Avenue Calgary JAN 2020 by RedPoint Media

25 YEARS OF CITY| LIFE| STYLE| CALGARY

Get the Dress Just-right Celebrations 8 New Venues

JANUARY 2020 | $4.95 AVENUECALGARY.COM

RESOLUTION SOLUTIONS Where to dine out and where to work out

MOUNTAIN MOTIVATION

to get active in 6 ways the Rockies this winter

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F E AT U R E S

contents JANUARY 2020

Find Your Fitness Family It’s the start of a new year (a new decade, actually) and you, like many of us, are resolving to work out more. To make sure you keep that resolution, you’ll need to find a fitness studio that best fits your workout style.

By Valerie Berenyi

FO OD

Diets are so last year. Resolution dining, on the other hand, is less about caloric deprivation and more about indulging — albeit in ways that have positive impacts on your health, wallet, the environment and the local economy. Read up on where to go and what to order if you’ve resolved to dine differently.

10 EDITOR’S NOTE

By Samantha Gryba, Stephanie Joe, Nathan Kunz and Amber McLinden

Wedding Fashion

Get the Dress Just-right Celebrations 8 New Venues

PM# 40030911

AGAIN

SKIP: I ’M

JANUARY 2020 | $4.95 AVENUECALGARY.COM

Resolution Dining

by Colin Gallant

DEPARTMENTS

25 YEARS OF CITY| LIFE| STYLE| CALGARY

Avenue Weddings | Resolution Solutions | Mountain Motivation

avenue

N K

I N G M E AT O R JU E AT

Our annual look at how we say “I do” in the city, with stories of three local celebrations where the couples chose non-traditional paths to create something just right for them, and a round-up of new event venues, shops and services to help you plan your perfect day.

RESOLUTION SOLUTIONS Where to dine out and where to work out

MOUNTAIN MOTIVATION

ways to get active in 6 the Rockies this winter

O N T H E C OV E R

Elegant looks for brides, their bridesmaids and female wedding guests to suit a range of celebration styles, from traditional, to modern, to the quintessential Calgary country wedding.

Wedding Fashion PHOTOGRAPH BY Brendan Klem DEANN (LEFT) Zimmermann dress, $835, and Miu Miu earrings, $550, from Holt Renfrew. JADE (CENTRE) Gala by Galia Lahav gown, $8,200, from The Bridal Boutique; Baublebar earrings, $45, from Nordstrom. KARIMAH (RIGHT) Dress, $350, by Maide; earrings, $26, from Zara.

66 WORK OF ART

Detours One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo is letting the next generation of theatre artists in on the action with a production by Western Canada High School students in the 2020 festival lineup. Plus, must-read local book picks by authorly-readerly experts in the city, a recurring event where entrepreneurs own up to their failures and missteps, and a few words with actor Julie Orton, one of the stars of the queer adaptation of the improvised theatrical hit show Blind Date. 6

avenueJANUARY.20

Mountains

Decor

Three outdoor enthusiasts with ties to Kananaskis Country let us in on their ultimate winter activities for days when they want to get the blood pumping and days when they just want to take it easy.

A home in North Glenmore Park takes style cues from convertedindustrial New York lofts while still offering its owners plenty of living space, including a basement designed for a golf simulator.

Recording artist Reuben Bullock sounds off on his favourite places to eat, drink and shop in Calgary, the city he still considers his hometown even as his music takes him elsewhere.

The List

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AvenueCalgary.com

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A DV ERTI S I N G I N QU I R I E S

O N E H O M E S, T W O H O M E S, R E D H O M E S, GREEN HOMES We take a look at innovations in new home building, including green homes, tiny homes and simple homes, but above all, beautiful homes.

SCREEN DETOX When it comes to time on our devices, how much is too much?

Phone: 403-240-9055 x0 Toll Free: 1-877-963-9333 x0 advertising@avenuecalgary.com AvenueCalgary.com Published 12 times a year by RedPoint Media & Marketing Solutions. Copyright (2020) by RedPoint Media & Marketing Solutions. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Canadian Publications Mail Agreement No. 40030911.

R E S TA U R A N T S INSIDE OF R E S TA U R A N T S How Calgary chefs are creating new dining models to serve the food they love.

avenueJANUARY.20

We acknowledge the traditional territories and the value of the traditional and current oral practices of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut'ina and Stoney Nakoda Nations, the Métis Nation (Region 3), and all people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.

Editor-in-Chief Käthe Lemon, klemon@redpointmedia.ca Executive Editor Jennifer Hamilton, jhamilton@redpointmedia.ca Senior Art Director Venessa Brewer, vbrewer@redpointmedia.ca Senior Editor Shelley Arnusch Associate Art Director Sarah Nealon Assistant Editors, Digital Content Alyssa Quirico, Alana Willerton Assistant Editor Colin Gallant Staff Photographer Jared Sych Production Designer Austin Jansen Contributing Editor Andrew Guilbert Editorial Interns Samanatha Gryba, Nathan Kunz Fact Checker Amber McLinden Contributors Valerie Berenyi, Kara Chomistek, Jennifer Friesen, Stephanie Joe, Brendan Klem, Jessie Landry, Kat Martinez, Kagan McLeod, Amber McLinden, Mateusz Napieralski, Brianna Sharpe, Nickol Walkemeyer, Katherine Ylitalo Land Acknowledgement Advisors Elder Edmee Comstock, Elder Reg Crowshoe, Elder Rose Crowshoe Print Advertising Coordinator Erin Starchuk, production@redpointmedia.ca Sales Assistant Robin Cook, rcook@redpointmedia.ca Director, National Sales Lindy Neustaedter Account Executives Liz Baynes, Janelle Brown (on leave), Melissa Brown, Michaela Brownlee, Jocelyn Erhardt, Deise MacDougall, Anita McGillis, Chelsey Swankhuizen Production Manager Mike Matovich Digital Advertising Specialist Katherine Jacob Pickering Digital Advertising Coordinator Silvana Franco Audience Development/Reader Services Manager Rob Kelly Printing Transcontinental LGM Distribution City Print Distribution Inc.

Avenue is a proud member of the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association and Magazines Canada, abiding by the standards of the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors. Paid circulation is audited by BPA Worldwide. REDPOINT MEDIA GROUP INC. President & CEO Pete Graves, pgraves@redpointmedia.ca VP Sales & Marketing Andrew Persaud, apersaud@redpointmedia.ca Director of HR & Operations Terilyn Lyons, tlyons@redpointmedia.ca Director of Digital Content & Strategy Jaelyn Molyneux, jmolyneux@redpointmedia.ca Interim Controller Cheryl Clark, cclark@redpointmedia.ca Senior Accountant Jeanette Vanderveen, jvanderveen@redpointmedia.ca Business Development Strategist Anita McGillis, amcgillis@redpointmedia.ca Client Relations Manager Natalie Morrison, nmorrison@redpointmedia.ca Events & Marketing Coordinator Angela Chios, achios@redpointmedia.ca Office Manager Anna Russo, arusso@redpointmedia.ca

One Yellow Rabbit’s 34th Annual High Performance Rodeo Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts January 8 – 26, 2020

“My Work... My Passion.” Manuel Galvez

A one-of-a-kind ring to reeect the horticultural passion of our client!

ENTRIES ARE NOW OPEN FOR AVENUE ’S 2020

Made in Alberta Awards

HPRodeo.ca One overall winner of the Made in Alberta Awards 2020 will receive $5,000 cash! Enter at madeinalbertaawards.ca/entryform ENTRIES CLOSE FEBRUARY 29, 2020.

AvenueCalgary.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

Best Year Ever

Get ready for a fresh start in 2020.

avenueJANUARY.20

Käthe Lemon Editor-in-Chief klemon@redpointmedia.ca

CALLI N G ALL ALB E RTA MAKERS

Entries are open now until February 29 for the 2020 Made in Alberta Awards. The Overall Winner will take home a $5,000 cash prize and winners and runners up in 10 categories will be featured in Avenue magazine in both Calgary and Edmonton in September. Find out more at MadeInAlbertaAwards.ca restaurants that accommodate a variety of new year's resolutions such as pledging to eat more veggies or eating well while saving your pennies. We also take a look at a variety of fitness options to help you find the spot that best suits your fitness style, whether you’re all about working out in style, finding your zen in a yoga class or boxing away your agression. And if your 2020 fresh start includes getting married, check out our Avenue Weddings section starting on page 23. We wish you all the very best for the new year!

Photograph by Jared Sych; two button overcoat by local designer Anneke Forbes, $835, annekeforbes.com

here is something about milestone birthdays and new years that make many of us think of new beginnings. Here at Avenue, we have just celebrated our 25th anniversary. Our first issue was published in December 1994. Both the city and the magazine were very different all those years ago. Al Duerr was mayor, the West Texas Intermediate price was $17.16 a barrel USD, the Flames were happily ensconced in their comparatively new digs at the 11-yearold Saddledome. Over the past 25 years the city has added almost 550,000 Calgarians to our ranks as well as many, many downtown buildings and neighbourhoods stretching farther and farther in every direction. Twenty-five years ago, Avenue was printed on newsprint, 10 times a year, although it soon switched to a glossy paper. There was no website, let alone social-media presence. We didn’t run events and it would be several more years before we added any of our signature features like our Best Restaurants issue, Best Dressed list or Top 40 Under 40 project. It has been a great joy and privilege for us to create this magazine about this city at this time and we’re eager to get started on the next 25 years. We are already looking at what we will be adding and starting fresh to share with you; more events, more newsletters (if you don’t already receive our free weekly Weekender, Food & Drink and Style newsletters about all the latest great things we’re exploring in the city, go now and sign up, we’ll wait for you to get back) and more new stories of course. Among the stories in this issue we are focusing on the new beginnings of the new year. Our assistant editor, Colin Gallant, recommends

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avenueJANUARY.20

DETOURS Western Canada High School students are performing a play of their own creation at One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo this month. It’s the first time the longrunning theatre festival has featured a highschool production.

