but now it's time to formally celebrate it with a big grand opening party - and of course, we're all invited! Rock the Walk is happening this Saturday, July 30th between 12 - 4 pm.

A bunch of entertainment and activities are planned for the day. Musical guests include:

• Samantha Savage Smith
• Miesha and the Spanks
• Kris Demeanor and his Crack Band

Calgary's own independent artists market, Market Collective, will also be there to show off the work of more than a dozen local artists and artisans.

RiverWalk is a great addition to Centre City's East Village - it's an inviting promenade and cycling pathway which begins at the Centre Street Bridge and winds east along the river to the Simmons Building.

 

You can RSVP to the event by clicking here and be entered to win a Linus Dutchie Cruiser Bike.

Rock the Walk will be held in the RIverWalk Plaza, behind the historic Simmons Building in East Village, see map below. Run, walk, ride or blade to the event and experience the essence of RiverWalk.

 

New Poet Laureate Program In Calgary

We live in a city that thrives on progress, motion, design and limitless opportunities to express ourselves. It's a great thing we have here in Calgary and sometimes those feelings of gratitude and inspiration need a universal outlet - something like poetry - to tell the world what what we're thinking. 

Thanks to Calgary City Council's approval of a motion to establish a Poet Laureate, now we'll be able to share this perspective of ours in a creative manner that can reach all walks of life. 

This new Poet Laureate will compose and present poetry for official occasions and also work to raise awareness of local issues through select commissioned works. This individual will be an ambassador for the arts in Calgary. It's a two year position and funding for it comes through a grant from The Calgary Foundation along with five Calgary-based corporate sponsors. The Poet Laureate program will be developed and administered through Calgary Arts Development in conjunction with The City of Calgary. 

(Poetry books photo by chillihead) 

So The City's first poet Laureate will be appointed in January 2012 and will receive an honorarium to carry out their duties. 

For more information about this exciting new program, click here. 

And here's a map of some of Canada's Poet Laureates through the years. 

Who do you have in mind for our inaugural Poet Laureate? Leave us a comment if you can think of a Calgary writer you'd like to see take this position. 

Call for Submissions: Mayor's Urban Design Awards

The City of Calgary is on the hunt for new show-stopping design submissions. Does someone you know have an outstanding urban design concept, or is there a Calgary-based plan that has already been implemented somewhere that you think the world needs to know about? 

The Mayor's Urban Design Awards (MUDA) call for submissions' deadline is Thursday, September 15th (at 4 p.m. sharp) and the hope is to find a diverse and inspired roster of applicants. The goal of the awards is of course to showcase the powerful role that urban design takes in making Calgary a truly phenomenal place to live and visit. We're a city rich in great design and ideas - and it's wonderful that the Centre City and its surrounding area is home to much of that top notch style. 

Take a look at some of MUDA's past winners: 

The Calgary Zoo North Entrance – 2009 Winner, Civic Design Projects

Buro Block – 2009 Honourable Mention, Urban Architecture

 
Buro Block – 2009 Honourable Mention, Urban Architecture

Bankers Court – 2009 Winner, Urban Architecture 

The MUDA invitation is to submit entries in the following nine categories: 

1. Conceptual/Theoretical Urban Design Projects
2. Approved or Adopted Urban Design Plans
3. Urban Architecture
4. Civic Design Projects
5. Urban Fragments
6. Community Improvement Projects
7. Student Projects
8. The Mawson Urban Design Award
9. City Edge Development

Eligibility details and steps for submitting are available at www.calgary.ca/muda. 

The Mayor’s Urban Design Awards 2011 Gala will take place on November 2, 2011 at the new Telus World of Science.

MUDA is a co-operative venture between the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and The City of Calgary.  MUDA 2011 will serve as the qualifying event for the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) National Urban Design Awards being held in 2012.

 

 

Yoga On RiverWalk

Imagine being able to do your sun salutations and warrior poses outside bright and early on Centre City's glorious RiverWalk.

Starting tomorrow, you can do just that. You're invited to take part in a 75 minute Vinyassa Flow session in Calgary's East Village this Saturday, July 23rd. Meet up time at the RiverWalk plaza is at 8:50 and the class itself will be held outdoors on the beautiful new RiverWalk (directly behind the Simmons Building) at 9 a.m. 

This class, along with more Saturday sessions still to come are running all the way through to August 27th, are free thanks to Yoga Passage and East Village. 

Bring your mat, your wishes for sunny warm weather (classes are subject to cancellation if there's rain) and your best yoga spirit.

