YYCFamilies 2023

Welcome to YYCFamilies 2023!

I don’t know about you, but we’re feeling pretty good about 2023. (Maybe we shouldn’t say things like that so we don’t jinx it!) Many families are struggling right now and there’s a lot going on in the world that we don’t have control over, but Albertans are optimistic! It feels to us like there’s finally a little bit of blue sky peeking through the clouds. It’s a great time to try new things, pick up a new hobby and reconnect with family and friends.

We hope this annual resource – divided into seasons to help you all year long – will give you some great activity ideas or inspire you to get out and explore this beautiful region we call home. We have tons of local information to help you discover the many, many resources, activities and supports that are available right here in your backyard!

Thank you to our sponsor, Wood’s Homes, for their generous support of YYCFamilies 2023 and for their tireless work across Alberta. Access to compassionate mental health care for children and youth has never been more critical.

Finally, we would like to thank you all so much for your support over the past year. We couldn’t have made it through without you and we’re excited to move forward into 2023 together! Enjoy!

The Calgary’s Child Magazine Team

Help is Just a Phone Call Away!

211 Community Connection (24 hours) Dial 211 to get connected to the community services you need 211

AADAC Help Line (24 hours)

Phone 1-866-33AADAC (2-2322)

Adult Counselling and Prevention Services 403-297-3071 Youth Services 403-297-4664

Alberta Children’s Hospital Child Abuse and Mental Health Program Phone 403-955-5959

Alberta Health Services – HEALTHLink Alberta 24-hour line providing health information 811

Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse 24-Hour Crisis Line and support for people who have been sexually abused/assaulted and their families 403-237-5888

CCIS Parent Link Family Resource Centre 403-266-6686

Children’s Cottage Crisis Nursery 24-hour child care for parents in crisis 403-233-2273

Child Abuse Hotline Report child abuse – 24 hours 1-800-387-KIDS

Community Resource Team 24-hour mobile crisis team 403-299-9699

Developmental Disabilities Resource Centre of Calgary Offers a number of respite options for families with a child with a disability 8:30am to 4:30pm, voice message after hours 403-240-3111 Distress Centre Calgary 24-hour crisis line 403-266-HELP (4357)

Early Start Support for Families with New Babies Seven days a week, 24-hours a day support 403-244-8351

Families Matter Society 403-205-5178

Hospice Calgary Grief Counselling 403-263-4525

Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868

La Leche League Breastfeeding Support 403-242-0277

Mental Health Help Line

24 Hour Help Line 1-877-303-2642

Mental Health Crisis Line (Mobile Response Team) 403-266-1605

Canadian Mental Health Association . . . . . . . . . . . . .403-297-1700

Suicide Services 403-297-1744

Missing Children Society of Canada Organization dedicated to the search for abducted and runaway children 1-800-661-6160

Parent Support Association 24-hour self help for parents of children nine and up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .403-270-1819

Poison Centre Alberta 1-800-332-1414

Ronald McDonald House® Southern Alberta A home away from home for out of town families with seriously ill children in the Calgary Hospitals – 9am to 9pm 403-240-3000

Shelters (all 24 hour access)

Calgary Drop-In Centre 403-266-3600

Children’s Cottage Crisis Nursery 403-233-2273 Women’s Emergency Shelter 403-234-SAFE (7233)

Sheriff King Family Support Centre Crisis Line 403-266-0707

Awo-taan Native Women’s Shelter Society 403-531-1972 Wheatland Communities Crisis Society Shelter 403-934-6634

SIDS Calgary Offers support to families who have lost a child to crib death 403-265-7437

West Central Communities Resource Centre One-stop approach for family services in the SW communities in regards to early intervention . . . .403-543-0555

Women’s Health Resources Women’s Health Centre 403-944-2270

YWCA Sheriff King Family Support Centre Non-crisis information - 8am to 4pm 403-266-4111

HOSPITALS

Alberta Children’s Hospital 2888 Shaganappi Trail NW 403-955-7211

Foothills Medical Centre 1403, 29 Street NW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .403-944-1110

Peter Lougheed Centre 3500, 26 Avenue NE 403-943-4555

Rockyview General Hospital 7007, 14 Street SW 403-943-3000

Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre - Urgent Care 1213, 4 Street SW 403-955-6200

South Calgary Health Centre - Urgent Care 31 Sunpark Plaza SE. 403-943-9300

South Health Campus - Emergency Department 4448 Front Street SE 403-956-1111

About

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: M. L. Ellen Percival

Co-Creator: Sherry Kerr – ABC

Assistant Publisher/Managing Editor: Allison Percival

Art Director: Amanda Sharp

Associate Editor: Stacie Gaetz

Distribution Manager: Cathy Bontje

Sales Director: Eilidh Tait . . . . . . . 587-888-9556 eilidh.calgaryschild@gmail.com

CONTRIBUTORS

ATCO Blue Flame

Kitchen

Trista Arney

Lori Beattie Stacie Gaetz Christina Katz

PRINTING Calgary Central Web

OUR COMMITMENT

Tanya Koob

Lara Krupicka

Diane Turner Maller Allison Percival Karen Ung

YYC Families is funded and published solely through the support of our advertisers and sponsors. They support us; please support them. With the support of our advertisers, Calgary’s Child Magazine is committed to sponsoring and supporting a variety of organizations that help families in Calgary.

STOCK IMAGES

Images included in this publication are ©stock.adobe. com. This publication also includes images from istockphoto.com.

REACH US AT

Calgary’s Child Magazine #375 - 305 - 4625 Varsity Drive NW; Calgary, AB T3A 0Z9 Phone: 403-241-6066 Email: calgaryschild@shaw.ca Website: .......................... calgaryschild.com

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RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN Address To: Calgary’s Child Magazine #375 - 305 - 4625 Varsity Drive NW; Calgary, AB T3A 0Z9 Email: calgaryschild@shaw.ca

Calgary’s Child Magazine is published seven times per year as both a print and digital e-Edition. It is distributed at over 500 locations throughout Calgary and area, and as a digital e-Edition online at calgaryschild.com.

Calgary’s Child YYC Families is published annually and is available at select locations and online at calgaryschild.com.

Our database is confidential. We do not sell, lend or share our information to third parties. For internal use only.

ISSN 1198-6069 Calgary’s Child Magazine © 2023

The opinions expressed in this publication may not necessarily be those of the publishers. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the expressed written permission of the publishers. Calgary’s Child Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited materials.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada Nous sommes reconnaissons pour le soutien financier du gouvernement du Canada

SPRING

................... 6

20+1 fun things to do with kids in Calgary this spring 7

Five ways to battle cooking burnout 9

Let’s go disc golfing! ..................................... 10

Explore the inner city in the springtime 12

Bringing home puppy: 5 questions to consider before adding a dog to the family 14

Thrifting 101 17

SUMMER

................ 19

30 fun things to do with kids in Calgary this summer 20

Let's fly a kite! ............................................ 22

Summer camping: Canoes, campfires and family time 23

What’s SUP? 24

The campfire gourmet: S’mores and hot dogs, remixed ... 26

10 tips for a budget-friendly family vacation 28

Hit the trails! Best summertime hikes for first-timers 30

FALL

30 fun things to do with kids in Calgary this fall 33

Kid-friendly cafes and sweet treats ....................... 35 10 photo scavenger hunts in Calgary parks 38

Feeding picky eaters 43

Top places to picnic in the mountains this fall ............ 44 Scenic fall bike rides and walks 46

WINTER

30 fun things to do with kids in and around Calgary this winter .............................................. 51 We asked you ........................................... 54 Snow much fun! 55

Avoid overscheduling ................................... 57

Planning the perfect winter picnic in (and around) Calgary 59

Become a tourist in Calgary this winter

61 How to make your own Little Free Library 64

Spring It's time

20+1 Fun Things to do With Kids in and Around Calgary this Spring

Spring in Calgary can be an awkward, slushy season – too warm for skiing and sledding, but not quite nice enough to abandon the coats and winter boots! That doesn’t mean there’s not plenty to see and do around town, though, and the signs of the season are everywhere to enjoy. Here’s our favorite mix of indoor and outdoor fun spots around town (and out of town) in the springtime!

1. See the babies at Butterfield Acres Children’s Farm. Mix and mingle with all the different animals on a farm. Pony rides for little ones, tractor rides, petting zoo and more! Butterfieldacres.com

2. Visit some scaly friends at YYC Nature & Education Centre. The YYC Nature & Education Centre offers curated private experiences, classes, day camps and more. Meet a variety of exotic animals including birds, snakes, chinchillas, turtles and more! Yycnaturecentre.com

3. Learn about Canadian military history at The Military Museums. At one of North America’s largest military museums, you can follow Alberta’s military heritage from 1885 to present day. Themilitarymuseums.ca

4. Meet dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Located near Drumheller, see more than 35 skeletons of dinosaurs like Albertosaurus, T. Rex and Triceratops. Journey through time, as different life forms emerge, evolve and in some cases, face extinction. Tyrrellmuseum.com

5. Learn about trains at the Alberta Railway Museum. Located in Edmonton. Take a train ride back in time to the Alberta Railway museum. See their extensive collection of railway or tour the railway buildings around the grounds. Abcentralrailway.com

6. Learn about planes at The Hangar Flight Museum. Located in a drill hall that was built as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the Second World War, this Calgary attraction is a hidden gem and a must-see destination. They are passionate about bringing aviation history to life and trust that a visit to the museum will leave you inspired with dreams of flight! Thehangarmuseum.ca

7. Drive by the Brooks Aqueduct. This 3km long, centipede-like structure was a vital link in an extensive irrigation network that provided water critical to the dry lands of Southern Alberta. Brooksaqueduct.ca

8. Take a trip to the Remington Carriage Museum. Located in Cardston. The museum’s interactive galleries tell numerous stories of turn-of-the-century society and the carriage industry. Remingtoncarriagemuseum.ca

9. Tour Rutherford House. Located in Edmonton. Check out how the other half lived in the early 1900s. Rutherfordhouse.ca

10. Learn about the poet at Stephansson House. Located southwest of Red Deer. Check out how Icelander, Stephan G. Stephansson, considered one of the greatest poets in the Western world, managed to tend this homestead by day and write his famous and respected poetry by night. Stephanssonhouse.ca

11. Enjoy the low season at Banff National Park. Featuring mountains, glaciers, forests, meadows and rivers, Banff National Park is one of the world’s premier destination spots. Pc.gc.ca/banff

12. Enjoy a drive through the Bow Valley Parkway. This scenic alternative to the Trans Canada Hwy 1 provides an opportunity to view the landscape at a more leisurely pace. Explore the history of the Bow River Valley through interpretive signs located at various points along the highway. Banfflakelouise.com

13. Enjoy a spring walk around Moraine Lake and the Valley of the Ten Peaks. Located east of Lake Louise. The emerald green lake is set before Mount Temple, the highest mountain in the Bow Range and third highest in Banff National Park. Banfflakelouise.com

14. Take an early season hike through Jasper National Park. The largest and most northerly Canadian rocky mountain national park, part of a spectacular World Heritage Site. Pc.gc.ca/jasper

15. Beat the crowds to Kananaskis Country.Located 90km southwest of Calgary, the spectacular mountain and foothills landscapes make a perfect backdrop for a multitude of recreational opportunities.

16. Check out Waterton Lakes National Park. In Southwestern Alberta, some of the most ancient and colorful mountains in the Rockies abruptly meet the rolling Prairie. It is a dynamic landscape shaped by wind, fire, flooding and abundant plants and wildlife.

17. Plant some veggies. Whether you have yard space or decide to rent a community allotment, why not plant some of your own vegetables this year?

18. Do some birdwatching. Calgary is home to a huge variety of resident and migratory birds - how many do you recognize? There are plenty of great apps and websites that will help you learn a few calls and name the birds at your feeder this year.

19. Play in virtual reality at VRCORE. Explore the wonders of Virtual Reality with your friends and family in Canada’s premier VR arcade! Soar through the universe, fight ancient dragons, and battle through a zombie-filled apocalypse − all in VR. Vrkade.com.

20. Learn some cake and cookie decorating skills. Ready to put together that audition tape for The Great Canadian Baking Show? Learn the basics of decorating together at Cakeify Studio and you’ll be well on your way to greatness! Cakeifystudio.com

21. Explore the +15 network. There’s tons of artwork, interesting architecture, restaurants and shopping along Calgary’s extensive +15 network in the city center.

Five ways to battle cooking burnout

By ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen

If you are feeling the mental fatigue that comes from planning and cooking meals day in and day out, you are not alone. Cooking burnout or fatigue is a common occurrence. Here are some tips and tricks to help you re-light the fire in your cooking and eating routine!

1. Switch it up. Boredom and burnout can come from being in a cooking rut. Renew your cooking energy by trying something completely new and outside the box. New foods can be enjoyable to make, and will give you something to look forward to.

2. Get everyone involved. If you are cooking for the whole family, the responsibility should not fall completely on you. Assign other family members days of the week to come up with meal ideas. Even your youngest helpers can get involved, from washing fruits and vegetables to setting the table. Passing on even the littlest jobs can be a weight off your shoulders. As a bonus, teaching little ones or inexperienced cooks is a valuable investment of your time –eventually, you will be able to step back and allow others to do the work for you.

3. Get out or order in. Sometimes you just need a reset button. It can be hard to break a cycle of monotony and sometimes you just need something completely different. Instead of putting pressure on yourself to make yet another boring meal, get out and try a new restaurant or order takeout from your favorite place. This might help you renew your love of food and inspire you to make your own “take-out” at home next time.

4. Make your life easier. Set yourself up for success by coming up with a system that works for you. This could be a “hybrid” of combining premade heat-and-eat meals, frozen foods, or meal kits with your homemade foods to give you help where you need it. You can also make double batches of your dinners and freeze one to have on hand the next time you feel burned out. Plan to use these as tools throughout the week to ease the burden of making everything from scratch.

5. Meal planning help. Maybe you’re feeling burned out because you have not learned how to properly plan. Work smarter, not harder! Menu planning will help you save time and money and will take the guesswork out of your weekly cooking routine. There are lots of meal planning guides online, including at atcoblueflamekitchen.com!

Visit ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen online at atcoblueflamekitchen.com for tips, recipes and cookbooks. Drop by the cafe for breakfast or lunch or to take home a delicious ready-cooked meal for dinner!

What is disc golf?

Disc golf is a game in which a concave plastic disc (that’s a Frisbee, to you and me) is thrown into each of a series of metal baskets situated on an outdoor course, the object being to complete the course using the fewest possible throws.

Origin

Disc golf was first invented in the early 1900s. Ronald Franklin Gibson of Bladworth, Saskatchewan and a group of his elementary school buddies played a game of throwing tin lids into four-footwide circles drawn into sandy patches on their school grounds.

Fun Facts

• The first official game of disc golf was held in Bladworth, Saskatchewan in 1927

• It was not until the 1970s that modern disc golf would be introduced to

By Calgary's Child Magazine

Canadians at the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships in Toronto and Vancouver.

• According to the Calgary Disc Golf Club, our city and surrounding area is home to 21 public and private courses.

• Disc golf is one of the fastest growing sports in Canada.

• The World Record for most holes played in 24 hours is 2,900 by Michael Sale of Los Angeles in 2014.

Disc Golf Locations:

X 18 HOLES

• Baker Park - 9333 Scenic Bow Road NW

• David Richardson Memorial - Located north of the junction of Stoney Trail and Country Hills Boulevard in the NW

• Old Refinery - 4687 Barlow Trail SE

• Lloyd Park - Located on the south of 22x about 8.5km west of McLeod Trail

• WJ Homestead - 258002 192 Street West Foothills

• Strathmore – 95 Brentwood Drive W

• Currie Reservoir - 2539 33 Avenue SW

• North Glenmore Park - 7305 Crowchild Trail SW

• Stanley Park - 4011 1a Street SW

• Lindsay Park - 2225 Macleod Trail SE

• Park 96 - 14660 Parkland Boulevard SE

• Four Sisters (24 holes) – North of Strathmore

X 11 HOLES

• Redwood Meadows - Located at end of Manyhorses Park in Redwood Meadows

• Edgemont - Located at the corner of Edgemont Drive and Edgemont Boulevard

• Big Marlborough Park - 6033 Madigan Drive NE

X 9 HOLES

• Thorncliffe - Located near the intersection of McKnight Boulevard and Centre Street N

• Forest Lawn - 1425 52 Street SE

• Bonavista Downs - 1165 Lake Huron Crescent SE

• Okotoks - Located in the forested area northeast of the Water Treatment Plant

• Lake Midnapore - 185 Midlake Boulevard S

• Lake Sundance (6 holes) - 63 Suncrest Way SE CCM

Find the mental health care your child needs at Pinecone Pediatrics

If you’ve ever tried to find mental health support for your child, you’ve probably encountered one of many challenges: not knowing where to start, struggling to access a primary care physician, uncertainty on how to access therapy services or the difference between AHS and private services…

The team at Pinecone Pediatrics is experienced in providing care to children and families in need of mental health support. Some families have been working for a long time trying to get a clear diagnosis, others are struggling to find the optimal plan to manage ADHD, depression or anxiety. Sometimes families are referred to Pinecone after going to the Emergency Department, when their safety net wasn’t there when they needed it the most. The team at Pinecone are experts in helping families understand and deal with suicidal thoughts, self harm, overdoses, sadness, anger, conflict, challenging behaviors, running away and school difficulties.

