Avenue February 2020

DIGITAL DETOX

Why and how to de-screen your life

GOING UP

Unique builds in the city

POPPING UP

Calgary restaurants opening off-hours for chefs to experiment

Design Inspired

WE CAN’T SHOW YOU A GORGEOUS INTERIOR. YOU HAVEN’T DESIGNED IT YET.

COMMUNITY AND CUSTOMIZED ESTATE HOMES COME TOGETHER WITH ENCLAVE AT THE HAMPTONS

There are a number of factors that combine to make a neighbourhood a truly great place to live. But at Shane Homes, we believe one of the most important is community engagement. Why? Because living in an engaged, socially active community helps to ensure a sense of inclusion, security and overall well-being.

FIND COMMUNITY AT THE HAMPTONS

Located in northwest Calgary, the Hamptons is a perfect example of a healthy and thriving community. Here, you can wave hello to your neighbours while walking your dog along inviting streets or on the nearby paths of Nose Hill Park. You can save time on everyday activities like shopping and commuting to work, thanks to the area’s accessible location and proximity to amenities. And you can take wonderful advantage of the schools, community centre, parks, and 18-hole golf course that make this established neighbourhood such a treasure for its residents.

The best part? You can do all of this, while also building the home of your dreams, thanks to Enclave at the Hamptons, a small and exclusive

Connect with our Area Managers

new residential development set right on the Hamptons Golf Course.

With 56 properties in Phase Two backing park space and the golf course itself, plus all the amenities that long-time Hamptons residents have been enjoying for years, Melanie Gowans, General Manager of Marketing and Sales at Shane Homes, believes Enclave at the Hamptons is the perfect opportunity for anyone looking to upgrade within the community.

“If your kids have school, daycare or different sporting activities in the area, you don’t have to move somewhere else in order to build a custom home,” Gowans says. “In northwest Calgary, there’s really nothing like this opportunity.”

Jack Kushner – JackK@shanehomes.com

Jeff Luif – JeffL@shanehomes.com

403-536-2200

CHOOSE ENCLAVE FOR YOUR CUSTOM HOME

With customizable homes ranging from 2,500 to 4,500 square feet, priced at $875,000 to $1.8 million, the homes in Enclave are the most affordable option on the market for a custom home that doesn’t fi t into the cookie-cutter layout of many other suburban neighbourhoods. You can ensure you get the home of your dreams in Enclave.

It doesn’t hurt that Shane Homes is a builder you know you can trust. Building for Calgarians for more than 40 years, Shane puts quality and communication at the forefront, consulting with you during every step of the building process to develop a home that truly fi ts your needs.

“It really means a lot to us to do a good job for our customers,” says Gowans.

Enclave is already in its second and final phase, which means the opportunity to build your dream home in one of Calgary’s most dynamic northwest communities will soon be gone. Whether you’re a Hamptons resident looking for a customized build, or a new homebuyer wanting to live in an inclusive, welcoming neighbourhood, check out Enclave for everything you could possibly want.

Timeless Design Refined Lifestyle

Enduring Quality

MODERN LIVING SPACES INSPIRED BY THE TIMELESS ELEGANCE OF HISTORIC NEW YORK

Concrete construction for peace of mind. Everything else for mindful living.

ONE OF CALGARY’S MOST DESIRABLE PLACES TO CALL HOME

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6907 Legare Drive SW, Calgary, AB

BED: 4 BATH: 2/1 2,967 SQ.FT. MLS C4275905 Rare offering with west back yard backing onto green space w huge mature trees! Situated on a 999 SQM lot.

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BED: 3 BATH: 3/1 2,197 SQ.FT. MLS C4277912 Prestigious Square Butte Ranch Equestrian living in a custom built home surrounded by 3.46 acres of forested land.

6913 Legare Drive SW, Calgary, AB BED: 3 BATH: 3 1,735 SQ.FT. MLS C4279157 Featuring 10,350 sqft of land this perfect sized bungalow in quaint Lakeview Village is nestled amidst mature trees Renata Reid 403.630.3991 $1,298,800 106 Pumpridge Place SW, Calgary, AB BED: 5 BATH: 5/1 5,236 SQ.FT. MLS C4281315 Majestic modern living with fully automated lighting, sound and security, nestled in the heart of Pumphill. Renata Reid 403.630.3991 $3,888,300 NEW LISTING 2820 25A Street SW, Calgary, AB BED: 4 BATH: 3/1 1,851 SQ.FT. MLS C4281313 Former Cardel Showhome with stunning finishing and all the upgrades a family needs. Great location in Richmond. Renata Reid 403.630.3991 $839,800 NEW LISTING

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2/1 2,458 SQ.FT. MLS C4237581 Sophisticated, contemporary renovated Mount Royal home located on one of the the finest streets in Mount Royal. Heather Waddell 403.471.0467 $2,147,000 #404 535 10 Avenue SW, Calgary, AB BED: 1 BATH: 1/1 1,220 SQ.FT. MLS C4278187 1,200+ sqft of chic & sophisticated living space in the Historical Hudson Lofts. Tastefully designed and updated, featuring 11 ft ceilings and two parking spots. Barb Richardson 403.613.8737 Nancy Calvin 403-519-6146 $639,900 #308, 3450 19 Street SW, Calgary, AB BED: 1 BATH: 1 725 SQ.FT. MLS C4265515 LIVE IN MARDA LOOP | Immaculate sunny south apartment in boutique Avenue 33. Walk to all amenities within minutes. Renata Reid 403.630.3991 $350,000 2322 3 Highway, Lundbreck, AB BED: 5 BATH: 6 5,986 SQ.FT. MLS C4279381 Surrounded by magnificent mountain views,a perfect layout for families, a bed & breakfast, or a corporate retreat. Jennifer Everingham 403.614.8772 $3,300,000 NEW LISTING #3005 930 16 Avenue SW, Calgary, AB BED: 3 BATH: 2 1,454 SQ.FT. MLS C4256561 Fabulous, new 3 bedroom condo at The Royal. This outstanding condo is in the Sky Collection with lavish upgrades Heather Waddell 403.471.0467 $1,199,000 «CONDOS » SINGLE FAMILY HOMES » Canadian Owned and Operated. E.&O.E.: This information is from sources which we deem reliable, but must be verified by prospective Purchasers and may be subject to change or withdrawal. SOTHEBYSREALTY.CA CALGARY 403.254.5315 CANMORE 1.855.254.5315 VANCOUVER 604.632.3300 SUN PEAKS 250.578.7773 KELOWNA 1.877.530.3933 VICTORIA 250.380.3933 TORONTO 416.960.9995 MONTREAL 514.933.4777 « SINGLE FAMILY HOMES SOTHEBYSREALTY.CA #3101 433 11 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB For those who seek an exceptional life.

Sustainable Homes

Innovative builds in and around Calgary where sustainability is front and centre, including one home that’s so energy efficient it actually stays warm in the winter without a furnace, and one that brings functional Scandinavian design to the wide-open prairie.

by Kait Kucy and Ruth Richert

34

New Builds in Old Communities

A round-up of some unique builds in the inner-city, including ultra-luxe row houses, an office-to-residential-conversion apartment tower, and affordable housing designed to make use of undersized lots.

by Ruth Richert

40

Screening in Moderation

Doing a “detox” from screened devices is good dinner-party conversation fodder, but it may be time to take things more seriously as a Calgary-based study has revealed a correlation between increased screen time and developmental delays in young children.

by Christina Frangou

46

Restaurants Within Restaurants

Local examples of a current trend that has restaurants and bars opening up their spaces to pop-up concepts and other chef-driven initiatives.

By Colin Gallant

ON THE COVER

DEPARTMENTS

14 EDITOR’S NOTE

90 WORK OF ART

17

Detours

Meet the organizer behind a new event series that is all about making space for per formers of colour. Plus, how local roller-skating enthusiasts are keeping their scene alive after the closure of Lloyd’s, a literary series where the read ers are nude, and a few words with piano-prodigy-turnedinternational-performing-andrecording-artist Jan Lisiecki.

76

Decor

A custom home in Britannia allows a family to have their comfortable everyday living space and their glamourous entertaining space, too.

84 Get the Look

86

The List

Robert Ollerenshaw, founder of Section23 Developments, is someone who sees urban and suburban development through the lens of a rural upbringing.

Interior designer Swantje MackeMonteiro on her favourite spots in the city to find eco-friendly fabrics, consignment furnishings and more.

88 New & Noteworthy

In the Rockies, just because the calendar says it’s spring doesn’t mean you put away your winter gear. Here’s how to make the most of the in-between time we’re calling “sprinter.”

An online marketplace for African home decor, built-to-last eyewear by TV Dragon Arlene Dickenson, a company that sends natural wines to your door and the latest in glitter from Lit.

Katie Chan in her home designed by Amanda Hamilton. Page 76.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JARED SYCH

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

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Assistant Editor Colin Gallant

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Contributors Christina Frangou, Jennifer Friesen, Marne Grahlman, Kait Kucy, Amber McLinden, Ruth Richert, Katherine Ylitalo

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BEST RESTAURANTS

Using your feedback as a guide, we selected this year’s list of the 10 Best New Restaurants, 20 Best Overall and the winners in a wide range of categories. Now you’ll know where to eat every day for the rest of the year.

CO-WORKING IN CALGARY

From local operators to multinational brands, Calgary is seeing a surge in co-work options. But what does this shift mean for workers and for the city’s high office-vacancy rates?

MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES FOR SCAREDY CATS

Want to explore the mountains in your own backyard but afraid of all the things that can fall on you, eat you or otherwise harm you? Have no fear, or at least less fear! Our guide will get you prepared with tips and ideas to keep you safe while you’re in the great outdoors.

Organized by

FEB. 10

CAMPBELL, CHOI AND MONTGOMERY

FEB. 14

DAVE KELLY LIVEVALENTINE’S DAY

SPECIAL

No Place Like Home

Calgarians are finding lots of new ways to make a house a home.

Whether you live in a small condo or a super-sized estate, home is not only where the heart is, it’s where you feel most comfortable. A comfortable home fits your life and your lifestyle. It feels cozy and welcoming and also feels like it reflects and facilitates your beliefs about the best way to live. Because all of those ideas are deeply personal, a home should be, too. In this month’s exploration of home building and decor, we discovered Calgarians who are creating homes that reflect not only their life, but their lifestyle and even their life philosophy.

FEB. 28

ANDY SHAUF

MARCH 8

ELMER ISLER SINGERS

MARCH 14

DERVISH – THE GREAT IRISH SONGBOOK

This month, we feature the home of the Chan family, who worked with designer Amanda Hamilton and builder Marien Homes to create a house with space for formal entertaining, though not at the expense of space for family life. We also spoke with eco-focused decorator Swantje MackeMonteiro about her favourite things in Calgary, and to Robert Ollerenshaw, a born-and-raised Calgary architect and developer, about his career path and family history which are intertwined in his developments. Our two design feature packages look at innovative new builds in existing communities as well sustainable innovations. That includes a look at what Jayman Built has done to increase the energy efficiency of all their new single-family homes. We also explore SAIT’s Building Innovation Lab, which aims to help local companies stay at the forefront of building technology and developments.

AT THE BELLA TAYLORCENTRE.CA

Builders aren’t the only ones innovating to stay ahead — these days just about every business is either evolving or risking becoming obsolete. One innovation dealing with the evolution of the restaurant industry has been an increase of pop-up and concept restaurants inside of existing restaurant spaces. Find out more about local examples of this trend in our story on page 46.

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

A story about dining out in Avenue’s January issue stated that The Coup restaurant was closed temporarily. In fact, The Coup was open for business through the month of January. We regret the error.

CALLING ALL ALBERTA MAKERS

Entries for the second annual Made in Alberta Awards close February 29. Find out more at MadeInAlbertaAwards.ca.

Of course, these days, usually when we hear the word innovation we think of technology. But our use of technology can take on a sinister aspect at times and so more and more people are looking to carve out a time to “detox” from their screen use. In this issue, writer Christina Frangou looked into some local research on why we should put our phones down and how to do it.

In all these stories we explore ideas about how to live your best life in Calgary in one way or another. As we look toward our 26th year of sharing Calgary’s stories, we would love to hear from you about what you love about the city, who you think we should talk to and what you think would make Calgary even better. You can email me at klemon@redpointmedia.ca and join us online for weekly stories about the city through AvenueCalgary.com/newsletters

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

CORRECTION

Diversifying the Dancefloor

Kimberley Jev is creating space for performers of colour in Calgary through her Umoja Sessions event series and her work with the grassroots organization Afros in tha City.

Kimberley Jev began her professional DJ career in November, 2018, about one year to the day before the debut of Umoja Sessions, her DJ night that began at Calgary’s Hifi Club.

Around the same time as this anniversary, Jev was also giving talks and performing at both Femme Wave and the Alberta

Electronic Music Conference. In short, it was a hell of a year. An artist manager, communications professional, community organizer and founder of the now-defunct calgaryfashion.ca, Jev attributes her breakthrough to her hard work DJ-ing as Kimleestar and throwing events with Afros in tha City, a grassroots organization she leads that’s all about

uplifting and empowering youth and adults and creating visibility for black performers. “Something that makes me very proud is that I have not asked a single person for anything this year,” Jev says. “I just worked hard at perfecting my craft.”

The origins of her DJ career and Afros in tha City can be traced back to two things: first, Jev says local representation

of black women in live music was practically non-existent, and second, it helped her stay connected to someone she lost.

“I got really frustrated with going to shows and hearing the same thing. I also got really frustrated with the appropriation of black culture and music within our industry,” she says.

Umoja Sessions began at The Hifi Club just one year after Kimberley Jev began her professional DJ career.

Photograph by Jarrett Edmund

“The other thing that happened was my partner passed away in January of 2015, and the only way I am able to feel feelings of connection, and the communication that I have with my partner ... is when I mix the songs.”

