Bridgeland’s Celebration of Normie Kwong Park

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by Deb Lee, Heritage and Beautification Committees

Saturday, October 19 could not have been a nicer day. The park – located at 4 Avenue and 9A Street, was looking pretty. We were gathered to celebrate the unveiling of the plaque for Normie Kwong Park.

Deb Lee, BRCA Heritage Director, was MC and introduced the guests and speakers. Normie Kwong’s four sons, Greg, Martin, Brad, and Randy, as well as other family members were present. Our Ward 9 Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra brought greetings from the City and Kyle Ripley spoke on behalf of the Calgary Parks Department. Deb Lee shared the story of Normie Kwong, who was born in Riverside to Chinese immigrant parents, who owned and operated the Riverside Cash and Carry grocery store on 4 Street NE. Normie was a strong athlete who went on to excel at football. He was a key player on four Grey Cup championship teams, achieved 30 CFL records plus many other outstanding athlete awards. In the decades after football he married, raised a family, was successful in business, and made significant contributions to Calgary’s sports organizations. He was very philanthropic, and helped bring the Flames to Calgary. In 2005 he was named Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.

Two of Normie’s sons spoke at the ceremony. Randy told us how proud his dad would have been to have a park in his childhood community named for him. Greg shared that his dad had been mentored in his early days by another local athlete, Bobby Kromm. Bobby, whose parents were German immigrants from Russia, played hockey and went on to be an award-winning coach for teams such as the Trail Smoke Eaters and the Winnipeg Jets.

After the formal part of the celebration, there was time for lots of conversation and music was provided by Andrea and Paul Lau. We enjoyed some tasty food, coffee, and cold drinks. Thank you to Spolumbo’s Catering, Bridge 15, and Bridgeland Market for your support.

The naming for this park started with a Beautification Committee project in 2020, to better understand and encourage people to seek out and enjoy our local parks. To accomplish this, our parks needed names. We followed the City of Calgary’s guidelines for naming, sought feedback from community members and submitted names for ten parks, with eight names being approved by City Council in 2023. The two other parks are being saved for special Indigenous naming. Thank you to those participating in the Park Project working group: Jana Lait, Deb Lee, Laura McLeod, Sarah MacDonald, Allan and Lucia McIntyre, Maria Schmidt, and to all the residents who provided input that guided the naming.

For making the October 19 event a success, we thank Lynda Valliere, Lucia and Allan McIntyre, Craig Rice, Judy Hubbard, John McKee, Alissa Farnher, Kyla Morrison, Janet Pittis, Deb Lee, Bertina Burger, Phyllis Dunphy, and Celine Jaquemet. We couldn’t have done it without your help!

Thanks also to Marr, Virri, and Jordy from M2 Designs for designing Normie’s beautiful plaque. To Mike O’Brien, with Outdoor Museums and former Bridgeland resident, thank you for fabricating the plaque (Mike also supplied the plaques that have stood at the South end of Tom Campbell’s Hill for 30 years). Thank you to City Parks staff for ongoing maintenance of the park and for installing the plaque.

Be sure to visit the Normie Kwong Park to see the plaque and learn of Normie Kwong’s many contributions to our city and beyond.

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