The team of specialist pediatricians, psychologists and nurse practitioners at Pinecone Pediatrics can help.

There are two ways to access care at the clinic: by referral from the family doctor or families can self-refer for therapy services.

A common concern from families is how to navigate the healthcare system – parents understandably want the best, most effective care for their child as quickly as possible. Dr. Gauthier and the team at Pinecone are working hard to maintain rapid access to services, and hope to avoid many-months long waits in accessing care. The three different types of clinicians at Pinecone work together, each putting their specific skills to helping your child.

This leads to improved access and quality of care, but also simplifies your healthcare journey. The first step at Pinecone will involve gaining an understanding of your family's struggles. The team will listen to your worries and explore biological, psychological and social circumstances that may all be affecting your child’s wellness.

The next step will be making a plan to restore wellness and support thriving. The team at Pinecone provides assessment and treatment recommendations for issues like depression, anxiety, ADHD, challenging behaviors and more. Unique in Calgary, an integrated therapy and medical services model of care delivery provides huge benefits to families from a care coordination standpoint. As of fall 2022, Pinecone Pediatrics has immediate availability for therapy appointments with their provisional psychologist, Priscilla. Pinecone also works very closely with Rocky Mountain Psychological Services who do assessments on-site for ADHD, autism, learning disabilities/giftedness and other mental health struggles.

You do not require a referral to access Priscilla’s or Rocky Mountain’s services. You can call to book your appointment right away or check the website. You can self book a free 15 minute intake for your child with Priscilla without a referral. Click the “Book an intake session with Priscilla” button at https://pineconepediatrics.ca/therapy-services/.

Specialist medical services usually require a referral, however Dr. Gauthier is offering a medical consultation without referral to anyone accessing Priscilla’s services. Medical services are entirely covered by the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan.

Explore the inner city in the springtime

Take a trip downtown for a change of pace

By Stacie Gaetz

It can be hard to know what to do with the kids to pass a morning or afternoon in the spring.

Maybe you’re getting tired of the playgrounds and restaurants near your house or it’s too slushy to play outside, but you’re looking for something new to get everybody off the couch.

Calgary’s inner city neighborhoods have some great local spots to explore that provide hours of fun without spending a ton of money.

n KENSINGTON

Whether you drive down and park in the area or take the train, start your adventure with a trip to Riley Park and the Senator Patrick Burns Memorial Rock Garden. The gardens were constructed in the 1950s with more than 20,000 pieces of flagstone from the senator's demolished mansion. Dip your toes in the wading pool starting in mid-June, or try your hand at one of the cricket pitches. The park also includes picnic tables, a playground, and washrooms.

After you have worked up an appetite, head down 10th Street for a bite to eat at one of the area’s well-known restaurants and bakeries. Pie Junkie and Crave Cupcakes come to mind for sweet

treats, or have ramen for lunch at Menyatai Japanese Noodles. For a blast from the past, walk all the way down to the original Chicken on The Way – it’s barely changed since it opened in the 1960s! While there are tons of great spots for coffee in Kensington, don’t miss Higher Ground and The Roasterie, the two classic stops in the neighborhood. There is a reason Kensington is a favorite spot for Calgary’s foodies!

Spend a couple of hours playing some board games together at Hexagon Board Game Cafe, or plan ahead to catch a familyfriendly film or special feature at The Plaza Theatre right across the street. Kids love the old-fashioned aesthetic of The Plaza, and it’s a fun opportunity to talk about how much going to the movies has changed over the years!

Stop into any of the more than 200 shops and stores in the community if you’re in the mood to shop. Whether you are looking for clothes, toys, art, candy, or anything in between, you can find it in Kensington.

Keep on trekking across Memorial Drive for a stroll along the river to check out some of the local art installations and architecture, wildlife that call the riverbank home and beautiful flora in the area.

Infant Eye Care

Doctor’s Note:

An infant eye exam is an important step towards ensuring your child is seeing correctly and there are no eye health issues. Book baby’s eye exam with your optometrist now.

Visit infanteyecare.ca to learn more.

Dr. Jean Shen, Optometrist

“Part of baby care is eye care. Have your infant’s vision and eye health checked.”

n BRIDGELAND

This eclectic community northeast of the downtown core is like a charming little town of its own. With everything from renowned restaurants to outdoor attractions, the walkable neighborhood has something for every member of the family.

Start the day off right with brunch at OEB Breakfast Co., Blue Star Diner or Mondays Plant Cafe (for veggie-friendly offerings). Once you are fuelled up, head over to Flyover Park. The first park of its kind in western Canada, Calgary’s Flyover Park has reclaimed the forgotten space under the 4th Avenue overpass between the new Calgary Entertainment District and one of Calgary's oldest neighborhoods, Bridgeland-Riverside, creating a vibrant community hub. Designed in collaboration with Grade 6 students, University of Calgary Landscape Architecture Students and Stantec, the park includes tiered seating, unique play features and artistic features to beautify the space. If you prefer, you can stop in at Murdoch Park to see a wall of bricks from the old General Hospital, play in the playground, or kick a ball around the soccer field.

There are plenty of great stores to check out in Bridgeland, too –stop into the Bridgeland Market for a wide variety of locally-sourced goods and groceries, grab a treat for your furry friend at Doodle Dogs, or just browse the many boutique shops up and down the street at your leisure.

If all of that playing has you searching for a sweet treat, a visit to Bridgeland is simply not complete without a stop in to try the famous soft serve at Luke’s Drug Mart!

n INGLEWOOD

This classic Calgary main street has everything from trendy restaurants to charming shops to classic meeting spots, making this

neighborhood perfect for families. It’s also home to a huge number of Calgary’s original heritage homes, making it a beautiful place to walk through in any season.

If you need a caffeine boost to get your day rolling, stop into one of the area’s incredible coffee shops. Gravity Espresso and Wine Bar and Rosso Coffee Roasters are two of our favorites!

Now that you are re-energized, it’s time to take a stroll to the Inglewood Wildlands Park. This 36-hectare wildlife reserve may seem out of place in the inner-city community, but its two kilometres of pathways offer gorgeous views of some animals you might not expect to see downtown, including herons and the redbreasted nuthatch.

The park is also home to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Nature Centre and very near to Pearce Estate Park with Bow Habitat Station if you’d like to learn about the important work of this fish hatchery along the way!

If your stomach is telling you it’s time for lunch, Spolumbo’s is an absolute Calgary icon, with super delicious Italian sausages and deli offerings. The Inglewood Drive-In is an old-school classic, with a cheap and cheerful burger joint menu to fill your belly – don’t miss the Dole Whip for a taste of the Stampede all year round!

Depending on when you’re planning to make your visit, Inglewood is also regularly home to some of the city’s best festivals, including JazzYYC in April. It’s also regularly home to the Inglewood Night Market during the warmer months.

Calgary’s inner-city communities are a great place to spend a few hours with the kids. Whether you want to take in some fantastic food, check out some amazing art or become one with nature, these three neighborhoods offer a variety of options and give you something new to look forward to! CCM

Make this year, your year

with a membership to the

Your year to EXPLORE spectacular garden sculpture mosaics with the launch of WildScapes.

Your year to DISCOVER iconic Canadian species with the redevelopment of Canadian Wilds.

Visit calgaryzoo.com to purchase a membership today.

Your year to make MEMORIES with the people who mean the most to you.

By Allison Percival

Whether your Instagram feed is flooded with oh-so-cute puppy photos or your kids have started begging for a furry friend of their very own, the pressure to add a dog to the family is real! Whether or not you were best pals with your family dog growing up, there’s a lot that goes into raising a properly socialized, well-trained dog in the 2020s.

Here are some questions to help guide your family’s discussions around adding a family dog to the picture:

Do we actually know what goes into raising a dog?

Before you even bring your puppy home, you’ll need to decide whether or not you want a rescue or to buy from a reputable breeder. Research each breed carefully to determine any genetic drawbacks or conditions to watch for, understand breed traits like herding, aloofness, barking, mouthiness or guardian tendencies, and join breed-specific dog groups on Facebook to learn more about breeders in and around Alberta. Never choose a dog based on aesthetics alone!

New puppies can come into the home as young as eight to ten weeks old, and from the second they enter your life, they are in constant need of attention. ‘House-training’ a puppy (ie: teaching them to go outside to do their business, not to chew furniture or other household objects, even teaching them how to go up and down stairs) is a process that takes many months of diligent work and constant, 24/7 attention. Imagine bringing home a newborn who can run, chew and bite – that’s what raising a puppy is like!

“Dogs are living, breathing creatures; they have needs just like our kids do. Meeting these needs is essential in having a wellbehaved dog,” says Amanda Garrow, Certified Professional Dog Trainer and owner of Tiarific Canine.

You should prepare to have at least one adult in the home at all times during the first two months or more of the puppy coming home. You may need to consider paying a professional dog walker or check-in service from a reputable company. It’s possible to crate train your new puppy to keep them out of trouble after that time, but you’ll still need someone to check on them every three or four hours to let them outside.

After the adorable puppy stage comes the terrible teens, usually between six months and two years old. Your formerly calm and loving puppy may start to nip, bark, whine, growl and display unwelcome behaviors which are hard to cope with. You may see signs of timidness, aggression or reactivity towards people and other dogs at this time. Many families aren’t prepared for this phase, which is why the majority of dogs surrendered to shelters are in this age group. You’ll need to make sure you have a consistent training schedule in place as soon as possible to overcome this hurdle.

“Start training the day you bring them home! Don't wait for behavior issues to start. Being proactive instead of reactive will help set your dog up for success,” says Amanda. If you need a trainer, do your research! Resources such as the Alberta Force Free Alliance or

Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers can help guide you to make choices about which trainers you’d like to work with. Read reviews carefully and make sure you understand exactly what your trainer will be doing with your dog.

After two or three years of consistent, structured training and work, your dog will be a wonderful lifelong companion – but before you bring a puppy home, you (and the rest of your family) need to understand what you’re signing up for!

You may decide that a puppy isn’t for you and look at fostering or adopting an older rescue dog. This is a worthy (and important!) pursuit, but does require some special consideration. Even the youngest puppies from a shelter have unknown genetic traits or diseases and may have early life experiences which will impact their social skills and relationship with the world as they grow older.

“Sometimes rescue dogs have behavioral issues that require work to help them adjust,” says Brian Burke, owner of Back in the Pack dog daycare. “Does your family have the energy to take care of a rescue?”

You should always communicate your family’s needs and circumstances with a rescue or shelter to make sure that placements are a good fit on both sides.

Can we give our dog space and time?

Even small dogs need a lot of room to run, live and play. Besides the physical space they need to enjoy life, they also need a space of their own away from your kids; especially young kids! We’ve all seen picture-perfect families with little ones snuggled up against their loving canine companions, but unsupervised dog interactions can end in disaster in a heartbeat and many families miss the warning signs before tragedy occurs.

“I love the organization Family Paws! They have so many educational pieces and seminars you can do to help prepare your family,” says Amanda. “Teach your kids how to properly interact with the dog including petting with one hand, not hugging the dog, not encroaching on the dog’s space when they are eating, and not climbing on the dog.”

Remember that dogs teach their puppies, littermates and other dogs about their boundaries through growling, barking, snapping and biting – your dog may think they’re ‘educating’ your child about their boundaries through a nip, but even an unintentional bite from a large dog can cause devastating damage to a small child.

“Before you bring a puppy home, you (and the rest of your family) need to understand what you’re signing up for!”

Bringing home puppy: 5 questions to consider before adding a dog to the family

How do you know it’s a good time to bring home a furry friend?

“I would highly suggest a ‘success station.’ This is a separate area just for your dog. You can use an exercise pen or baby gates to help separate the area. Have a variety of items in the dog’s space to help keep them busy. Use this area when you are unable to directly supervise the interactions between kids and dogs,” says Amanda. Crate or kennel training is also a popular option to manage dog and child interaction when used responsibly; never allow your child access to the dog’s crate or other safe spaces.

Even adult dogs need at least an hour of activity a day and direct one-on-one time with you, possibly more if you’re still working on training or have a very active breed. All dogs need adequate mental stimulation to keep them happy and out of trouble. If you feel that your child isn’t ready to share space (or time!) with a dog or if you don’t have the energy or ability to make a separate space and time for a dog, it might be

Bringing home puppy – Continued on next page

Can we afford a dog?

Dogs are expensive! Sit down with a spreadsheet and thoroughly consider all possible expenses before bringing home your new furry friend. Here are some places to start:

• Adoption and breeder fees

• Dog boarding, dog walkers and/or daycare

• Kennels, baby gates and exercise pens

• Food and dietary supplements

• Spaying or neutering

• Pet insurance and/or a monthly emergency veterinary savings account

• Toys, training and walking tools and treats

• Training fees

• Vaccinations, deworming and preventatives

Emergency veterinary bills can be staggering, especially if you don’t have insurance. A hospital stay of a few days with some routine tests and blood work will set you back thousands of dollars and can happen at any time (especially in the first year of life when puppies seem to get into everything or if genetic conditions become a problem)! Make sure you have some savings available before you bring your dog home, just in case.

What will we do if something big happens?

Life’s not always predictable! A lot of things can change in the ten to 13 years of a dog’s lifespan. Some specific things you may want to talk about with your family:

• Are there plans to add another child to the family?

• Do we expect life to get much busier in the next few years?

• Will we need to move? If we rent our home, will it be difficult to find a place that will rent to us with a dog?

• Are we considering a big move to another province or country?

• What will happen to the dog if there’s a big change in relationship status (divorce, remarriage, etc.)?

• Do we have a lot of travel plans in our future? Who will look after our dog when we travel?

• What will we do if work or extracurricular expectations suddenly change and there’s nobody home to supervise the dog?

Whose responsibility will the dog be – really?

A lot of parents, especially those with older kids, make the mistake of believing that their children will be fully responsible for the care and wellbeing of their new pet. Don’t set them both up for failure!

“No matter what dog you end up getting, you, as the adult, are ultimately responsible for the dog,” emphasizes Amanda. “Having the expectation that this is going to be ‘your child’s dog’ is not realistic.”

Your child may have begged and pleaded and promised that they would feed, walk and train the dog all by themselves, but the reality is that this is never the case. Children aren’t equipped emotionally or mentally to take on full ownership of another living being, especially one as complex as a dog! While they can be taught to assist with care and training tasks (especially older children), the responsibility for the day-to-day care must belong to the adults in the household.

That being said, it’s a good idea to discuss with everybody in the family what age-appropriate responsibilities you expect them to take on. Make a daily schedule of everything you think your dog will need in a day and then determine which family member will take on each item (remember that it’s ultimately the adult’s job to make sure any missed tasks get done)! Emphasize that these tasks must be completed regardless of how busy the family is, the weather, illness, mood, etc.

A few final thoughts

Having a dog can be a wonderful thing. There is truly no relationship quite like the one between dogs and humans, and a well-trained, well-loved dog can be as much a part of a family as another child would be. Dogs can teach responsibility and empathy, provide unconditional love and companionship, give years of fun and physical activity, and even be lifesaving partners in the health and well-being of their owners.

If you’ve decided now is the right moment to add a canine companion to your household whether you choose to foster, adopt, or book ahead with a reputable breeder, we wish you many happy years together with your new best friend! CCM

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Thrifting 101

Make your clothing budget stretch farther

By Trista Arney

Thrift and consignment shopping have been around for years, but it’s quickly becoming a trendy budget-helper for families of all income levels – and it’s easy to see why!

Kids grow quickly, new clothing is often expensive, and we’re all becoming more aware of the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Calgary is fortunate to have a wide variety of options for second-hand shopping to help everyone in your family look their best (and make your clothing budget go farther)! Have your kids come with you (if possible) to choose pieces that fit their current style and they feel comfortable with, encourage them to love hunting for a great deal, and be honest with them about your budget and environmental beliefs.

Here’s everything you need to know about thrifting before you get started!

SHOPPING OPTIONS

There are a few options when second-hand shopping:

Thrift stores. Thrift stores are generally (though not always) run by charitable organizations and are stocked through donations from the local community. Some recognizable examples include The Salvation Army, Value Village, GoodWill Thrift Store, Women in Need Society (WINS), and the Mission Thrift Shop. There are lots of smaller thrift stores around town which support various charitable enterprises. Thrift shops generally offer the best pricing but because they operate on donations, the selection can vary - some

days you may find a designer suit for under $20, but other days you might come out empty-handed.

Consignment stores. Consignment stores generally either purchase the items outright from sellers and then sell them at a higher price, or they have a contract with the seller to display and sell the item and then the earnings are divided. Consignment stores around town include Once Upon a Child, Sproutz & UTurn, Washed + Worn, and Fresh Kids. Consignment stores offer a more curated experience; the store owners decide which items to sell and display, so the quality tends to be higher. The prices are almost always higher than a thrift store, but you’re also likely to find more expensive products that families are reluctant to donate.

Direct sales. There are a wide variety of reselling options online - especially useful if you’re looking for a specific product or brand name. Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, Poshmark (a massive online second-hand store app, my family loves this one!), eBay, and Etsy are just a few examples of reselling platforms. Generally speaking, you’ll be purchasing directly from another family who has set a price they feel is fair for their item; because there’s no storefront or ‘middle man’ setting prices, haggling is sometimes an option.