Umoja Sessions celebrates the “sounds of Africa and the diaspora” with a range of musical styles like Afrobeat, hip hop, dance hall, reggae and more. Jev curates DJs for each session from Afros in tha City and partner organizations Icarus Sound and Afrobeats YYC — groups she has worked closely with since day one. “The support of each other is what has led to the successes this year,” Jev says. “We wouldn’t be where we are without each other.”

This month marks the fifth anniversary of burying her partner back in 2015. But rather than hiding away, Jev will continue on with Umoja Sessions at different venues and take comfort in the community she has helped to create. “I think what I really want is a huge celebration of love and togetherness,” she says. —

Colin Gallant

For more information on Umoja Sessions and other Afros In Tha City Events visit facebook.com/ AfrosInThaCity

Fail Forward

For Shahr Savizi and Amanda Ovaici, co-founders of FuckUp Nights (F.U.N.)

YYC, failure is literally the glue in their friendship. Back when she was an undergrad, Ovaici was doing work that involved the launch of a hair-care product line and she gave Savizi a shampoo sample to try. “I messaged her, ‘how was it?’ And she responded, ‘it’s heavy,’” says Ovaici. “I went into the shower myself and, it wasn’t just heavy, it was glue! So there are certain entrepreneurial issues that we’ve personally encountered.”

Sharing stories like this one is what F.U.N. is all about. Part of a global organization that seeks to broaden the discussion of failure, F.U.N. events take place in more than 300 cities in 80 countries around the world. Locally, the event brings together entrepreneurial types to hear speakers share their worst start-up screw-ups, and the tales of how they survived — and often thrived — despite them.

Failure is an essential element of entrepreneurship that Savizi and Ovaici believe isn’t easily acknowledged, and they hope that their events will help change that. “A lot of our businesses in Calgary have had to put up a face where it’s like,

‘no, everything’s fine, everything’s great’,” says Savizi. “[F.U.N.] is an opportunity to vent and say we faced obstacles, and this is the reality of business. And it’s refreshing to know we share [that reality].”

F.U.N. events aren’t just for entrepreneurs — Savizi says attendees include everyone from students in their early 20s to 60-something lawyers. No matter who shows up, the events are in high demand; all four previous F.U.N. YYC events have sold out, with the next one set to happen in April at The Commons.

Ovaici believes one of the reasons F.U.N. events are so well-received is that they foster connections between newer and more-established entrepreneur types. “Our goal is essentially to facilitate relationships between people who are thinking of taking that step into business, or are operating a start-up, with people who are currently going through strugglves or who have overcome them,” she says. “Pairing them together nurtures our business community in Calgary that much more.”

Andrew Guilbert

The next F.U.N. YYC event is on April 9. For information visit fuckupnights.com/calgary

Kimberley

Jev photograph by Carla Valdes; FuckUp Nights photograph by Melissa Whellams

Amanda Ovaici and Shahr Savizi co-founders of FuckUp Nights YYC.

HAVE YOUR SAY

FILL

Discover on Feb. 27

Best enjoyed chilled -and chillin’- in Alberta’s backyard, this citrus-driven kettle sour is made with a fragrant, Japanese orange-lemon hybrid fruit called Yuzu. Hibiscus provides a wellrounded finish. It is the result of 3 local business’ love for community, quality and adventure!

Proceeds from this beer and matching Local Laundry t-shirts available for purchase at the Wild Rose Taproom will be donated to Parks Foundation Calgary.

Get your 4 pack or t-shirt with your entry to win May long weekend 2020 in a Yama Campervan!

AvenueCalgary.com/survey

Insider

CONCERT PIANIST JAN LISIECKI ON MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE INSTRUMENTS.

Jan Lisiecki has experienced a lifetime’s worth of milestones, all before the age of 25. Since making his orchestral debut as a piano prodigy at age nine, the Calgarian has taken centre stage everywhere from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall. Regardless of where he plays, Lisiecki says getting into the zone requires more than just shaking off jet lag and knowing the notes. “As a pianist, you don’t travel with your own instrument. You play on the piano that’s provided. So you have this additional aspect of adjusting to the new place, a different audience, a different culture, but also a different piano. And pianos are not like cars — they’re a handmade device. Each one has a different feel and sound to it. You’re always trying to make friends with a piano. Make it work with you, not against you.”

Lisiecki’s latest live recording, Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertotvs, was released in September, 2019, on Deut-sche Grammophon. The full concert video was released in January, 2020 — the year of Beethoven’s 250th birthday.

—Nathan Kunz

Rolling Onward A

fter 53 years of exuberant and sweaty four-wheeled fun, Calgarians laced up their skates at Lloyd’s Roller Rink for the last time on Feb. 18, 2018. Two years later, a handful of local groups are working to preserve roller skating in Calgary and cultivate the community that has rallied around the sport for decades.

“I think kids, youth and adults need an outlet. Especially now with technology, everybody’s on their phones or on their computers. We need something where we can interact with one another again,” says Debbie Shipley-Nance, founder of Roller Recreation Association (RRA). “Roller skating really does that. It brings people together.”

After Lloyd’s closed, Shipley-Nance, who says she basically grew up at the rink, was adamant about keeping Lloyd’s legacy alive. She created RRA to host roller-skating events for Calgarians and promote other local skate groups that share her goals: to keep Calgarians skating, and eventually have a new space to call their own.

Despite the fact Calgary roller skaters have no permanent venue, Theresa Tucci, co-founder of Calgary Roller Skate (CRS), says interest in the sport hasn’t diminished. In fact, it has caused the roller-skating community to get creative and work together. “Lloyd’s was always there, so we didn’t appreciate what we had until it was gone. But the positive outcome from it closing was that it forced the skate community to come together and bring in new people,” Tucci says.

CRS now hosts monthly public-skate parties at the Junior Varsity Volleyball Training Centre (JVC), where attendance is often more than 150 people. The group’s goal is to create an environment that mimics going to Lloyd’s back in the day — though the music will be a bit more contemporary, Tucci says with a laugh. CRS also holds a weekly skate at the Vecova Recreation Centre where they offer lessons for those looking to fine-tune their skills.

Local skaters can also attend weekly Fresh Rollers disco parties every Friday at the Cedarbrae Community Centre. Local skater Angie Thomas initially started Fresh Rollers to introduce Calgary to the sport of dance skating, but since Lloyd’s closed, her mission has shifted to provide all skaters a place to express themselves in a safe, accessible environment, as well as show Calgary how many skaters are still out there.

In 2019, on the one-year anniversary of Lloyd’s closing, RRA hosted “Lloyd’s Legacy Skate,” a sold-out event with more than 400 people in attendance. This year, Calgarians can celebrate Lloyd’s legacy once again on Feb. 15 at the JVC. Tickets are available at the monthly skate events and through Eventbrite.

“What Lloyd’s did was bring people together,” says Shipley-Nance. “So we want to pay tribute to a place that changed so many lives and means so much to us, still.”

Samantha Gryba

Though Lloyd’s Roller Rink closed in 2018, Calgary’s roller-skating scene lives on thanks to a handful of impassioned local groups.

Insider photograph by Deutsche Grammophon; Lloyd ’ s photography by Len Cyca

PERFORMERS REPRESENT A VARIETY OF SIZES, AGES AND GENDERS.

The name does include the word “girl,” however, performers are essentially non-male identifying, and include nonbinary and transgender folks. Seeing the variety of body types on stage can be cathartic for the audience members. “It helps them accept themselves,” says Kamikaze. “I think that’s kind of a surprising after-effect of the show.”

IT WILL TURN YOU ON (BUT NOT IN THE WAY YOU EXPECT).

Kamikaze says she understands a big draw of the show is the nudity, but it almost never affects people the way they expect. Instead, knowledge is the real turn-on. “Books are hella sexy,” she says. That said, once a year, Naked Girls Reading hosts an erotica-themed show, which Kamikaze says can make people squirm in their seats — but not because of the naked person reading.

Five Things to Know About Naked Girls Reading

Naked Girls Reading (NGR) is a literary salon that hooks you with the promise of nudity, but keeps you coming back for the literature and empowering message. Originating in Chicago, Ill., NGR events are now held around the world. Keely Kamikaze, the founder of Calgary’s chapter, says it’s a bit of a bait-and-switch: you might come for the nudity but “you end up being there for the book,” she says. Here are five more reasons to check out this month’s show.

IT’S ALL ABOUT EMPOWERMENT.

Getting up on stage and reading a literary excerpt can be intimidating, and Kamikaze understands that. In fact, she hopes the audience can share in the feeling of vulnerability with the performers. “My hope is that everybody that comes to see the show leaves saying, ‘That was super powerful. How can I be powerful?’”

IT’S NOT SEXUAL.

You can feel admiration, empowerment, or even slightly turned on, but when it comes to expressing your feelings out loud, the show has strict rules. “Our show is 100-per cent non-sexual,” says Kamikaze. “No comments, you can’t touch without permission, consent, all that fun stuff. If anybody acts inappropriately, they are kicked out immediately.” However, Kamikaze says that kind of behavior is rare.

IT’S A RECLAMATION OF POWER.

A big part of the show, Kamikaze says, is readers taking back their own voice and power. “We have a lot of readers who have been abused or sexually assaulted. This is their way of gaining that power back, because you’re standing naked on stage in front of a crowd by choice, and everyone is looking at you. Imagine that kind of power.” —

Amber McLinden

This month’s Naked Girls Reading event is on Feb. 16 at Cast Iron Cafe. Tickets are available through the group’s Facebook page, as well as at the door. Photograph by K

“MY HOPE IS THAT EVERYBODY THAT COMES TO SEE THE SHOW LEAVES SAYING, ‘THAT WAS SUPER POWERFUL. HOW CAN I BE POWERFUL?’”

– KEELY KAMIKAZE

DETOURS

Openings

CRAVINGS BISTRO

Pop into Arts Commons for a bite at the new Cravings Bistro. On the first floor next to Capuccini, the bistro offers everything from breakfast wraps and smoothie bowls to woodfired pizzas and tapas. It’s a great spot for a quick pre-show dinner.

Arts Commons, 225 8 Ave. S.E., 403-294-7498, cravingsbistro.ca

DEANE HOUSE

Following a temporary closure due to flooding, Deane House has been restored and is now reopen in Inglewood. The sister restaurant to River Café has reopened with a new chef (Christopher Barton, formerly of Anew Table) and a new menu featuring family-style sharing plates inspired by the life of Captain Richard Deane. 806 9 Ave. S.E., 403-264-0595, deanehouse.com

GOOD TRADE COMPANY

Get your caffeine fix at Good Trade Company’s new 20-seat coffee shop in Kensington. Good Trade brews locally roasted beans sourced from Colombian coffee farms, and also serves up sandwiches and pastries.

1154 Kensington Crescent N.W., goodtrade.org

MASTER CHOCOLAT FACTORY AND STORE

At Bernard Callebaut’s new chocolate factory and store in Kingsland, guests can shop for locally made treats, design a chocolate bar, participate in chocolate classes and more.

130, 560 69 Ave. S.W., 403-2525750, masterchocolat.com

THE METHOD YYC

Break a sweat with The Method YYC team at this group fitness studio designed by Amanda Hamilton Interior Design in Victoria Park. After class, grab a shake at the snack bar and shop for products from Hedkandi Salon and Illuminate Skin Therapies. 402 12 Ave. S.E., 587-351-9088, themethodyyc.com

RESPECT EYECARE

Inglewood’s newest eyewear shop carries stylish frames by brands from around the world including Raen, Eyevan, Cutler and Gross, Moscot and others. The shop also offers eye exams. 112, 1020 9 Ave. S.E., 403-4545880, respecteyecare.com

POACHED

Start your day off right with a breakfast bowl or crab cake eggs Benedict at this new breakfast restaurant in the Silverado neighbourhood.

1202, 19369 Sheriff King St. S.W., 403-719-0256

SNAP FOTO CLUB

Get your camera ready — this new self-serve photography studio in Stephen Avenue’s historic Tribune Block building has more than 30 colourful (and often interactive) setups where you can capture the perfect selfie or portrait.

200, 118 8 Ave. S.W., snapfotoclub.ca

Snap Foto Club.

The Method YYC.

Good Trade Company.

Respect Eyecare.

Deane House.

VISUAL ART LAUNCH PARTY

FEB. 8

Glenbow celebrates the launch of feature exhibition Vivian Maier: In Her Own Hands as well as the Glenbow-produced exhibition

Maxwell Bates: The In-Crowd and the newest entry in the One New Work series, Ron Moppett: Do You Remember/Snow & Stars, with an admission-by-donation soiree.

Glenbow, 130 9 Ave. S.E., 403-268-4100, glenbow.org

SPORT AIRDRIE 2020 ALBERTA WINTER GAMES

FEB. 14 TO 17

The annual Alberta Winter Games represent the first opportunity for many young athletes to compete at an elite level in their sporting discipline. This year, competitors aged 11 to 17 will compete in 15 sports in Airdrie.

Multiple venues, albertasport.ca/ alberta-games/winter-games

MUSIC WE SHALL OVERCOME: A CELEBRATION OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

FEB. 27

This BD&P World Music Stage presentation is a blend of spokenword recordings of Dr. King and music popularized by artists including Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and others. Musical director Damien Sneed, known for his work with Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, leads the show.

Singer

Hall,

Commons, artscommons.ca

Jack

Concert

Arts

Deane House photograph by Jared Sych; Good Trade photograph by Elizabeth S. Cameron; Method photograph by Courtney Molyneaux; Snap Foto photograph by Mariah Wilson

BYKaitKucy ANDRuthRichert

HEIMA HOME

LLike many first-time home builders, David and Breanne Heidrich had a strong vision for their modern country home. They envisioned an architectural piece peppered with influences of minimalistic Scandinavian design and the traditional prairie farmhouses seen in the Alberta foothills region. They planned to create a beautiful space for their family to grow up in, while implementing sustainable design methods and cost-saving alternatives.

