I am feeling in a miscellaneous mood, and so what follows—in no particular order—is a miscellany of things that I think are fun about summer 2019, here in Bridgeland-Riverside.
Honeybees. For the past few months, I have been going back and forth with our friends at Benevity to make arrangements to host honeybees, provided through the Alvéole program, at BRCA. The short story is that Benevity wanted to support the honeybee program, but had no access to a roof, and so they approached BRCA. BRCA has a roof, but not much money—a match made in heaven! A hive of bees is now installed on the roof of the BRCA shed, and, in mid-June, Benevity also rented the Hall for a big kick-off event. The Alvéole program is as much about ecological education as it is about this particular hive itself. Check it out if you are wandering near the Hall. There should be some good informative signs to read. Or, right now: check out the honeybee visiting a chive plant in the BRCA rooftop garden, on the front cover of this issue!
Furbaniture. The McDougall Road project, linked with BRCA’s Beautification subcommittee, has now sprinkled “furbaniture” around the neighbourhood, as part of a temporary installation. These big objects catch the eye, slow the passer-by, and by doing these things create urban spaces. I had to laugh when turning off Memorial Drive onto 9 Street NE recently. I slowed (as intended) to look at the newly installed furbaniture (a big yellow “L”) near the corner, and had therefore had just enough time to read the small sign stuck to its side: “I am an urban space”. Indeed.
Carmon. We always have to write these articles about a month ahead of time. Just as I am writing this one, last month’s (June) Bridges arrived in the mail, with a picture of Carmon Blacklock—our Toole Peet Community Hero Award winner—on the cover. Depicted behind Carmon is grass-covered courtyard, the site of Carmon’s winter skating rink. Other than that photo of grass in the background, that photo and this entry really have nothing all to do with summertime, but it’s hard to look at a picture of our famous rink rat, Carmon, winning an award, without feeling at least a little bit happy.
Farmers Market. We now have one or more members of the Farmers Market Committee attending all BRCA Board meetings, which is great. The more the various programs of BRCA are able to interact with one another, the better and stronger all of them can be. So much about running a community association is about volunteers communicating freely and effectively with one another. The Market is truly a great drawing card for our community, especially given its location in the heart of the Bridges development lands, and it takes many volunteers to make it happen. Please support this great initiative by dropping by the market Thursday evenings! There is lots more market information in this month’s Bridges.
The Signboard at Bridgeland Market. I love reading the Bridgeland Market signboard as I drive, or walk, or cycle passed it. I only understand about 60% of the messages without asking for help, which actually I like better than if I could understand them all without any help at all. What would be the fun of reading if you can’t learn something new?
GCC’s Stampede HOEDOWN. Each year Councillor Carra (together with Councillor Davison) hosts a “can’t miss” Stampede event. By the time you are reading this, the HOEDOWN will probably be the event that was, but anyway it’s great that they do this, and that they take the time to drum up (even more!) spirit in our already-vibrant inner city neighbourhoods. This year’s event supports HMCS Calgary.
Main Streets. The City’s work on the Main Streets project continues to move forward, including with an Open House held in June, and both 1st Avenue and the so-called “couplet lands” (Edmonton Trail and 4th Street NE) are slated to benefit from significant civic investment in the near future. Who can complain about living in a neighbourhood where a civic priority is to make your neighbourhood main drag an even cooler street than it already is? Bury those overhead power lines!
Flyover Park. Don’t even get me started. Set aside your emotions about tax dollars and budgets for a second, if you must, and just reflect about how remarkable it is that work is now underway to a have a $2 million park constructed beneath an expressway ramp in Bridgeland-Riverside. That incredible outcome all started with a just a few of your neighbours deciding one day that a forgotten place might be worth reclaiming. If that story’s not inspirational, I don’t know what is.
New Furnaces, Paint, and a Refinished Door. It’s hard to believe, especially for those of us who can remember when the General Hospital was just freshly imploded, that our “new” Hall is already getting a bit worn at the edges. A new HVAC system is being sorted out over the Summer, with the City’s help, to replace the furnaces that failed over the Winter. And, more visibly, inside the Hall we have fresh coats of paint (all ready for the season of wedding rentals!), and the attractive (but very weathered!) wooden door at the north end of the Hall (the one that leads to the “Lantern Room”) has been refinished. It all looks great—thanks Pam!
I am a woodworker, a maker, a restorer, and a reclaimer at heart. There is almost nothing that hard work done with the right attitude can’t make better—and most especially including: community.
Have a great summer!