High Performance High School

The 2020 edition of One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo includes Revolution or Slumber, the first-ever high school production to be part of the long-running theatre festival.

Photo by Sean Dennie

howcasing bold ideas is nothing new for One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo (HPR). But this year’s politically and environmentally charged Revolution or Slumber is a first for the festival, in that it’s a high-school production. Revolution or Slumber, created by Western Canada High School students, not only depicts young people’s perspectives, it allows them to tell their stories themselves. “It gives us a direct line to where young people are at today,” says HPR festival producer (and member of Avenue’s Top 40 Under 40 class of 2019) Laurel Green. “This is a play made by young people, where they get to actually have their real voices heard in it and their real perspectives represented.” Students wrote and produced Revolution or Slumber over the past six months, with guidance from Western Canada High School drama teacher and program coordinator Caitlin Gallichan-Lowe and mentoring from two legendary Rabbits: artistic director Blake Brooker and associate artist Denise Clarke.

Following initial casting last June, students were assigned summerbreak tasks, learning about activists and change makers like Greta Thunberg, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Patti Smith. (The title of the show comes from Smith’s 2015 memoir M Train, which features the line: “Which is it going to be, revolution or slumber?”) From there, the students developed the narrative, a story of 12 teenagers who come together at a sleepover party with the joint objective of saving the world. “They want to use their art as a way to inspire their generation,” says Gallichan-Lowe. “These guys are taking a really proactive stance just by the very act of making something.” The creation and programming of Revolution or Slumber continues HPR’s Beautiful Young Students program, an initiative launched in 2016 to invite students to attend performances, meet performers and take part in dialogues with working artists. According to Brooker, however, the idea of having a high-school play in the Rodeo stems back to a performance he attended at Western Canada High School in 2013. “After I saw that, I always had in the back of my mind that we should have them at our festival,” says Brooker, who brought up the idea again to Gallichan-Lowe last spring. “It’s a different flavour. It’s a different piece of the spectrum of possibility in the world.” Gallichan-Lowe says it’s also an incredible opportunity for her students. “It’s a total dream — it still doesn’t feel real,” she says. “These students are being given the opportunity to experience something on a scale that we couldn’t offer in school.” —Nathan Kunz Revolution or Slumber runs Jan. 14 to 18 at Western Canada High School Theatre. Tickets are available at hprodeo.ca

AvenueCalgary.com

DETOURS

Openings BARRY’S BOOTCAMP Los Angeles-based Barry’s Bootcamp opened its first Western Canadian location last November in Calgary. The high-intensity interval

do to

this month

workout studio is a “co-lab” with the

of the previous location). Barry’s

FE S T I VA L CALGARY MS WHISKY FESTIVAL

nightclubby fitness room and bright,

JAN. 16

white changerooms are in the base-

Sample more than 300 whiskies

ment level, while its signature Fuel

completely guilt-free at this

Bar café is on the main level adjacent

fundraiser for the MS Society

to Lululemon’s retail space.

of Canada Calgary & Area Chapter.

2306 4 St. S.W., 403-668-2901,

Glenbow, 130 9 Ave. S.E.,

barrysbootcamp.com

calgarywhiskyfestival.ca

new Lululemon store on 4th Street S.W. in Mission, (five blocks south

ACTOR JULIE ORTON ON TURNING BLIND DATE QUEER Queer Blind Date comes to One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo this month from Jan. 21 to 26, but conversations about creating a queer version of Rebecca Northan’s improvised theatrical hit Blind Date go way back, to when that show first premiered in 2009. These conversations intensified when local actor Julie Orton accompanied Northan on a North American Blind Date tour. Orton found that not only was her identity as a queer woman being suppressed for the role (the central concept of the original show is a “blind date” with an audience member of the opposite sex), but that suppression also hindered the show’s greatest strength — honesty. In 2016, Northan, Orton, David Benjamin Tomlinson (who performs on alternating nights from Orton) and the team at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto reimagined the show as Queer Blind Date. As it turns out, there was a lot more to consider than just swapping genders around. While sharing specifics would create spoilers, Orton says there are some fundamental differences in the queer version. “The first couple days were us just sitting around a table talking about what the show essentially is … what kind of things we want to hang on to, and then what kind of things we would let go of. “The queer community is, especially in Toronto, a lot more willing to talk about sex and intimacy,” she says. “[And] we all have a coming-out story — some of them are great and some of them aren’t — so there is this vulnerability and this bravery in the sharing of this story, but it’s also this incredible uniting factor that every queer person has.” —C.G. 14

avenueJANUARY.20

C ON S U ME R EXPO CALGARY RENOVATION SHOW JAN. 17 TO 19 Meet professionals with expertise in everything from plumbing to decor and get reno-ready for 2020. BMO Centre, Stampede Park, 403-2531177, calgaryrenovationshow.com

PIE JUNKIE The popular local bakeshop has opened a third location in Mahogany’s Westman Village. The Mahogany shop will feature a tea station and pie bar, offering sweet flavours like sour cherry and salted honey as well as savoury offerings such as butter chicken, chicken pot pie, and more. 2171 Mahogany Blvd. S.E., 587-623-1144, piejunkie.ca

TA LK NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE, ZOLTAN TAKACS: DEADLIEST LIFESAVERS JAN. 26 TO 27 Hear from biomedical scientist Zoltan Takacs on his experiences risking his life to harvest venom for medical research. Jack Singer Concert Hall, Arts Commons, 403-294-9494, artscommons.ca

ROMERO DISTILLING CO. Run by a father-and-son team, this new distillery makes three kinds of

Chinese New Year Concert.

sugar cane spirits. Check back in August when you will have rum as well. They also offer tours, tastings and custom rum-making events. 7886, romerodistilling.com

MU S I C CHINESE NEW YEAR CONCERT

UNION YYC

FEB. 1 AND 2

Located in a bright, fourth-floor pent-

Expect a dynamic range of perfor-

house space in the Manchester area,

mances at this concert presented by

Union YYC offers studios for health,

Facet Music, a non-profit dedicated to

beauty and wellness professionals to

showcasing both traditional and con-

operate their businesses.

temporary Asian music to the public.

3916 Macleod Tr. S.W., unionyyc.com

The Grand, 608 1 St. S.W., facetmusic.ca

300, 688 Heritage Dr. S.E., 403-640-

Chinese New Year photograph courtesy of Facet Music; Pie Junkie photograph by Jared Sych

Insider

F.U.N. photograph by Melissa Whellams, Yalda Kazemi - Stylesteem and The Commons; Tiny Lights for Travellers cover courtesy of University of Alberta Press; Season of Fury and Wonder cover courtesy of Coteau Books; My Heart is a Rose Manhattan courtesy of Talon Books; I Am Herod cover courtesy of Goose Lane Editions

Four Fantastic Calgary Books from 2019

e asked four well-read Calgarians to recommend a Calgary book published in 2019, and they delivered with some seriously ace picks to help you start your year off right with a great local read. —As told to Colin Gallant

TINY LIGHTS FOR TRAVELLERS BY NAOMI K. LEWIS, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA PRESS “Seventy-three years to the day after her grandfather escaped the German-occupied Netherlands to find freedom, Naomi K. Lewis returns and follows the same path. You think it’s going to be a story about World War II and how it affected one particular family, but this story will give power to any woman who doesn’t think she can do something because of self-perceived limitations.” —Robin van Eck, executive director of Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society, alexandrawriters.org.

Photography: Heidrich Photography Planning and Design: Social + Co.

(Tiny Lights for Travellers was shortlisted for the 2019 Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction.)

SEASON OF FURY AND WONDER BY SHARON BUTALA, COTEAU BOOKS “Iconic Calgary writer Sharon Butala has gifted us with 20 books, and this title is one of the most memorable for the way in which it mines the often-neglected landscape of aging. Inspired by other literary masterpieces, this collection of stories gives an authentic voice to the experiences of women who have lived a long life and are now marginalized by the world

around them.” —Rosemary Griebel, service design lead for readers for Calgary Public Library and the first Alberta author to be chosen for a Project Bookmark Canada commemoration, projectbookmarkcanada.ca

MY HEART IS A ROSE MANHATTAN BY NIKKI REIMER, TALONBOOKS “These are whip smart, hyperaware, darkly funny poems that traverse isolation, Internet culture, grief, feminism and the unacceptable nature of loss from a writer I consider to be one of Calgary’s finest experimental poets.”

—Karlene Nicolajsen, store manager and buyer for Shelf Life Books, shelflifebooks.ca

I AM HEROD BY RICHARD KELLY KEMICK, GOOSE LANE EDITIONS “As a joke, a friend messages Richard Kelly Kemick the audition call for the Badlands Passion Play in Drumheller. Kemick, a professed atheist, not only goes, he gets cast as Herod Antipas — and decides to write about it. I Am Herod is shrewd, sardonic, searching and one of the funniest books I read all year.” —Rita Sirignano, programming associate for Wordfest, wordfest.com

Photography: Corrina Walker Photography Planning and Design: Julianne Young Weddings

Tents · Tables · Chairs · Lounge Furniture · Table Settings · Linens · Decor

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AvenueCalgary.com

Find Your Fitness Family BY Valerie Berenyi ILLUSTRATIONS BY Mateusz Napieralski

Who you are when you work out is just as important as where you go to work out. If you’ve resolved to do more exercise this year, read on to see which gyms and studios are your best fitness fit based on who you think you are.