David and Breanne are full-time wedding photographers and felt that building their own home would allow them to design something beautiful, efficient and spacious for under $500,000. David took on the aesthetic aspects of the project and Breanne handled logistics. Together they designed the home with a family friend who specializes in multi-million dollar French country-style houses and was eager to assist in this unique project.

David grew up in Europe, so he was used to small, well laid-out spaces and wanted to create a similar atmosphere for his family’s new home.

O SNCalgarians are finding new solutions to age-old problems, with ways to use less energy, create beautiful spaces on a budget and to continue innovating.

Photography by David Heidrich, @building_heima

“I was in no hurry to buy,” says David. “Everyone rents in Europe and I was quite comfortable to rent here in Calgary. But when this opportunity came up to build on some land near Breanne’s parents, we decided to go for it. There seems to be a different mindset in Alberta, where people try to get the biggest home for their money. Our motto throughout the entire project was ‘smaller but better,’ while still being cost-effective.”

The 1,550-square-foot charred-cedar home makes a bold statement against the monochromatic prairie landscape of their property on the outskirts of Calgary, just east of Okotoks. The double-peaked metal roof stands in stark contrast to the 3.5 acres of farmland surrounding the home.“We really thought ahead with all of the design elements we included in the exterior of the home,” says David. “We considered the harsh allseason weather conditions that the prairies can endure, so we went with a metal roof. We chose to clad the house in shou sugi ban cedar because it is maintenance-free for around 75 years.”

David sourced high-performance windows and doors from Europe that ended up being just as cost-effective as the not-as-high-performance

Canadian brands they looked at. Heat-regulating insulated shutters on the exterior keep the home cool without air-conditioning.

The build itself only took around five months, mostly because they chose to go with an insulated concrete forms foundation (ICF), an interlocking modular foundation method.

The interior of the home is the antithesis of the dark exterior — pure white walls accented with minimal black detailing, colourful artwork and large windows. The interior is divided into two wings: one houses the bedrooms and bathrooms and the other is the communal living space with the kitchen, dining room and living room. The basement is also split, with more bedrooms on one side and a large movie and games room on the other.

“Ultimately, we would have loved to build the same home in the inner city, but since the land would have added so much to our overall cost we decided we would rather go for the dream house than the dream location at this time,” says David. “We’re both very visual people who work from home so we wanted a space that would be very inspiring to us and our two daughters.” —K.K.

Photography by David Heidrich, @building_heima

PASSIVE HOUSE

When Ania Kania-Richmond and Kit Richmond started house-hunting, they had one simple request: to find an efficient modern home within their budget. Although it turned out to be quite a challenge to find something that aligned with their core principles of healthy living, sustainability and overall reduction of environmental impact, they were determined to find something that fit the bill.

“As we looked into the idea further, Kit sparked an interest in the idea of a fully sustainable home,” says Kania-Richmond. The couple learned about the EchoHaven community within Rocky Ridge in northwest Calgary. A micro-community of about 25 homes, EchoHaven is for homes with minimal environmental footprint, maxium efficiency, solar heating strategies and water conservation initiatives. “When we started looking into it and talked with our builder and the people in EchoHaven, they made us more aware of the options for an energy-efficient house: net zero, fully solar, Passive House and off-the-grid,” says Kania-Richmond.

Passive House certification is a voluntary standard for energy efficiency within a home, signifying a reduction in the building’s ecological footprint and reduced energy needs for space heating or cooling. For Kania-Richmond and her husband, building a house that pre-emptively reduced energy and used renewables to further offset energy consumption completely aligned with their philosophy.

They were also motivated by the challenge of creating the first certified Passive House

in Alberta. “We wanted to build a house that reduced how much energy it required to operate and then we could add renewables as required to further offset standard energy consumption,” says Kania-Richmond.

Their Passive House includes features that minimize the need for holes in the building exterior, such as outside venting for the kitchen, bathrooms and dryer. The couple also made simple choices, such as opting for a smaller highefficiency fridge, other energy-efficient appliances, a condensing dryer, an induction stove and LED lighting throughout. Cement used for the interior flooring also functions as a natural heat sink, storing heat during the day and releasing it slowly through the cooler night.

The home also features extremely thick walls — approximately twice the thickness of standard homes — packed with insulation. These walls make a significant contribution to the high energy-efficiency of the home.

“We also included triple-pane windows and exterior doors as well as large south-facing win-dows to allow for passive solar access to the interior,” says Kania-Richmond. “Although we live within these thick, heavily insulated walls, we feel connected to the exterior environment because of the natural light and direct relationship with the sun in terms of the interior temperatures.”

That high degree of insulation and the heatsink effect has even allowed Ania and Kit to opt out of something most Calgarians couldn’t imagine living without — a furnace. With Calgary temperatures known to drop down to -30 C (or colder) in the winter months, Kania-Richmond

notes she was worried about keeping the house warm in the depths of winter. However, the couple has been pleasantly surprised to find that even during extreme cold snaps, on a blue-sky day the house maintains a comfortable ambient temperature. Given the high number of sunny days they haven’t needed to resort to other heating sources very often.

With sustainability and healthy living front of mind, Kania-Richmond and her husband found a lot to celebrate once they actually started living in the house. The ambient temperatures and consistent natural light had a positive impact on their family’s moods and mental states. They also noticed that those ultra-thick walls limited the amount of disruptive external noise, such as the sounds of construction.

“The Passive House reflects a key principle in our family; the recognition of the need to live in a sustainable way and take steps in our lifestyle and daily activities that preserve our environment and connect to that environment,” says KaniaRichmond. “We very much want to model for our kids what this means; not just talk about it, but also actively live this principle.” —K.K.

Photography by Higuchi Photos

SAIT GREEN BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES LAB AND DEMONSTRATION CENTRE

Green building techniques and sustainable design innovation are constantly evolving. Technology and innovation have come a long way, but the boundaries are continually tested and new developments are always on the horizon.

In order to provide a space for Calgary sustainable design innovators to thrive, SAIT opened its Green Building Technologies Lab and Demonstration Centre in 2017, boosting its existing Green Building Technologies (GBT) program, which began in 2008.

Putting SAIT’s applied research facility at the forefront of green building innovation in Alberta and Canada, the state-of-the-art lab provides both students and researchers the opportunity to explore new processes and work directly with industry partners. The on-campus research experience allows for hands-on training and industry-based experience and also develops a stronger community with builders,

government departments and other innovators in the industry.

The lab and demonstration centre is not only a hub for bold innovation, it’s also an example of innovation itself — the facility was the first net-zero commercial building in Calgary, and the 6,350-square-foot lab and demonstration building sets a high standard for energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions.

With specialized workshops, testing areas and a large construction zone, the GBT facility boasts a total of more than 16,800 square feet of research space, and is an essential component for Calgary’s future in sustainable innovations.

David Silburn, associate director sustainable operations at SAIT, says the GBT Lab and Demonstration Centre “provides students and industry suppliers, builders, designers and product manufacturers an opportunity to envision, trial, fabricate and test their sustainable building goals.” Through its research infrastructure, expertise and grants, the GBT Lab supports industry

innovation in energy efficiency and renewable infrastructure, high performance envelopes, water reclamation and cold-climate construction, Silburn notes.

One highlight of the lab is the green roof, which allows for testing water dispersion control and building-energy monitoring. There is also a solar carport, electric vehicle charging bays and living wall comparative test plots, as well as various other test labs.

Solar-power testing is at the forefront for Calgary — with the city logging more than 2,300 hours of sunlight each year it just makes sense to maximize this cost-effective method for homes and commercial buildings.

Making significant strides locally, GBT’s commitment to researching and developing new products and systems for sustainability and energy-efficiency have been well-received by interested Calgarians who want to support this growing industry and implement these technologies into their everyday lives. —K.K.

SOLAR FOR JAYMAN

Calgary-based Jayman Built has focused on being not only a highquality builder but also a leader of sustainable practices in the industry, implementing energy savings, water conservation and sourcing materials locally. “Sustainability has always been a part of what Jayman is,” says Dave Desormeaux, president and chief operating officer of Jayman Built. The company has taken a number of steps to improve the sustainability of its practices, such as recycling more than 37,000 metric tonnes of waste materials from its home builds. Using low-flow fixtures in its homes has also saved approximately three billion litres of water since 2002. The company is also a founding member of Built Green Canada, started in 2005. “Jayman calls all our sustainability initiatives the ‘Core Performance’ of our homes, placing environmental consideration at the centre of what we do,” Desormeaux says.

Last year, Jayman took its biggest sustainability step yet, by including its Standard Solar Panel System in every one of the single-family homes the company built last year in Calgary and Edmonton.

SHIPPING CONTAINER COMFORT

icture a stack of sea cans en route to a faraway country: is “cozy family home” the first thing that springs to mind? Likely not. But for Jaime Turner and his family, that’s exactly what four shipping containers have become. Constructed by Edmonton-based builder Homes by 3Leafs in Rocky Ridge’s EchoHaven community, the Turner residence is Calgary’s first full-size family home built from shipping containers.

The systems, which include solar panels as well as an energy-efficiency upgrade, provide savings of up to $840 a year per household. Jayman is the first home builder in the province to create a program like this. Each new Jayman single-family home has more than $15,600 in energy efficiency upgrades, such as tank-less water heaters, triplepaned windows and heat-recovery ventilation systems, at no additional cost to the customer.

“We believe sustainability should be affordable, which is why we work with select suppliers to ensure our customers receive the highest quality and most environmentally conscious homes at a price that works for them,” says Desormeaux.

The company notes that the solar panels alone should save the average household around $200 annually on electricity costs. While the Standard Solar Panels won’t cover all the power needs of the home or operate at maximum efficiency all of the time, the initiative makes a significant contribution to each Jayman Built house’s energy usage, and will prevent up to 1.2 metric tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere each year.

Jayman builds approximately 900 single-family homes across Alberta each year, so this commitment to sustainability will make a change immediately, as well as in the long-term. —K.K.

The unique building method is considered environmentally friendly because it reuses containers that would otherwise be discarded, while the steel construction creates a longer-lasting and more energy-efficient home. For Turner and his family, the eco-angle was paramount. “My wife and I were motivated to build our unconventional forever-home to reduce our carbon dependency, lower our utilities costs, generate clean energy for the grid, and be positive role models for our daughter,” he says.

Being eco-friendly doesn’t trump aesthetics, however — the only signs that this home is constructed from shipping containers are two interior walls that the family chose to leave exposed and the steel beams throughout the space. From the outside, the sea-can house simply looks like a stylish new build — proof that thinking inside a box can yield beautiful results. —

R.R.

BYRuthRichert

New Builds in

Whether you’re travelling along lines of latitude or longitude in Calgary, if you go far enough you’ll stumble upon a new subdivision being built. But sometimes to see what’s new you have to look inward. From luxury row houses and live-work condos, to office-residential conversions and backyards suites, we take a look at some of the unique and innovative building projects that have gone up recently in Calgary's developed communities.

Established Communities

NOT YOUR AVERAGE ROW HOUSE

Nam Dang-Mitchell knew she was taking a risk with her row of four freehold townhouses in the innercity neighbourhood of South Calgary. The esteemed local designer loved the character of New York and Boston brownstones, a style of home that is as integral to life in those cities as pigeons or traffic. In our youthful western city such high-end townhouses are rare. However, a perfect piece of property adjacent to South Calgary Park convinced Dang-Mitchell to take the plunge on creating this style of home. “A lot of people [told me], you could fit eight units on here. But I just felt like there was a lot of that product on the market already,” she says. “The park is so fabulous, it wanted something more, something permanent and substantial, something that was going to age well, and keep its value.”

What followed was a labour of love — and many sleepless nights. Dang-Mitchell was involved in every aspect of the build and selected all decor elements for the homes, from choosing the modern light fixtures in each living room to opting to have the mud-room floors covered in a herringbone tile. (When it came time, it was also Dang-Mitchell’s decision to list the four properties with Bōde, a Calgary-developed platform that facilitates peer-to-peer transactions including real-estate sales across Alberta, rather than a conventional agent.) The final result is four spacious, light-filled homes with a designer’s attention to detail, revealed in striking elements such as the curved demi-walls running the length of the stairwells between the main and upper levels. When 400 people attended the open house for the properties, it was clear that her risk had paid off: the four units sold quickly, emphasizing that even in a city without a brownstone past, there is a market for thoughtful design.

Designer Nam Dang-Mitchell’s luxury townhouses in South Calgary.

Nam Dang-Mitchell brought a designer’s eye for detail to the interiors of her four townhouses.

Nam Dang-Mitchell row house photography courtsey of B ō de Canada

FROM RIGHT

BACKYARD SUITES HAVE LANDED

Some of Cornelis Koster’s friends like to joke that a spaceship has landed in his yard. Though perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, the solar-powered, one-bedroom apartment with a sharply angled roof perched on top of Koster’s garage certainly is eye-catching, inspiring many a passerby to stop and check out the informational materials about the project Koster has pinned to his fence. Koster, who works in the solar energy industry, designed the award-winning suite himself, and he hopes that other Calgarians will also embrace his vision of backyard housing. It’s a big reason why he allows his property to be part of the recurring tours guided by Calgary Backyard Suites, a local non-profit that advocates for backyard housing. (The group started in Edmonton three years ago as YEGarden Suites and expanded into Calgary this past October.)

According to the City of Calgary, “backyard suites” are secondary residences built behind or alongside the primary residence, and recent numbers suggest they are gaining in popularity. With 39 permit applications last year as of Nov. 8, 2019 — the most of any year since 2009 — both City Hall and individual citizens are coming to value this as a clever way to increase density in the city without fundamentally altering a community’s aesthetic the way that bulldozing homes to put up multiplexes does. “It’s a form of hidden density,” says Ashley Salvador, president and cofounder of Calgary Backyard Suites.