In-person direct sales events (such as the Twins, Triplets & More Association sale or various community parent-to-parent sales) where sellers pay for table space are also scheduled

Thrifting 101 – Continued on next page

All-inclusive Family Memberships

occasionally and can be a great option for finding used kids’ items at low prices. Don’t forget to check your local parade of garage sales, too!

If you choose any direct sale option, be aware of safety considerations. If something is suspiciously inexpensive, there is a chance it may be stolen goods, a counterfeit or broken item, or a potential scam; never exchange money before you have seen the item in person and had a chance to thoroughly inspect it.

ITEMS TO SKIP

Unhygienic clothing. While you can generally purchase a large part of your wardrobe at any age second-hand (I recommend staying away from items like underwear, socks, hats, and swimwear for hygiene reasons), be cautious with purchasing second-hand footwear unless it’s in extremely good condition and you’re confident it will give proper support and be aware of how often your child tends to go through shoes.

Clothes your child won’t wear. Don’t buy clothes and shoes that are a little too small, even if they’re a great deal. Avoid any item your child will not wear! If your child hates skirts and won’t wear them, for example, these clothing items are a waste of money and space, no matter how inexpensive they are!

Similarly, if your kid hates a certain color or fastener style, it’s not worth purchasing them to hang in the back of the closet. If your child is older and particular about colors, patterns, and styles, take them shopping with you - or make sure to inquire about the exchange/return policy where you are shopping.

Clothes that need work. Be mindful of damage and wear. You can often get deals on items that may need some minor repairs like a new zipper, buttons, or patching a knee. If you’re not comfortable with these repairs, be diligent about checking items before purchase. (My child adores funky patches, so I don’t worry too much about worn knees on pants if they’re in otherwise good shape!)

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR

Fit and quality. Look for brands and styles you are familiar with and are sure your child will feel comfortable wearing. Focus less on trendy or high-end brands and more on the ones that hold up well in the wash and fit properly. My child is tall

and slender, so I tend to lean toward brands like Old Navy and The Children’s Place, which have adjustable waists. Look for sturdy fabrics, well-sewn seams, and highquality fasteners.

Condition and maintenance. Check the condition of all items. Even if you’re comfortable doing some minor repairs, it’s important to note the condition before purchase. This includes being careful about sizing and shrinkage - have a good idea of your child’s size visually so you can assess if the item has shrunk, regardless of the labeled sizing.

Check the laundry instructions on the clothing label before buying. Some clothing, especially for older girls, can shrink or be damaged beyond repair if they are improperly laundered. No matter how cute the item is, make sure you are able and willing to wash the item properly - if that adorable dress is dry clean only and your little one always ends up wearing their food, think twice.

Fair pricing. Just because you’re purchasing second-hand does not mean the item has always been priced appropriately - especially in boutique consignment and ‘vintage’ shops. It’s a good idea to have a general idea of clothing prices from your favorite brands before you make a purchase; try not to spend more than 50 percent of standard retail on a used item. You might make exceptions for a difficult-to-find item, items that are new with the original tag, or outerwear items in excellent repair.

I often browse popular retailers online to keep up with the regular and sale prices of items I am likely to find on second-hand shopping trips. The style of pants my child wears most often regularly go on sale from the original retailer for $10 so when I shop second-hand, I aim to spend $4 to $5 on them (depending on their condition).

Know your store. Get familiar with your closest thrift stores so you know where items will be stored, the types of brands to expect, and when seasonal items will appear and clear out. You should also make sure to inquire about return or exchange programs in case items don’t fit as expected. Many stores have loyalty programs or recurring sales for even bigger savings!

Happy thrifting!

Trista is a stay-at-home mom and loves to share her discoveries about how to make life in Calgary work for families of all kinds.

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Summer It's time

30 Fun Things to do With Kids in and Around Calgary

This Summer

We finally made it to summertime! We truly believe that Calgary is one of the most beautiful cities in the world this time of year. We’re so lucky to be surrounded by mountains, forests, lakes and prairies, freely accessible parks and playgrounds, and world-class attractions here! Get out there and make the most out of every minute!

1. Splash in one of the City of Calgary’s wading pools. These are always free to access and are usually open from June into late September. Check calgary.ca for hours and closure information:

Bowness Park (8900 48 Avenue NW)

Eau Claire Plaza (105 Barclay Parade SW)

Prairie Winds Park (223 Castleridge Boulevard NE)

Riley Park (800 12 Street NW)

2. Get soaked at one of the City of Calgary’s Spray Parks. A spray park is the perfect way to cool down on a hot day! Usually open from June into late September. Check calgary.ca for hours and closure information:

Prairie Winds Park (223 Castleridge Boulevard NE)

Rotary Park (617 1 Street NE)

Somerset Park (999 Somerset Drive SW)

South Glenmore Park (90 Avenue & 24 Street SW)

Valleyview Park (28 Street & 30 Avenue SE)

West Confederation Park (2020 Chicoutimi Drive NW)

3. Go for a swim at one of the City of Calgary’s Outdoor Pools. Outdoor pools are the perfect spot to cool off while soaking up the sun. Check individual pools for hours and pricing information:

Bowview (1910 6 Avenue NW)

Forest Lawn (1706 39 Street SE)

Highwood (25 Holmwood Avenue NW)

Millican-Ogden (69 Avenue & 20A Street SE)

Mount Pleasant (2310 6 Street NW)

Silver Springs (Silverridge Close & Silverridge Drive NW)

South Calgary (3130 16 Street SW)

Stanley Park (4011 1A Street SW)

4. Swim in Sikome Lake. Life’s a beach at Calgary’s famous swimming hole. Enjoy cooling down on a hot day at this wellknown South Calgary treasure.

5. Make a trip to Sylvan Lake Aqua Splash. 5104 Lakeshore Drive, Sylvan Lake. Alberta's first open-water park! The evolution of waterplay. Open mid-June to September. Sylvanlakeaquasplash.ca

6. Have a great day out at Blackfalds Outdoor Aquatic Centre. 4500 Womacks Road, Blackfalds. One-of-a-kind outdoor aquatic centre features a spray park with tot slides, giant tipping buckets and lots of spray features. Blackfalds.ca

7. Enjoy the rides at Calaway Park. Western Canada’s largest outdoor family amusement park. Calawaypark.com

8. Smell the roses at Reader Rock Garden. 325 25 Avenue SE. This three-acre garden has trails waiting to be explored.

9. Enjoy your lunch at Devonian Gardens. On the fourth floor of 333 7 Avenue SW. Rainy day? Located in the downtown Core Shopping Centre, Devonian Gardens is an urban oasis in the heart of Calgary.

10. Play with sound at Quinterra Legacy Garden. 90 Avenue and 24 Street SW. Calgary’s first fully dedicated outdoor music garden in the heart of South Glenmore Park. It is accessible to Calgarians of all ages and includes interactive musical and play elements along with a 30-foot diameter stage for programming including music, dance, theater, spoken word, yoga, meditation, healing circles, etc.

11. See the wildflowers at Griffith Woods Park. 160 Discovery Ridge Boulevard SW. Griffith Woods Park is a primarily natural environment park that lies along the banks of the Elbow River in southwest Calgary.

12. Splash and paddle at Bowness Park. 8900 48 Avenue NW. Bowness Park is one of Calgary's most popular parks. It features a shallow lagoon popular for paddle boating in the summer and ice skating in the winter. The park also has a wading pool, boat rentals and a children's train ride.

13. Wade and play at Riley Park. 800 12 Street NW. Riley Park is a beautiful destination park in northwest Calgary within walking distance from the Kensington shopping district. The park contains a cricket pitch, wading pool and the Senator Patrick Burns Memorial Rock Garden.

14. Soak up some sun at Stanley Park. 4011 1A Street SW. Located along the Elbow River in southwest Calgary, Stanley Park is a favorite destination place for picnicking, swimming, canoeing, tobogganing and lawn bowling.

15. Enjoy an ice cream at Central Commons Park. 4410 University Avenue NW. Central Commons Park is a stunning destination where families can play, rest, and enjoy the great outdoors all year round. This three-acre space is described as a “seasonless signature destination,” mindfully made for social, cultural and recreational events.

16. See the animals at Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. There’s something for the whole family! Whether it’s just enjoying the zoo or the warmth of the ENMAX Conservatory, it’s a different visit each time. Calgaryzoo.com

17. Meet a new friend at Kirk’s Alpaca Farm. Want to feed and pet alpacas in their pasture? Kids can enjoy the playgrounds, plasma cars or even play some basketball! Kirksalpacafarm.ca.

18. Explore history at Fort Calgary. Join the ranks of the RCMP when you visit the Fort built in 1875. Fortcalgary.com.

19. Learn about Calgary’s past at Heritage Park Historical Village & Gasoline Alley. Travel back in time to Canada’s largest living historical village. There are over 150 exhibits ready for you to explore. Gasoline Alley boasts one of the world's largest public collections of antique vehicles and oil and gas-related artifacts, bringing auto history from the turn of the 20th century to the 1950s to life. Heritagepark.ca

20. Experience Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park. Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park is a world renowned cultural, educational and entertainment center built for the promotion and preservation of the Siksika Nation Peoples’, Language, Culture and Traditions. Blackfootcrossing.ca

21. Visit the Tsuut'ina Nation Culture/Museum.The Tsuut'ina Museum is a center for preserving and promoting cultural history. We have an ongoing objective to retain authentic First Nation Arts & Crafts and take pride in promoting these talents in our new gift shop. Tsuutinamuseum.com

22. Take a trip to Bar U Ranch National Historic Site. 15km south of Longview. The Bar U Ranch paints a colorful picture of ranching history, with the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop.

23. Drive down to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. 18km northwest of Fort Macleod. Head-Smashed-In is one of the world’s oldest, largest and best preserved buffalo jumps known to exist and has been used continuously by Indigenous peoples of the plains for more than 5500 years. Headsmashedin.ca

24. Make a road trip to Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. 25 minutes east of Edmonton on Hwy 16. Share in the compelling

stories of the triumphs and hardships of Ukrainian immigrants who came to the Bloc Settlement in east central Alberta from 1892 to 1930. Ukrainianvillage.ca

25. Visit the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre. Located in the municipality of Crowsnest Pass. On April 29, 1903, 82 million tonnes of rock fell from Turtle Mountain and buried part of the coal mining town of Frank; 70 people died. Find out the story behind the Frank Slide. Frankslide.ca

26. Enjoy snow in the summer at the Columbia Icefield Glacier. From Highway 93, one can see the Athabasca, Stutfield and Dome glaciers. Ice Explorer and professionally-guided hiking tours are available on the Athabasca glacier.

27. Boldly go to the Vulcan Tourism & Trek Station. Located one hour southeast of Calgary. The Station is truly out of this world. Crew members will be on hand to answer any questions about the Station, as well as the town of Vulcan and Vulcan County.

Vulcantourism.com

28. Take a hike at Writing on Stone Provincial Park. See ancient carvings (petroglyphs) and paintings, which cover sheer sandstone cliffs. The park also protects native prairie grasslands, the meandering Milk River, hoodoos and unique wildlife.

29. Explore historic buildings at Sundre Pioneer Village Museum. Four acres including a blacksmith shop, school, cabin, ranger station and reception center with a 5600 square-foot display area. Sundremuseum.com

30. Learn about mining at Leitch Collieries. Located in the municipality of Crowsnest Pass. While visiting Frank Slide, take the time to stop at one of the largest and most ambitious coal mines in the Crowsnest Pass. Walk among the ruins of the powerhouse, mine manager’s house and coke ovens. Leitchcollieries.ca

Let’s fly a kite!

By Karen Ung

Whether or not you’re old enough to understand how a kite flies, there’s something magical about that moment when your kite catches the wind. If you’re lucky, a strong breeze will pull your kite high into the sky. Other times, it might take a bit of legwork - a literal running start - but with the right kite and a few pointers, anyone can fly a kite!

KITES FOR KIDS

The secret to success is having the right kite; some are easier to fly than others. For the best kites for kids, I consulted with Bud Taylor and Sharon Musto of The Kite Guys, Canada’s biggest kite store. “Delta-shaped kites are super easy to fly and quite stable. Diamond-shaped kites are easy to fly, too; they just tend to wiggle around in the air more than deltas. Parafoils are great because they are very compact, have no framing spars so nothing to break or lose, and they require no assembly whatsoever. Snake kites (also called “serpent” kites) are, likewise, very easy to fly. Their long tails undulate in the wind - fun to watch,” say The Kite Guys. A bonus? No batteries are required “unless you put lights on them,” adds Musto.

WHERE TO FLY KITES IN CALGARY

Wayne Marshall of Kites Unlimited recommends flying kites in open areas with no power lines or vehicle traffic. “For kids, the best place to fly is anywhere it is safe to do so - preferably in a grassy area with few obstacles to get around (swings, signs, posts, etc.) and as far away as possible from buildings and trees that disturb the wind flow… The longer the kite line, the more adult supervision one should have - my kite lines are a maximum of 100 metres,” says Marshall.

Marshall

recommends flying kites at:

• Soccer and baseball fields

• John Laurie Park (NW)

• Rocky Ridge soccer/baseball fields (NW)

• Field near the Flames Community Playground (SW)

• Sierra Morena Fields (SW)

Karen is a mother and a lover of maps, mountains, and mochas. With her geography degree and experience leading hikes and backpacking trips in the Rockies, she is full of ideas on where to go and what to do. The mission of her blog, playoutsideguide.com, is to provide everything families need to know to get outside and have fun. Follow on Instagram @playoutsidegal. CCM

Summer camping:

canoes, campfires and family time

Start

a summer camping tradition with your family

By Diane Turner Maller

I knew I was doing something right when my eight-year-old daughter exclaimed, “I love camping!” Grinning wide through a mouthful of pancakes, she was the most contented camper who ever dined at the tiny table of our weathered tent-trailer.

From the beginning of my parenting journey, I was very conscious about wanting to share similar camping experiences with my children that I had experienced while growing up. My childhood perspective saw that, while camping, the basics of life were fulfilled and life felt unencumbered. Some of the most vivid and treasured memories from my childhood come from my family’s summer camping trips near Calgary.

But not everyone had the same outdoor summer camping experiences that my family did. And by the time my happy camper was in high school, she reported that many of her friends had never been camping. Richard Louv’s landmark book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, documents the dramatic change in modern childhood that has resulted in children spending less and less time outdoors.

What if you didn’t grow up going to camps? You may not have camping gear stocked and ready for the next summer outing. Reservations ought to be made and precautions considered before you are ready to pack up the car.

Get-away time is limited, and sending your kids to day camps or overnight camps is a growing option. However, if you opt to give camping a try, you and your kids could grow to love camping as a family, too.

Choose from abundant camping choices. These days, you can choose campgrounds that offer resort-like amenities, even Wi-Fi. Or you can camp out in your own backyard. And when you are ready to experience summer wilderness, more primitive accommodations are waiting to be discovered.

Once you have your camp gear together, getting to know your National and/or Provincial Parks is a good place to start. (There are many within a few hours of Calgary that are drivable and easy to find.) Well-established facilities normally provide shelters, bathrooms, trash disposal, and access to clean water. The presence of equipped and experienced park staff give support to your camping efforts and can provide peace of mind when you are away from home.

Slow down. When you arrive at the best location for your family, camping offers a chance to adjust your pace as there are no calendars with appointments to keep. Breathing the outdoor air is the first step in releasing accumulated stress from worries at home. Shift your perspective and notice what is unique and beautiful in your temporary landscape.

Create a simpler life at camps. The basic rhythms of mealtimes, planned or spontaneous activities, and evening time around the campfire are enough to structure your day. Young children are

often happy to explore the microcosm of nature near a shrub, in a puddle, or under a tree.

Any early-birds in your family can revel in a sunrise while everyone else sleeps peacefully in the tent. Watching the sun go down as a family offers an opportunity to appreciate an everyday occurrence that we often miss or take for granted in our day-to-day life here in Calgary.

Connect to summer nature. When your home is decorated, edged, mowed, and landscaped, we lose track of nature’s natural tendencies. Summer camping is all about recognizing and appreciating native vegetation particular to the region.

Whether prairie, forest, meadow, or shoreline, your chosen campground offers an environment ready to explore. Guided nature walks and evening talks may be provided. Nature needs to be experienced first-hand by little and big hands; use all of your senses.

Develop outdoor and wilderness skills. Backyard camping is a good way to practice setting up the tent. You may also want to test the pad or air mattress you plan to sleep on. Do you know how to attach propane bottles to the camp stove?

“Some of the most vivid and treasured memories from my childhood come from my family’s summer camping trips near Calgary.”

What’s SUP?

Stand-up paddleboarding spots for the whole family in and around Calgary

Stand-up paddleboarding has taken Calgary by storm over the past few years! We’ve compiled some of the best spots to try it from our local experts, Karen Ung (@playoutsidegal) and Tanya Koob (rockiesfamilyadventures.com), so you can get out on the water this summer:

KAREN UNG’S FAVORITES IN CALGARY: Chestermere Lake

Okay, Chestermere isn’t technically in Calgary, but it’s just about as close as you can get! Chestermere Lake is a large (4.8km long) lake 20 minutes east of Calgary with sandy beaches. Access the water at Anniversary Park & Beach (208 West Chestermere Drive), John Peake Memorial Park Boat Launch (121 Chestermere Station Way – behind Tim Horton’s) or Sunset Park (421 East Chestermere Drive). Stop and have a picnic before or after paddling at any of these spots!