A 16 avenueJANUARY.20

t one time or another, you’ve likely experienced the discomfort of a bad fitness fit. Whatever the misalignment between you and the form of exercise, it simply didn’t work. It wasn’t fun. Your heart rate was too high/too low. You didn’t have the proper gear or clothes. You got injured. It just didn’t feel right. At the dawn of this new year — this new decade in fact — we want to help you identify exercise options that actually get you excited to exercise. It’s 2020, after all, and there are a myriad of ways to work out in Calgary. The key to finding a good fitness fit starts with finding your people and convening in places where you and those like you feel your happiest and healthiest. So we’ve listed some workout archetypes for you to identify with, along with a few suggestions for studios, gyms and facilities where you’re likely to find your people. In addition to our sleuthing, you’ll want to do a bit of your own as well: explore the studio and gym websites, creep their Instagram feeds, talk to members and instructors. Many places offer free trial classes so you can check it out without spending a dime. Don’t like one? Try another until you find your ideal match. And keep in mind that you may fit into several families, depending on the time of year and what kind of workout you need at the time.

FIND YOUR PEOPLE Ballet Barre Works specializes in full-body ballet-style workouts. Its two studios offer classes designed to strengthen and lengthen your muscles, build grace, musicality and flexibility and nurture your love of dance. If you’re an aspiring ballerina, the Marda Loop location offers a classical ballet class in addition to the workout programming. balletbarreworks.com Barre Belle, co-founded by former Breakfast Television host and classically trained dancer Jill Belland, has five studios throughout the city, all providing a challenging dance training-inspired mix of interval cardio, barre and mat work, strength training and core exercises that will kick your butt. Lithe instructors throw in weights, thick exercise bands and medicine balls for good measure. barrebelle.ca

Pretty People If you want to precisely tone your body in the presence of inspiringly taut instructors, a boutique studio is where you should be. This is where the young and the not-so-young-but-definitely-wellpreserved work out in the latest Lulus — tights are de rigueur for displaying perfectly sculpted peaches and tops are usually cropped. Take note that in some cases, your pedicured feet may require a pair of specialty socks with grippy rubber pads.

Lagree YYC is a rather exclusive affair, with small groups of participants at two local studios performing slow, controlled movements on individual moving platforms called “Megaformers.” The patented system of springs, straps and cables makes for an intense, full-body 45-minute workout without harsh impact on your joints. As seen on Instagram: “I Lagree so my ass matches my sass.” lagreeyyc.com AvenueCalgary.com

Pack Animals You prefer to live on some version of a bicycle, so when Calgary’s crazy long winter means you can’t ride outside on mountain trails, roads and pathways, the next best thing is an indoor cycling studio where you can clip in and pump to the beat alongside the rest of the pack. Even when the weather warms, some spinners continue to ride inside; classes are that addictive.

FIND YOUR PEOPLE

Normcore Norms (and Normas) You like to get in, get the job done and get out, without lingering at the kombucha bar (kom-who-cha bar?) Traditional-style gyms are where Everyman and Everywoman work out, some still sporting what used to called “gym strip,” a.k.a. greyish T-shirts, baggy shorts and sneaks. But even traditional gyms are ever-evolving with pools, programs and activities sure to please most everyone.

FIND YOUR PEOPLE The City of Calgary fitness and aquatic facilities have to be the best bargains in town. Where else can you drop in to pump iron, hit the treadmill, swim laps or do a yoga class for under $10 a pop? One size fits many. calgary.ca

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World Health offers a wide array of group fitness classes: spin, Zumba, TKO and others, as well as personal trainers to help you work that body at seven Calgary locations. Those who love old-school (or any school, really) love World Health. calgary.worldhealth.ca

YMCA Calgary is a charitable organization that has been serving the community since 1902. It now has 10 wellness and workout facilities in the city to keep you healthy and active. “The Y” is swell for families, with fun features such as indoor climbing walls at three locations. It truly welcomes everyone. ymcacalgary.org

Peloton Cycling is a magnet for avid cyclists and other supremely fit folk who don’t cycle outside. The instructors emphasize proper cycling form, so no dips, weights or swaying on the bike! Ride to the beat, or to projections of scenic international rides or motivational YouTube race videos on a huge screen. If you’ve got it in you, try the two-hour endurance class offered on weekends. pelotoncycling.ca Soul Spin Studio is for spinners of all abilities. Challenge yourself in a 50-minute class and rock out to high-energy tunes or, if time is of the essence, there’s a 30-minute express class over lunch twice a week. Long or short, all classes are guaranteed to improve your cardio, tone your body and clear your mind. soulstudios.ca

YYC Cycle, with its light shows and loud electronica, seems more discotheque than fitness studio. But the nightclubbing vibe also serves to distract you from focusing on your burning quads and glutes. The “motivators” at the three Calgary locations set the pace for the “bikergang” on 50-minute rides, which include stretching and upper body weights done on the bike. yyc-cycle.com

Soul Seekers You’re all about finding inner peace, sparking joy and seeking a connection between mind and body. Happily, the ancient practice of yoga continues to evolve, offering many kinds of classes to build strength, increase flexibility and broaden your spiritual horizons. Wherever you practice, you aspire to leave feeling calm, energized and restored.

The Borg Want a workout that fully absorbs you? A program where you can “HIIT” it hard with high-intensity interval training and crush it amidst a hive-minded collective? CrossFit is everywhere and is always an option, but there are others out there as well that offer the mind-meld you seek.

FIND YOUR PEOPLE CrushCamp has two Calgary studios offering 50-minute HIIT classes designed to torch calories with efficient, full-body strength and cardio workouts. At CrushCamp you’ll join a community of highperformers calling itself “The Wolfpack.” The coach-led classes are never the same twice and intervals take place between the studio floor and the SkillMill, a nonmotorized treadmill with a curved running surface that can also be switched up for a full sled push. crushcamp.com

F45 began in Australia and currently has five Calgary franchises (and counting). The “F” stands for “functional training,” and “45” is the number of minutes you sweat for in these intense group classes. Expect a mix of circuit and HIIT exercises that mimic everyday movements: lifting, pushing, pulling, twisting, etc. to sculpt lean muscle. f45training.ca

Orangetheory, fittingly, hails from Florida, and its sunny, orange-lit, coachled group classes combine HIIT with weights. A heart-rate monitor displays your performance metrics on screens in real time (spend at least 12 of the 60-minute workout in the “orange zone” to charge your metabolism). With eight franchises currently operating in Calgary there’s lots of places to get orange. orangetheoryfitness.ca

FIND YOUR PEOPLE Junction 9 exists at the junction of yoga and pilates, wellness and fitness, personal achievement and community. The reception area has a café counter offering vegan treats, kombucha on tap and bone broth, and there’s also a rooftop patio where they host outdoor yoga classes and movie nights during the warmer months. You’ll find classes and day camps for kiddies as well at the Wymbin yoga studio on the lower level. junction9.ca

Passage Studios is a self-described inner-city “sweat sanctuary,” connecting mind and body with classes in yoga, spin and HIIT. It’s a dynamite combination that redefines “holistic.” Here, you can take a yoga workshop (offerings change seasonally), and chase it with a full-body HIIT class. passagestudios.ca Yoga Santosha has two beautiful, calming studios offering a vast array of classes and workshops. Beginners can start with a Hatha class and the sky’s the limit from there: go deep with Ashtanga or defy gravity when you strap up in a Great Wall of Yoga class. yogasantosha.ca AvenueCalgary.com

Fight Clubbers Part boxing club, part nightclub, boutique boxing studios offer punchy workouts guaranteed to leave you feeling like a champeen. Hands up, chin down, and like Manny Pacquiao says: “if you practice hard, you can win every battle.”

FIND YOUR PEOPLE

Al Fresco Fanatics Being at one with nature satisfies your deepest physical and psychological needs. In other words, you simply crave being outside, breathing in fresh air while moving your body. But since outdoor adventuring is a safety-innumbers pursuit, connecting with a community of like-minded nature folk is essential.

FIND YOUR PEOPLE Evergreen Seniors Outdoor Club is for those 55 years and older who love to hike in summer, and snowshoe or cross-country ski in the winter. For the past three decades, Evergreen’s volunteers have organized bus trips to the mountains, foothills and around the prairies, and built a warm, supportive community in the process. Each Thursday day trip offers varying levels of difficulty, from slow and steady to hard core. evergreenoutdoor club.org

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Rocky Mountain Ramblers Association has built up a wealth of expertise over the past 65 years. The club runs about 300 trips a year (by carpool), from hiking, scrambling and mountaineering in summer to snowshoeing, and track-set and backcountry skiing in winter, with occasional skimountaineering, downhill-skiing, cycling, paddling and multi-day trips. Members range in age from their 30s to well into their 70s. Do a free one-month trial to see if it’s for you. ramblers.ab.ca

University of Calgary Outdoor Centre isn’t a club, but rather an invaluable resource for outdoorsy urbanites. Part of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Active Living, the Centre has been renting gear and teaching outdoor skills to students, faculty and the general public for more than 40 years, and offers a vast range of programs, trips, lessons and affordable rentals year-round. Recently, the Centre took over operations of the Bowness Park Skate Shop for rentals and skate sharpening in winter. live-outdoor-centre. ucalgary.ca

Rumble Boxing Studio immerses you in a 50-minute full-body group fitness class that includes belting a heavy bag to clubinspired beats on the sound system. All badass black and white, the two Calgary studios offer instruction from “top-tier rock-star motivators.” rumbleboxing.com

Sweat Science Boxing, founded by professional Calgary boxer Dustin Sutley, combines HIIT with boxing, strength training and high-energy music in group fitness classes suitable for first-time boxers. There’s no contact (save for a weekly sparring class). Otherwise, all fitness levels will find punching heavy bags and pads to be very therapeutic. Sweat Science also teaches hand-eye coordination and mental discipline. sweatscience boxing.com Undrcard Boxing Studio was cofounded by Calgary DJ, pro athlete and spin instructor Joanna “Magik” Majcherkiewicz. Needless to say, well-curated music drives the group classes at the low-light, club-style studio. Participants become part of the “corner crew,” instructors are known by nicknames like “Haylestorm,” “D’Animal” and “Kay Slay” and the class roster includes the “Old School Rap Nooner," a lunch-hour session on Thursdays with a golden era of hiphop soundtrack. As seen on Instagram: #allyouneedisglove. undrcard.com

A S P E N L ANDI NG SH OP P I NG CE N T RE

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RESOLUTION DINING You don’t have to sacrifice fun or flavour while feasting toward a better you in 2020.