Scattered throughout Calgary, backyard suites serve many different needs — from bringing in rental income to providing independent living space for aging relatives. Some are carefully designed to blend in while others, like Koster’s, stand out. Keep an eye out for one landing in your neighbourhood sometime soon.

Backyard Suites photography by David Dodge

CLOCKWISE

Interior living space of the backyard suite built over the garage of Ramsay homeowner Cornelis Koster.

Hot water for the sink and shower is provided by a combination of solar thermal collectors and solar PV.

The award-winning backyard suite features an eye-catching solar power system.

In the face of high commercial vacancy rates, Strategic Group spent $24.5 million transforming an office tower into the residential Cube development.

CUBE OFFICE-TORESIDENTIAL CONVERSION

The economic downturn has hit Calgary in its core. Office buildings that once saw companies clamouring for space now boast ample vacancies. In some cases, entire towers are empty. It’s a sobering sight, but one that has also provided an opportunity for urban renewal.

Strategic Group, a Calgary real-estate company, decided to take a chance with a vacant office tower on the corner of 11th Street and 11th Avenue S.W. With a $24.5 million overhaul, the Beltline neighbourhood tower has since been relaunched as Cube, a collection of stylish oneand two-bedroom rental apartments.

The project is the first of its kind in Calgary, perhaps because repurposing large buildings is a challenging undertaking. Converting office space to apartments isn’t as simple as slapping up some drywall and installing a few bathtubs. The Strategic team first had to strip the interior down to its bones. The company installed new HVAC and safety systems and built the new suites to modern standards, and even gave the exterior a makeover. Despite the complexity of the project, the potential payoffs are significant. “By repurposing an older office building, we saved nearly 8,000 tonnes of demolished waste material from going to a Calgary landfill,” says Riaz Mamdani, CEO of Strategic Group. The interest from renters was immediate, and the building quickly filled, adding new energy to the Beltline neighbourhood. Strategic Group plans to continue converting more under-utilized buildings into apartments.

LIVE-WORK SPACES AT PARK POINT

Not everyone in this city works an office job at least not in the traditional sense of the word.

Growing numbers of Calgarians are entrepreneurs and small-business owners, and many work from home. But ditching the daily commute doesn’t negate the need for dedicated workspace, particularly when clients are involved. Enter live-work spaces.

Park Point, located across the road from Central Memorial Park in the Beltline, is a residential tower divided into classic apartments and penthouse units. At the street level the building boasts eight live-work units, zoned for both business and residential use. The two-storey units have streetfront business entrances as well as private entrances to the interior of the building. With the public areas of the home located on the main floor and the private areas on the second floor, clients don’t have to share the family bathroom or bear witness to unmade beds.

For some owners, this set-up can also encourage better balance in their personal lives. “In the absence of separation, someone like myself will work all the time,” says Kyla Wenzel, a Park Point resident and owner of a skin-care business. “I don’t have the insistent environmental temptations to lure me away from other, important components of my life that also deserve my attention!”

The units are so popular that developer Qualex-Landmark is considering creating more than originally planned in the second phase of Park Point. As the entrepreneurial initiatives in our city continue to grow, expect live-work units to follow suit.

Park Point’s live-work units have commercial space and living space on separate levels.

Park Point in the Beltline has eight live-work units at street level.

ROSEDALE AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Affordable housing in Calgary has not always been synonymous with thoughtful design. Scattered throughout the city are units that were clearly built with cost as the main consideration and no design links between them and their surrounding communities. But projects such as the recent affordable housing build in the inner-city community of Rosedale aim to change that stigma. Rosedale is the site of eight new two-unit residences, built by the City of Calgary’s Affordable Housing Capital Development program on small parcels of land left over from the widening of 16th Avenue N. (the segment of the Trans-Canada Highway that runs through the city).

Designers from Formed Alliance Architecture Studio took care to match the new homes with the character of the neighbourhood. This meant designing a variety of exteriors: on one street, peaked roofs were an important feature; on another, two-storey designs blended in well.

“We try to make sure that our buildings are indistinguishable from private developers,” says Susan Sanderson, City of Calgary capital development coordinator. “You would never know it was affordable housing. Our goal is to foster pride of residency by building attractive, landscaped homes that fit well in the community. That is important to us.”

Costs were reduced by prefabricating parts of the units offsite, and by keeping some of the interior components the same across the different units. The result is affordable housing that truly blends in, benefitting established neighbours and new residents alike. The project also impressed the judges for the 2019 Mayor’s Urban Design Awards (which included Avenue’s editor-in-chief, Käthe Lemon), who gave the residences top honours for Housing Innovation.

Units from a new affordable housing initiative in the community of Rosedale (renderings pictured) were designed to blend in with other residences on the blocks.

In a Class of Its Own

What you should know before considering any school.

The education system is in serious trouble. And whether you notice it or not, it’s impacting your child and future generations. Here’s why.

Education’s Failing Grade

Education is not keeping up with our complex and rapidly changing world. In a recent Alberta youth study 60% of students said school is not preparing them for the future especially in innovation and collaboration.

More School, Less Creativity

But there’s another problem. A study on creativity by NASA reveals the longer you stay in school the less creative you become. But we know that to thrive in the future you must create and innovate. So where does your child learn that? Is there a curriculum anyone can point to?

Leaders in Innovation and Creativity

Master’s was founded on a vision to prepare children for the future. For over 20 years we have been leaders in innovation

and creativity while consistently ranked one of the best schools in Alberta by the Fraser Institute. We believe the human ability to innovate and create reflects the image of God who is the Creator. Now for the amazing part...

Over 20 Years of R&D

Since its inception in 1997, Master’s has invested many millions of dollars into the research and development of its learning system called Profound Learning. In Master’s Academy (K-6), students become Master Learners—the foundation for creativity and academic excellence. In Master’s College (7-12), students enter a 6-year program of how to see, innovate, and create the future—they become Imaginal Leaders. We maintain small class sizes and 100% of our graduates qualify for post-secondary institutions.

Need to know more? Visit our website today and book a tour. But hurry—remaining enrollment spaces are filling up!

Master ’s Academy & College

BY Christina Frangou ILLUSTRATIONS BY Marne Grahlman

Screening in Moderation

Mothers answered questions about things like depression and childhood trauma, as well as things relating to the socio-economic status and cohesiveness of their neighbourhoods, and were asked to give updates on their kids, year after year. And year after year, most mothers did. Even now, more than 11 years after the first woman enrolled, approximately 75 per cent of the original cohort still participate (a sky-high response rate for an era in which people increasingly ignore requests to fill out detailed surveys).

On July 11, 2008, Canadians in six cities, Calgary among them, lined up at Rogers stores to buy Apple’s new iPhone 3G. Rogers was the only Canadian network capable of running the phone, which the company billed as “revolutionary.” Stores opened early, at 8 a.m., and staff distributed prizes and food and drinks to those who waited in line. The scenes were later made available to media on B-roll distributed by Rogers, and included “glamour shots of product.” People could now talk on the phone and surf the internet simultaneously. They could network twice as fast. A whole new world of multi-tasking possibilities opened.

One month later, a baby born in Calgary became the first child registered with a research study called All Our Babies. For the study’s principal investigator Dr. Suzanne Tough, the birth outshone any developments in smartphone technology. The All Our Babies study (now called All Our Families) was unprecedented in its scope in Alberta. In the space of three and a half years, Tough and colleagues recruited 3,200 pregnant women who were not yet at 25 weeks gestation and were undergoing prenatal care. The women completed surveys during pregnancy, when their children were four months old, then at one, two, three and five years old.

Tough wanted to examine all the factors that could influence a child and family’s well-being: parental education and mental health, lifestyle and child care, community and health services.

As time went on, the survey questions changed. When the first kids in the All Our Families study turned three, Tough and her colleagues began to ask mothers about screen time.

Researchers have been asking about screen time and kids for nearly 70 years, starting soon after Howdy Doody made his television debut in 1947. One of the first known studies of screen time and kids was carried out in Western Canada in 1959, surveying kids in two small towns. Only one of the towns had televisions. Firstgrade children in the town with television watched for an average of one hour and 40 minutes per day; they also spent 35 fewer minutes listening to radio, 33 fewer minutes at play, 13 fewer minutes sleeping and 20 fewer minutes reading and watching movies.

The study authors did not draw any conclusions about the negative effects of more time in front of screens, other than noting that the kids who had more TV time spent less time doing other things. But in the scientific literature of the era, psychiatric and behavioral specialists were beginning to question what the long-term effects of television might be. In one American analysis, published in 1963 in a journal by the National Council on Family Relations, observers noted that television offered “vicarious satisfaction” when children were confronted with real-life frustrations. They found television violence may blunt children’s sensitivity to cruelty, and observed that children were more frightened by the dark than the violence they saw on television.

As the technology around smartphones continues to progress, a Calgary-based study on childhood development is suggesting that, ultimately, the best thing we can do for the next generation is to model restraint.

Five decades later, researchers are still probing the relationship between screen time and childhood development. Tough and colleagues started asking the All Our Families mothers about their kids’ screen time in October of 2011. By then, Apple had unveiled the iPhone 4S with its groundbreaking new feature, Siri. David Pogue, the New York Times weekly tech columnist, wrote that Siri profoundly changed the definition of “phone.” The All Our Families researchers knew parents were using their phones and other electronic media devices around kids and that kids were using their parents’ phones and devices. But they were astonished by their findings. Two-year-olds were watching screens 17 hours a week, three-year-olds 25 hours a week and five-year-olds 11 hours a week. (Researchers attributed the drop in screen time among older kids to the fact that they were in school.)

The results, published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that children who spent more time in front of a screen at age two were more likely to score worse on developmental screening tests at age three. The pattern continued as children aged: more screen time at three, worse scores at five. The Calgary study addressed the question that researchers have debated for decades: which comes first, developmental delays or excessive time in front of a screen? All Our Families provided some of the strongest evidence to date that excessive screen time is a predictor of problems (due to the screen itself or as an indication that more time in front of a screen could signify other problems such as abuse or neglect that would lead to developmental delays).

The Calgary study is just one part of an enormous body of research coming out about modern screen time, examining the ways that constant connectivity to digital technology affects humans — young and old. In his recent book Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, Georgetown University computer science professor Cal Newport makes the case that we’re ceding more and more of our autonomy to phones, because we’re irresistibly drawn to the experience on the screen. Smartphone users didn’t sign up for this loss of autonomy, he writes.

As social media companies sought to increase revenues, they intentionally re-engineered the way we engage with screens and social media. Take the case of Facebook: it went public in 2012 and now ranks among the top 10 most valuable companies in the United States. In the years leading up to its IPO, its advertising revenues jumped as viewers kept their eyeballs locked on the screen for longer periods. More screen time meant more opportunities for advertisers to get our attention, thus more revenue for Facebook. The company accomplished this feat by switching from a platform where users shared mostly personal news with friends and families to one that spit out an endless stream of indicators of our social acceptance. The consequences, argues Newport, are tremendous: loss of concentration (which is our most valuable resource in a knowledge economy), disconnection from our real-life communities, an inability to sit in solitude and a greater sense of isolation. The disconnect from other human beings that arises from our connection to devices has the greatest effect on young brains

— especially those in kids three years and younger — but it is felt across generations, says Dr. Karen Benzies. A nurse and coinvestigator with the All Our Families study in its early stages, Dr. Benzies studies the way young kids and adults interact, working with parents, nurses and caregivers, and teaching adults to recognize cues from kids.

Even when she’s not working, Dr. Benzies watches the way parents interact with their kids in public, studying them in grocery stores and observing the way parents respond to their kids’ needs. Her interpretation of these interactions is that adults and kids are losing the critical skill of reading social cues from other people. “When people get caught up with their devices, they are interacting with something inanimate ... If you do that early on, your brain never learns how to understand and interpret human social behaviors,” she says.

Dr. Benzies calls herself “an advocate for an increased focus on human social interactions at an early age, interactions that are not mediated by devices.” Humans can’t survive without reading each other’s social cues, she says, and the consequences of not being able to do so are wide-ranging, from social isolation to professional challenges. “If you watch a good CEO in the boardroom, they’re reading the social cues around the table,” Dr. Benzies says. She worries about

how kids raised with devices will interact in the future. “People don’t learn to be with other humans on a device,” she says. But it’s not as easy as just flipping a switch. Ever since the first days of television, screen time has proven to be a hard habit to break. In 1959, the New York World-Telegram and Sun ran a story with the headline “Mom Delivers Baby While Watching TV.” (In the story, the new mother reportedly said: “it was a good movie and I didn’t want to turn it off.”)

In the smartphone era, more opportunities and incentive to check screens means our attachment has only strengthened. Users can check email, Twitter and Instagram anywhere: on the road, walking the dog, at dinner, in line at the grocery store. But there’s also a growing movement around restricting screen time and smartphone usage as part of the course of everyday life. Like any kind of restrictive action taken toward curbing a compulsive activity, however, the “digital detox,” as it’s known, isn’t an easy thing to do — at any age. And the people who are experts at holding your attention online, who make their living online, know best how difficult it can be to break our digital habits without tremendous effort and determination.

Ernest Barbaric is one of those people. If you’ve ever read anything online about Calgary, you’ve likely seen his work: he’s

an independent digital marketing strategist who has worked for brands including Parks Canada, Travel Alberta and the University of Calgary. His work is woven into the online presence of hundreds of local, national and international companies and non-profits. Barbaric founded the social media for business certificate program at Mount Royal University, and teaches digital marketing for the Canadian Marketing Association. All to say that he is very much aware of the algorithms that keep people’s eyes focused on their screens. As a result, he is very strict about his own phone use.