Note that this lake can get some big waves from wind and boat/ Seadoo traffic, so mornings and evenings are the best time to paddle. Bowness Lagoon, NW Calgary

With flat water and onsite rentals, Bowness Lagoon is perfect for beginners. See if you can spot the resident beaver as you paddle around the ponds, then paddle past the Bownessie mural, and head up the creek for a change of scenery. The creek is shallow and slow moving, so there’s no current to fight. Afterwards, get an ice cream at Seasons of Bowness Park or have a picnic! Many of the picnic sites have fire pits and picnic shelters.

Canoe, kayak, and pedal boat rentals are available at the boat dock. The lagoon and near side of the creek (far side is too shallow) are also suitable for stand-up paddleboarding. Carburn Park, SE Calgary

Carburn Park is a good place to learn to SUP or kayak if you have inflatables you don’t mind carrying a short ways. The second pond, 300m from the parking lot, has calm water and is surrounded by deciduous trees and shrubs. Keep an eye out for kingfishers and great blue herons! If you’d like to stay a while, there are pretty picnic areas and paths around the ponds.

Rent SUPs from University of Calgary Outdoor Centre, Aquabatics, Sports Rent, or The Paddle Station.

No matter where you buy or rent your SUP from, make sure that it has an ankle leash and that you wear a PFD to keep you safe on the water.

Barrier Lake, Kananaskis

Barrier Lake is located off Highway 40, approximately 15 minutes away from Kananaskis Village. You can rent inflatable boards and boats from Kananaskis Outfitters. For more information, visit kananaskisoutfitters.com. Once you have your paddle boards, drive over to the Barrier Lake Day-Use Area where you’ll find picnic tables and a great rocky beach area for the kids to play at.

Lower Kananaskis Lake at Peninsula Day-Use Area

Lower Kananaskis Lake at Peninsula Day-Use Area. Rent SUPs from Kananaskis Outfitters and then keep driving toward Peter Lougheed Provincial Park where you’ll find the Peninsula Day-Use Area with picnic tables scattered along the lakeshore. My family likes to paddle in the protected bay between the Peninsula and Canyon day-use areas. There are sheltered safe practice areas for children to try paddling, as well.

TANYA KOOB’S FAVORITES OUTSIDE OF CALGARY:

Quarry Lake, Canmore

This is everybody’s favorite mountain beach, and for good reason. The small lake is calm and perfect for learning to stand up paddle. There’s also plenty of space to put down a picnic blanket, and the kids will be able to play in the small rocky pools for hours. While the water is not exactly warm, children never seem to mind. Rent the SUPs in Calgary or in Canmore from Bow Valley SUP. For more information, visit bowvalleysup.ca.

Johnson Lake, Banff

For beginners, there’s no better place in the mountains to try stand up paddling than on this calm lake near the town of Banff. It is located on the Minnewanka Loop road and children will enjoy playing at the sandy beach. This is Banff’s only beach with real sand and shallow water to play in. There is also a nice hiking trail around the lake where you can look out for a couple of swings (one that allows you to swing into the lake, if you want). To rent SUPs, either pick them up in Calgary (the more affordable option) and transport them out to the mountains or stop by the Banff Canoe Club at their shop along the Bow River in town. For more information, visit banffcanoeclub.com.

SOME SAFETY TIPS FROM TANYA:

• Consider taking a lesson from one of the fabulous companies in Calgary or in the Bow Valley.

• Rent a wetsuit with your board or try paddling on a very warm day first. It’s also advised that you stay close to shore until you have your balance mastered.

• A head wind is not your friend on a board. Pay attention to the wind, if you find yourself being blown down a lake. It will be twice the effort to get back to your starting point.

• Always wear a PFD (Personal Flotation Device) and carry a whistle in case you get in trouble and need to call for help.

• Paddle with a friend or a family member; there’s safety in numbers.

• Dress as if you were going to fall in the water. This should include a bathing suit with either a wetsuit or else quick dry pants and a swim shirt overtop. I’m also partial to wearing a rain jacket on cool days or during the evenings.

• Wear sandals or water shoes with a protective bottom for rocks that you’ll likely step on while getting on or off your board. And think athletic sandals rather than flip-flops. Many paddlers like to go barefoot, but this is only recommended when you are starting from a sandy beach.

• Don’t take anything on your board that can’t get wet (think keys, phones, cameras). Either bring a dry bag for your valuables (and attach it to the bungees on your board) or lock everything safely in your car.

Karen is a mother and a lover of maps, mountains, and mochas. With her geography degree and experience leading hikes and backpacking trips in the Rockies, she is full of ideas on where to go and what to do. The mission of her blog, playoutsideguide.com, is to provide everything families need to know to get outside and have fun. Follow on Instagram @playoutsidegal.

Tanya is a freelance writer and mom to a spunky boy. She loves hiking, camping, skiing, and all things mountainrelated. She is the author of the blog Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies, rockiesfamilyadventures.com. You can find her on Instagram @MountainMomYYC.

The campfire gourmet: S’mores and hot dogs, remixed

Get your poking stick ready!

By Calgary's Child Magazine

Everybody loves cooking around the campfire on a summer evening! Try these “remixed” ideas for s’mores and hot dogs for a fun birthday party meal, camping treat or family activity at a local park or in your backyard.

S’MORES REMIXES

For the outside

Graham crackers are the traditional “bread” in a s’mores sandwich, but if we’re being honest with ourselves, they’re not the star of the show. Provide a selection of these much tastier alternatives and see what new combinations you can come up with!

Ginger snaps

Chocolate-covered cookies

Chocolate chip cookies

Brownies (the chewy, slightly dry kind)

Peanut butter cookies

Shortbread rounds

Molasses crinkles or snickerdoodles

Speculaas cookies or stroopwaffels

Puffed rice treats

Chocolate sandwich cookies

Your favorite cookie recipe from home!

For the middle

Normally, s’mores have a few pieces of milk chocolate inside that are supposed to melt from the heat of the toasted marshmallow. Unless you’re really patient, you often end up biting into cold chunks of chocolate. Offer a selection of these s’more toppings for some fun variations:

Hazelnut spread

Cheesecake bites

Fruit jam

Butterscotch or white chocolate chips

Cookie butter Bacon

Salted caramel

Toasted coconut flakes Whipped cream

Banana slices

Pretzels

Potato chips

Peanut butter cups

Mini chocolate bars

Sprinkles

Cereal with marshmallows

For the marshmallow

A s’more just isn’t a s’more without a toasted marshmallow in the middle! If you’re ambitious and a good baker, you can make your own at home and flavor them any way you like (just keep in mind that homemade marshmallows are often less solid than the store bought ones, so they might slip off your roasting stick!)

If you don’t have access to an open flame but still want to make s’mores at home, you can use marshmallow fluff in a jar or carefully brown the marshmallows in your oven on the broil setting.

If gelatin is a concern for you or any of your guests, vegan, kosher and halal marshmallows are available online – just make sure you leave time for shipping!

HOT DOG REMIXES

For the bun

The basic hot dog bun is great, but here are some delicious alternatives for hot dog wrappers that you might enjoy:

Bannock (make them flat or wrap the dough around a hot dog and bake them together over the fire)

Pita (the pocket is great for holding fillings!)

Flatbreads (naan, roti, paratha, lavash, etc.)

Frozen crescent roll dough in a can (wrap around the hot dog)

Croissants

For the meat

While there’s something to be said for the classic simplicity of a hot dog, here are a few other fillings you can offer to please a crowd. Pretty much any sausage makes a great hot dog alternative! Keep in mind that the cooking times and methods will vary depending on your meat of choice – safety first.

Corn dogs

Smoked sausages (a popular local favorite often called “smokies”)

Italian sausage

Kovbasa (also called kielbasa, kielbasa, kobasa or sometimes “koobies”)

Veggie dogs

Falafel

For the toppings

Here’s where you can have a little bit of fun! Your standard toppings for a hot dog are usually ketchup and mustard, but the sky’s the limit. Here are a few interesting hot dog topping combinations we like – serve a few or serve them all!

Cheese (any kind you like)

Flavored mayo-type spreads (Kewpie, aioli, Sriracha mayo, etc.)

Potato chips

Coleslaw

Chili

Pickles

Bacon

Relish Hot sauce

Caramelized onion

Okonomiyaki sauce (available at any Asian supermarket)

BBQ sauce

Sauerkraut Hot peppers

Tubby Dog’s Cap’ns Dog (peanut butter, jelly, and Captain Crunch cereal)

Donair sauce

Baked beans

Grilled pineapple

By Calgary's Child Magazine

Bitten by the travel bug, but aren’t sure how you’re going to afford it this year? A great family vacation doesn’t have to break the bank! Here are a few easy tips to make your family’s travel budget stretch a little further:

Make a real budget and stick to it. A lot of us “guesstimate” our travel budget by adding the cost of flights to the cost of the hotel and then adding a few hundred dollars for literally everything else. Be thorough! Look at the cost of the attractions you’d like to see, figure out the average cost of restaurant meals, local gas prices, and even whether or not you’d like to bring home some souvenirs. Organize these in a spreadsheet to create your daily budget and you won’t be shocked later.

Plan far ahead and try to be flexible. If you’re organized and carefully watch flight and vacation package prices, you can sometimes snag incredible deals. Lots of package vacations and cruises go on sale around Black Friday or Boxing Day – if you already know where and when you’d like to go, you can save a lot of money by planning to book around those dates.

Carry food and drinks with you. Avoid high prices at theme parks, airports and restaurants by packing meals ahead in a backpack for the day. It can be really fun to check out local supermarkets and see what they have to offer that’s different from at home – make it part of the experience!

Look for coupons and discounts. Even the big attractions will sometimes have discount days. Museums and local historical sites sometimes have cheaper entry on certain days or after certain times; research ahead!

Consider a self-catering stay. Staying in an apartment or house via a service like Airbnb or VRBO can save you a lot of money in the long run – the ability to use a kitchen and cook for yourself, save on multiple hotel rooms and access free residential parking can add up. Just make sure to watch for costly add-ons like cleaning fees when you book!

Look for hotels with free or reduced-cost meals. A lot of hotels will provide breakfast, but some also offer free snacks throughout the day or appetizers in the evening. Some hotels will offer discount vouchers for affiliated restaurants; call ahead or check their website to find out.

Look for reduced prices for kids. If you need to eat out at a restaurant, many offer kids’ menus or free kids’ meals with the purchase of an adult meal. Some attractions will offer free admission or cheap admission for kids under a certain age –consider adding those to your itinerary.

Find free stuff to do. Many cities will have free self-guided walking tours, public parks, beaches, historic sites and street markets and festivals. Google is your friend! Search ahead to find local blogs and travel guides that highlight everything free to do at your destination.

Consider camping or a road trip. Hotels can be expensive and big city prices can quickly get overwhelming. While gas and campsites aren’t free, you can save a lot of money by choosing to explore small towns and cities across western Canada or even the United States. Enjoy the great outdoors! CCM

Building a ‘ten essentials pack’ can engage kids in learning basic outdoor skills. A compass, First-Aid kit, whistle, space blanket, and nutrition bars are some of the items to include in your essentials pack. Older children will need guidance in learning to handle fire-starting materials. All children can carry a flashlight.

Transplant your community for a week. Planning a campout to accommodate a community of families that play together, ride bicycles together, or go to school together can create an opportunity to experience an intentional ‘village’ for a time. Living next door, campsite to campsite, tent to tent, allows children to interact and play all through the day in a setting that differs dramatically from the car-driven routine at home. Adults may get to have conversations with one another at camp that there had not previously been time for. At least one large potluck meal at a central campsite makes for a festive feeling that helps strengthen the sense of community.

Learn some Alberta history and geology. Camps are often located near natural areas that feature museums and educational displays available to the public. Investigate these places along the route to your camps destination. You may be amazed by the colorful characters who occupied the territory before you. Before leaving on your camping trip, watch films that detail hundreds of years of geological

transformation about the region you are traveling to.

Mishaps make for fun storytelling around the campfire. Campfire time offers an opportunity to recount the adventures or misadventures of the day. Embellishments are allowed and all members of the family can contribute. Watching the flames dance in the darkness stirs our sensibilities and has the power to unite family members in lasting and memorable ways.

Form traditions over time. When you have gone on enough summer camping trips, favorite spots at camps become apparent. Think of all the memories that could be formed over many years of visiting the same camps or locale. Each return visit feels fresh and new, yet the familiar landmarks, the places to watch the sunset, the familiar trails that meander up the hill all form an imprint that steadily builds on previous visits. A summer camping tradition that you start with your family may very well be carried on by your children and their families.

From every trip, bring back the best experiences from summer camping to everyday life at home. There will be gear to put away, clothes to wash, moments to remember, and stories to tell. Then start planning your next adventure!

Diane is a freelance writer who loves the outdoors, and is actively anticipating camping trips with friends and her grown children this summer.

YW Calgary is proud to coordinate the Calgary City Centre Family Resource Network

Hit the trails! Best summertime hikes for first-timers

Short, scenic adventures outdoors

By Tanya Koob

Summer in Calgary is so short! While the temptation is always there to spend your days indoors, we live right at the foot of the most beautiful mountain range in North America – the Rockies. No matter what your family’s age and stage, there are hikes in the mountains which will make memories and inspire a love of the outdoors to last a lifetime. Pack a lunch and get out there!

FAMILY-FRIENDLY FIRST HIKES

Hailstone Butte Lookout, Kananaskis

This is a beautiful hike in Southern Kananaskis where you’ll get to visit an active fire lookout site. The hike is short and sweet with a 3km return distance and 300m of height gain. The trail is steep, but you’ll be rewarded with great views from the top.

Drive south of Calgary on Highway 22, passing Black Diamond and Longview. Turn west on Highway 532, a gravel road that is generally not too rough. Driving time is about 90 minutes from south Calgary. Park at the top of the ‘hump’ where you’ll find the trailhead.

For a scenic drive home, you can continue driving over the hump and then turn north on Highway 940. This takes you to Highwood Junction where you can turn west on Highway 40, heading for Highwood Pass. Drive over the pass and return to Calgary via the Kananaskis Valley, past the Kananaskis Lakes and Kananaskis Village. Alternatively, if you live in south Calgary, from Highwood Junction turn east on Highway 541, which takes you to Longview.

Make sure you take time to stop for ice cream or treats in one of the small towns that you’ll pass on your way home or pack a lunch to enjoy at one of the day use areas you’ll pass. Depending on which route you take home, you can also add on another short hike. The hike to the Cat Creek Waterfall is a good choice if you take Highway 40 towards Highwood Pass. (2.6km return, 150m height gain.)

For more information on the Hailstone Butte hike, visit the Alltrails.com.

Sulphur Mountain, Banff National Park

Here’s where we say, “yay for gondolas!” With the price of a gondola ticket, you can reach within 30m of the summit of Sulphur Mountain and introduce even your two year old to climbing mountains. The Sulphur Mountain Vista Trail is a 2km return hike on a very good boardwalk. Note that there are many sets of stairs, so this hike is not stroller-friendly. The hike is also very busy in summer, so my suggestion is to go mid-week or get an early start! Also, while adult tickets may seem steep, children ages five and under ride for

free, and you can get one free child admission for each paying adult daily before 12pm. (Offer valid online only.)

For more information on hours and pricing, visit the Banff Gondola website.

Take it up a notch: You can hike to the top of Sulphur Mountain (without taking the gondola) in a 5.5km hike with 650m of height gain. Treat the kids to a ride down on the gondola afterwards (discounted rates apply for one-way rides.) The hiking trail is well switchbacked with a nice grade the entire time.

FAVORITE MOUNTAIN PICNIC PLACES

Wedge Pond, Kananaskis. Located just beyond Kananaskis Village on Highway 40, this small pond is great for children who enjoy wading or playing in water. While you likely won’t go swimming in this cold pond, you can still spread a blanket out by the lakeshore while the kids play and snack on the delicious food you’ve packed. You’ll also find a few picnic tables and fire pits here, along with a short walking trail around the pond.

For families who enjoy biking, you can also access Wedge Pond via the paved Bill Milne Bike Trail. I recommend starting at the Kovach Day-Use Area below Kananaskis Village and biking to Wedge Pond for your picnic. It will be mostly flat or downhill on the way back, so it’s an easy return ride after playing at the pond. Total distance between the two day-use areas is 17 km return. Note: If this distance is too far for your family to bike, an adult could bike back for the vehicle while you play at the pond.

Buller Mountain Day-Use Area, Spray Valley, Kananaskis. I only just discovered this great Day-Use area in Spray Valley Provincial Park this summer. You’ll find picnic tables, fire pits, and a lovely pond in this secluded location that is rarely crowded or busy.

Popular activities in the area include easy family- friendly mountain biking from the Mount Shark Day-Use Area to Watridge Lake (3.7km one way on an old gravel road), visiting Mount Engadine Lodge for afternoon tea (no reservations required), or hiking to Chester Lake (4.6km one way).