Chioggia beet and chèvre salad at The Coup.

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BY Colin Gallant PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jared Sych

L TING EA

M E AT O R

FOO

SKIP: I’M NE

ook at the top Google results for New Year’s resolutions and you’ll notice a pattern. Words like “lose,” “reduce” and “stop” frame resolutions as shame-filled obligations. At Avenue, however, we view resolutions as opportunities for positive growth and not a pass-fail test of one’s character. We suggest you skip the denial-based resolution and instead frame your goal as something that will bring you joy to improve upon — in this case, diningrelated joy and satisfaction. Because dining isn’t just about what you eat. Your restaurant and menu choices have an effect not only on you and your stomach, but also the environment, the economy and the community. Just being mindful of this is a great step toward more fulfilling eating. So without further ado, here are some ideas for positive resolutions and some great local dining options that will set you up to adhere to them.

D AGAIN

TRY: I WANT TO EAT MORE VEGETABLES

rown out your inner saboteur with the radiant beauty of vegetables. Not only do our garden-grown friends come in a rich variety of textures, colours and flavours, they take significantly less resources to produce than meat, and provide a plethora of nutrients and deliciousness when in the extremely capable hands of Calgary’s chefs. Veggie options have grown all the more interesting in the wake of the plant-based-food

boom. (Remember the Beyond Burger shortage of 2018?) But not all of us want to replace gorgeously marbled prime rib or salty-crisp bacon with bean patties, soy or lab-produced products. So why not focus on expanding your palate to become a more adventurous vegetable-eater — an adventutarian, if you will. The Coup (temporarily closed for a “reinvention” but set to reopen this year) is arguably the reigning heavyweight for innovative vegetarian dishes. Ten Foot Henry’s tomatoes with feta is maybe the most popular vegetable dish in the city right now, while the homestyle Indian cooking at Veg-In YYC continues to attract celebrity vegetarian visitors, as the framed photos can attest. As for freshmen, The Dandelion, Raw Eatery & Market (both vegan), The Allium (vegetarian) and Namo Cafe Bistro (vegetable-forward) are wedging their way out of the early hype cycle and into the new-favourite category.

It’s also worth noting that vegan and vegetarian restaurants are often amenable to other resolutions you may have. The Dandelion strongly encourages guests to bring their own reusable vessels for takeout and offers on-site yoga. Korean-influenced vegan eatery SaVeg Café is conveniently located inside The Academy training and performance centre (formerly Heaven’s Fitness). Raw Eatery & Market offers nutrition classes for patrons who want to apply healthconscious strategies to their at-home meals. And The Allium, a restaurant run as a worker co-operative, offers diners an escape from the crushing weight of capitalism. Every restaurant listed here is a small, independently run business, so there’s a more direct economic benefit to supporting them than dining at a restaurant that’s part of a mega-conglomerate provides.

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ERFECT ENV

NEED

AL ADVOC AT ENT E

TO BEC O

TRY: I WANT TO SUPPORT WASTE-REDUCING BUSINESSES

e all know we should be doing more to reduce our environmental impact. After all, the end is nigh. But you’re not going to singlehandedly reverse climate change in 366 days (happy leap year!). Waste and pollution are complex issues with a great many personal and institutional factors at play, and you’re just one person. Framing this particular resolution in a dining context means seeking out organizations and establishments with waste-reduction practices, supporting them and taking a page or two from their books. The major challenge is that restaurant waste management is not always transparent, but there are strong models operating locally. Both Phil & Sebastian and Citizen Brewing Company have waste disposal units on the premises that plainly state what goes where, and both make it clear that 24

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most disposable packaging they serve can and will be composted. Newer to the scene is Greenfish at Avenida Food Hall & Fresh Market, a sushi spot created by Darren MacLean of Shokunin and Duncan Ly of Foreign Concept, Mélo Eatery and Takori, which offers bento boxes filled with Ocean Wise sushi in fully compostable packaging. You can also refer to the organizations that restaurants align with to improve their waste reduction. For example, The Leftovers Foundation rescues unused food from local restaurants, grocery stores and other food businesses and makes sure that food makes its way to hungry mouths. Some of its partners include Sidewalk Citizen Bakery, Bridgeland Market, Italian Centre, Phil & Sebastian and Hoopla Donuts, Sweet Relief Pastries and Charbar. Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Foodservice (LEAF), a Victoria-based certifier of restaurant

Bento Box 3 from Greenfish.

sustainability, began operations in 2010 with the certification of River Café (which is temporarily closed during City flood mitigations work and set to re-open in spring 2020). Local restaurants accredited since include Caffe Beano, The Coup, Craft Beer Market, Deane House, Taiko Taco, Una Pizza + Wine, and the Calgary Zoo’s dining outlets, among others. Finally, a little research goes a long way. Check websites and menus for suppliers. Not every environmentally responsible restaurant is doing it, but the practice of listing the origins of meat and produce for consumers to see is the new normal. This gives you the ability to consider how far your food has travelled — using electricity, oil and gasoline along the way — to get to you belly. Bonus round: you can look up the suppliers online for even more information on their growing practices and use of energy.

OL AGAIN

P: KI

EV I'M N ER DRI NK

“Fake Resolutions,” a zero-proof Cocktail from Shelter.

TRY: I WANT TO ENJOY ALCOHOL-FREE DRINKS

ddiction is a real and present danger when it comes to consuming alcohol. No resolution is going to make that untrue. But if you’re the person who acts a fool at a bar once in a while and then needs a week to scrape your self-esteem off the floor, you may just want to start with a change in consumption habits. Let us introduce you to our good friend the zero-proof cocktail, the mocktail’s cool older sister. No longer are boozeless mixed drinks a mockery; sophisticated drinks without alcohol have become an artform in their own right. At places like Cannibale and Shelter you can always ask the bartender to concoct something creative based on your personal taste, and a growing number of establishments offer signature creations printed right on the menu. New players like Alumni Sandwiches and Flores & Pine have specific sections on their menus for mixed, non-alcoholic drinks. Annex Ale Project reimagined half its space as a soda shop called Annex Soda Mfg. (where craft sodas can be ordered with or without alcohol), and a zero-proof spirit called Seedlip is being served at prestige joints like Proof and Bar Von Der Fels, in addition to retailing around the city at vendors such as Bridgeland Market. If you want to go one step further and take the temptation of the bar scene out of the equation, you’ll be pleased to know there are local groups who are snuffing out the stigma that non-drinkers are buzzkills or bummers. Social clubs like Boring Little Girls Club in Calgary and Sober Saturdayz in Edmonton, are throwing parties where alcohol is absent, but fun remains, with DJs, zero-proof drinks, dancing and your new best sober friends. AvenueCalgary.com

NEVER DIN I

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’ L L S AV E IP: I MO

Crispy chicken sandwich and side salad from the $5.95 food menu at El Furniture Warehouse.

TRY: I WANT TO GET THE MOST FOR MY MONEY

ou know it, I know it, everyone knows it: cooking at home and bringing lunch to work is cheaper than dining out. But despite your best efforts, the fridge can go empty fast when you’re working overtime, tending to family or having fun with your extracurriculars. So try the twofer — the busy person’s tool for sating daytime hunger while stocking the pantry at the same time. Community Natural Foods, Blush Lane Organic Market, Bite Grocer & Eatery, Sunterra Market and Urban Fare are all grocery stores where you can get a quick, casual, healthy bite from the hot bar and do a rudimental food shop in under an hour.

Also look for restaurant deals. The famously democratic Ship & Anchor on 17th Avenue S.W. has daily specials that run as low as $4.50 for a bowl of stew, while The Tastemarket by SAIT offers haute cafeteria meals for $7.50 to $15. Or head to Stephen Avenue and order off the $5.95 menu at El Furniture Warehouse. There are also certain occasions when a home-cooked meal simply won’t do, like a first date. Some think the term “cheap date” is an oxymoron, but others say saving is sexy. Happy hour specials can change on a whim, but Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are always great days for deals. And thanks to an Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission rule change in 2016, there’s no longer just one window of the day for happy hour. Many establishments have taken to offering two thrifty periods, usually beginning after the lunch rush (but before dinner) and again after 9 p.m. A few timely deals we recommend are the early-bird special (a pasta entrée and glass of wine for $16) at Cotto on weekdays between 5 and 6 p.m., half-price barbecued meat at Hayden Block every night from 10 p.m. to close and Añejo’s twice-daily “halfy hour” featuring half-priced tacos and tequila, plus $6 margaritas and beer from 3 to 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close. Also, Omo Teppan & Kitchen’s happy hour (times vary by day) with $3 sushi rolls, $6 tempura and 12-ounce Sapporo and Asahi for $5, and Tea House’s “happiest hour” from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday with affordable snacks, wine, beer, shots and jazzed-up highballs. Wednesdays, of course, are for wings or wine (never both, unless you’re a masochist), Tuesday deals trend toward tacos and twofor-one specials, while Mondays usually have deals catering to restaurant-industry workers — think vodka, burgers and hedonism. Now that’s a resolution worth keeping.