Barbaric holds up his iPhone to display the minimalist home screen with its 12 apps in total, several related to mindfulness. When Barbaric is on vacation, his out-of-office reply couldn’t be more clear: “I will not have access to e-mail, phone, laptop, or a carrier pigeon. You can expect my enthusiastic reply within a few days of returning.”

It wasn’t always this way. A few years ago, Barbaric felt anxious and depressed. On the advice of an executive coach, he started keeping a journal to track his energy. He found phone use, particularly social media, sparked many of his emotional struggles. “For me, a lot of the triggers are around comparison. What would happen is that I would see someone launching a conference and I wanted to do that, too. And then I would see someone spending time in the mountains ... it triggered all these feelings of inadequacy.”

Social media feeds use a system that provides variable rewards; they are algorithmic rather than sequential, organized by what a company predicts will be consequential rather than by time. This system of variable rewards is what makes gambling attractive — and also addictive. Barbaric points out the similarity in the motion of pulling down your thumb to refresh Twitter to pulling down a lever on a slot machine. “You refresh your feed and you don’t know what’s going to happen.” It’s the uncertainty, the potential for something better or newer or more satisfying than last time, that keeps you coming back. Pull down, possible reward; pull down, possible reward. It is a compulsion loop engineered into the app.

When a person checks an app constantly, their productivity decreases, says Barbaric. Research from the American Psychological Association shows that quick mental switches that result in alternating between tasks can cost as much as 40 per cent of someone’s productive time.

The disconnect from other human beings that arises from our connection to devices has the greatest effect on young brains — especially those in kids three years and younger — but it is felt across generations.

In response to his energy journal findings, Barbaric undertook a systematic digital detox. He announced on each of his social media platforms that he was signing-off for a week, and could be reached only by calling him directly. He restricted his computer use to checking things directly related to work. He and his wife sent a message to their families that if they wanted to talk, they needed to visit or make a plan to get together. Barbaric kept a diary of his detox, which he later published online (he is a digital marketer, after all). The first two days, he wrote, he physically reached out to check his phone and compulsively patted down his pockets to make sure he had it on him. When he sat down to his computer, his fingers automatically hit the shortcut keys to open new tabs for Twitter and Facebook. On the fourth day of his detox, he received emails from Twitter, Yelp and LinkedIn, reminding him that he hadn’t checked them out for a while and offering the latest updates from friends and contacts. But by the week’s end, Barbaric said he felt more productive at work and spent more time engaged with his family.

“What it boils down to is it’s a distraction that can be addictive,” he says. “At the very basic level, we need to have an awareness, so that we can make intentional decisions about our use, where it’s not just getting sucked into this for hours with [our] decision-making ability removed.”

In many ways, digital detoxing is reminiscent of dieting: everyone knows someone who is doing it. There are over 200 million Google hits for “digital detox,” and you’ll find recommendations galore on how and what to do. Just like with food, a burgeoning industry is selling products to help you detox. Sign up for a retreat! Go on a detox vacation! Download the app! For $34 USD, you can buy digital-detox bath salts to fight “wired and tired syndrome” (supposedly hand-harvested grey sea salts that can “help eliminate toxins”). Or for $26 USD, you can buy an eight-piece “essentials” digital-detox kit with an eye mask, earplugs, a manual alarm clock and game piece with activity suggestions like “take a walk” and “write a letter.”

It is unlikely that adding to the physical clutter of our lives will positively contribute to our efforts in digital de-cluttering, however. A better approach is something you do not buy: exercising deliberation about when you’re picking up your phone and why, or what Newport calls “developing a philosophy of technology use.” Instead of buying apps that can tell you how often you check your phone, delete all the apps you don’t need and be intentional about bringing them back.

At the end of his detox week, Barbaric considered launching a project with “zero social presence” to see what would happen. But he didn’t. In fact, post-detox he picked up some of his old habits (he returned an email regarding this story when he was supposed to be out of office). But there have been small victories: he has removed some of the psychological triggers on his phone that encourage compulsive behavior; he has deleted social media apps, and he tries to call rather than text, keeping away from his phone for the first two hours he is awake.

Now, Canada stands to enter the 5G era, heralded as yet another game-changer in wireless communications: faster communication, higher speeds, more devices. Likewise, separation from 5Gequipped devices stands to become more difficult. As the technology advances, Dr. Tough and colleagues are continuing their study with plans to ask updated questions about screen time: What kind of screens? How often? For what purpose? They recommend families develop personalized media plans to prevent screen time from interfering with face-to-face interactions.

Dr. Benzies suggests keeping kids away from screens until they are at least three years old, a full year older than the current guidelines suggested by the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS). The CPS also recommends maintaining daily screen-free times, especially in the hour before bed, for kids of all ages and calls on parents and physicians to encourage meaningful screen use for older kids, noting that children — even those who are not excessive screen-media users — have reported experiencing eye problems, headaches and fatigue. A growing number of spaces in the city are also supportive of restricting screen time for young minds. Last year, Lycée Louis Pasteur School opened a new library that is free from screens and Calgary Reads, a non-profit that promotes literacy, hosts regular events that focus on reading aloud in the age of distraction.

Dr. Tough also says that while being mindful of the screen habits of their kids, parents need to be mindful about their own screen time as well. She personally tries to avoid picking up her phone when she’s in meetings or around her family and friends. Humans are nourished by what’s called “social snacking” — small informal interactions that help build civic society, she says. And when we constantly deprive ourselves of that kind of person-toperson engagement to compulsively check on the latest algorithmically generated reward from our phone, we starve ourselves of a world of possibilities.

In many ways, digital detoxing is reminiscent of dieting: everyone knows someone who is doing it. There are over 200 million Google hits for “digital detox,” and you’ll find recommendations galore on how and what to do.

Restaurants Within Restǻurants

How (and why) Calgary restaurants are finding creative ways to make

t least 10 Calgary restaurants closed their doors for good in 2019. The factors behind these closures vary in each case, but the main industry challenges chefs and owners cited during interviews for this story are skyrocketing property taxes, slimming profit margins, expensive overhead, labour costs, price-sensitive diners and

Restaurants must be creative and resilient to thrive right now, and an emerging new strategy is to have a restaurant within your restaurant. Whether that means an occasional pop-up, longer term partnerships with resident culinary concepts or creating distinct brands within a single space, more and more local eateries are shifting toward offering diners more than one kind of

Memoirs of a Gweilo Endures

When Eric Hendry held the first Memoirs of a Gweilo pop-up in March 2016 during his tenure as executive chef at Model Milk, he was motivated by his time spent living in Hong Kong and the desire to experiment in a friendly atmosphere. Over the next four years, Hendry moved from Model Milk to Bar Von Der Fels, and subsequently to Lukes Central Library (which he coowns with Gareth Lukes), but the spirit of the event hasn’t changed. Hendry still alternates between Chinese (“Gweilo” is Cantonese slang for a Westerner) and Thai cuisine and works with some of the original front-of-house team. And he still does it primarily for the joy of cooking. Gweilo events continue to sell out, too.

While a library café may seem an odd home for a prix-fixe dining experience, one of Lukes Central Library’s greatest strengths is that it was specifically engineered to be adaptable. Lukes, who evolved his family’s drug store into a bustling boutique shopping destination, says the East Village neighbourhood surrounding the Central Library is still taking shape and, accordingly, the café needs to be amenable to changes.

In the meantime, both he and Hendry can count on reliable daytime business to indulge their creativity and experimentalism at night. In addition to Gweilo, they have hosted a collaborative dinner with Shiki Menya, a veggie-forward dining pop-up for the Alberta Electronic Music Conference, dance nights, listening parties and other why-not-give-it-a-try events.

“I think the biggest thing about doing any of this stuff is not getting tied down to one thing,” says Hendry. “The pop-up sort of gets rid of the restraints of having to appeal to a huge audience.”

Memoirs of a Gweilo at Lukes Central Library, 800 3 St. S.E., lukeseastvillage.com @ lukescentrallibrary

Eats of Asia’s CommunityFocused Rightsizing

Jay del Corro has operated his Asian-fusion street food concept Eats of Asia in different configurations for the last eight years. From working weekends in the summer at the Millarville Farmers’ Market, then a Christmas market, then once

serve a community,” says del Corro. “I find that we can operate better, be happier, have more job satisfaction and make a lot of friends if we focus on being in a community that we like to serve.”

In April, 2019, del Corro began a new dinner series called Kamayan Club. Taking place at Crossroads on Thursday evenings when the market would normally be closed, Kamayan

“I find that we can op erate better, be happier, have more job satis faction and make a lot of friends if we focus on being in a community that we like to serve.”

– JAY DEL CORRO

“The pop-up sort of gets rid of the restraints of having to appeal to a huge audience.”

– ERIC HENDRY

When a Pop-up Stays Up

Longtime friends Mike Garth of Village Brewery and Tony Migliarese, formerly of Tavernetta started their “low brow New York pizza” concept Pizza Face after they came into possession of a portable pizza oven. Because of their experience in the hospitality industry and the quality of the pies, they had no problem partnering up with the teams at Diner Deluxe, Pinbar and Cannibale for the occasional pop-up. It was at one of these pop-ups that their friend Will Trow, owner of Bar Von Der Fels (BVDF), sampled their pizza. It didn’t take long for him to invite the duo to take up a weekly residence at his wine bar on Sundays. Normally closed on Sundays, BVDF gets to capitalize on an extra day of earnings while Pizza Face takes care of food and labour. In return, Pizza Face can run regularly without having to lease a space.

Pizza Face is about as different from BVDF as one could imagine. Bar Von Der Fels is one of the hottest reservations in town, known for

pairing rare wines with modern cuisine. Pizza Face serves meatballs and four different pizzas — including the beloved pickle pie — alongside fun drinks like the “Spaghett,” a Miller High Life topped off with Aperol. But Garth and Migliarese say this creates a unique comingling of audiences that might not otherwise cross paths.

“A lot of people have come to Pizza Face but have never been to Von Der Fels, and a lot of Von Der Fels customers have never been to Pizza Face,” says Migliarese.

“Both projects are benefiting from each other, for sure, and are busier and better for it,” says Trow.

The benefits are well earned, too. Since Pizza Face doesn’t have its own kitchen, Garth makes dough on Friday at Diner Deluxe, rolls it out at Pinbar on Saturday and then does remaining prep at BVDF on Sunday before service. Oh, and the two also schlep the 500-pound pizza oven to and from Garth’s place each week.

“For once a week, it is a lot of work, but it's a labour of love. We're definitely not doing it to get rich, that's for sure,” Garth laughs.

“We do hustle, but I think the word hustle is associated with profits. I guess it’s like a side passion at this point,” adds Migliarese.

For now, that’s enough for them. But they’re not ruling anything out, either. “I like to say this: ‘Let this crazy train take us where it’s going to go, hold on for dear life and see where it takes us,’” says Garth.

Aaron Ellard’s Nights & Weekends pop-up concept found a similar symbiosis with weekday lunchtime hotspot Meat & Bread. When Meat & Bread franchise owner Eric Hudson wanted to explore avenues to make revenue outside of his limited hours, Ellard was suggested, based on his robust restaurant experience and numerous pop-up ventures. That led to a 10-month partnership between the two businesses that included numerous menu reinventions by chef Nick Berenyi.

While mutually successful, Ellard — who is also the marketing director of Monitor — says variety is the spice of success. “One of the most important reasons for us to move is because we are a pop-up restaurant. I think it's important every now and then to turn the concept on its side and explore a completely different cuisine and vibe.”

Currently, Nights & Weekends resides at Shiki Menya in Bridgeland. Shiki Menya has similar hours to that of Meat & Bread, and Ellard also says that the residential density of Bridgeland is a promising source of foot traffic. It also doesn’t hurt that Nights

& Weekends went with Japanese drinking food for its latest menu theme — a natural mesh with Shiki Menya’s ramen.

Ellard is happy to wait and let things evolve how they may. While he was interested in bricks-and-mortar restaurant ownership in his 20s, his priorities have since shifted. In his view, owning a building isn’t a necessary part of owning a business, and a pop-up is an easier kind of business to grow sustainably.

Pizzaface at Bar Von Der Fels, 1005A 1 St. S.W., (and various other locations), reservations via Instagram direct message @ pizzafaceyyc

Nights + Weekends, currently at Shiki Menya, 827 1 Ave. N.E., 403-903-6848, nightsandweekends.ca @ nightsandweeknds

“Let this crazy train take us where it’s going to go, hold on for dear life and see where it takes us.”

– MIKE GARTH

Shelter Provides Just That

One chef we spoke to estimates that it takes $500,000 in capital to start a restaurant from scratch in Calgary. Sure, you have to spend money to make money, but that figure is certainly a significant hurdle for an emerging chef.

But the Shelter cocktail bar and lounge in Victoria Park offers a popup program that helps get over that hurdle.

Nick Suche, the owner of both Shelter and the talonX Creative Agency, has put the marketing and client-focused experience he developed at talonX to use for Shelter’s kitchen pop-up. Shelter’s website has guidelines and contact information for chefs to propose pop-up concepts for weekend-long runs at the establishment. If you can

rental fee and the capital to bring in your own ingredients, you can work out of Shelter for a three-day stretch and pay out just 10 per cent of the revenue you make.

Suche says it’s important that chefs focus on what’s appropriate for the intimate venue, profitable food costing and creating a concept that’s easy to explain and market. If the proposal has those three factors and the food tastes good, then it's likely to be mutually beneficial.

“On our side of things, we get new guests that we normally might not see, as well as an increased quantity of guests coming in for something special,” says Suche. “On the chef’s side, we want to make it simple for them to make money … We’re bringing them attention, giving them a chance to have their own cuisine, get a bit of a following and establish themselves more in the industry.”