Johnson Lake, Banff. The sister to Quarry Lake, this is Banff’s local town beach. Bring your swimsuits, a blanket, and sand toys. There are a few picnic tables on-site but no fire pits. As with Quarry Lake,

wear your swimsuits under your clothing or you will be changing in the bathrooms.

While at Johnson Lake, enjoy a peaceful paddle (bring your own boat or inflatable raft) or hike around the lakeshore in a 3.5km loop. Families who enjoy mountain biking will also find the trailhead for the intermediate Water Tower Trail here. The trail begins past the bridge on the right side of the lake. Follow the old road up to the water tower and continue on the single-track trail from there. It’s best done as an out-and- back ride. The trail is roughly a 6km return, if you stop at the high point above Cascade Ponds.

Sundance Canyon, Banff. The paved Sundance Trail leads to a picnic site at the entrance to Sundance Canyon. There are bathrooms and picnic tables. The trail is 3.9km one way to the picnic area and entrance to the Sundance Canyon Loop (1.6km loop on a moderate trail, which has stairs and a few spots where you’ll want to hold a hand if hiking with young kids). The first part of the trail is Chariot-friendly.

This trail is also great for families who enjoy biking. It’s an easy ride up to the picnic area. There are benches along the trail for resting, and you can watch as people canoe down the Bow River beside you.

HIKING SAFETY TIPS:

It’s highly recommended that you carry bear spray with you when you go hiking. I also suggest hiking in a group and making lots of noise.

Pack layers and be prepared for any kind of weather to blow in. You’ll also want to wear good sturdy footwear.

Research your hike before you go! Visit the Alberta Parks or Parks Canada website, check for trail closures, contact a visitor center, and download the route on a hiking app. There are also many great local guidebooks you can buy to get your family started with hiking.

Here’s to a summer of first summits and happy trails! Have fun, and maybe I’ll even meet you and your family on one of these great summits!

Tanya is a freelance writer and mom to a spunky boy. She loves hiking, camping, skiing, and all things mountain-related. She is the author of the blog Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies, rockiesfamilyadventures.com. You can find her on Instagram @MountainMomYYC.

Fall It's

30 Fun Things to do With Kids in and Around Calgary this Fall

Fall is another super short season here in the Foothills, but it’s one that many families have come to cherish. While the beautiful autumn colors can come and go in only a few days, there are plenty of warm and sunny days to enjoy before the chill of winter sets in! Here are some of our favorite activities to enjoy outdoors and indoors in the fall around Calgary.

1. Have some fun at Winsport. Try the mountain bike park, with 25km of open and single-track cross-country trails, bobsled, zipline and more. For more information, visit Winsport.ca

2. Check out a skatepark. Wheeled sports, like bike riding and skateboarding, are ‘unstructured’ recreation activities that are affordable, accessible, and naturally encourage free play and physical activity for family members of all ages. Our city has several permanent skateparks to encourage active, healthy, and creative living:

Shaw Millennium Park (1220 9 Avenue SW)

CKE Skatespot (1015 73 Avenue SW)

Deer Run Skatespot (2223 146 Avenue SE)

Huntington Hills Skatespot (Centre Street and 64 Avenue NW)

Mid Sun Skatepark (50 Midpark Rise SE)

New Brighton Skatepark (5801 130 Avenue SE)

Southwood Skatepark (11 Sackville Drive SW)

Bowness Skatepark (4324 77 Street NW)

NE Community Skatepark (7555 Falconridge Boulevard NE)

Carrington Skatespot (Carrington Boulevard and 140 Avenue)

According to the City of Calgary, it is estimated that there are more than 35,000 skateboarders in Calgary. The City is building three more skateparks (at Bowness, at the Genesis Centre and at the Shane Homes YMCA at Rocky Ridge) as part of phase one of the skateboard strategy implementation.

3. Ride at a bike pump track. Bike pump tracks are progressive circuits where riders use an up and down pumping motion to propel the bike forward instead of pedaling. Increasingly popular among Calgarians, pump tracks are perfect for practicing balance, learning skills and improving confidence on a bike. Check out a local pump track in the following locations:

South Glenmore Park (3520 90 Avenue SW)

Fairview (7800 Flint Road SE)

Inglewood (7 Avenue and 20 Street SE)

West Confederation (southeast corner of West Confederation Park near 19 Street NW)

The origins of the pump track are rooted in the hardpack BMX tracks of the ‘70s and ‘80s, and recently, in the backyards of Australian downhill racers who created some of the first pump tracks around 2002. The first new era pump track on North American soil was built in 2004 at The Fix Bike Shop in Boulder, Colorado, by pro downhiller Steve Wentz.

4. Scale the walls at a Calgary Climbing Centre location. Calgary’s biggest indoor climbing facilities with friendly staff, varied terrain and beginner lessons for all ages. Calgaryclimbing.com

5. Try bouldering at Bolder Climbing Community. 5508 1 Street SE. Calgary’s premier bouldering gym. Bolderclimbing.com

6. Challenge obstacles at Breathe Parkour. Offering programs for kids as young as six years old. Old or young, fit or deciding to get fit, Parkour is for everyone! No experience necessary. Breathepk.com

7. Become a ninja warrior at Fitset Ninja Calgary. Whether you’re a longtime Fitset Ninja member, or you’re just starting to dip your toe into the sport, open gym is the perfect opportunity to explore your ninja skills and put them to the test. Calgary.fitsetninja.com

8. Take a walk through the Medicine River Wildlife Centre. The center provides care for injured or orphaned wildlife with the aim of returning them to the wild. Medicineriverwildlifecentre.ca

9. Visit the Cochrane Ecological Institute and Cochrane Wildlife Reserve. This reserve has the only breeding colony of the Swift Fox (endangered in Canada). The reserve also provides care and rehabilitates injured wildlife. Ceiwildlife.org

10. Say ‘hi’ to the dogs at Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary. Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary offers a variety of tours to the public to educate the public on wolfdogs and raise awareness regarding wolf conservation. Yamnuskawolfdogsanctuary.com

11. Enjoy the colors of fall at Calgary Farmyard. Get lost and eventually found as you navigate your way through giant corn labyrinths, mingle with barnyard animals, bounce on jumping pillows, ride tractor trains, take aim with corn cannons, pick your perfect pumpkin in the fall and more! Calgaryfarmyard.com

12. Explore the cornmaze at Cobbs Adventure Park. Fun-filled activities for people of all ages. The main attraction is a unique corn maze, but there is much more going on. Cobbsadventurepark.com

13. Play around at Granary Road. Since its opening in 2017, Granary Road has quickly become a favorite dining, shopping and entertainment destination in the greater Calgary area. The Active Learning Park is filled with educational and fun exhibits for the whole family! Granaryroad.com

14. Visit the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory. Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, U of C. One of Canada’s largest telescopes patrolling for killer asteroids. They are open to the public during special events. Ucalgary.ca/rao

15. Enjoy the view at the Calgary Tower. Get a bird’s eye view of the river, the mountains, downtown and beyond. Calgarytower.com

16. Try virtual golfing at LaunchPad. You’re never too young to start playing golf, LaunchPad welcomes kids of all ages and is a great place to start learning! Launchpadgolf.com

17. Get ready for skating season at the Olympic Oval. The Olympic Oval typically offers more than 50 recreational public skating sessions per month on their 400-meter oval ice. Skate and helmet rentals are available. Oval.ucalgary.ca

18. Race at SPEEDERS Go Karts. Speeders Calgary is a five-star entertainment venue, offering an adrenaline-filled racing experience perfect for challenging drivers of all skill levels. Speeders.ca/calgary

19. Try downhill karting at WinSport. Take the driving seat and enjoy Skyline Luge’s downhill karting experience. Master 1800 meters of track with over 50 twists and turns. Go as fast or as slow as you like – you’re in control! Downhillkarting.ca

20. Take a wander through Fish Creek Park. Visitor center at 15979 Bow Bottom Trail SE. Only a hop, skip and a jump from Calgary’s southern suburbs, Canada’s largest urban park covers more than 20km of protected river valley.

21. Take in the view at Nose Hill Park. Visitor center at 6465 14 Street NW. A unique natural environment park located in Northwest Calgary, just 15 minutes from downtown.

22. See migrating birds at Ralph Klein Park. Visit the learning center at 12350 84 Street SE. The constructed wetland was designed specifically to improve stormwater quality before it enters the Bow River system.

23. Find wildlife at Beaver Dam Flats. Located at 62 Avenue SE and 16 Street SE. Beaver Dam Flats is surrounded by various natural habitats that attract beavers.

24. Feed the fish at Bow Habitat Station. Bow Habitat Station is made up of a visitor’s center, the Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery and the Pearce Estate Park Interpretive Wetland. Bowhabitat.alberta.ca

25. Find muskrats and beavers at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Located at 2425 9 Avenue S. Over 250 bird species and a variety of mammals call these 32 hectares of natural area home.

26. Enjoy a prairie vista at Haskayne Legacy Park. The park is adjacent to the Bearspaw Reservoir with the Bow River to the west and south. Traditional western ranchlands come alive with spectacular mountain and prairie views at the Haskayne Legacy Park, located at the northwestern edge of the city of Calgary.

27. Take a drive to the Royal Alberta Museum. Located in Edmonton. The Wild Alberta gallery takes visitors across, over and under Alberta’s diverse landscapes. Royalalbertamuseum.ca

28. Make a weekend trip to West Edmonton Mall. West Edmonton Mall is a ‘must-do’ for any Albertan! Stay in a themed room at the Fantasyland Hotel, enjoy the slides at the World Waterpark, and check out the rides at Galaxyland, the mall’s indoor amusement park. Wem.ca

29. Go cheer for the home team. Calgary is home to tons of semi-professional teams which offer plenty of action at much lower ticket prices! Check out sports like Australian football, rugby, roller derby, ringette and more and discover a new team to cheer for.

30. Check out an event at Spruce Meadows. Watch jumping and dressage at this world-famous horse sports facility. Sprucemeadows.com

Kid-friendly cafes and sweet treats

Here are a few of our favorite things

By Calgary’s Child Magazine

Whether you have time to linger and catch up or just need a little pick-me-up to get you through soccer practice, Calgary is home to a wide variety of amazing cafes, bakeries and sweet shops. Stop at one of our favorites and treat yourself!

Analog Coffee Greenwich - #130 - 55 Greenbriar Drive NW, analogcoffee.ca

Calgary is blessed with a wide variety of amazing home-grown coffee shops with multiple locations, so choosing a favorite is always controversial. In our humble opinion, Analog does the best latte in town. We love their location right outside Calgary Farmers’ Market West – pop in for a quiet latte after buying goodies at the market, or start here to fortify before you browse.

Euphoria Cafe - #110 - 8 Varsity Estates Circle NW, euphoriacafe.ca

We love Euphoria for its variety of non-coffee drinks (including exceptionally good hot chocolate!) seasonal beverages and glutenfree, keto and paleo-friendly snacks.

Sweet Tooth Ice Cream - 206 Centre Street S, sticyyc.com

Enjoy Thai-inspired rolled ice cream in delicious flavors like dirty chai, mixed berry and pumpkin spice topped with whipped cream, or indulge in their chocolate-dipped cheesecake – you really can’t go wrong!

Lakeview Gluten-Free Bakery - 2515 90 Avenue SW, lakeviewbakerycalgary.com

Lakeview Gluten-Free Bakery creates all of their gluten-free offerings in a dedicated bakery to ensure there’s no crosscontamination. Come in to take home a wide variety of your favorite treats, from pies to cinnamon buns!

Snowy Village - #101 - 3604 52 Avenue NW, snowyvillages.ca

Have you ever had bingsoo? Now’s your chance! Snowy Village specializes in Korean-style shaved milk ice topped with fruit, chewy mochi, whipped cream, cookies and much more.

Rainbow Bakery - #135 - 328 Centre Street S, facebook.com/ rainbowbakeryyyc

Located in Dragon City Mall, this family-run bakery boasts a wide variety of savory and sweet treats baked fresh daily. Stop in and fill a take out bag with cream puffs, melon buns, pork buns or egg tarts!

The Big Buns Club - thebigbunsclub.com

You’ve gotta try these buns! Available on an order-ahead or delivery basis and at pop-up locations throughout each month, The Big Buns Club offers cinnamon buns in delicious seasonal flavors like apple pie, gingerbread and chocolate orange.

Kid-friendly cafes – Continued on page 37

Our

Can we change the world if we have L D & ADHD?

Yes, you can!

Tsujiri Japanese Tea House - 205 16 Avenue NE, tsujirialberta.com

Green tea lovers, rejoice! Tsujiri offers hot, cold and flavored green teas as well as delicious parfaits, ice cream, lattes, floats, shaved ice, pastries and more all centered around the unique flavor of Japanese teas.

Register your child today

The Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) is proud to provide a diverse range of programs, services and exciting learning opportunities, both in-person and online, to meet your child’s unique needs.

We strive to create a culture of faith, hope and love. Our talented and dedicated staff provide quality Catholic education, from kindergarten to Grade 12, in safe, nurturing and inclusive communities.

To register, contact your local Calgary Catholic school. All families are encouraged to inquire.

Students born outside of Canada will need to first schedule an appointment at the St. John Reception Centre by calling 403-500-2007.

Visit www.cssd.ab.ca for more information about our schools and our programs.

Tasse Bakery - #1 - 3220 5 Avenue NE, tassebakery.com

Run, don’t walk, to Tasse Bakery! Enjoy a wide range of truly mouthwatering Middle Eastern desserts and pastries like baklava, knafe and mushabak. Tip: Make sure you buy extra so nobody notices how much you ate on the car ride home.

Black Sheep Patisserie - #140 - 815 17 Avenue SW, black-sheep.ca

This French patisserie offers delicious desserts and eclairs, but we particularly love their unique and flavorful croissants with layers of flavor and jam baked right inside! Try the pear/vanilla and have it warmed up with a little bit of butter for spreading; trust us.

Eclair de Lune - 4127 6 St NE, facebook.com/patisserie.eclair.de.lune

Whether you sit and enjoy a coffee and a pastry or take them home with you, Eclair de Lune has a huge variety of all your favorite French treats! We love their gorgeous fruit danishes, tarts and buttery palmiers.

Ollia Macarons & Tea - 810C 16 Avenue SW, byollia.com

Come in for a cup of perfectly blended tea and a macaron or take home a beautifully-arranged box with a variety of flavors to share. Ollia also offers macaron baking classes so you can wow your friends! CCM

10 photo scavenger hunts in Calgary parks

These mini picture adventures promise good times outside

By Karen Ung; Photo courtesy of Karen Ung

Calgary’s parks are full of natural and manmade wonders just waiting to be explored. And what better way to discover them than on a photo scavenger hunt!

With an abundance of gardens, sculptures, birdwatching, playgrounds, and snack spots, these mini photo adventures promise good times outside. Visit a different park each week in every quadrant of the city. If you’d like to do so, post your photo scavenger hunt findings/surroundings on social media to inspire your friends and family to get in on their own hunt and explore Calgary’s parks!

n NORTHWEST

1. Dale Hodges Park, tucked between an escarpment and the Bow River, recently won a national landscape design award for making stormwater management look good. The scenic park features wetlands, streams, and a pond that is perfect for birdwatching. Walk/bike 1.1km along the Bow River to the park

entrance (look for a sign on your right), then head west to learn how various features treat stormwater. Find and snap a pic of:

• Round lookout

• Bridge

• Round pond

• Three kinds of birds

Parking: 2111 52 Street NW. Treat spot: Go for ice cream at Abbey’s Creations (4703 Bowness Road NW).

2. Bowness Park is a family favorite with two playgrounds, a spray park, picnic areas with fire pits, lagoon, and Bow River views. Find and snap a pic of:

• Giant ladybug

• Train tracks

• Canoe

• Canada Goose

• Bat boxes

Parking: 8900 48 Avenue NW.

Treat spot: Seasons of Bowness Park (8900 48 Avenue NW) is a fullservice restaurant.

3. Nose Hill Park, one of Canada’s largest urban parks, has a huge network of trails to explore and tons of geocaches. As you ramble through rough fescue grassland and aspen forest, keep an eye out for deer, coyotes, and porcupines.

Find and snap a pic of:

• Dog mural

• The medicine wheel (directly south of the mural)

• Stone labyrinth (north of the mural)

• Cliffs

• View of downtown

Parking: 5620 14 Street NW.

Treat spot: The Bullet Coffee House (728 Northmount Dr NW) for coffee, milkshakes, and fresh baking.

n NORTHEAST

4. St. Patrick’s Island Park boasts a picnic area, cool playground, wading area, and awesome views of downtown. Bike here on the Bow River Pathway to avoid paying for parking.

Find and snap a pic of:

• Climbing wall

• 23-metre high flower

• Bridge fit for a king

Parking: 1300 Zoo Road NE (Calgary Zoo West Lot). The park is on the west side of the parking lot.

10 photo scavenger hunts – Continued on next page

Nose Hill Park

Treat spot: Get a chocolate croissant at Sidewalk Citizen (618 Confluence Way SE) on the south side of the bridge. Nearby East Village Playground is also worth a visit!

5. Prairie Winds Park is an awesome park with two playgrounds, a spray park, wading pool, BBQ areas, picnic shelters, fitness stations, soccer field, tennis courts, basketball courts, and cricket pitch.