A WEDDING EXPERIENCE AS UNIQUE AS YOU 220 – 42 AVENUE SE | 403 287 9255 ALLOYDINING.COM

| EVENTS@ALLOYDINING.COM

PHOTOS BY: SARAHPUKIN.COM & @JENNIFERCHABOTPHOTOGRAPHY

Experience the extraordinary. Add some science to your next event. Minutes from the downtown core and with ample parking, TELUS Spark offers an intriguing, unforgettable and versatile venue with full-service catering by Charbar. High capacity rooms, eye-catching design, and a comprehensive suite of audio/visual facilities. TELUS Spark is ideal for a wide range of functions including signature events, cocktail receptions, gala dinners, team builders, intimate meetings, trade shows, and more. Whatever your needs, Spark’s Events Team will ensure memorable science-inspired, experiences. Book your event today. For more information on rates and spaces, please contact Spark’s Events Team at 403-817-6887 or email events@sparkscience.ca www.sparkscience.ca

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UNIQUE. HISTORIC. ROMANTIC.

Weddings at SAIT From historic sandstone to modern glass architecture, tailor your wedding vision with picturesque indoor and outdoor ceremony and reception spaces. Choose from buffet-style to plated sit-down dining, stand-up receptions and everything in between. Relish the ease of hosting at SAIT with venue spaces, catering, and accommodation all at your fingertips. Our experienced event coordinators are here to assist you every step of the way â&#x20AC;&#x201D; visit sait.ca/weddings or call us at 403.774.4678 and start planning today. Glance at our lookbook on Instagram @saitevents.

ÂŠ Erin Shepley Photography

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DARIA BELAVINA AND KARIN HIROOKA’S

LOCAL ELOPEMENT This couple eloped in their own city, creating an intimate, celebratory day with just a few close friends. BY Stephanie Joe PHOTOGRAPHY BY Stephanie Couture Photography

aria Belavina and Karin Hirooka met at work in 2009, but didn’t start dating until seven years into their friendship. “I had actually moved to Toronto for a couple of years,” says Belavina. “When I moved back to Calgary, all our friends were married and we were the only two single Pringles.” “And that’s how you selected this relationship?” Hirooka jokes. It was a Thursday evening in September, 2017, when Hirooka popped the question. Belavina arrived home from work to find a treasure hunt that led to a closet in their studio apartment. She thought Hirooka had finally gotten around to repairing something she needed fixed, but when she opened the door to the closet, she was surprised to see Hirooka down on one knee. The couple knew almost immediately that they wanted to elope right here in Calgary. They didn’t want to make their families fly in from Ontario just for one day and they also didn’t want the stress of planning a destination wedding. So, Belavina and Hirooka decided to make their wedding a truly intimate and local affair — just the two of them and three friends as witnesses. “Every vendor that we met we liked right off the bat,” says Belavina. “And they came straight to our home and just made it so easy.” “We had the home-field advantage,” says Hirooka. “We know the area and we know what we like, so we were able to pick things that we’d be comfortable with.” The day of the elopement, the wedding party ordered brunch from Little Henry and drank Champagne while Belavina had her hair and makeup done. The men went to Johnny’s Barber and Shop for their hair and picked up Belavina’s bouquet and the cake on their way home. “Everyone had their Sunday best on and it was very relaxing,” says Belavina. “We were

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W H AT I S A N EL O P E ME N T ? Elopement has long held the connotation of couples running off secretly or without notice to get married. But contemporary couples are reinventing the term to fit their own situation and needs. While elopements can still involve jetting off to another destination, they can also be planned and executed right in the couple’s own city for an intimate, fuss-free day surrounded by just a few loved ones.

CEREMONY VENUE listening to music, watching TV and making fun of each other. It’s rare that we all get to hang out together, even with our closest friends, so we really loved having that time with them.” The couple were married in the Winter Garden at Jamieson Place, which features a huge living plant wall. Finding a green space in April in Calgary is next to impossible, but it was Hirooka who suggested the unconventional location of the downtown office tower. “There was no one there except the security guards, so we had the entire space to ourselves because it’s closed off to the public on the weekend,” says Belavina. The wedding party consisted of five people — including the bride and groom. Three of Belavina and Hirooka’s friends witnessed the marriage and the officiant showed up in her judge’s regalia per Hirooka’s request. After the ceremony, the couple took pictures in Central Memorial Park, then went to Deane House for a three-course dinner. They invited seven more of their friends for the reception, which took place in the restaurant’s Garden Room and pantry area. “It was like having a dinner party,” says Belavina. “We had lots of drinks, great food and it was very informal. And because there was such a small group, I feel like I spent more time with Karin and everyone that attended. We got to have a really nice party without having to do any of the cooking or the cleanup.” Asked if they would choose a local elopement again, there’s no hesitation from Belavina. “100 per cent,” she says. “I think when people have big weddings, they’re busy and stressed out so there’s no time to actually acknowledge their spouse or have a moment to pause and just soak in the moment. Whereas we just had the whole day to ourselves and it was very self-indulgent. It was truly our day.”

Winter Garden at Jamison Place

RECEPTION VENUE Deane House

OFFICIANT Weddings by Tamara

PHOTOGRAPHER Stephanie Couture Photography

BRIDE’S DRESS Ethos Bridal

BRIDE’S ACCESSORIES Pearl jewellery from Daria Belavina’s mother

HAIR AND MAKEUP Avenue Beauty (bride), Johnny’s Barber and Shop (men’s hair)

GROOM’S SUIT/ ACCESSORIES Harry Rosen (suit); Fratelli Rossetti (shoes)

RINGS Carati WEDDING CAKE Sweet Relief Pastries

FLOWERS Kensington Florist

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CEREMONY/RECEPTION VENUE Market

OFFICIANT Sharon Barlow PHOTOGRAPHER Adam + Alexandra Photography

BRIDE’S DRESS Made With Love Bridal BRIDE’S ACCESSORIES Earrings from Etsy, shoes from Ted Baker

GROOM’S SUIT Ted Baker HAIR AND MAKEUP Glamaway Beauty

DESSERT Mini desserts served by Market

WEDDING RINGS Forge & Facet Jewellers in High River

FLOWERS Black Earth Floral

avenueJANUARY.20

SAMANTHA AND ROB HISLOP’S

MICRO-WEDDING

Surrounded by just over a dozen immediate family members, Rob and Samantha Hislop chose their favourite restaurant to say “I do.” BY Nathan Kunz PHOTOGRAPHY BY Adam + Alexandra Photography

ob Hislop’s proposal to Samantha McCredie relied on a recurring joke she had been making ahead of their oneyear anniversary as a couple. Whenever Hislop would say something, McCredie would reply: “Well, you know, if you asked me to marry you...” “So, my whole strategy was to get her to say that and then to propose right there,” Hislop says. “I actually didn’t even think about it until it was getting toward the time. What happens if she doesn’t say it? How am I going to propose?” he says, laughing. Luckily for Rob, Samantha (now Hislop) did make the joke, giving him the perfect opportunity to pop the question in response. Samantha said “yes,” and from there the couple started planning their wedding, to be held exactly one year later on July 11, 2019. Inspired by Rob’s brother’s wedding, where the guest list was limited to immediate family, Rob and Samantha decided to follow suit with a micro-wedding of their own. With only 15 guests (plus two photographers) present, the couple was able to have a more intimate, less traditional ceremony that lasted just 15 minutes inside one of their favourite restaurants, Market on 17th Avenue S.W. “It was just intended to be kind of a party for the fact that we decided we want to get married,” says Rob. In keeping with the day’s relaxed, non-traditional feeling, the couple decided to forego wedding parties and opted for smaller desserts instead of a wedding cake. Samantha also chose to wear a black dress. “We didn’t want to do anything that didn’t reflect us,” Samantha says. “I think white, traditional

wedding dresses are beautiful. But when I put them on, it just didn’t really feel like me. And there are so many options now. Why would you force it?” The food ended up being one of the couple’s favourite parts of the day — thanks to their venue choice. Ahead of dinner, Market served a giant charcuterie board that the couple’s immediate family enjoyed with a Champagne toast. From there, guests sat at one long table for a familystyle dinner, replacing the usual “chicken, beef or fish” options with shared platters of baconwrapped bison steak, three-cheese gnocchi, brick-roasted chicken and more. “What we like to do is have nice food with people we care about,” says Samantha. “And so that’s what our wedding was about.” Following dinner, Samantha and Rob hosted a 70-guest reception inside Market, allowing them to include friends and extended family in the larger celebration. The less formal cocktail party included an open bar of craft cocktails and snacks like crab corn dogs and gnocchi cups from the starters section of Market’s menu. While the couple acknowledge that having a smaller celebration didn’t alleviate all the stress that comes with planning a wedding, they say it did lend to a comparative feeling of overall relaxation for the day. “There were moments of nervousness, for sure,” says Samantha. “But when you’re just with your family, it’s easier to relax, because you’re not trying to put on a show for anybody.” “Anytime you plan something for a year, you’re going to have that kind of nervousness toward it,” Rob adds. “But honestly, it was just an awesome day. It pretty well went off without a hitch.”

W HAT I S A MI CRO-W ED D I N G? Micro-weddings maintain some aspects of a traditional wedding while taking a more minimalist approach. Generally, a micro-wedding will restrict the guest list to around a dozen people. While reducing costs can be a consideration in a microwedding, other appealing aspects include less pressure to adhere to wedding day norms, an opportunity to spend more money on specific details, greater freedom of venue choice and a more relaxed feeling overall.