Several pop-ups at Shelter, including the popular Tokyo Steeze ramen series, have been helmed by Kaede Hirooka, the restaurant chef at One18 Empire who also runs the pop-up and catering business Respect the Technique.

mentors through Respect the Technique create food with a mission to promote the appreciation of quality ingredients and chef expertise. He describes pop-ups like Suche’s as a “fast track” for developing business skills and also for stoking creative inspiration. “It takes probably 10 years to become a pretty seasoned chef,” says Hirooka. “A lot of the guys who work with me don't get the opportunity to express themselves creatively, and that leads

“On our side of things, we get new guests that we normally might not see, as well as an increased quantity of guests coming in for something special.”

– NICK SUCHE

Restaurants Inside Restaurants Inside Restaurants

Just three years since opening his first restaurant, Foreign Concept, Duncan Ly has parlayed that success into three additional eateries: the Greenfish (a collaboration with Shokunin’s Darren MacLean) and Takori stalls at Avenida Food Hall and the French restaurant Mélo Eatery in the former Avec Bistro space on 11th Avenue S.W. Ly also has a second Takori location occupying what used to be half of Foreign Concept. Along the way, he managed to find time in his schedule to appear as a contestant on Iron Chef Canada.

Ly isn’t much for bragging or complaining. He says because he loves what he does and has such a strong team (made up of about 40 employ ees at the time of our interview) that it doesn’t feel like a burden to work on so many restaurants at once. Ly visits each of the four distinct concepts every day, an act streamlined by having two concepts inside Avenida and the mere three city blocks between Mélo and Foreign Concept.

Foreign Concept, he says, is still his “baby.” But the motivation to transform half of his flagship restaurant comes from a few different places: that Takori was a runaway success at Avenida, that Foreign Concept has significant square-footage to accommodate it and that a distinct concept allows him to tap into a dif ferent market than Foreign Concept’s regulars, corporate groups and special-occasion diners.

“The decor [at Takori] is still elegant, like For eign Concept is, and the flavors are very much similar. But it’s a different price point and a little bit louder and more energetic,” says Ly. “For the people that are living downtown that are want ing great food that’s really accessible, they could come down two or three times a week.”

Another restaurateur looking to translate his success across demographics is Stephen Deere of Modern Steak. His restaurant’s second loca tion inside the three-storey former location of Catch Oyster Bar on Stephen Avenue is more campus than standalone restaurant — inside are Modern Ocean, a loungy seafood concept on the main floor, the namesake steakhouse on

“[Now that] we made the change — which was the best thing that I could have done — Modern Ocean is basically packed all the time. Everything has been super successful and super well-received,” he says.

Deere is a man who believes you either “go big or go home.” Modern Rooftop (which, it must be said, has glorious views of both Telus Sky and the Calgary Tower) will launch in full force this spring. Guests can book it for private parties or simply attend in-house programming like the planned Modern Wagyu international Foreign Concept, 403-719-7288, takori.beltline

Modern Steak, Modern Ocean

100 8 Ave. S.E., 403-244-3600, modernocean.ca, modernsteak.ca modernsteakca

“I’m a firm believer that if you have to sit at the front door and explain your concept for more than one sentence, it’s too complicated, and it’s time to move on.”

– STEPHEN DEERE

THINKING ABOUT AN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL?

Specialized academic programming, small class sizes and extensive co-curriculars are some of the many advantages offered by Calgary’s top independent schools.

CALGARY HAS SEVERAL premier independent schools, and while they may be diverse in their educational approaches, each shares a deep commitment to helping students thrive. Learn more about the opportunities that await your child with this spotlight on some of the city’s finest schools.

STRATHCONATWEEDSMUIR SCHOOL

STRATHCONA-TWEEDSMUIR SCHOOL (STS) offers small class sizes and some of the top teachers in the country.

That’s how Lara Unsworth, Director of Strategic Enrollment Management and Communications for STS, describes it.

“What makes our school special is that we have such a close-knit supportive community,” Unsworth says. “Our goal is for kids to be their personal best and flourish. And when you have a group of dedicated teachers supporting them, they don’t fall through the cracks.”

The school itself is situated on 220 acres of land that offers a natural environment and supports innovative instruction. Teachers here embrace their outdoor surroundings; they use the campus for everyday learning, including

Student body population: 675

Grade Levels: K to grade 12

Average class size: 16 to 20

Number of school clubs: 90+ sports Teams: 14 different sports to choose from, and 35 athletic teams

Average university acceptance rate: 100%

outdoor education, biology, science, physical education and even as inspiration for poetry.

“The kids are calm and healthy, and they’re getting a lot of physical activity,” says Unsworth. “They just love being here, and it’s a safe, nurturing and inspirational environment.”

In Elementary School, STS students take part in co-curriculars every Friday afternoon. Students can choose from programming that includes Little Bookworms, yoga, cooking, wildlife study, robotics and coding, arts, plays, musicals and so much more, offering a whole and well-rounded education.

For the older grades, STS also has a variety of co-curriculars. Project 2050, for example, addresses food scarcity. Students come up with solutions to food unsustainability and work to implement strategies that mitigate the ecological problem, motivating students to think beyond their current situation.

Speech and debate is another program STS excels at. In December 2019, Grade 12 student Zaki Lakhani competed in the Canadian National Public Speaking Championship and won the Benny Claman Trophy, making him the Canadian National Champion.

STS is an accredited International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. With this accreditation, it is able to offer three programs — Primary Years, Middle Years, and Diploma Programmes — that teach students to succeed in the world by thinking critically, independently and with care and logic. Only six per cent of schools across the globe are accredited with IB World Schools offering a continuum of all three levels of IB programming.

“At the end of the day, we all want our children to flourish and to grow into curious and courageous leaders who can make a difference in the world,” says Unsworth. “If we give them the right tools today, they will be ready to seize their future, whatever that may be.”

Accepting applications for Kindergarten to Grade 12.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS of outstanding educational achievements, Calgary French & International School (CFIS) is the top French language immersion school in Western Canada. The independent school, located in southwest Calgary, offers a full French immersion program from Preschool to Grade 12.

Head of School, Mme Margaret Dorrance, is immensely proud of CFIS and all it stands for. “CFIS is unique on the Calgary and national educational landscapes in that we enrich our language and academic programming by teaching the entire curriculum in French, with the exception of English language arts and Spanish as a third language.”

CFIS teachers and staff are dedicated to encouraging students to reach their full and diverse potential through the balanced development of each child — intellectually, socially, emotionally, artistically and physically.

“Strong academics and robust language programming are the foundations of CFIS,” says Mme Dorrance, adding that a wide range of options is offered to encourage students to explore interests in subject areas they may not have previously experienced.

For example, junior high students receive more than 100 hours of instruction over and above what is provincially mandated, allowing students to explore options and interests more deeply.

“Because of our supportive and diverse learning

environment, our students are able to take ownership of their education, resulting in deeper engagement, very strong diploma exam and provincial achievement test results, and great success in post-secondary placement,” Mme Dorrance proudly shares.

CFIS infuses the Alberta Program of Studies with the UNESCO framework and allows students to venture into the world of intentional learning. Balanced with a robust foundation in skills and knowledge, students are armed with both the ability and attitudes to achieve great success and positively engage and empathize with, as well as impact, the world around them.

CFIS is authorized to offer the IB Diploma Programme, is a UNESCO school and is a global member of the Round Square organization. Through Round Square, an international network of schools, CFIS students have countless opportunities to gain global perspectives and experience outside the classroom walls. “These programs speak to our school’s alignment with the values of those organizations,” states Mme Dorrance. “Our school continues to instill the importance of cultural peace and understanding in our students from Preschool to Grade 12 through the promotion of UNESCO values and programs such as International Baccalaureate and Round Square.” Receiving a robust education, CFIS students experience the vast world around them in ways that spark imaginations and passions.

Student body population: 805

Grade Levels: Preschool to grade 12

Average class size: 16 to 20

Sports teams: Junior and Senior high teams at all levels in volleyball, basketball, golf, track and field, cross country, badminton and soccer.

Average university acceptance rate: 100%

CALGARY FRENCH & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

For 50 years, parents have chosen Calgary French & International School to educate their children in a dynamic, thriving, full French immersion environment. Through a global focus, we nurture today’s students for tomorrow’s world. CFIS’ commitment to enriched academics, leadership, service, athletics and the arts fosters students from Preschool through Grade 12 who form lifelong attitudes and habits geared towards a forward-thinking future. See the CFIS difference, book your tour today for enrolment in the 2020-21 school year.

Student body population: Approx. 430

Grade levels: Preschool to grade 12

Average class size: 14 to 20 school Clubs: Approx. 30

Sports teams: Depends on number of students interested

Average University acceptance rate: 100%

LYCÉE LOUIS PASTEUR SCHOOL

LYCÉE LOUIS PASTEUR SCHOOL is the only school in Calgary — and just one of eight schools in Canada — that teaches a French Ministry of Education approved curriculum.

“We have a unique mission to educate a very diverse population of students in the bilingual setting,” says Frederic Canadas, head of Lycée Louis Pasteur, an independent school for students in preschool to Grade 12. “It’s a dual curriculum and students graduate with their certification, both from the French Baccalaureate and with their Alberta high school diploma.”

The curriculum approved by the French Ministry of Education is taught by French certified teachers, while the Alberta curriculum is taught by Canadian certified teachers.

“We’re probably one of the richest programs that I’ve seen in my career,” says Canadas, who has taught at international French schools in six different countries.

What makes Lycée different from other French or Francophone schools is that students will graduate with a profound understanding of both traditional European and progressive Canadian culture.

Students who graduate from Lycée Louis Pasteur also benefit from a dual degree.

“In terms of university placement, I think we offer a unique opportunity to our students,” says Canadas. “Because they have a choice; they can apply to universities with their high school diploma or they can apply with their French Baccalaureate.”

In addition, many esteemed universities credit students up to one year with a dual degree, especially in science.

“Elite North American Universities hold French Baccalaureate graduates in high esteem,” says Canadas.

In addition to rigorous academic training, Lycée students also have access to a huge climbing wall that they utilize weekly, and the school competes against other local independent schools in various sports including golf, badminton, basketball, cross-country, track and field and soccer. Lycée Louis Pasteur also has a Study Abroad Program, Break Week Camps and an orchestra (which holds two concerts a year) for the musically inclined — all intended to help give students a well-rounded foundation for the future.

“If [parents] care about their children becoming leaders in the global community and being bilingual and fully prepared for the challenges of the 21st century’s global world, I think Lycée is the right place for them,” says Canadas.

FRENCH PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN

Full-Day Program

Starting at 3 Years Old

No Prior French Needed

GRADES 1 TO 12

Global Network of 496 Schools

International Exchange Program

Multilingual & Multidisciplinary

FRENCH LANGUAGE IMMERSIVE PROGRAM

FLIP FOR FRENCH

No Prior French Needed

No Additional Cost

Grades 1 to 5

PRESCHOOL TO GRADE 12

Located in Altadore

WEST ISLAND COLLEGE

PREFECT ALEX DONG, Grade 12 student and president of the West Island College (WIC) Student Council, is finishing his final few months of high school strong, having been accepted into Yale University.

“The opportunities that West Island College offers are one of its strongest aspects,” says Dong, adding that the French immersion program, specifically, has opened up a lot of doors.

“My original languages are English and Mandarin and having a third language really allowed me to be involved in a lot of different things, especially at school,” says Dong, who is a tour guide and translator for families visiting WIC — a Grade 7 to 12 independent school. “If you’re trilingual, you can speak and connect with people in so many more countries and have a deeper understanding of the culture and its people.”

As part of WIC’s International Studies program, Dong travelled to Japan and Nepal. Since its inception, the International Studies program has sent 1,000 students abroad to gain hands-on experience in international

service learning as well as learning about other cultures.

WIC offers both a French immersion and second language program, which focuses on both French and Spanish. The French immersion stream has students complete all of their academic learning in French and allows them to foster global citizenship by learning about the “francophonie” through cultural, historical and literary studies.

“This is a rich and unique program that supports our students and makes sure they reach their goals,” says Sandrine Berezowski, Director of International Language and Culture at WIC. “I think that is why WIC has the best immersion program right now.”

In addition, WIC offers an Advanced Placement program, a Bilingual Diploma, and a unique Institutes program that empowers students with real-world learning experiences in the fields of Business, Health Sciences, Engineering, Liberal Arts, and Fine Arts. The school also has an Outdoor Education program,

exceptional athletics, extensive co-curriculars and small class sizes.

“We know that post-secondary studies is no longer a guarantee of success in the future,” says Chantal Gionet, CEO and Head of WIC. “We strive to ensure that we are instilling skills, competencies and habits of mind that will enable students to be successful in their post-secondary education and their future careers.”

Students feel safe and supported at WIC, and Gionet believes it’s a reflection of the relationships the students have with their teachers. She is often taken aback by the kind of learning that is happening within the school.

“We’re enabling kids to think critically and creatively, to tackle real-world problems through cross disciplinary learning,” Gionet says. “Their learning is relevant, and it makes them more engaged. And we know that when kids are engaged and passionate about something, they’re going to excel and thrive.”

Student body population: Approx. 560

Grade levels: Grades 7 to 12

Average class size: 8 to 20

school Clubs: 50

Sports teams: 32

Average University acceptance rate: 100%

Unparalleled Real-World Learning Opportunities

Unparalleled Real-World Learning Opportunities

Unparalleled Real-World Learning Opportunities

Grades 7-12

Grades 7-12

Grades 7-12

We offer French Immersion, Institute Programs, International Travel Studies & more! Visit www.westislandcollege.ab.ca to learn about all of the opportunities available.

We offer French Immersion, Institute Programs, International Travel Studies & more! Visit www.westislandcollege.ab.ca to learn about all of the opportunities available.

