Calgary and Alberta – Page 4 – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

The Wreck City Project

I’m always saying that I want to do more cultural things in Calgary. The truth is, I just usually don’t know about the happenings. Calgary was named Culture Capital of Canada in 2012, so undoubtedly there are lots of things to do. I need to start doing these things.

Yesterday I met up with my friend Adriane and she says to me she says: “I have something really cool we can go to!” Then she sends me the link for “Wreck City: An Epilogue for 809”. Hmm… I was intrigued. (http://wreckcityproject.wordpress.com/)

Taken from the website, Wreck City is a community-based art experiment transforming nine Sunnyside houses, three garages, and a greenhouse scheduled for demolition into temporary art, installation, and performance spaces. Sounded cool to me! I also read that the 809 Gallery was one of Calgary’s influential garage galleries (though I don’t claim to know what that truly means). It’s sad to see the demolition of old character houses, especially in a city like Calgary with constant construction and expansive urban sprawl. So the event is a send-off, and a way to commemorate the history of the artsy neighbourhood. After dinner and drinks at the Kensington Pub, Adriane and I made our way over to the houses for a walkthrough.

Concrete... representing the demolition? That's all I got. — Concrete… representing the demolition? That’s all I got.

I’ve never been great at interpreting art. I acknowledge that there’s a level of subjectivity to art, but I remember walking through the Tate Modern in London and pretending to really ponder the meaning and influence of the many art pieces. Usually I came up with nothing.

So I was happy to discover that this event was not like that. Instead, the houses were complete canvases for artists and every room revealed something quite different, interesting, shocking, eerie, or hilarious. The awesome thing about it was that the crowd was large and diverse- many came out to see incredible creativity and just enjoy what was presented. And let me say… there is something for everyone. I even hope to visit it a second time in the coming week. Wreck City runs until April 27th and should not be missed!

Thanks Adriane! What a great event to attend :) — Thanks Adriane! What a great event to attend 🙂

The Bow: Admiring Wonderland

Jaume Plensa's Wonderland at The Bow — Jaume Plensa’s Wonderland at The Bow

I finally stopped by to see the head at the base of The Bow!

For a while now, I had heard there was a giant sculpture of a female head at The Bow, the largest building in Calgary (for now…). As I was driving on 6th avenue last night, it appeared suddenly on my right, so I pulled over and spent a few minutes admiring it. A quick google search revealed that the 12-meter sculpture by Barcelona-based artist Jaume Plensa is titled Wonderland. According to Jaume, “My vision for Wonderland is to inspire everyone who experiences the sculpture: I believe the architecture of our bodies is the palace for our dreams.”

I was quite impressed with it myself. At night, it’s lit up beautifully, which created a very serene feeling for me. Maybe that’s because no one was around at the time. It was quiet, and for several moments, I just stared at it. There are some interesting things going on in my life right now; things that preoccupy my thoughts. But for those brief moments, while enjoying the view of this great architectural piece in the city, it felt good to have my mind lost in Wonderland.

It's quite the addition to the city :) — It’s quite the addition to the city 🙂

Sunshine: I’m a Green Graduate!

Yesterday was another great day in the mountains. I’d say it’s turning out to be quite a lively winter season! The weather wasn’t too cold and the sun was shining the entire day. It was a big group of us too, which made for an awesome outing even though everyone did their own thing, either snowboarding down the greens or carving snow on the blues.

I’m happy to report that it was the first time I’ve done blue runs in the Rockies! The difficulty and change in steepness were noticeable, but the fun-factor increased 10 fold 🙂 Of course, I attempted the blue runs on skis, since my snowboarding skills are nowhere up to par…. yet. The next time I go to Sunshine, I’ll be working on my heel and toe edge techniques and before I know it, I’ll be graduating to the blues on my board as well!

Zoolights. Oooooh. Ahhhh.

After almost 4 years, I finally went to see the Zoolights at the Calgary Zoo. In fact, after almost 4 years, it was my first time to the Calgary Zoo period. Isn’t that crazy? The lights were pretty. Very very pretty. And what better way to spend an evening than to walk around with some hot chocolate and admire pretty lights. Ooooh.

Devonian Gardens. Four Years Later.

When I was preparing for the big move to Calgary, I remember wondering: What kind of attractions are in Calgary anyway? I remember reading about Devonian Gardens in the downtown mall, and I was looking forward to seeing it! After settling in to my apartment downtown, it was a surprise to learn that the gardens had closed in 2008 and were undergoing quite an overhaul.

An overhaul that would take 4 years!

Devonian Gardens reopened this past June, and it apparently took $37 million dollars. 4 years, and $37 million. And there are 550 trees of 18 different species. All in The Core shopping area downtown. Wow.

I finally had a chance to eat lunch in the gardens today, and they truly form quite an oasis. I would love to work downtown with easy access to that area, especially during the winter months where one can feel the warmth and humidity among all the greenery. So pretty!