AvenueCalgary.com

BARB KORENCIK AND MARK ALLEN’S

PERFECT POP-UP WEDDING

Barb Korencik and Mark Allen didn’t want the size, pressure or price tag that came with a traditional large-scale wedding, so a pop-up celebration was the perfect fit for them. BY Amber McLinden PHOTOGRAPHY BY Svetlana Yanova Photography

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arb Korencik and Mark Allen have known each other since high school. “We met in social studies class,” Allen says. “Our teacher handed our tests back, I turned around and I said, ‘Hey, what did you get?’ And she said, ‘I got 100, what’d you get?’ And I said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’” They dated in high school for about a month. Then, after about 12 years of friendship, the couple reunited in 2014, when they were both 29. Allen proposed that same year, but the wedding planning was put on hold when Korencik became pregnant with their first child. By the time their daughter was born, a traditional wedding with all that entailed just didn’t seem like it was in the cards for them. The couple considered eloping, but while the cost and planning pressure

would be much lower, they knew their parents wouldn’t forgive them if they weren’t included in the big day. Instead, an intimate, stress-free, “pop-up” wedding celebration seemed just right. The couple met with Erin Bjorkstedt of PopUp Weddings Calgary, who presented them with five wedding options within their budget. After selecting which one they wanted and buying an off-the-rack dress from BCBGMaxAzria for Korencik, all the couple had to do was show up. Korenick and Allen tried to surprise their family and friends by telling them it was an engagement party, but in retrospect, they don’t feel like they fooled many people. “If between our engagement and our wedding it hadn’t been such a long period of time, I think the surprise element would have been [more effective],” Korencik says.

YOUR HAPPILY EVER AFTER BEGINS HERE Make your dream wedding a reality at the Mount Royal Conference and Event Centre Save your date today by calling 403.440.8890 mru.ca/Weddings AvenueCalgary.com

Ultimately, most of their guests showed up fully expecting the “surprise.” Two and a half months after meeting with Pop-Up Weddings Calgary, Korencik and Allen married on the rooftop of the Calgary Marriott Downtown Hotel in September, 2016, surrounded by 25 of their closest family members and friends. The wedding ceremony took place in the evening — partially coordinated around their daughter’s nap time. Afterward, everyone moved downstairs to the Marriott’s One18 Empire for the reception. The reception, Korencik says, was essentially just a party. “It was just a super relaxed and happy time,” she says. “We didn’t do speeches — honestly, half the people left before we cut the cake.” Besides actually getting married, Korencik and Allen agree that their favourite part of the day was having their daughter included in the celebration. “Emily walking down the aisle was pretty cute,” Allen says. A wedding might set the tone of a relationship, but in Korencik and Allen’s case, they feel the reverse is true. “The tone of our relationship is what made us have the wedding we had,” Allen says.

WEDDING PLANNER Pop-Up Weddings Calgary

CEREMONY Calgary Marriott Downtown Hotel

CEREMONY RENTALS Great Events Rentals

W HAT I S A P O P - U P

OFFICIANT Tanya Overland

WEDDING?

PHOTOGRAPHER Svetlana Yanova

Pop-up weddings generally

Photography

take one of two forms: either

DINNER RECEPTION One18 Empire

multiple couples getting married throughout the day at a shared

FAVOURS Ollia Macarons & Tea

venue (sometimes called a group

BRIDE’S DRESS BCBGMaxAzria

wedding) or a small celebration

(Outlet formerly at CrossIron Mills)

focused around just one couple,

BRIDE’S SHOES Nine West

temporary location. Either way, it’s

sometimes at an unexpected or

GROOM’S SUIT RW&CO.

an intimate ceremony with a small

RINGS Spence Diamonds (Barb)

group of guests that removes

and Maison Birks (Mark)

HAIR AND MAKEUP Diva Salon & Spa WEDDING CAKE One18 Empire FLOWERS Creative Edge Flowers

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most of the planning pressure for the couple. Those who choose this style of wedding usually work with a pop-up wedding planner to help make the day as stress-free as possible.

AvenueCalgary.com

Venue 308.

Flores & Pine.

The Ranch House at The Calgary Polo Club.

WHAT’S NEW FOR LOCAL WEDDINGS If youʹre planning a wedding, here are some of the new (and new-ish) shops, services and event spaces in and around Calgary that can help you achieve your perfect day.

BY Sam Gryba AND Amber McLinden

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FLORES & PINE Located in Bearspaw, Flores & Pine’s rustic location and bright, modern interior strikes just the right balance for your big day. The newly reimagined restaurant and event venue has three spaces available for rent: The Estate Room where both your ceremony and reception can be held with up to 136 people, the glass-encased Atrium showcasing illuminated local sculptures on the wall, and The Patio, a northwest-facing outdoor space equipped with overhead heat lamps, a fireplace and subtle retractable mosquito screens.

THE OAK ROOM Following its recent renovation by Frank Architecture, the Fairmont Palliser’s iconic Oak Room has been transformed into a modern and elegant event venue. The updated space has capacity for 100 people (seated), with food offerings curated to suit each individual booking by the hotel’s executive food and beverage manager, chef Eraj Jayawickreme. The Oak Room is also soundproofed, so your wedding celebration won’t be disturbed by outside noise.

254028 Bearspaw Rd. N.W.,

fairmont.com

133 9 Ave. S.W., 403-262-1234,

NEW VENUES

403-241-7611, floresandpine.com

A LT H O T E L C A L G A R Y EAST VILLAGE Couples need little convincing that Alt Hotel in East Village is a great wedding venue. The location near the Bow River and the Riverwalk, makes for ideal photo-ops. And then there are the hotel amenities, which include event rooms with plenty of natural light, personalized service and a spacious secondfloor foyer. Plus, catering is fulfilled by the team behind Charbar, Charcut and the inhouse Chix Eggshop, so you can expect exceptional food.

THE GARRET Set in a historic, New York-style loft, this new venue from The Pioneer event space team offers a chic setting for a wedding. Located in the same building as Klein/Harris in downtown Calgary, The Garret can host up to 100 people for a standing reception and also has amenities for a more intimate event, such as a long-table dinner. Couples can select from a list of The Garret’s preferred catering partners such as Great Events Catering or Fork + Farm Catered Events.

THE RANCH HOUSE Located just south of the city limits, the clubhouse for The Calgary Polo Club is now available as a wedding venue. Summer weddings can take advantage of its outdoor patio with views of the mountains and 300 acres of polo fields, while winter weddings feature an intimate indoor setting with a vintage bar and wood-burning fireplace. The venue has an extensive range of buffet options such as prosciutto-wrapped chicken or amaretto country creme brûlée. Plated dinner service is also an option.

635 Confluence Way S.E.,

113 8 Ave. S.W., 403-888-5942,

24041 306 Ave. W., Okotoks,

587-441-6635, althotels.com

thepioneeron8th.com

403-909-9417, theranchhouse.ca

Flores & Pine photograph by Edward Ross Photography; The Ranch House photograph courtesy of The Ranch House; Venue 308 photograph by Bretton Grassie Photography; Residence Inn by Marriott photograph by Ingrid Misner/Artistic Impressions

ABOVE The patio off the Hearth Room at Residence Inn by Marriott Calgary Downtown/ Beltline District.

RESIDENCE INN BY MARRIOTT CALGARY D O W N T O W N / B E LT L I N E DISTRICT The Residence Inn, Marriott’s latest Calgary hotel in the Beltline, has 6,350 square feet of event space across six rooms, with the biggest holding up to 120 guests. All of the event rooms feature floor-toceiling windows, creating a stylish urban backdrop for your wedding celebration. For weddings in warmer months, consider the Hearth Room, which has a patio space with a firepit. 610 10 Ave. S.W., 587-885-2288, marriott.com

THOMSONS SOCIAL HUB This space inside the Hyatt Regency Calgary underwent a complete transformation in May 2019 and now functions as a venue dedicated to weddings. The building, a Provincial Historic Resource, has what the hotel deems “old-world charm … with modern conveniences.” The venue spans 3,100 square feet and has capacity for up to 225 people. The Hyatt also provides a wedding specialist to support couples with the planning process and a curated menu. The space also has a patio available for an additional charge.

The Glenmore Inn & Convention Centre The Glenmore Inn & Convention Centre

WEDDINGS WITH EXCELLENCE & EXPERIENCE WEDDINGS WITH EXCELLENCE & EXPERIENCE

WEDDING CEREMONIES

ALL INCLUSIVE PACKAGES

RECEPTIONS FOR UP TO 650 PEOPLE

SPECIAL ROOM RATES FOR YOU AND YOUR GUESTS

ON SITE CATERING

● WEDDING CEREMONIES ● ALL INCLUSIVE PACKAGES ● RECEPTIONS FOR UP TO 650 PEOPLE ● SPECIAL ROOM RATES FOR YOU AND YOUR GUESTS ● ON SITE CATERING glenmoreinn.com | sales@glenmoreinn.com | 403 279 8611

700 Centre St. S.E., 403-717-1234, hyatt.com

VENUE 308 Mother-daughter duo Penny Dyte and Bretton Grassie opened Venue 308 in October 2019. The 1910 building in Victoria Park features rustic elements such as exposed brick, heavy timber and steel, and high-end modern finishes. With 5,000 square feet of space, the venue can accommodate 130 people for a banquet and 274 for a cocktail-style event. Between the 20-foot bar, two suites for the wedding parties to get ready, and space for eating, cocktails and dancing, Venue 308 has all you need.

The World of Wine Awaits

FEBRUARY 21 & 22

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS CelebrateWinefest.com

Early Bird Prices until Jan. 10! @Winefest

@Winefest.Calgary.Edmonton

Please enjoy your beverages responsibly. Minors are not permitted.