We offer French Immersion, Institute Programs, International Travel Studies & more!

CALGARY ACADEMY

“OUR MISSION IS TO CHANGE FAMILIES’ LIVES,” says Tim Carlson, principal of the Calgary Academy (CA).

The CA is an independent school with two streams of learning — Academy and Collegiate. The Academy program is for students in Grades 2 through 12 who have a designated learning disability, while the Collegiate program, kindergarten through Grade 12, is for students who may or may not have a learning disability, but would like a more in-depth and personalized education.

“A lot of our students come from challenging experiences in the public school system, “ says Carlson. “With our small classroom sizes and our focus on students, parents tend to see a lot of change with kids who’ve been frustrated with school in the past.”

The student to teacher ratio at CA is low, with the purpose of driving student learning as effectively as possible. For the Academy program, the ratio is eight to one, and for the Collegiate program, the ratio is 16 to one for elementary and 18 to one for the other grades.

“It’s a smaller class size than what you might get in the public system, but really it’s meant for students who have more independence and are able to drive that next level of thinking where curriculum is concerned,” says Carlson.

The school is based around five core values: Respect, Enthusiasm, Altruism, Commitment and Honesty.

Student body population: 600+

Grades levels:

Grades 2 to 12

(Academy); K to grade 12

(Collegiate)

Average class size: 16 students to two Teachers (Academy); 16 to 18

(Collegiate)

school Clubs: 15 to 20

Sports teams: 30 to 40 teams, 10 different sports

Average University acceptance rate: 85 to 90%

“We have an International Studies Program for students who are interested in travelling the world, but with an altruistic focus,” explains Carlson, drawing on one of CA’s five core values. “So, they spend half of their time in a country giving back to, say, an orphanage or girls’ school.”

In addition to the curricular areas of math, science, social studies and English language arts, CA also provides remediation-based courses. These courses help to ameliorate learning difficulties and empower learning for every student.

Teachers are dedicated to providing the best care for each and every student, and they participate in rigorous training programming so they can effectively work with and understand students with learning disabilities.

“Whenever families and students talk about what’s great about CA, it’s always that personalized feeling and that connection with teachers,” says Carlson. “They feel that they are in an environment that’s safe and predictable.”

Each of CA’s Fine Arts programs — arts, drama, multimedia, computer programming and outdoor education — has a dedicated teacher who is trained in that specific area, offering a specialized approach to the learning experience.

“We’re really trying to offer our students the ability to get attached and connected to the school beyond the academics,” says Carlson, “so, they feel motivated and engaged at CA.”

RUNDLE COLLEGE

Student body population: approx.

1100 (850 at Rundle College, 250 at Rundle AcademY)

Grade Levels:

K to grade 12

Average class size: 6 to 15

School clubs: 90+

Athletic teams: 35+

Average university acceptance rate:

100% (Rundle College)

90% (Rundle Academy)

SMALL CLASS SIZES AND BIG EXPERIENCES are at the core of the Rundle College philosophy.

“We call [the classes] empathy groups,” says Jason Rogers, headmaster of Rundle College, adding that class sizes for the K-12 independent school range from 6 to 15 students. “They’re small enough so teachers can connect with each and every student, in every class, all of the time.”

Rundle College and Rundle Academy (an affiliate of Rundle College that works with students in Grades 4 to 12 who are diagnosed with learning disabilities) follow three pathways of learning: character, academics and co-curriculars.

For the character branch, Rundle partners with local organizations — such as the Calgary Food Bank, Community Kitchen, the Mustard Seed and others — to provide volunteering support by the students and to strengthen the community as a whole.

Academics, the core of Rundle’s model, is rigorous in both the Academy and College stream and

RUNDLE COLLEGE

Where SMALL CLASS SIZE Meets BIG EXPERIENCE

Rundle College offers an enriched academic experience for students in Kindergarten - Grade 12.

Rundle Academy offers a premier academic program for students in Grades 4-12 with diagnosed learning disabilities.

Rundle College & Rundle Academy offer:

Independent, coeducational day school

Rigorous university preparatory program

Small class sizes ranging from 6-15 students

Exceptional co-curricular activities

Comprehensive athletic, language, and arts programs

International travel clubs and outdoor education options

Extensive volunteer, citizenship and leadership programs

www.rundle.ab.ca collegeadmissions@rundle.ab.ca 403-291-3866

includes Global Online Academy — courses taught by experienced teachers from renowned schools all over the world.

The third branch is co-curriculars, and Rundle offers more than 90 clubs, 35 competitive athletic teams and arts programming including TEDx Club, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) labs, speech and debate, robotics, a cheer team, one-on-one post-secondary planning and social emotional support.

“Co-curriculars are the balance, and we want to provide students with this balanced learning opportunity that allows them to become a whole child,” says Rogers. “Rundle College is about helping kids become the best version of themselves.”

Student body population: approx. 300 Grade levels: Preschool to grade 9

CALGARY JEWISH ACADEMY

Average class size: 16 (largest is 20)

Sports teams: 6

THE CALGARY JEWISH ACADEMY (CJA) creates 21st century learning opportunities that allow students to engage in both the Alberta curriculum and Judaic programming.

“Our mission is to educate Calgary’s Jewish youth and provide a strong foundation for Jewish heritage, culture and tradition,” says Brenda English, Head of CJA, “and to continue the excellent academic success in a dual-curriculum program.”

CJA — an independent school that accepts all children from preschool to Grade 9 — instills a strong set of morals and values through Jewish learning.

Jewish and non-Jewish children

alike will benefit from an education at the CJA, whose teachers utilize two programs, the iTalam and Bishvil HaIvrit, to ensure students leave with a deep understanding of Judaic heritage and the Hebrew language.

The iTalam, a Judaic studies curriculum resource, is taught in Grades 1 through 5. From Grades 6 through 8, students enter into the Bishvil HaIvrit — Judaic studies of the Hebrew language.

“The emphasis placed on education is the highest value at the CJA,” says English. “The CJA is the heart of the Jewish community and the place where students are first exposed to formal Jewish learning.”

CALGARY WALDORF SCHOOL

FOR FAMILIES WHO WANT MORE than a traditional education, the Calgary Waldorf School provides preschool to Grade 9 programming based on Waldorf and Alberta curricula.

Rooted in a 100-year-old educational philosophy, the Waldorf methodology helps develop a student’s internal motivation to learn by integrating academics, the arts, and practical skills.

Apryl Sponholz, principal of Calgary Waldorf School, says the school’s mission is to educate children in their developmental stages.

“In addition to their academic success, it’s a child’s social and emotional behaviour that we look at right from the beginning,” says Sponholz.

The learning experience is hands-on,

Student body population: 230

Grade levels: Preschool to Grade 9

Average class size: 20

science, history, literature, and geography are experienced through art, movement, and story, which allows for a deep and rich understanding of the material.

and the school uses natural materials as opposed to technology (although computers are introduced to the older grades as a learning tool).

Grades 1 through 6 are taught handworking skills such as knitting and crocheting. As the children graduate to Grade 5, they begin practical arts like woodworking, leatherworking and metalworking.

Art and music are incorporated into everything taught at Waldorf. Math,

Athletic teams: 7 CALGARYWALDORF.ORG

“When we teach the alphabet, we’ll do songs, stories and poems about the letter, and then we’ll teach how to write,” says Sponholz. “We give students all the pieces so that when they first sit down with a book, they are prepared. They’ve got all those building blocks in place to read.”

The program, Sponholz adds, is very integrated. “It’s about creating a whole child and exposing them to different ways of learning to make sure they understand a subject deeply. Our graduates leave the school with a clear sense of purpose, direction and a strong academic foundation.”

ORDINARY FAR FROM Close to education

WESTHILLS

Welcome to the most school-friendly neighbourhood in inner-city Calgary.

Currie is located in the heart of Calgary’s largest concentration of school options, home to five top-quality schools and surrounded by so many more, ranging from warm and welcoming preschools and specialized education, right up to post-secondary.

Currie’s proximity to a variety of school types including independent, public, charter, preschool, high school, special education, language immersion and university means you can stay put as your family grows, and grows up.

With extraordinary homes and an incredible location, Currie is exactly where you want to be. Just seven minutes from downtown, Currie combines inner-city living with parks, playgrounds, green space, beautiful streetscapes and homes for every family from award-winning builders.

SCHOOLS within 10 minutes of Currie

BY Nathan Kunz PHOTOGRAPH BY Jared Sych

From the Ground Up

Robert Ollerenshaw recalls Calgary as a string of lights barely visible from his family farm. Today, that same farmland has been enveloped by the lights of the city, with the fields Ollerenshaw once traversed by cultivator now home to the southeast communities of Copperfield and Mahogany.

While the story of Calgary’s urban sprawl taking over rural landholdings may not be unique to his family, Ollerenshaw’s connection to the development is. As founder and executive chair of Section23 Developments, Ollerenshaw took an active role in creating the new communities. As an architectural designer and an urban developer, he has built a reputation over the past four decades for being thoughtful, collaborative and innovative. He works closely with individual clients to integrate their history and personality into the homes he designs and his urban development work is an extension of this philosophy — that what is new doesn’t have to come at the expense of heritage.

The Ollerenshaw family history in Alberta starts with Robert’s grandfather Joe Ollerenshaw’s emigration from England in 1911. Joe first worked as a blacksmith. Then, in 1923, began farming Section 33, a spread of land southeast of Calgary. Robert’s father Fred Ollerenshaw expanded the mixed-farming operation into neighbouring sections, including Section 24 and Section 23, where Robert Ollerenshaw, born in 1955, was raised.

With the family name defined by a thriving agricultural operation, Ollerenshaw says he fully expected to take the reins. However, Fred urged his son to blaze his own path. “One day, he took me aside, and he said, ‘You know, Robert, you’re never going to become a farmer or rancher. You better think of something you’d love to do,’” recalls Ollerenshaw, now 64. Though it was somewhat shocking to hear his father suggest that he didn’t seem cut out for farming, in retrospect, Ollerenshaw says the assessment made sense. “I was never the first one to get up at six in the morning to go feed the cattle,” he says.

Always keen on building models and sketching houses, he says a magazine article on the legendary Canadian architect Arthur Erickson left him thinking, “if I could do that, I would really enjoy my career and my life.” He would go on to study architecture at the University of Calgary’s faculty of environmental design (now the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape), achieving a master’s degree in 1986.

Though Ollerenshaw didn’t take over the ranch, he has continued his father’s legacy in other ways. In regards to farming, Fred Ollerenshaw is remembered as a “risk taker” with a reputation for experimentation. Fred was the first farmer in the area to plant crops by air-seeding and the first to have a Caterpillar tractor with rubber treads. Fred also constructed the area’s first multi-tower grain dryer and storage that allowed for grain to be dispensed without shovels —

With a strong sense of his family heritage and a desire to honour his rural roots, Robert Ollerenshaw has cultivated a unique approach to urban development.

OPPOSITE

Robert Ollerenshaw, founder and executive chair of Section23 Developments, at the building site for The Edward Seniors’ Residence next to cSpace in South Calgary.

Robert remembers a group of German farmers coming out to the farm specifically to see it. “He was always breaking new ground,” Ollerenshaw says of his father. “There are big risks involved when you try to do something different in the world, but he made it succeed, and I think that gave me confidence later on in life.”

Throughout his career, first in architectural design and later in investments and land developments, Ollerenshaw

has also opted for the road less-travelled. When he finished university in 1986, the Calgary economy was in a downturn. Without much hope of landing a job at an established firm, he set out on his own as Section23 Design, working on a drafting board in his basement, relying mostly on word-of-mouth referrals. While most architectural firms at the time were branded by a collection of last names not unlike law firms, Ollerenshaw says he opted for Section23 in homage to his roots, but also “because nobody can spell Ollerenshaw right.” The company has evolved over the years from a design firm to what is now Section23 Developments.

As head of Section23, Ollerenshaw is known as a collaborator. Residential projects, such as the Nest townhome developments in Hillhurst and Inglewood, are a result of a long-standing partnership with Heritage Custom Builders president Dan McAllister and interior designer Monica Stevens. While not always implemented, Stevens says direct collaboration between architects and designers offers an extra level of thoughtfulness to detail on a project. “It’s a bit like a cat-and-dog relationship,” says Stevens. “But I have to say, when you get two very simpatico individuals in an architect and a designer, and they see each other’s points of view, and there’s a great respect for each person’s contributions, it’s really the very best of a situation that you can provide a client.”

ABOVE The Ollernshaw family farm site following the development of the southeast community of Mahogany (top image) and pre-development (aerial view).

Photograph courtesy of Section23

Ollerenshaw echoes such sentiments: “I remember working with Monica early on in a project — I was designing the floor plan, and she looked at me and said, ‘well, I can’t put my drapes here because the window is too close to the wall.’ I thought, ‘well, that’s interesting, because I would never know that.’”

In 1998, Ollerenshaw was approached by Hopewell Residential about developing some of his family’s land into what is now Copperfield, and he saw an opportunity to enter into a partnership, rather than just sell the land. Working with Hopewell, specifically with Brad Wright (who now works at Section23), Ollerenshaw created architectural guidelines for the houses in the new community. He also saw first-hand how a new community comes together. “Designing a community is very similar to designing a house. There are a lot more players that you’re working with, but it’s the same design process,” he says. “That was a very easy transition for me.”

With one community underway, Ollerenshaw decided to work with Hopewell again to develop more of his family’s land into what is now Mahogany — with one caveat: that the original farm site be preserved. “I noticed that every time [rural] land was purchased the developer would just come in and swipe away the history of the farm site,” he says. “That was not going to happen to me.” Ollerenshaw was able to keep two original barns and the grain complex intact, and he hopes to transform the site into a community hub, with amenities such as a farmers’ market, petting zoo and horse rides. “The history is important for people to know,” he says. “Yes, this land once did grow food and crops.”