For more information on the Yoga on RiverWalk event, click here.   

Historic Calgary Week July 22 - August 1

Do you have a favourite old building in the Centre City that you plan to visit this week to help mark Historic Calgary Week? There's plenty happening to help showcase some of our most beloved bricks and mortar. Here's a list to help:

Old Y Historical Journey: Take a tour of the architectural gems in Calgary's Beltline neighborhood through the eyes of Calgary Heritage architect, Lorne Simpson. It's happening this Saturday, July 23rd, between 4-6 p.m. (at Old Y Building, 223 - 12th Ave. SW). The Old Y was built in 1911 by the YWCA and served as a temporary home to single women who were new to Calgary. The City of Calgary purchased the YWCA several decades later (1970) and it now serves as home for several non-profit organizations. This special architectural tour and talk is open to everyone and it's a unique way to explore your Centre City and get to know the stories behind the buildings that populate it.

(photo Old YWCA - HistoricPlaces.ca)

Chinook Country Historical Society: This organization is hosting a bunch of great events to help you uncover the history of your city. Their lengthy list of Historic Calgary Week events can be found here - some of the highlights include a walking tour of East Village, a lecture and walk through our old City Hall, a tour of Chinatown and a walk through Calgary's core to talk about some of the hotels in our city's past.  

Both Historical and Modern Calgary Walking Tours put on by TARA: These ongoing free 2 hour guided walking tours which take place in downtown Calgary every Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. from May through September. To read more about TARA and the tours they put on in our Centre City, click here. And you can book a tour by calling (403) 284-3731.

 

Musicians in Motion - the Folk Edition

Forget whistle while you work...how about whistling on your way to work instead? As part of Calgary Transit's Musicians in Motion program, through to Friday, various local folk music performers will be performing for you on the CTrain. 

Here's the schedule (copied from Calgary Transit's site) so you can coordinate your meetings and outings to perhaps coincide your morning transit ride with this great up close and personal entertainment:

Route 201--CTrain Crowfoot / Somerset-Bridlewood
Direction	Crowfoot Station	Lions Park Station	8 Street Station	7 Street Station	City Hall Station	Stampede Station	Southland Station	Somerset- Bridlewood Station
Southbound						9:29*	9:42	9:54
Northbound	10:51	10:38		10:31	10:25	10:22	10:10	9:59
Southbound	11:00	11:13	11:19			11:27**
* Performance starts at 9:29am. CTrain leaves Victoria Park / Stampede Station toward Somerset-Bridlewood Station. ** Performance ends at 11:27am at Victoria Park / Stampede Station.
Date		Folk Performing (In middle CTrain car)
Tuesday, July 19		New Country Rehab
Wednesday, July 20		Spiro
Thursday, July 21		Hollow Brethren
Friday, July 22		Morgan O'Kane

Route 202--CTrain McKnight-Westwinds / City Centre
Direction	10 Street Station	City Hall Station	Bridgeland Station	Marlborough Station	McKnight- Westwinds Station
Northbound	9:29*		9:40	9:48	9:56
Southbound	10:26	10:18	10:15	10:07	10:00
Northbound	10:34		10:45	10:53	11:01
Southbound	11:35**	11:28	11:25	11:17	11:10
* Performance starts at 9:29am. CTrain leaves 10 Street West Station toward McKnight-Westwinds Station. ** Performance ends at 11:35am at 10 Street West Station.
Date		Folk Performing (In middle CTrain car)
Tuesday, July 19		T. Buckley
Wednesday, July 20		Matt Masters
Thursday, July 21		Lauren Mann
Friday, July 22		Raleigh

This is a great way to promote local talent, our already wildly successful Folk Festival and frankly, we're pretty sure it'll put you in a great mood if you happen upon one of these moving concerts this week. Let us know if you did manage to take in a show on the CTrain - who did you see? What did you think?

What does Folk on the Train look like? We're glad you asked. Here's some video from last year:  

 

 

 

New West Fest Tonight. Be There or Be Square (dancing)!

If the thought of steer wrestling and square dancing down at the grounds make your dogs howl (that's your feet, over-tired from too much Stampeding of course) - then head on over to the Olympic Plaza starting at 4 p.m. today to check out New West Fest. It's an all-ages concert and live broadcast which is being put on by University of Calgary's campus radio station, CJSW and it's in conjunction with the Calgary Stampede, along with support from The City of Calgary. You'll hear heaps of great DJ sets, some comedy acts and maybe even some country music with a modern twist.