Find and snap a pic of:

• Zipline

• Stick forest

• Gazebo

• View from the top of the big hill

Parking: 223 Castleridge Boulevard NE.

Treat spot: Get donuts and an iced capp from Tim Hortons (#1013660 Westwinds Drive NE), then pick up delicious samosas from The Samosa Factory (#135 - 55 Westwinds Crescent NE) for dinner.

n SOUTHWEST

6. Visit Edworthy Park’s many playgrounds, enjoy a picnic (there are fire pits and picnic shelters – reservable and first come first served), then cross the bridge and play on the fitness equipment near the north parking lot.

Find the following:

• Leaf climber

• Purple dinosaur

• Edworthy Park gravel beach

• Gazebo

Parking: Edworthy Park South Parking lot.

Treat spot: Angel’s Cafe (4105 Montgomery View NW) on the north side of the river is your place for coffee, yummy baked goods, and ice cream.

7. Elbow Island Park is a peaceful retreat just a hop, skip, and a jump from the hustle and bustle of 4th Street SW. Descend the fish ladder staircase and follow the dirt trail around the island (1.4km loop) to find art installations, watch birds, and bask in the sun. For a longer walk, head north on Mission Bridge, and go left on the Elbow River Pathway to find a small playground and Rideau Park suspension bridge.

Find and snap a pic of:

• Stone benches in a stream

• Colorful wheelbarrows

• Train bridge bench

Bonus: Minnows

Parking: Rideau Road SW and 5th Street (two-hour street parking). Access the park from the west side of Mission Bridge (4th Street between Rideau Road SW and 26 Avenue SW).

Treat spot: Pick up a decadent cake, chocolate croissant, or box of macarons from Yann Haute Patisserie (329 23 Avenue SW).

8. South Glenmore Park, on the south side of Glenmore Reservoir, features an accessible playground and spray park, tennis courts, polo field, bike pump track (closed for construction), picnic area and shelter, and musical park. Head west on the paved path to visit the playground and Quinterra Legacy Garden musical park. Past the musical park is the turnoff to Jackrabbit Trail (on your right). The rolling, forested trail goes 3.1km to a beaver pond at the edge of Weaselhead Natural Area.

Find and snap a pic of:

• Xylophone

Elbow Island Park

• Chickadees

• Sailboat

Bonus: Beaver pond Parking: 8601 24 Street SW.

Treat spot: Lakeview on 90th (2515 90 Avenue SW) has an amazing assortment of gluten-free baked goods.

n SOUTHEAST

9. Reader Rock Gardens is a provincial and national historic site, and it’s easy to see why. Pretty pathways wind through exquisite gardens and mature trees, past a stream and benches, leading you to the William Roland Reader’s former residence, which is now a cafe. Reader was the Superintendent for Calgary Parks from 1913 to 1942. Find and snap a pic of:

• Gazebo

• Bridge

• Stone pathway

• A Canadian flag Parking: 325 25 Avenue SE

Treat spot: Get a sundae or Vienna apple strudel from Reader’s Garden Cafe.

10. Fish Creek Provincial Park protects riparian areas along Fish Creek and the Bow River. With 80km of trails, multiple picnic areas (many with fire pits), a mountain bikes skills park (Burnsmead Day-

Use), and swimming area (Sikome Lake - day-use fee in effect), you could explore this park for days and not run out of things to do!

Visit Bow Valley Ranch and snap a pic of:

• Gas lamp

• William Roper Hull’s former home

• Caballo, the holey horse

• Balsam poplars (they have deep ridges in their trunks)

Parking: 15975 Bow Bottom Trail SE.

Treat spot: Annie’s Cafe (15985 Bow Bottom Trail SE) is known for its cinnamon buns, but they have smoothies and ice cream, too!

Happy exploring!

Karen is a mother and a lover of maps, mountains, and mochas. With her geography degree and experience leading hikes and backpacking trips in the Rockies, she is full of ideas on where to go and what to do. The mission of her blog, Play Outside Guide, playoutsideguide.com, is to provide everything families need to know to get outside and have fun.

FOUNDATION

Phoenix Education Foundation 320-19th Street SE Calgary, AB

Caballo

Feeding picky eaters

By ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen

Feeding a picky eater is not only stressful, but it can also become very frustrating! Don’t panic; here are some helpful tips and tricks on how to avoid a battle at the dinner table.

All kids have a natural fear of trying new foods. They also go through phases of liking foods; something they love today could be something they will not touch tomorrow. Keep calm and know that you are not alone. Read on for some tips to help you out on your road to transforming a picky eater into a happy eater:

1. Sit down and eat together. One of the most important ways to build healthy eating habits is to eat together at the table as a family. This means putting away screens and creating a routine. This first step paves the way for eating success while also allowing you to lead by example and eat healthy, balanced meals yourself.

2. Try again. Repeated exposure of foods is especially important to help with the fear of trying new foods. Seeing the same food on their plate repeatedly changes it from something new to something less scary.

The first time you offer a new food or one that they previously have said no to, give them no more than one or two mouthfuls. This

is more approachable than giving them a full serving. Instead of forcing children to eat everything they are given, encourage them to try a taste and leave it up to them to decide if they continue eating it.

Sometimes kids honestly do not like some foods. You can keep offering the food they do not like with your meals, but serve it alongside something you know they enjoy.

3. Get them involved. Another way to encourage your children to eat their meal is to get them involved in the kitchen. Have the whole family help with meal planning so that everyone knows what to expect for the week. Let your children pick their favorite foods and avoid labeling foods as bad or unhealthy. Talk about the importance of balance and variety when explaining why we cannot eat the same favorite foods every single day. Kids are also more likely to eat foods that they helped to make, so do not shy away from having them help you cook dinner.

Visit ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen online at atcoblueflamekitchen.com for tips, recipes and cookbooks. Drop by the cafe for breakfast or lunch or to take home a delicious ready-cooked meal for dinner!

Top places to picnic in the mountains this fall

Bike, hike, paddle, swim – picnic like you never have before!

By Tanya Koob; Photo courtesy of Tanya Koob

Visit one of these day-use areas and plan a mountain picnic for the next nice weekend. Many of the picnic areas highlighted here have water features, so bring your swimsuits for a final dip before colder weather sets in!

Wedge Pond, Kananaskis. Located just beyond Kananaskis Village on Highway 40, this small pond is great for kids who enjoy playing in water. Spread a blanket out by the lakeshore while the kids play and snack on delicious food you’ve packed. You’ll also find a few picnic tables and fire pits, along with a short walking trail around the pond.

For families who enjoy biking, you can also access Wedge Pond via the paved Bill Milne Bike Trail. I recommend starting at the Kovach Day-Use Area below Kananaskis Village and biking to Wedge Pond for your picnic. It’s an easy return ride after playing at the pond. Total distance between the two day-use areas is 17km return. If this distance is too far to bike, an adult can bike back for the vehicle.

Forgetmenot Pond, Elbow Valley, Kananaskis. Drive 10km farther down Highway 66 toward the Little Elbow Campground where you’ll find this beautiful pond. There are fire pits and picnic tables. The pond is a great place to explore. Search for the hidden beach area underneath the suspension bridge. There’s sand and more than enough rocks for the kids to throw in the Elbow River.

Beaver Lodge Day-Use Area, Elbow Valley, Kananaskis. At Elbow Valley, there are a few picnic spots and a cute hiking trail that follows along the beaver ponds. Kids will love playing in the ponds, and the trail is fun for little ones on run bikes. There is one picnic table located near the largest beaver pond.

This day-use area is located within a kilometre of the Elbow Falls Day-Use Area, so you can visit both locations in the same outing. The kids will have fun playing in the river below the falls where there are plenty of rocks to keep them busy.

Wedge Pond

Buller Mountain Day-Use Area, Spray Valley, Kananaskis. Here you’ll find picnic tables, fire pits, and a lovely pond. Popular activities include easy family-friendly mountain biking from the Mount Shark Day-Use Area to Watridge Lake (3.7km one way on an old gravel road) or hiking to Chester Lake (4.6km one way).

Elbow Lake, Kananaskis. The trailhead is located on Highway 40 to the north of Highwood Pass, and the hike is 1.4km one way. The trail is stroller-friendly, and there is wood at the campground. Bring marshmallows and hot dogs, and head here for an enjoyable day.

Ghost Lake Reservoir. This reservoir is located 20 minutes west of Cochrane. My family enjoyed a paddle up the reservoir and discovered the perfect beach! The beach is located where the Ghost River flows into the lake after paddling under the bridge and up the

narrow part of the reservoir. With wind in your favor, this is an easy 20- to 30-minute paddle by canoe or kayak.

But wind can be a serious challenge on this lake, so choose a calm day for your picnic and plan a backup option. You don’t want to be stuck at the far end of the lake with a head wind, fighting to get back to your vehicle. Bring sand toys and a change of clothes for the drive home.

Johnson Lake, Banff. The sister to Quarry Lake, this is Banff’s local town beach. Bring your swimsuits, a blanket, and sand toys. There are a few picnic tables on-site but no fire pits. As with Quarry Lake, wear your swimsuits under your clothing or you will be changing in the bathrooms.

While at Johnson Lake, enjoy a peaceful paddle (bring your own boat or inflatable raft) or hike around the lakeshore in a 3.5km loop. Families who enjoy mountain biking will also find the trailhead for the intermediate Water Tower Trail here. The trail begins past the bridge on the right side of the lake. Follow the old road up to the water tower and continue on the single-track trail from there. It’s best done as an out-and- back ride. The trail is roughly a 6km return, if you stop at the high point above Cascade Ponds.

Banff Recreation Grounds, Banff. This popular picnic area is located near the Bow River in downtown Banff and has picnic tables and fire pits. There is a wonderful playground that will amuse a wide range of ages along with a bike park for your junior mountain biker.

From the Banff Recreation Grounds, you can access the paved Bow River Trail and bike or walk around Banff. You’re also close to the other amenities of Banff including ice cream shops, restaurants, and shopping.

Sundance Canyon, Banff. The paved Sundance Trail leads to a picnic site at the entrance to Sundance Canyon. There are bathrooms and picnic tables. The trail is 3.9km one way to the picnic area and entrance to the Sundance Canyon Loop (1.6km loop on a moderate trail, which has stairs and a few spots where you’ll want to hold a hand if hiking with young kids). The first part of the trail is stroller-friendly.

This trail is also great for families who enjoy biking. It’s an easy ride up to the picnic area. There are benches along the trail for resting, and you can watch as people canoe down the Bow River beside you.

Tanya is a freelance writer and mom to a spunky boy. She loves hiking, camping, skiing, and all things mountainrelated. She is the author of the blog Family Adventures in the Canadian Rockies, rockiesfamilyadventures.com. You can find her on Instagram @MountainMomYYC.

Scenic fall bike rides and walks

By Lori Beattie; Photos courtesy of Lori Beattie & Cody Stuart

Calgary is home to thousands of kilometres of pathways – get out and enjoy them! Lori Beattie (author of Calgary’s Best Walks and Calgary’s Best Bike Rides) shared some of her favorite bike and walking trails for enjoying the autumn colors around Calgary with us:

BIKE RIDES

Elbow River Pathway: Sandy Beach – River Walk – Scotsman’s Hill – Elbow Park

Distance: 7 to 20km

The entire length of the Elbow River Pathway is a wonderful mix of nature and neighborhoods as you cycle from Sandy Beach Park, through Riverdale, past Stanley Park and through Rideau. Scotsman’s Hill is the perfect photo stop before descending to the River Walk and the Bow River Pathway.

Glenmore Reservoir Circumnavigation Distance: 16km

Paved pathway riding, stunning reservoir and Rockies views, and a wilderness immersion make this one of Calgary’s most popular leisure rides. Views are immediate and constant as you follow the

paved pathway at the top of the bluffs in North Glenmore Park, into the Weaselhead wilderness and back up to South Glenmore Park.

Confederation Park – Tuxedo Park – Crescent Heights – Sunnyside – Hounsfield Heights Distance: 6 to 15km

Paved pathways that wind beneath the poplars and alongside the creek in Confederation Park before you connect to the bike lane in Mount Pleasant continuing to the photo-worthy views from the Crescent Heights escarpment. Descend into Sunnyside and detour to see gargoyles and garage art or to take a pit stop at a tasty eatery.

Nose Hill Park Loop Distance: 9 to 15km

Views begin immediately as you follow the paved pathway onto the Nose Hill plateau, the highest point in Calgary. Choose to stay high on the plateau or drop down and climb back up. Highlights include the Siksikaitsitapi Medicine Wheel, the golden aspen groves, and the stunning grasslands.

Distance: 15km, or 22km with Calgary Farmers’ Market West add-on Travelling from wetlands to grasslands this hilly ride climbs to spectacular Bow

River views. Choose to continue along the Bow River or to navigate Bowness side streets to fill your panniers with local produce from the market.

SCENIC WALKS

Murals and folk art: Riley Park –Sunnyside, NW

Start at Riley Park and walk east into Sunnyside, a community with character. Older, renovated homes painted in primary colors line the side streets. Zig-zag Sunnyside’s streets and back lanes and watch for gargoyles, a bike on a roof, little libraries, and more than 20 colorful garage door murals. This outdoor art gallery is the perfect treasure hunt walk. Travel along Kensington Road, and pick your hot chocolate pitstop. Grab a mid-walk treat and then walk to the impressive Poppy Plaza war memorial at the intersection of 10 Street and Memorial Drive. A dynamic public space, the plaza is the perfect place at which to sit, reflect, and watch the river flow by. Loop back through side streets to Riley Park.

Scenic fall bike rides & walks – Continued on next page

About us

The Calgary Classical Academy is a new tuition-free, public charter school opening September 2022 in the Bridgeland neighbourhood near downtown Calgary.

Calgary Classical ACADEMY

New tuition-free charter school offering a traditional liberal arts education for grades K-6

We offer an academically rigorous, traditional liberal arts education focused on nurturing a love of truth and beauty. Ours is a community of learning and friendship, in which we preserve the wisdom of the past, cultivate it today, and build upon it for future generations.

In our initial year, we will serve students in grades K-6, and will later expand to include all grade levels. The school welcomes all learners in the Calgary area who wish to seek moral, intellectual, and physical excellence.

Program Features

Academically rigorous education in the seven traditional liberal arts

Great books program centred on enduring works of art, literature, history, and philosophy from around the world

Character education and high expectations

Structured literacy and Singapore math

Smartphone-free environment School uniforms

Committed to truth-seeking and free inquiry

Language programs including French, Mandarin, and Latin

Outdoor education program

fine and performing

Bowmont

Nose Hill Park

Starting point: Riley Park official parking lot at the end of 8 Avenue just east of 12 Street.

Tasty pitstop: Vendome Cafe in Sunnyside is a favorite with its outdoor patio and tasty food. There are also many tasty spots along Kensington Road and 10 Street.

Waterfalls and boardwalks: Bowmont Park – Waterfall Valley

Little rockhounds will love racing down the boardwalk trail into Waterfall Valley where a 3-metre cascading fall flows over a spongy-looking deposit of tufa. Geologistsin-training will be excited to learn that the tufa is composed of mineral deposits that result when spring water precipitates calcium carbonate over algae-covered rocks. On a very cold winter day, when the falls are frozen and the spring water is warmer than the air, you are immersed in a glacial steam bath. Climb out of the valley and walk east or west following singletrack trails to the perfect picnic spot with a view.

Starting point: Parking lot at Silver Springs Boulevard NW and 54 Avenue NW.

Tasty pitstop: Cafe Le Matin is just around the corner from the starting point.

Twelve Mile Coulee

Wild walkabouts tucked into suburban neighborhoods are always a pleasant surprise. Tuscany’s Twelve-Mile Coulee Park got its name in the early days because it is approximately 12 miles (19km) from Fort Calgary and was a convenient mileage marker on the stagecoach run from the Fort Calgary main post office to the mission church at Morleyville, a missionary outpost.

The Métis used the term coulée, which means “small valley” or “gully,” to describe the type of landscape in the park. It comes from the French verb couler, meaning “to flow,” which is appropriate since the spring snow-melt leads to a rise in creek water level. The route begins on high ground and descends into the treed coulee where a few trail options make for a varied walk. You can walk above the creek, on the slope-side trail, or along the coulee bottom.

Adventurous creekhoppers will enjoy using their creative navigating skills since the trail diverges in many areas and,

Scotman's Hill

Scenic fall bike rides & walks – Continued from previous page

depending on how much water is in the creek, you may have to backtrack and choose a higher route. This is the kind of exploring that kids love! Those who choose to stay high and dry will walk through shrubs of willows, red-osier dogwoods, and American silverberry, as well as stands of trembling aspen, balsam poplar, and white spruce while on the north-facing slopes. The south-facing slopes are drier and host native prairie plants: rough fescue, Perry oat grass, and spear grasses thrive here. If you’re a rockhound, check out the large, bedrock, sandstone outcroppings at the south end of the park. This is Calgary’s best and most accessible example of the Porcupine Hills Formation that underlies the entire city.

You can easily adjust your walk length by taking any one of the many trails that climb out of the coulee, all of them unmarked, but well-used. Just be aware that some of these trails may be closed for rehabilitation as the park is being

redeveloped. Too many informal trails may lead to erosion and the loss of a valuable park space.