100, 308 11 Ave. S.E., venue308.com

presented by

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NEW SHOPS AND SERVICES FOTOVON This mobile photo-booth experience is housed in a vintage Volkswagen van that’s small enough to roll into almost any wedding venue, but big enough to fit your crew for photos. The van comes with props, professional-grade lighting, a DSLR camera and a lab-quality printer, which processes and prints photos immediately so the wedding party and guests have a special keepsake to take home from the event. The photos also come with a customdesigned template, created by the client and Fotovon’s graphic designer prior to the big day.

G AT H E R C AT E R I N G With a combined 35 years of experience in the culinary industry, husband-and-wife duo Newell Orfei and Camilla Sherret have launched their re-branded, full-service catering company Gather Catering. Formerly Nicole Gourmet, this boutique catering service still offers popular dishes from Nicole Gourmet’s previous menu, such as the lemon arancini (risotto fritters made with lemon and mascarpone), along with new menu items such as scallop crudo tacos with togarashi mayonnaise and caviar.

403-608-8069, fotovon.com

gathercatering.ca

LOVENOTE This boutique in Inglewood is a one-stop shop for the millennial bride. Lovenote features a selection of labels designed in-house. Truvelle offers feminine A-line styles, Laudae is mostly modern, fitted silhouettes, Aesling offers sleek crepe dresses and Halseene is their line for curvy brides. Select your perfect gown from these or other indie designers. Dresses range from $1,650 to $3,935 and the shop also sells veils and other accessories. 1317 9 Ave. S.E, 403-475-4177, lovenotebride.com

MOBILE BARS Like food trucks, but focused around drinks, these trendy mobile trailers and carts converted into bars are the perfect way to outsource your bartending needs for your wedding — especially if your venue isn’t already equipped with a bar. Now that the trend is catching on, you can find a range of local options. Try Salut Mobile Bar or The Holy Spirit for customizable cocktails, or The Prosecco Cart if you’re a bubbly fan. salutmobilebar.com; holyspirit.bar; proseccocart.ca Fotovon. Lovenote.

The Holy Spirit mobile cocktail bar. 40

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Fotovon photograph by Sebastian Buzzalino; The Holy Spirit photograph by Shari + Mike Photographers; Lovenote photograph by Brian Van Wyk; The Raven Room photograph by Mint Photography

403-454-8933,

The Raven Room by Blush & Raven.

THE RAVEN ROOM BY BLUSH & RAVEN Downtown bridal boutique Blush & Raven opened the intimate, appointment-only Raven Room last year to offer a super-personalized bridalparty shopping experience. This bridesmaid couture boutique carries everything your bridal party needs. Dresses typically range from $300 to $500, with options from local designers such as Maide to international design houses like Monique Lhuillier. There are accessories as well, including customizable jewellery by Joanna Bisley Designs (the 2019 fashion category winner for Avenue’s Made in Alberta Awards).

Gorgeous destinations don’t have to be far from home.

Credit: Edward Ross Photography, Durand Bridal and Creative Edge Flowers

302, 815 1 St. S.W., 403-7644777, blushandraven.com

S T. F O X B E S P O K E You can find the custommade suits of St. Fox Bespoke in Vancouver, Toronto and now, Calgary, the company’s new headquarters. With over 2,000 patterns to select from, the team at St. Fox can custom-fit suits for all shapes and sizes — including women. You can get a suit, shirt, overcoat and even shoes made just for you. 207 12 Ave. S.W., 587-664-4372, st-fox.com

events@floresandpine.com | floresandpine.com AvenueCalgary.com

LOOKS OF LOVE

Sleek and chic, contemporary and modern, classic, traditional, or kick-up-your-heels-Calgariancountry, the best wedding style is the style thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true to you.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY Brendan Klem STYLING BY Kara Chomistek, Jessie Landry AND Kat Martinez (PARK) HAIR AND MAKEUP BY Nickol Walkemeyer MODELS Jade D., Karimah M. AND DeAnn W. (Mode Models)

Judith & Charles jacket, $550, and trousers, $425, both from Nordstrom; earrings, $6.99, from Aldo. OPPOSITE, FROM FAR LEFT ON KARIMAH Nina Ricci coat dress, $3,315, from Simons; Miu Miu earrings, $480, from Holt Renfrew. ON JADE Dress, $3,600, from Pearl & Dot; earrings, $25, from Aldo.

AvenueCalgary.com

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Pronovias Atelier gown, $8,000, from Powder; earrings, $15, from H&M. OPPOSITE, FROM FAR LEFT ON JADE Naama & Anat dress, $6,500, from Ethos Bridal Boutique; earrings, $15, from H&M. ON KARIMAH Wayf dress, $208, from Nordstrom; Free Press earrings, $13, and Kate Spade shoes, $150, both from Nordstrom Rack. ON DEANN Pisarro Nights dress, $310, and Baublebar earrings, $45, both from Nordstrom; Miu Miu shoes, $925, from Holt Renfrew.

AvenueCalgary.com

FROM FAR LEFT ON JADE Rembo Styling gown, $1,890, and A.B. Ellie earrings, $260, from Lovenote. ON KARIMAH Eliza J dress, $205, and Stuart Weitzman shoes, $498, from Nordstrom; Stella and Ruby earrings, $52, from Nordstrom Rack. ON DEANN Savannah Miller dress, $1,800, from Blush & Raven; Jeffrey Campbell shoes, $160, from Nordstrom; earrings, $13, from Nordstrom Rack.

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YOUR FOREVER STARTS here A stunning backdrop with beautiful venues, Spruce Meadows is elegance and sophistication at its ďŹ nest. Our team will ensure your special day is the most memorable experience. The picturesque grounds and beautiful architecture will captivate you and your guests, the food and wine will delight your palate, and the music will take you dancing into the night. Your forever starts at Spruce Meadows. SpruceMeadows.com | 403.974.4200 AvenueCalgary.com

Blush by Hayley Paige dress, $1,899, from The Bragging Bride Boutique; earrings, $15, from Nordstrom Rack; floral bouquet from Foxglove Studio.

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Experience our Version of Spectacular Setting

Photo: Yueko Image

Located near Fernie BC, we specialize in boutique mountain weddings / islandlakelodge.com

AvenueCalgary.com

ON JADE Savin London dress, $4,690, from Blush & Raven; earrings, $26, from Zara; Simons x Boulet boots, $270, from Simons. 50

avenueJANUARY.20

ON DEANN Rue de Seine gown, $4,475, from The Bridal Boutique; A.B. Ellie earrings, $241, from Lovenote; Simons x Boulet boots, $310, from Simons.

ON KARIMAH Vivetta dress, $1,000, and Simons x Boulet boots, $270, both from Simons; belt, $36, from Zara; Baublebar earrings, $56, from Nordstrom.

Ethos Bridal Boutique, 908 17 Ave. S.W., 403-245-4188, ethosbridal.com Foxglove Studio, 915 9 Ave SE, Aldo, multiple Calgary locations, 403-690-1727, foxglovestudio.ca aldoshoes.com H&M, multiple Calgary locations, Blush & Raven, 103, 1118 hm.com 12 Ave. S.W., 403-474-6777, Holt Renfrew, The Core Shopblushandraven.com ping Centre, 403-269-7341, The Bragging Bride Boutique, holtrenfrew.com 1301 10 Ave. S.W. (second floor), Lovenote, 1317 9 Ave. S.E., 403-919-4527 and 403-630-8081, 403-475-4177, thebraggingbride.ca lovenotebride.com The Bridal Boutique, 5131 Maide, 303, 815 1 St. S.W. Elbow Dr. S.W., 403-281-9777, (by appointment only), 403thebridalboutique.ca 901-3199, wearemaide.com

SOURCE

Nordstrom, CF Chinook Centre, 587-291-2000, nordstrom.com Nordstrom Rack, 33 Heritage Meadows Way S.E., 403-3016000, nordstromrack.com Pearl & Dot, 1117 1 St. S.W. (by appointment only), 403452-0244, pearlanddot.com Powder, 454 8 Ave. S.E., 403-514-0007, powderbride.com Simons, The Core Shopping Centre, 403-697-1840, simons.ca Zara, CF Chinook Centre, 403-538-2357; and CF Market Mall, 403-202-0520; zara.com

Wedding Services 1

Crave Cookies & Cupcakes - We believe a wedding cake should taste as good as it looks. View our wedding cake designs on cravecupcakes.ca. To place your wedding order, please contact us at 403.270.2728

Call your Gownacologists at The Bragging Bride! Selling New and Designer Consignment Gowns for a decade! 2nd Floor 1301 10 Ave SW. Calgary 403-919-4527 | thebraggingbride.ca

Suzie Q Studio - Having a bachelorette party? Celebrate any girlfriend gathering with a fab and fun â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bead Stewâ&#x20AC;? BraceletMaking Party! Info at: suzieqstudio.com AvenueCalgary.com

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With the mountains as a perfect backdrop, you can relax and revel in your day.

Nick Nault Photography

Located in the spectacular Canadian Rockies and only 3 hours from Calgary, Fernie is an authentic, boutiquestyle mountain wedding destination. Plan your memorable day at one of many stunning locations with the convenience and professionalism of local planners, florists, photographers, hair and make-up artists, caterers and more.

TourismFernie.com WeddingsInFernie.com @FernieWeddings AvenueCalgary.com

M O U N TA I N S BY Brianna Sharpe ILLUSTRATIONS BY Kagan McLeod

ROUGHING IT AND SMOOTHING IT IN THE ROCKIES Three seasoned mountain adventurers sound off on their favourite winter activities for days when you want a challenge and days when you just want to take it easy.

he writer and outdoorsman George W. Sears declared in his 1884 classic Woodcraft: “We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home.” Sears, who wrote under the pen name Nessmuk, saw nature as a reprieve from the pace and pressures of the city. But these days, while “roughing it” generally refers to recreating in the outdoors, the idea of “smoothing it” has essentially disappeared. So we tracked down three modern outdoor adventurers with ties to the Kananaskis region — Olympian Chandra Crawford, outfitter Claude Faerden and mountain guide Peter Tucker — and asked how they embrace the rougher, more physically challenging aspects of winter adventuring in the Rockies while also reclaiming the lost art of “smoothing it.” These three know magic happens even at minus-20 degrees and that whether you’re going hard out there or engaging in more easy-going pursuits, ultimately, as Tucker says, it’s about giving winter “a big bear hug.”