Here's the full schedule which was originally posted on CJSW's site:                                                                   

Bandstand Stage

4:00 PM-4:45 PM Lucid 44
5:00 PM-5:45 PM Samantha Savage Smith

6:00 PM – 11:00 PM Live CJSW Djs
6:00-7:15PM Sideshow Sid
7:15-8:30PM 8 Bit-Ninjia
8:30-9:45PM Track Bastards
9:45-10:00PM LotusQueen

Rope Square
7:00 PM Trash Island
7:30-7:45 Comedy: Don Wood
7:45 PM Sandy Cassels
8:15-8:30: Hula Dance Number: Daisy Deville
8:30 PM Lab Coast
9: 00-9:15 Comedy: Don Wood
9:15 PM PeAks

New West Fest is happening at Olympic Plaza today between 4:00 - 11:00 p.m. Bring the kids, bring your dancing shoes, get your music on! 

For more information on this event, click here. 

(photo taken at New West Fest 2010 by LiminalMike)

St. Patrick's Island - a Master Plan

Over the past few years, we've seen a lot of change afoot in our Centre City -- change which invites us to stay after work, to play here with our friends and family on the weekend and to reconnect with nature without ever having to get in a car.

A good example of this progress can be found in the redevelopment project at St. Patrick's Island. This week, a master plan for the 31-acre island has been unveiled. The island, which sits across from the East Village, has been the subject of much discussion and examination over the past year. And now thanks to Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and its extensive public engagement process, the St. Patrick's Island redevelopment project now has a clear vision of the direction it will take.

Upon its completion, one thing is certain: St. Patrick's Island will become a destination spot for us all, a cherished gem for Calgarians and also for visitors to our city . 

Key Themes

Based on Calgarians’ input, some key themes emerged for the development of St. Patrick’s Island:

• Avoid over-development of the island: maintain natural beauty while adding features to enhance interest and usability;

• Make the island unique: consider flexible and multi-use designs;

• Make it safe: address social and security issues, while ensuring amenities and programs are designed for safety;

• Make it an all-season destination; and,

• Provide balanced programming and amenities.

Some proposed core developments on the island include: restoring the lagoon between St. Patrick’s Island and St. George’s Island; building a beach area; designing a watercraft launching and landing area; incorporating nature trails and boardwalks; delivering festival and performance spaces; and informal picnicking and play spaces. (**text from CMLC website - click here to read more)

Check out this video below for a better idea of how the Island will take shape in the coming years and what Calgarians and the CMLC have envisioned for the future St. Patrick's Island:  

  

 Tell us what you think of the plans - leave a comment if you'd like! 

 

Calgary Underpass Guidelines Handed a National Award

Earlier this year, we shared a post with you regarding the Centre City's underpasses - about plans and ideas for making those underpasses better, brighter, more walkable (and ride-able) places (click here for that post). It turns out today, those Downtown Underpass Guidelines got some really big acknowledgement in the form of a national award! The City of Calgary received the Canadian Institute of Planners' (CIP) Planning Excellence Award in Urban Design for the Guidelines. It happened earlier today at the CIP National Conference in St. John's, Newfoundland. 

Approved by Council in November 2010, these Guidelines will be used to help The City with building and reshaping future underpasses in Calgary. It means creating more inviting space for pedestrians and vehicles alike, better lighting, public art, greenery, connectivity from one area to another; creating an underpass environment that people want to go to instead of avoiding or passing quickly through just to get to the other side. 

View The City of Calgary’s Downtown Underpass Urban Design Guidelines. And check out the illumination guidelines here as well. 

For more information on the Canadian Institute of Planners’ Planning Excellence Awards, visit their website.

And of course, a huge project in the Centre City which will implement some of these ideas is the 4th Street underpass that is currently underway. It is expected to be finished by the end of 2011. Check out the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation's great video interpretation of the project here: 

 

Land Use Bylaw Searching Made Easier

Check out this new tool just launched this week by The City of Calgary. It's an online, searchable version of the Land Use Bylaw. It means Calgarians can track down the information in a quick and easy manner. A Land Use Bylaw is used to: 

• Establish the structure for development permit decision making process.
• Implement Council policies such as the Municipal Development Plan (MDP), area redevelopment plans (ARP) and area structure plans (ASP).
• Affect the types of communities Calgarians live in by designating the uses and development that may be allowed on each parcel of land.
• Provide rules to guide uses and development on a parcel.

For more information about The City of Calgary's Land Use Bylaw, check out this link. And for the new online search tool, click here.