Walk to the end of the coulee, near Nose Hill Drive, and begin the long gradual climb to the community of Tuscany and to views of the Rocky Mountains, Canada Olympic Park, and the downtown core. Continue along the paved path at the top of the coulee or pick a trail and descend back into the wilderness. Creekhop back to your starting point.

Start: Park in the official parking lot off Tuscany Boulevard, just north of Scenic Acres Link.

LRT: Tuscany LRT, with a 1km walk to access the ravine.

Lori is the author of the new guidebook Calgary’s Best Bike Rides, 50 urban cycle tours and pathway pedals and the best-selling Calgary’s Best Walks, the owner of Fit Frog and the CTV Walks segment host. She leads walks, hikes, and snowshoe days with her company Fit Frog. Connect with her and get a signed copy of her books on Instagram & Facebook @lorifitfrog and at fitfrog.ca.

PLAY: Explore our child-centered room environment.

LEARN: Nurture emergent literacy by encouraging interest in reading & early writing.

Kindergarten Enhancement Out of School

Braeside School (SW)

Captain John Palliser School (NW) Marion Carson School (NW) Sunnyside School (NW) Hope Lutheran (NW) Genesis Centre (NE)

Winter It's time

30 Fun Things to do With Kids in and Around Calgary this Winter

Brrrr! Winter weather can take up almost six months of the year here in Calgary, and that means there’s no way to hibernate until it’s all over. Embrace the season! Wrap up warm and enjoy the many fun and family-friendly winter activities across the Foothills. While it’s sometimes too cold to go outside and enjoy the ice and snow, Calgary is full of great indoor attractions to beat boredom year-round!

1. Let’s go sledding! Tobogganing and sledding on the hills of Calgary is a thrilling way to take advantage of the snow. Don’t forget your helmet and watch for obstacles and other people! Here is a list of the hills that are maintained by the City of Calgary:

NORTHEAST

Big Marlborough Park (755 Madeira Drive)

Deerfoot Athletic Park (1503 16 Avenue)

Marlborough Community Association (636

Marlborough Way)

Monterey Park (2707 Catalina Boulevard)

Prairie Winds Park (223 Castleridge Boulevard)

Rundle (4120 Rundlethorn Drive)

Thorncliffe Greenview (5600 Centre Street)

NORTHWEST

Confederation Park (2807 10 Street)

Hidden Valley (10504 Hidden Valley Drive)

Royal Oak (9100 Royal Birch Boulevard)

St. Andrew’s Heights (2504 13 Avenue)

SOUTHEAST

McKenzie Towne (160 McKenzie Towne Drive)

New Brighton (1750 New Brighton Drive)

Maple Ridge (1127 Mapleglade Drive)

SOUTHWEST

Bridlewood (26 Bridleglen Road)

Glendale Park (2225 45 Street)

Kingsland (505 78 Avenue)

Richmond Green (2539 33 Avenue)

Sacramento (10404 Sacramento Drive)

Scarboro (1737 14 Avenue)

Signal Hill (2063 Sirocco Drive)

Stanley Park (330 42 Avenue)

2. Hear a Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra performance. The Calgary Philharmonic is a pillar of Calgary’s vibrant arts community and has grown to be one of Canada’s most celebrated live music ensembles. They have something for the whole family. Calgaryphil.com

3. Visit Studio Bell, Home Of The National Music Centre. Studio Bell is more than a museum! With five floors of exhibitions, historic musical treasures, fun interactive activities, and regular live performancesincluding daily demonstrations on the famed Kimball Theatre Organ. Studiobell.ca

4. Laugh out loud at Loose Moose Theatre Company. The Loose Moose Theatre For Kids is a truly magical experience for children four to ten years old, as well as fun and entertaining for parents. Loosemoose.com

5. Be enchanted by StoryBook Theatre. For over 42 years, StoryBook Theatre has been entertaining families from all over Calgary with their award-winning professional, quality shows. Storybooktheatre.org

6. See a show by Alberta Theatre Projects. Alberta Theatre Projects is a Calgary-based, not-for-profit, professional theater company. They create live, world-class contemporary theater from their home in the Martha Cohen Theatre at Arts Commons. Albertatheatreprojects.com

7. Enjoy dinner and a show at Stage West for Kids. Stage West puts on an incredible “kid-friendly buffet” complete with all the favorites, followed by a live childoriented performance with plenty of humor for parents as well. Stagewestcalgary.com/stage-west-for-kids

8. Be entertained at Jubilations Junior. This upbeat stage and restaurant offers a three-course meal and an interactive musical theater performance perfect for the whole family. Jubilations.ca 30 fun things to do –

9. Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.

Located on the west edge of Red Deer. The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is an interactive, hands-on celebration of Alberta’s sporting history. Albertasportshall.ca

10. Swim indoors at Vecova Recreation Centre. There is something for everybody at Vecova! Programs for you, your family and friends. Check out their programming for youth and children – including swim lessons, dropin swim and play times. Vecova.ca

11. Ride the waterslides at the City of Calgary’s Village Square Leisure Centre & Southland Leisure Centres. The Leisure Centres offer a wide variety of programs including swim lessons, sports, preschool fun and more. Calgary.ca/recreation

12. Play indoors at Trico Centre for Family Wellness. Trico Centre for Family Wellness wants your family to get active and have fun! Whether it’s in the fitness

center, the gymnasium, or one of their rinks, you’ll always have something to do. Come swim in their wave pool – and make sure you slide down the waterslide! Tricocentre.ca

13. Check out MNP Community & Sport Centre. MNP Community & Sport Centre has room under its iconic roof for everyone – from high-performance athletes to those dedicated to reaching their individual fitness goals. Here you can discover or even rediscover your forever after so you can keep getting stronger, and living better. MNPcentre.com

14. Enjoy a day at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre. Located in Cochrane. The Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre (SLSFSC) is a wonderful facility for all members of the community and surrounding area. SLSFSC includes three NHL-size ice surfaces, Jayman BUILT aquatic centre, and many spray features that will give your children hours of entertainment! SLSfamilysportscentre.com

15. Explore Cardel Rec South. The Cardel Rec South Complex is a unique and exciting project that brings together key community organizations in the development of a recreation, education, and library facility for the community. Cardelrec.com

16. Visit Vivo. Their 195,000 square foot LEED Gold Accredited Facility provides a bright, comfortable, inviting space for a wide range of spontaneous and structured activities for individuals and families of all ages and abilities. Vivo.ca

17. Drop in at your local YMCA. YMCA Calgary offers hundreds of programs for all ages. Each YMCA branch offers free drop-in classes for every member of the family. YMCA Calgary even has indoor climbing walls at Shane Homes, Shawnessy and Saddletowne! YMCAcalgary.org

18. Bounce around at Flying Squirrel Sports. Flying Squirrel Calgary is true fun for the whole family where the rules of gravity no longer apply! Form your

own extreme dodgeball team, slam dunk like a pro, practice your best aerial acrobatics, and so much more! Two locations. Flyingsquirrelsports.ca

19. Jump at Big Fun Inflatable Park. Big Fun offers family fun for everyone! 30,000 square feet of inflatable attractions and an incredible licensed restaurant with tons of eats and treats, will provide an unparalleled experience for all ages! Bigfuninflatablepark.ca

20. Play all day at KidzGo. KidzGo Play offers the ultimate entertainment experience-combining the excitement of kid friendly activities - arcade, slides, parties, and safe car track. Looking for a fun day in Calgary? You've come to the right place. Kidzgoplay.ca

21. Crawl and slide at Hide N Seek. Hide N Seek is Calgary’s most beloved indoor playground for both children and parents. Designed to provide a spacious and fun place for children of all ages, it is operated with high standards in safety and cleanliness. Hidenseekcalgary.com

22. Explore the SkyCastle. SkyCastle's core focus is to build fascinating family entertainment hubs to create delightful entertainment and exciting experiences for everyone! Skycastleab.ca

23. Have a ball at Treehouse Indoor Playground. A fun indoor playground geared towards children that are 13 years old and under. Two locations. Treehouseplay.com

24. Play together at the Big Box Family Entertainment Hub. The Big Box offers 55,000 square feet of entertainment extravaganza including soft-play, inflatable, VR, bumper cars, arcade, and an aerial obstacle course. Thebigbox.ca

25. Face off at Laser City. Offering laser tag, mini paintball, and Minecraft day camps for kids ages six to 12 all summer long! Lasercity.ca

26. Experience flight at iFLY indoor skydiving. Experience the feeling of freefall as you float on a smooth cushion of air. There’s no parachute, no

jumping, and nothing attaching you to planet Earth. Super fun, super safe and super cool! Iflyworld.ca

27. Visit the Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre Museum. The only museum in Canada devoted exclusively to Chinese culture. Culturalcentre.ca

28. Learn at YouthLink Calgary. Learn about the role of police in society and the consequences of crime for young people. Youthlinkcalgary.com

29. Check out the greats at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Explore fun, interactive exhibits that promote the importance of sport within our nation’s culture. The 40,000 square foot space has fun activities and is located fittingly on the grounds of Canada Olympic Park. Sportshall.ca

30. Experiment at TELUS Spark. Exhibits and programs ignite a sense of wonder and excitement. A place for people of all ages and abilities to let go and embrace the desire to explore and discover science, technology and art in a way that their normal day-to-day life doesn’t allow for. Sparkscience.ca

Should you snoop on your kids's phone?

“Under 18 I would snoop. I would also tell my child I am keeping tabs and why – because I love them and it's my job to ensure their safety. If they are making good choices, the snooping won't result in consequences. I wish my parents had set any boundaries for me as a kid or teen.” – Hayley K.

“Nope, and not because of privacy but for my own mental health. My anxiety gets worse when I think there is something wrong and checking and monitoring does nothing to quench the anxiety. So I hope that the open communication and respect my child has with me is enough to parent.”

– Jennifer V. D.

“I have very open communication with my children, I am hoping that that is enough. Neither has given me the urge to snoop yet. If I feel they are being dishonest, then I think I would speak to them before I would snoop, but who knows.” – Heather M.

“Mom snooped with my sister, not me. I found it to be a huge invasion of privacy and still do. If you think there are concerns, then look into it. Otherwise, family dinner at the table was usually all my parents needed to get things out of us!” – Erin R.

“Absolutely. Not only do I snoop, but it is my responsibility to know what they are up to. It is part of parenting. I like to think I don’t go overboard, but our rules say that we always have their passwords and free access to any devices. Don’t get me wrong!

I don’t sit there the minute they put them down and go through everything, but once in a while I go through stuff. Matter of fact, I have even had other parents approach me with issues and so I have gone through said conversations and turned out it wasn’t even my kid who was the issue. When I went back to the parents they hadn’t actually seen the conversation, they just took their kid’s word for it. So yup, until they pay their own bills I have free access.” – Danielle H.

“I don’t have a teen yet, but the day will come! As much as I want to hold her hand and literally know every second what she is doing, I don’t think that’s healthy. I also don’t think checking on her all the time will necessarily stop her from making wrong decisions, it is bound to happen, no one is perfect. It also wouldn’t be healthy for me as I would be glued to the app every minute, seeing what’s going on. I am hoping to take the approach of “I taught her all I can, showed her how to be responsible and a good human, now go out into this world and spread your wings.”” – Christina F.

“I don't snoop per se, but all of my kids have the understanding that I could. No locks on their bedrooms. I do their laundry, so I go get it sometimes. I also have the passwords to all of their phones (it's in their phone contract). Privacy is important to kids, but it is a privilege earned with trust.” – Erin W.

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Some responses have been edited for style and grammar. Responses were collected via Facebook. CCM

Snow Much Fun!

By Calgary's Child Magazine

Love it or hate it, ice and snow is all over Calgary from October to April! There are plenty of ways to use snow and ice as an openended toy, play structure and science experiment – here are just a few ideas!

Snow silhouettes. Find a patch of untouched snow and lie down! Wave your arms and legs to make a snow angel, or try to capture funny poses. Carefully stand up so you don’t ruin your artwork.

Snow castles. Use pop bottles, sandcastle molds, mixing bowls and buckets to pack snow and then create molded snow castles! This is a great technique for decorating a basic snow fort, too.

Obstacle course. Dig trenches and build hurdles and slides out of packed snow to create your very own obstacle course.

Snowflake observation. Put a sheet of dark construction paper in the freezer, then take it outside during a snowfall. Look at the flakes carefully and talk about the different shapes, then take photos and draw the snowflakes you observed.

Snow gallery. There are so many more choices for snow sculptures than your basic snowman! Try sculpting animals, aliens, landmarks or create some abstract art out of snow. You can decorate your sculptures with clothes and objects from inside, or use items from nature like sticks and berries that will biodegrade.

Snow painting. Tint some water in a squeeze or spray bottle with a few drops of food coloring, then use some freshly fallen snow as your canvas! Draw silly faces, write your name or create a beautiful rainbow effect on your lawn.

Blow bubbles. What happens to bubbles when they freeze in cold weather? There’s only one way to find out!

Create an ice lantern. Place objects from nature, biodegradable glitter or even little toys in a bundt pan. Fill it with water and put it outside on a cold winter night. The next day, slide your ice lantern out of the pan and put a tea light in the middle! Why not make a few and decorate your sidewalk?

Ice bricks. Use a rectangular loaf pan or food container and make bricks of ice (these look great with some food coloring!) Freeze them outside. Make a bunch and stack them into towers or walls.

Treasure hunt. Bury small items in deep fluffy snow, then give your kids a shovel and let the search begin! (Make sure you know where you buried everything or use items from nature!)

Snowball target practice. Hang a homemade bullseye target on a fence, a tree or the side of a building. Take turns trying to throw your snowball as close as you can to the center of the target.

The biggest pile. This may seem simple, but there’s nothing as fun as a huge pile of snow! You may have to ask your neighbors if you can borrow their snow or build this in a large field. All you need is a couple shovels and perseverance. See how big you can make your pile!

Snow forts. This is a classic childhood pastime here in Calgary! Make walls, domes, tunnels and trenches out of snow. If you have a house with a front yard, why not see if the neighbors want to join in and build adjoining forts in their yards, too? CCM

Avoiding overscheduling

Leaving space for quiet moments

By Christina Katz

Don’t let your child’s individuality get overlooked because you are keeping your child steadily overbooked. School, sports, afterschool activities, birthday parties, and social commitments - all of these things compete for your child’s energy and attention on a daily basis. And now that kids are hopping on social media at increasingly younger ages, the pressure to participate can become fierce early on. All those images of friends playing sports, hanging out at a pool party, or posing together in a gleeful gaggle may cause your child to feel like their schedule doesn’t quite measure up to others.

But no matter whose idea it is to keep kids busy and social 24/7, it’s ultimately every parent’s job to make sure kids don’t fall into the over-scheduling trap. Kids need their parents to make space for them to just be, so they don’t feel compelled to constantly do-do-do.

If parents don’t take an active role in supporting each child’s individuality, then their uniqueness is going to take a back seat to their busy schedule, and this can create feelings of isolation – or even depression – in kids and lay the groundwork for workaholism later in life.

Kids discover their sense of self in the quiet moments of life, when they can relax, be themselves, and let their instincts lead. If they can’t find quiet, reflective moments in their overly-busy lives, identifying individual desires may be delayed or denied. So be smarter than your sources. Don’t let your child’s individuality get overlooked because you are keeping your child steadily overbooked.

Prioritize the calendar. Before you add another activity into the busy mix, pause and consider what’s already on the schedule for the entire family. It’s only natural to want to do it all but saying yes to everything will only exhaust everyone and cut into valuable family time. If you can manage another addition, consider it. If you can’t, then it’s time to prioritize.

Focus on enrichment. Does the activity bring more joy and energy into your child’s life, or does it create conflicts and anxiety? Joining the competitive soccer league may sound fun, but if your child does not enjoy the level of intensity, then maybe the local intramural league is a better fit. Don’t assume the most expensive or competitive choice is always the best fit for your child’s needs. Sometimes less really is more.

Shrug off kiddie competition. Pressure to conform is everpresent in childhood. The kids next door participate in more activities than your kids? So what! Left to their own devices, kids will often compare their experiences with other kids and find theirs lacking. How many times have you heard that their friends’ parents let them do this or that? Strong, secure parents can hear this without giving in to pressure. “They do? That’s nice. This is what we do, and these are the reasons why.”

Find mentors of character. When you choose the activity, you also choose the role model who is in charge. Make sure coaches,

organizers, and leaders are the types of people you want influencing your kids. Mentors who focus on character model healthy choices and allow kids to act like kids while helping them build skills in a measured manner. If you are concerned that a coach or activity leader is over-zealous or too high-pressure, trust your instincts and investigate further.

Allow for downtime. Be sure your family has at least a day or two each week when no outside activities are on the schedule. Whether you participate in a religious Sabbath or not, everyone in the family can benefit from observing a weekly day of rest. And spending a whole day enjoying family time each week will bring your family closer and remind everyone that family comes first.

Encourage personal development. Kids need hobbies, just like adults. Private, personal activities that don’t have to be shared with others can be soothing, pleasurable, and teach kids to become more self-directed. If your child loves to bake, knit, build models, or peer at the stars, support those interests. When you buy them special ingredients, pretty yarn, three types of glue, or the slightly

“When it comes to scheduling your child, let their needs lead, not yours.”

better telescope, you are saying to them: ‘I see you and I support the person you are becoming.’ Every child needs and wants this kind of recognition and acknowledgement from parents.