Olympic gold medallist (cross-country skiing, 2006) and president of Fast and Female, a charity that promotes sports participation among young women and girls. Lives in Calgary and Canmore with husband Jared and their two kids, ages one and three, with one more on the way. “You don’t have to buy diamonds; a field of snow is so much more sparkly in the sun!” says Chandra Crawford, a three-time Olympian and gold-medallist in Nordic skiing. She laughs, adding she doesn’t want to alienate anyone with her undying love of winter, but it’s hard to imagine feeling disgruntled around Crawford, who positively glows as she talks about the crunch of the snow, bluebird skies and fresh air in her lungs.

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Photograph by Glen Crawford

CHANDRA CRAWFORD

ROUGHING IT Backcountry Ski Touring around Banff Sunshine Village Between being a mom and running her charity, Crawford says she doesn’t get too many days to herself for high-octane adventuring. But in the event that she is able to get out there and go hard, she would reach for her backcountry touring skis and set out to enjoy the beautiful balance of uphill and downhill. Crawford is particularly fond of the “slackcountry” (touring from a point accessed by a ski lift) terrain just beyond the resort boundaries at Sunshine Village. “I’d like to maybe just tootle around in the Meadows,” she says, “maybe go up Quartz Ridge and do some turns. Or hang around Rock Isle Lake to have lunch out in the snow. It’s an absolutely amazing way to enjoy a day.”

Photograph by Floyd Gonzalez

SMOOTHING IT Cross-country Skiing at Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park “Having kids has drastically changed everything about how I enjoy winter,” says Crawford, who has two toddlers and a third child due this month. She and her husband courted on the slopes, but now devote more cold-weather time to creating warm family memories at the Canmore Nordic Centre. On a typical day there, they will settle in, armed with games and snacks. “We often don’t go beyond a hundred-metre radius from the day lodge — and it’s amazing,” Crawford says. Of course, she particularly loves skiing to the Nordic Centre’s Chandra Crawford warming hut. “I’m thrilled to have something named after me that is so family-fun-oriented,” she says.

Claude Faerden fat biking in K-Country.

CLAUDE FAERDEN

Co-owner of Kananaskis Outfitters in Kananaskis Village. Lives in Exshaw with his wife Michelle and their two kids, ages eight and four. Now that he has a young family and a business to run, mountain adventurer and guide Claude Faerden says that winters have become less about undertaking big ice climbs and more about “staying active and staying connected with nature.”

ROUGHING IT Cold-weather Fat Biking in K-Country Even at -40 C, Faerden says he loves floating through the winter landscape on his fat-tire bike. “The thing about being on the fat bike is that you can dress for it,” he says. At such cold temperatures, you can get away with wearing ski gear for biking, Faerden says. He even wears ski goggles when setting out on two wheels in rougher temperatures. Faerden is a fan of the fatbike trails that run alongside the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge’s Nordic ski trails. “A packed trail is perfect and that’s why snowshoers and fat bikers are such great friends,” he says.

SMOOTHING IT Stargazing at Prairie View Lookout “The essence of stargazing is being still long enough to notice something,” says Faerden. For that reason, you don’t want to get sweaty when you’re on a winter stargazing outing, so an easy, non-aerobic snowshoe walk is ideal. Faerden recommends the Prairie View Lookout at Barrier Lake in K-Country to get a glimpse of the Milky Way or the northern lights. Some nights, it’s so quiet you might even hear a meteorite. (“Like winning stargazing for the rest of your life,” he says.) To make a night of stargazing even smoother, he recommends bringing hot apple cider and wearing your comfiest, coziest, puffiest parka. AvenueCalgary.com

M O U N TA I N S

The Emerald Lake slide path in Yoho National Park.

ROUGHING IT

Executive Director of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. Lives in Bragg Creek with his wife Debbie. Peter Tucker was that guy you saw walking around your university campus in shorts and sandals in the dead of winter. Back then, he “loved the feeling of cold,” and his enthusiasm hasn’t dimmed. There are two ways to look at winter, he’ll tell you. One is to retreat and reflect — and there’s nothing wrong with that. “The other,” Tucker’s eyes sparkle, “is to go out and suck it in.” 56

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SMOOTHING IT Winter Sport Activities at West Bragg Creek When Tucker moved to Bragg Creek, he and his wife crosscountry skied on logging roads. Four decades later, they can enjoy a warming hut and 70 to 80 kilometres of groomed, pet-friendly trails for Nordic skiing, snowshoeing and fat biking in the West Bragg Creek recreation area just a 10-minute drive from town. “The energy of the location is really powerful,” Tucker says. “There’s a wonderful magic, even just in the parking lot where everybody gathers. I’m blessed in the fact that I live here.”

Photograph by William Sim

PETER TUCKER

Backcountry Skiing on the Emerald Lake Slide Path “Really, for me, there’s nothing in the world that matches backcountry skiing,” Tucker says, “the feeling of dolphining through the snow, weightless, effortless ... until you crash.” Emerald Lake slide path in Yoho National Park was something of a secret spot when Tucker first discovered it for himself, and it remains one of his favourite tours — provided the conditions are stable. “Linking turns down 4,000 feet, that’s what inspires me,” he says. “I dream about that run.” Of course, as the executive director of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, Tucker is quick to add that anyone venturing into the backcountry should only do so with expert-level training under their belt, or with a guide.

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A t i m e le s s pl a c e fo r a t i m e l e s s l o v e . Heritage Park is a registered charity. Hosting your wedding at the Park helps keep history alive.

sales@heritagepark.ca | 403.268.8526

Registered Charity #11895 6457 PHOTO CREDITS Top image: Modern Photography Left to right: Chloe Photography, Stenhouse Photography, Jamie Anholt Photography

AvenueCalgary.com

DECOR BY Amber McLinden PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jared Sych

LOFTY IDEALS A custom home in North Glenmore Park brings together thoughtful design elements inspired by the feeling of a converted industrial New York loft.

avenueJANUARY.20

The home’s unique design features second-level walkways that allow for an open celing in the living room with windows that extend the full two-storey height.

Artful lighting choices in the dining room and other areas of the home provide visual interest against the neutral backdrop of white walls.

lot of great plans start with being sketched out on a napkin, including the design for the custom home of Carla and Keith Byblow. Carla and designer Leslie Mannix, a longtime friend, were having dinner at Merchants Restaurant & Bar in South Calgary, when they started drawing up a plan for the Byblows’ house. Mannix knows that the process of creating a home from scratch brings the thrill of endless possibilities, but also requires special focus. “My responsibility is to make it absolutely what they want while also meeting all their needs,” she says. Initially, the Byblows each wanted different things in their new home, starting with the size. While Carla wanted a smaller, open-concept

house, Keith wanted a two-storey with more private rooms. Fortunately, Mannix was able to bridge these divides. The result: A home in which the upper level is connected by walkways and the main level features a wide-open living-room ceiling. The home also has a traditional basement separate from the open-concept living area. “We both got what we wanted,” says Carla. Located in North Glenmore Park, the home evokes the feeling of a converted industrial New York loft, with its exposed brick, wide wooden beams, white walls and a second-level walkway connecting the bedrooms on either side of the home. Windows in the living and dining room extend the full two-storey height. AvenueCalgary.com

The kitchen’s pantry space was designed to conceal items such as the toaster and coffee maker, allowing for a cleaner, less cluttered aesthetic.

DG E CT OTRH E L O O K

The airy, open design and exposed brick in the home were inspired by New York City converted-industrial lofts.

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Custom built by Crafted Edge Homes, the house is on a 50-foot lot in the southwest community of North Glenmore Park. Keith’s request for a golf simulator in the basement required high ceilings in that space. The ceiling height for the simulator affected the design of the rest of the home as well, resulting in a mudroom and back deck built to a different height than the rest of the main floor. Markers of Mannix’s attention to detail are noticeable throughout the home. Glass panels sunk into the floors of the upstairs walkway, lighting designed to fit each individual space (from the dining room’s artful large-scale fixture to the small pot lights on the floor of the main bedroom) and the hidden pantry space containing the toaster and coffee maker are all examples of her ability to determine exactly what her clients needed. Carla and Keith (and their dog Murphy) live in the home full-time, while their two daughters Emma and Madelyn, currently attending university and working in Montreal, tend to bounce in and out. Mannix designed the space to fit all of their needs, with the white walls serving as a neutral backdrop, providing the family with a “blank canvas” to display their personalities.

Mannix says the home explores her idea of an “unfolding of the space,” the changing proportions and varying levels offering structural interest and something to enjoy at every turn. “It’s definitely a house based on asymmetry and spaces crossing into other spaces,” says Mannix. “It has visual interest. It also takes the pressure off the client, because there isn’t that sense that everything has to be perfect. It allows a lot more room for personality.” Pieces that do add visual interest, such as the artful light fixtures in the dining room and entryway and large painting in the main living room, were carefully thought out. “We really tried hard to make nothing feel like just a slapped-on facade, but that it has substance,” Mannix says. Carla has high praise for both Mannix and Crafted Edge Homes. “We’re lucky that we were able to do it, and we’re lucky that we had met both the builder and the designer and that they’re who they are,” she says. Mannix says she tried to build a home for the family, not just a beautiful house. “I think of it as a backdrop for their family,” she says, “to enhance them, reflect their personalities and give them room for it to be whatever they want it to be.”

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