Be honest with yourself. Do you really care more about what others think of your kid than you do about your family’s overall happiness? Do you worry you are living in such a dog-eat-dog world that your child has to be hyper-busy to compete? Are you so concerned about your child’s social standing that you put them in activities they don’t care about to expose them to the ‘right kids’? If any of these are true, take a step back. When it comes to scheduling your child, let their needs lead, not yours.

Watch for signals of overdoing. Is your child happily content, or often tired and irritable? Do you have a mutual admiration society at home, or are family members always sniping at each other? Is everyone sleeping well at night, or is exhaustion the norm? Are you in charge of the schedule, or do stress and pressure run the show? Remember that your family deserves to feel calm and content. Take charge of how you spend your time and your children will soon follow suit.

RELAX, KICK BACK, AND HANG OUT

Take back your family’s quality of life by trying some of these simple strategies:

• Have a family project you all work on year-round in a leisurely manner.

• Go on local outings with the mission of simply hanging out together.

• Take an occasional family walk together in a go-to location when something challenging needs to be discussed and sorted out.

• Watch a family double feature with popcorn, drinks, and lively discussions.

• Take the family to the library and spend an hour gathering books, magazines and music of interest.

• Make Sunday brunch a ritual activity either at home or at an inexpensive restaurant.

• Have a casual but consistent family meeting once a week to get a better sense of how kids are feeling about the ways they spend their time.

Christina is an author, journalist, and coach who often writes on the topic of life balance and personal selfexpression. She knows the power of saying no and is not afraid to use it.

Planning the perfect winter picnic in (and around) Calgary

By Karen Ung; Photo courtesy of Karen Ung

The sun sparkling on snow, a crackling campfire, hot cocoa, and smokies make for a memorable winter outing. While winter may not scream picnic season, it’s a wonderful time of year to dine al fresco if you dress warm and have a fire. There are no bugs or crowds, and you can get gorgeous golden-hour photos in that magical time before sunset. Here’s how to plan the perfect winter picnic in (and around) Calgary!

CHOOSE A PICNIC SITE WITH A FIRE PIT

These beautiful picnic areas with fire pits have walking trails and outhouses nearby:

Edworthy Park has spacious picnic sites (including two with picnic shelters), walking trails, and four playgrounds. The new playground on the south side has some unique features, like a four-person teeter totter! Before you settle in for dinner, walk the Christmas Tree Trail and look for chickadees in the trees. 5050 Spruce Drive SW

Bowness Park, another riverside park in northwest Calgary, has picnic sites (many with large picnic shelters), two playgrounds, ice skating on the lagoon, and a 1.6km skating track (usually opens in time for Christmas), cross-country ski trails, and walking trails. My family likes walking across the 85 Street Bridge to Baker Park, too. Note: This popular park fills up fast on weekends. 8900 48 Avenue NW

Fish Creek Provincial Park, Fish Creek Provincial Park, Calgary’s largest park, has picnic areas with fire pits at Bebo Grove, Glennfield, Hull’s Wood, Shannon Terrace, and Votier’s Flats Day-Use Areas. Glennfield has large group sites, while the other picnic areas are suitable for smaller gatherings. Enjoy a nature escape in the city as you hike the forested trails along the creek. Washrooms are open year round for your convenience.

North Glenmore Park has sunny picnic sites near the Glenmore Reservoir. With playgrounds, an ice rink, skating track, cross-country

ski trails, and pathways you could explore for hours. 7305 Crowchild Trail SW

Prairie Winds Park has two picnic areas with fire pits, a toboggan hill, skating rink, playgrounds, and fitness stations. 223 Castleridge Boulevard NE

Sandy Beach Park has pretty picnic sites along the Elbow River. Visit the playground and walk across the suspension bridge while you’re there. 4500 14A Street SW

In Kananaskis, try Mount Lorette Ponds (wheelchair accessible picnic sites and 700m loop around the ponds) or Wedge Pond (1km loop with lovely views of Mount Kidd).

Here’s what you’ll need to bring:

• Firewood, kindling, fire starters, lighter and/or matches (it is prohibited to burn deadfall)

• Camp chairs

• Roasting sticks

• Dishes, cutlery, napkins

“With shorter days in the snowy season, you can make the most of winter by playing and dining outside!”

No bugs, no crowds, just fun

• Tablecloth

• Hand sanitizer and wipes

• Cooler with food and beverages (alcohol is only permitted at select picnic areas)

• S’mores kit

• Garbage bags

• Extra water for putting out the fire

• Camp blanket to keep your legs warm (wool is naturally flame-resistant)

• Extra layers of clothing

A collapsible wagon is recommended for hauling everything to your site.

Know before you go:

• Most picnic sites are first come, first served in the winter, so have a backup plan in case your first choice isn’t available.

• If you’re planning on visiting a site in the Kananaskis, remember that the purchase of a Kananaskis Conservation Pass is mandatory. These can be purchased online at alberta.ca.

• The City of Calgary Community Fire Pit Program offers free fire pit permits at many Calgary parks, such as Prairie Winds Park, Stanley Park, and Riley Park.

For more information, visit calgary.ca.

• Food scraps can attract wildlife, so pack out all trash, even if it’s biodegradable.

• Check for fire bans before you go!

• Be fire smart: Never leave a fire unattended, and always put out your fire completely before you leave.

• Alcohol is permitted in select picnic areas until 9pm (Fish Creek Park DayUse Areas close at 8pm). For more information, visit the Calgary Parks or the Alberta Parks website.

• Dogs are permitted at picnic sites if they are on-leash. Please clean up after your pet(s)!

With shorter days in the snowy season, you can make the most of winter by playing and dining outside! Kids will love cooking their own dinner over the fire, and you can enjoy coming home to a clean kitchen.

Karen is a mother and a lover of maps, mountains, and mochas. With her geography degree and experience leading hikes and backpacking trips in the Rockies, she is full of ideas on where to go and what to do. The mission of her blog, playoutsideguide.com, is to provide everything families need to know to get outside and have fun. Follow on Instagram @playoutsidegal.

Become a tourist in Calgary this winter

By Calgary’s Child Magazine

Calgary is beautiful in every season, but we’re lucky enough to be one of the world’s top destinations for winter sports and activities! People come from around the globe to ski, hike, fish and climb in the coldest months of the year in the nearby mountains and foothills. It’s easy to take all that winter can offer for granted (especially when you’re tired of scraping off your car every morning), but why not embrace the cold this year and make the most of it?

Look at Calgary like international tourists do and shake off your regular routine with these 20 great winter activities:

Visit some hot springs

There’s nothing better than a dip in a hot spring in the coldest months of the winter! Cultures around the world have believed in the restorative power of hot spring water for thousands of years. Banff, Radium and Fairmont are all within a few hours of Calgary and all feature public hot springs which are well worth a weekend trip!

Try ice fishing

Once the ice is thick on the ponds and lakes near Calgary, ice fishing opens up for the season! If you’ve never been before, hire an ice fishing guide for a few hours who can provide all the tackle and equipment you’ll need to get started. Ask around your friends and family; you’d be surprised how many anglers are happy to help newbies get started! Popular places to ice fish near Calgary include Ghost Reservoir and Eagle Lake, but there are lots of options to explore.

Ice racing on Ghost Lake

Locals build a racetrack on the famous lake as soon as the ice is thick enough to hold vehicles. Photos of the 2.4-kilometre track went viral on Instagram this year and it’s easy to see why. This is a great way to quench your need for speed!

Check out winter festivals

Calgary has no shortage of festivals during the cold months. Glow YYC takes place in the holiday season, as does the everpopular ZOOLIGHTS. Other holiday events include Once Upon A Christmas at Heritage Park and Lions Festival of Lights. YYC Hot Chocolate Fest, Chinook Blast and SnoMo Days are up and running in February to break up the seasonal blues. A quick Google search will help you find even more festival fun throughout the winter.

Visit the Calgary Central Library

Did you know that the Calgary Central Library is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world? It’s won tons of architecture awards and was listed in Time Magazine as one of the Top 100 Greatest Places of 2019. This incredible library branch is a destination all on its own, offering hours of free fun. With registered and drop-in classes, an incredible play place and children’s library and a tasty cafe, you can easily pass a day within the library’s four walls.

Stroll through a museum

There is no shortage of cozy museums to stay warm in this season. Fort Calgary, TELUS Spark, Studio Bell, the Military Museums... the list goes on and on. There are even some lesser-known ones like The Hangar Flight Museum and YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre. Many are interactive and some even provide classes and/or tours. Make sure to check out the website of your favorite museum for details on pricing, hours, parking and more.

Shop at an indoor market

Calgary is home to a large number of pop-up artist and craft markets which occur throughout the year, as well as the two indoor year-round locations of the Calgary Farmers’ Market. Supporting these markets not only helps small businesses, but you can get

Become a tourist – Continued on next page

unique groceries and gifts, drinks, treats and more. From fresh flowers to decadent donuts, these indoor markets have it all and you can spend a good chunk of a day taking them in.

Go tubing

Servus Tube Park at Winsport opens in mid-December and features eight lanes of fun, a magic carpet, and more. The park offers downhill excitement and winter fun, for any skill level and ability, all without leaving the city. It is one of the largest parks of its kind in western Canada.

Hop on a fat bike or ice bike

Winter fat biking is a great way to stay active this season. The trails around Calgary are plowed after a snowfall as are the bike lanes. Or for something a little different, you can try out the ice bikes at Bowness Park. Picture a bicycle, where the front wheel has been replaced with skates and the back wheel is surrounded by skates. With a wide base, you don't even have to balance. Just pedal and steer as if you're riding a normal bike. Rent them at the skate shop.

Go dog sledding

This one requires a bit of a drive, but it is worth it! Imagine the cold air on your face as you dog sled through the pristine wilderness of the Canadian Rockies just outside Canmore near the Banff National Park and Kananaskis Country. This is an experience you will never forget! For a list companies that offer dog sledding, visit: travelalberta.com/ca/things-to-do/winter-outdoor-activities/ dog-sledding

Have a winter picnic

While many people think of a picnic as a summer adventure, there is no reason you can’t pack your basket and venture out on a nice winter day. Many local parks have picnic tables all year round, so wipe the snow off and enjoy a portable feast! Check out the article on pages 44 for more picnic locations in and around Calgary.

Walk with the penguins at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo

Birds of a feather walk together, and you can too! Check out the Penguin Walk at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, which usually starts in January. During the winter months (weather dependent), the King Penguin colony heads out on zoo grounds for a daily enrichment walk to keep their brains and bodies healthy and visitors get to experience the fun!

Discover outdoor art exhibits and murals

Calgary has dozens of interesting murals and other outdoor art pieces that you can enjoy from the comfort of your car in the winter months. Some examples include Colourful Human by Troy Lovegates at 591 17 Avenue SW, Cougar by Faith 47 at 735 12 Avenue SW and Bees by Natalie Nehlawi at 10 Avenue & 12 Street SW.

Take in the theater

There is nothing like “taking in a show,” and Calgary is home to a wide variety of professional and amateaur theatre companies!

Alberta Theatre Projects, Vertigo, Morpheus, Theatre Calgary, StoryBook Theatre, Loose Moose, Stage West, Jubilations, Front Row Centre, Imagine Performing Arts, Workshop Theatre, Lunchbox Theatre and many, many more put on dozens of productions for all ages and interests every year.

Climb the Calgary Tower

A trip up the Calgary Tower can make for a fun day. When was

the last time you were up there to take in the views? Have your children ever gone? It might be worth it for a bird’s eye view from the observation deck with nothing but a glass floor under your feet!

Walk along the river

Speaking of downtown – why not take a stroll by the Bow River? This might be something on your spring or summer to-do list, but have you ever tried it in the winter? The snow-covered views of the frosty river are beautiful and there is still tons of wildlife to see in the colder months. Make sure to dress warmly and never walk on ice on the river.

Go mall hopping

Whether you have something you want to buy or just want or stretch your legs indoors, Calgary’s malls are a great place to stay warm and get everyone moving. Family favorites include CrossIron Mills, CF Market Mall, Southcentre Mall and CF Chinook Centre. Treat yourselves to a little “souvenir” while you’re there!

Try a snow sport

Skiing, snowboarding, tubing, snow blading, cross-country, ski biking and more – we’re in the heartland of snow sports and there are tons to try! Take a class for beginners at Winsport or make an expedition out to one of the many ski resorts in the mountains nearby. CCM

How to make your own Little Free Library

Winter is the perfect time to build your Little Free Library indoors in preperation for spring.

By Lara Krupicka

My family loves to read. And we love sharing great books with others and discovering new reads. So when I heard about the Little Free Library movement, I knew we had to get involved. These small book-filled structures situated along neighborhood sidewalks encourage passers-by to take home any book they fancy and invite them to participate by donating books if they wish. In our case, though, we didn’t only want to visit a Little Free Library - we wanted to host one. If you would like to do the same, then read on!

Little libraries come in all shapes and sizes. You could put out a plastic container of books with a sign inviting people to take a book. Or, if you have basic construction skills or know someone who does, you could build a wooden library. Just follow these 12 steps:

1. Call before you dig for your Little Free Library on your own home property. Call 1-800-242-3447; albertaonecall.com.

2. If you have permission to dig up your own home property, decide on a design. What type of roof will your library have? Will the peak face the front or the side? Double doors or a single door? One shelf or two? Do you want to make it in the shape of your favorite object? How much of an overhang will you leave on your roof?

This may sound like a lot to consider for such a simple building. However, it all makes a difference when it comes down to construction. Once you have made those decisions, you will want to plot out measurements for each piece of your library: floor, sides, door, window, back, roof. A common finished size for Little Free Libraries is 20” wide x 18” to 28” tall x 12” to 15” deep.

3. Gather materials. You will need:

• 5/8” plywood for the structure itself

• 4”x 4” post for mounting it on

• nails or screws

• wood glue

• caulk

• exterior-grade paint

• hinges

• door handle

• acrylic sheet for a window in the door

• hook and eye to latch door closed

Some library stewards aim for an environmentally-friendly creation by salvaging construction supplies from what they already have.

4. Cut and sand the wood. Measure and mark the dimensions of each piece. Then using a circular or table saw cut the pieces to size. For the front of your library, you will also need to mark the opening for your door and cut it out. Then, in the piece you removed, you will want to cut the opening for your window. For the window itself, cut a piece of acrylic one inch larger than your opening (to overlap ½” on all sides).

If you don’t own a saw and can’t borrow one, bring your measurements when you purchase the wood. Many lumber and big box stores will cut to order for free or a nominal fee.

Once your wood is cut, sand it. Start with a rough grade of sandpaper and sand each piece, making passes with increasingly finer grits. Your patrons will appreciate not having their clothing catch on a rough door or splinters in their fingers as they pull a book out.

5. Paint the library. Before you assemble your building, mark which side of each piece will face inside. Paint those first rather than awkwardly reaching inside a finished library.

When the paint has dried, flip the pieces over and paint the outside, unless you are painting a special design on the exterior, in which case you should assemble your library before painting the rest.

6. Assemble your library. Position the sides of your library at the edge of the floor piece, painted sides facing in. Drill pilot holes before nailing or screwing them together. Do this for both sides and back. Then place the front piece with cutout in position and fasten as you did the others. For added stability, you can run a line of wood glue along the edge of each board before fastening.

7. Attach the window and door. Attach the acrylic sheet to the backside of the door. Centre the acrylic atop the door interior, insert short screws with washers snug against the edges of the window so that the heads overlap the acrylic to hold it in place.

Fasten the hinges on the door, ensuring it hangs plumb as you do so. Then attach the handle and hook and eye.

8. Caulk the interior. Run a bead of caulk along all the corners where the sides of your building meet. You may want to

“Little libraries come in all shapes and sizes.”

leave the edges where the walls meet the floor untouched. In the event that moisture enters your library, it will have a place to escape.

9. Attach the roof. Match your roof pieces at the peak, measuring for an even overhang on all sides. Clamp in place and fasten as you did the sides. Then caulk inside along all roof and wall joints.

10. Insert your library post. Dig a posthole approximately two feet deep. Drop in your post. Using a level to position the post upright in all directions, fill halfway with crushed stone followed by sand, tamping down between layers. To make it even sturdier, mix and pour concrete around the base.

11. Mount your library to the post. You could add two angle braces (like those used on mailboxes) for extra support.

12. Host your grand opening! Fill your Little Free Library with books, leaving space for visitors to add their own contributions. Attach a Little Free Library charter sign to make it official (shop.littlefreelibrary.org) if you desire. Then invite your friends and neighbors for an unveiling party!

Serving as Little Free Library stewards (as owners are called) can be satisfying for kids and adults alike - watching cars pause in the street to look at your building, receiving messages from friends about the books from your library their kids are reading, venturing out to see what new books have appeared and which ones have been claimed. The few hours of work

that go into building one pay off many times over in community interactions and promoting literacy.

Looking to grab some books for you and your little bookworm in a neighborhood?

Go to littlefreelibrary.org and click on ‘Map.’ There, type in ‘Calgary’ to get your literacy party started!

Lara, along with her husband and daughter, created and installed a Little Free Library at their home. They love watching books disappear from their library and watching new ones appear.

Little free library – Continued from previous page