The family farm site in Mahogany isn’t the only example of Ollerenshaw advocating for heritage in the face of encroaching development. He has also been instrumental in preserving the Leighton Art Centre, a gallery, museum and educational facility in the former home of late artists A.C. Leighton and Barbara Leighton, southwest of the city.

Barbara Leighton opened the centre in 1974 and it was around that time Ollerenshaw first visited as a young man, fresh out of high school. “I really thought it was the eighth wonder of the world. It was just amazing,” he says, recalling the expansive view of prairie landscape extending out to the Rockies. Ollerenshaw continued to visit and volunteer at the Leighton Art Centre, building a connection with Barbara Leighton in the process. He says his conversations with her cemented his choice to pursue a creative life in architecture.

Barbara Leighton passed away in 1984. Nine years later, Ollerenshaw joined the Leighton Art Centre board. The stunning views which so captivated him during his first visit were of great interest to a number of developers, but Ollerenshaw strongly opposed development of the property. “I just felt that went directly against the intent of the Leighton Centre,” he says. “Having known Barbara, I don’t think she ever would have supported that.”

To stop development, Ollerenshaw rallied the rest of the board to push for designation as a Provincial Historic Resource, a status the centre achieved in 2009. While seemingly at odds with his own work in development, Ollerenshaw says the decision came back to one of his core beliefs, that “there’s a time and a place for everything.”

“And it may have been the time, but it was not the place for development,” he says.

In early 2015, Ollerenshaw felt the time and place were right, however, for a seniors’ residence adjacent to cSpace King Edward, the arts and culture community hub created out of a historic schoolhouse in the neighbourhood of South Calgary. When another investor pulled out, Ollerenshaw recognized the opportunity to bring his vision to life. He was on the cSpace board at the time, so he first had to resign to avoid a conflict of interest. Months after stepping down, he would return to face the board to propose his concept for The Edward Seniors’ Residence.

Ollerenshaw’s intention for The Edward, which is on track to welcome its first occupants this fall, is for it to be an environment that encourages interaction between different generations, with the senior tenants engaging with the offerings at cSpace and cSpace tenants engaging with Edward residents at the in-house bistro. According to cSpace board chair Dean Koeller, Ollerenshaw’s vision immediately resonated with the board. “One of the objectives of the site was to really create a community of diverse groups of individuals,” Koeller says. “Rob understood that we’re trying to find ways of bringing community together — both young and old — and making it an enriched cultural site. Everyone on the board felt like this was the right project for the right reasons.”

The Edward is one of two ongoing projects Ollerenshaw counts among his proudest achievements. The other is out near the original homestead, where Ollerenshaw is developing a community on his own on the south half of Section 23. Rangeview, just south of Mahogany, is set for development over the next several years. Ollerenshaw’s plans include integrating community gardens and agricultural elements alongside retail and other urban amenities to create what he calls the province’s first “farm-to-table” community. Many may see a disconnect between the agricultural and urbanist mindsets in a development like Rangeview, but Ollerenshaw has defined his career by embodying both, altering the land while serving as its steward, and continuing his family legacy by forging his own path.

“ROB UNDERSTOOD THAT WE’RE TRYING TO FIND WAYS OF BRINGING COMMUNITY TOGETHER — BOTH YOUNG AND OLD — AND MAKING IT AN ENRICHED CULTURAL SITE. EVERYONE ON THE BOARD FELT LIKE THIS WAS THE RIGHT PROJECT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS.”

—Dean Koeller, cSpace Board Chair

MOUNTAINS

BY Shelley Arnusch

SPRINTER

That in-between season when the calendar says it’s spring but there’s still enough snow up at the alpine resorts to do all your favourite winter activities doesn’t have a name, so we’re giving it one. Here’s how to make the most of “sprinter” in the mountains near Calgary.

SCORE A PASS

Around these parts, the first day of spring isn’t necessarily a sign that you should put away your winter gear. This is especially true at mountain resorts. Most of the ski hills within a half-day’s drive of Calgary stay open well into April at least, with Lake Louise Ski Resort usually staying open into early May and Banff Sunshine Village renowned for its marathon seasons that extend through the May long weekend. Those weeks in the mountains when it’s technically spring, but there’s still enough snow to do fun winter stuff essentially are a unique hybrid season — “sprinter” has a nice ring. Here are some ways you can make the most of sprinter and feel the late-season love.

Maybe you weren’t ready to fork out the cash for a resort pass at the beginning of the winter. Or maybe, at the time, you didn’t think you’d use it that much, but now you foresee your schedule opening up for regular trips out to the mountains. Whatever the reason, if you’re going to be hitting the slopes regularly through the sprinter, then you’ll want to look into getting a spring skiing pass. Most spring resort passes will save you money if you plan to go at least three-to-five days. Last season, for example, Lake Louise Ski Resort priced its spring pass at $299. That provided unlimited lift access through to May 5, as well as discounts on resort dining, lessons, rentals, retail and lift tickets at partnering resorts — not bad, considering a single-day adult ticket at Louise is $124.

Lake Louise Ski Resort.

Photograph by Shannon Martin

GET SCHOOLED

So you’ve always wanted to learn to ski, or you’ve been itching to learn to turn a snowboard. Would you rather take those first turns in the frigid days of January, or under sunny blue April skies?

Sprinter weather isn’t guaranteed to be perfect by any means, but for you (and even more importantly, your kids) the chances of your ski or snowboard lesson coinciding with an extreme cold snap are greatly reduced during the month of April. While springtime snow conditions can be a bit crusty in the early morning chill, the snow tends to soften up nicely as the day progresses, which is nice if you take a tumble while you’re finding your ski legs.

TAKE YOUR MARK

On the other end of the spectrum from the firsttime beginner-lesson set are those who have been riding hard all season long and feel like they want to put their skills to the test. As it so happens, the sprinter season is chock full of fun (but still competitive) races and terrain-park jams open to any and all riders who have the bucks for the entrance fee. In particular, the last few years have seen a rise in variety of banked slaloms: a snowboarding tradition wherein riders barrel down a snaky snow-banked course in an attempt to clock the best time. If you’re feeling up to the challenge, Mt. Norquay Ski Resort is staging a banked slalom this year on April 4. If that goes well (or if it doesn’t go well and you feel the need to redeem yourself) sign up for The Gully Banked Slalom on April 18 at Lake Louise, a best-of-two-runs race down Jerry’s Jungle with categories for snowboarders of all ages — from the eight-and-under “grom” category up to “masters” categories for men and women over 40. Speaking of groms, Louise is also amping up its Easter weekend family programming this year, with Easter Bunny visits and a rail jam (a trick contest held on a sliding rail feature commonly seen in snow terrain parks) for kids 12 and under.

Spring snowboard lessons at Fernie Alpine Resort.

Banked slalom race at Norquay. Fernie photograph by Nick Nault

SEND THE SEASON OFF WITH A PARTY

The parties that alpine resorts throw to mark the end of the season are key events on the sprinter social calendar. These parties generally involve retro ski wear, beer and a band or DJ playing on an open-air stage. Some season enders are notorious affairs — the Hot Tub Time Machine Party at the Griz Bar at Fernie Alpine Resort, or the festivities surrounding the annual Slush Cup on closing weekend at Sunshine Village, to name a couple. But they can also be more family-friendly, such as Kimberley Alpine Resort’s North Star Retro Day. In this case, it has much to do with Kimberley’s overall family vibe. Part of the Resorts of the Canadian Rockies group (alongside Nakiska Ski Area, Fernie Alpine Resort and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort), Kimberley Alpine Resort is within the municipal boundaries of the town of Kimberley, B.C., which makes it kind of like a giant (and awesome) town park where neighbours meet up to recreate and socialize. The end-of-the-year festivities at Kimberley include a mogul race at the base of the mountain and facepainting for all the little rippers. The North Star Retro Day name is a throwback to the resort’s former identity as North Star Mountain. You can take a two-hour guided ski tour of the mountain as part of the Retro Day programming to learn more about the history of skiing and mining in the area — with many of the ski runs named for mining claims and a range of geological features on the mountain that are a direct result of previous mining activity, the two are very much intertwined.

ENJOY APRÈS

Where sprinter truly shines is at the social hour(s) known as après-ski. For many resortgoers, après is as much of a draw as the actual skiing, and during the late season it’s hard to argue with that. Longer daylight hours and warm sun call out for patio pints, or perhaps something more refined. This spring, Sunshine Village will once again partner with Veuve Clicquot to create a branded Champagne bar in the snow up at the resort base, while Norquay has also embraced après-ski bubbles with “stay and après” wine and prosecco tastings in the Lone Pine Pub. The Norquay tasting events are free, but with limited spots it’s best to register in advance if you have your heart set on attending the event on April 11.

Kimberley photograph by The Real McKenzie Photography; Sunshine image courtesy of Sunshine Village

Sunshine Village Slush Cup.

North Star Retro Day mogul race at Kimberley Alpine Resort.

A Place for Everything

BY Colin Gallant PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jared Sych

The Chan family’s formal dining room is the crown jewel of their custom-built home where family time and entertaining were considered at every step of the design process.

When the Chan family decided to custom build a home in Britannia, they worked with a designer and builder they trusted to get something that was truly one of a kind.

After five years in their custom-built home in Elboya, Katie Chan and her family needed a change. As her son and daughter approached their school-aged years, Katie knew she wanted distinct spaces for both adults and kids in a home that better reflected the family members’ individual personalities.

The Chans decided on family-friendly Britannia, due to its cozy, quiet and conveniently central location. Once they found a suitable lot, they contacted Wayne Gambell of Mairen Homes, who had built their previous home and had since become a personal friend. Next, they needed a designer. After creating a shortlist of designers, Katie realized that Amanda Hamilton, creative director and founder of Amanda Hamilton Interior Design would make the perfect partner.

“I always joke that she had me at hello. The way that she articulates herself and her sense of humor just got me,” Katie says.

Two-and-a-half years later, the Chan family is living in their new dream home.

As soon as you walk in the door you’re greeted by the first of several glamorous chandeliers throughout the home in the atrium-

The Chans decided to forego a dividing wall between the kitchen and living room, opting instead for a boundary-creating buffet that maintains open lines of sight.

like foyer. Also visible from the entrance is a fireplace that acts as a divider between the family-oriented side of the home and the more formal half containing her husband’s home office, a powder room and the moody and dramatic dining room. Each of these three spaces has its own statement wallpaper. “We would have covered every wall in wallpaper, but it was starting to get expensive,” says Hamilton. “We have a budget for that next year,” Katie adds, joking.

Katie envisioned a home that flowed seamlessly between adultoriented entertaining areas and cozy gathering places for the whole family — and that allowed her to flow easily between those spaces as well to look after both guests and kids. The Chans are wine lovers who take pleasure in entertaining. While casual gatherings mean guests often congregate around the generous kitchen island, the formal dining room with its oversized custom table, temperaturecontrolled wine room and eye-catching wallpaper makes guests feel like they’ve been transported to an exclusive restaurant’s private lounge. If the occasion calls for cocktails or a movie, the Chans head downstairs to the basement, where there is both a bar and a screening room.

et qui aut 25 Words

Regardless of where they spend time with guests, the Chans can relax knowing the kids are not far while still enjoying a selfcontained area of their own. “I wanted open spaces so that I can always see the kids. If we were entertaining, I didn’t want to feel like I was segregated from our company,” Katie says.

It was important to the Chans that their home reflect who they are. Katie’s husband’s Chinese heritage is represented by the art in the basement and his love of music in the cheeky office wallpaper with its Brooklyn iconography, including miniportraits of the Notorious B.I.G. Katie’s personality is on full display in the library that separates the main bedroom from the hallway of the upper level and in touches of what Hamilton refers to as “bling” — chandeliers, gem-like pulls and other touches handpicked by Katie during the design process. Finally, the kids have a blank-canvas attic playroom accessed by hideaway stairs where they can play and feel ownership over their own custom environment.

Katie’s hands-on approach and camaraderie with both Hamilton and Gambell helped keep things positive throughout the two-and-a-half-year design and build process. And, Katie says, the family got exactly what they wanted in the end — a one-ofa-kind home that accurately portrays who they are and emphasizes their lifestyle. “Whether it was working with Amanda or working with Wayne, I knew exactly what was going on at all times. It feels like my home,” says Katie. “It feels like our family.”

RIGHT The Chans’ living room offers a calming contrast to the bold areas they’ve created on the main floor.

BELOW The Chans often unwind after a long day next to this cozy fireplace at the heart of the main level of their home.

ABOVE The basement gathering area next to the Chans’ well-stocked bar includes vintage furniture found at antique stores, giving it a distinct speakeasy feel.

ABOVE RIGHT It’s no coincidence that this sleek bar brings to mind an urban hot spot. Amanda Hamilton has designed popular restaurants like Añejo and Native Tongues Taqueria.

RIGHT One of Amanda Hamilton Interior Design’s signatures is the statement powder room. A well-designed guest bathroom tells visitors their experience is front of mind for the hosts.

ADDING YOUR PERSONALITY TO A CLASSIC HOME

“A timeless home doesn’t have to be boring,” says interior designer Amanda Hamilton. Here are her tips on how to add character and charm to a classic design.

1. Use design departures to create interest. Designers can help you create points of interest without sacrificing cohesion, and statement pieces work best in enclosed areas. “Powder rooms and dining rooms are the perfect spaces to add drama by layering in bold colours and wild wallpapers,” says Hamilton.

2. Design any “bonus space” with intention. A space without purpose can quickly become cluttered and neglected. Pick a personal passion to give the room an identity and function. “If you love to read, transition a cozy corner with an oversized chair and adequate lighting. Into music? Turn that bonus space into a listening room with a vinyl collection and noise-cancelling headphones,” says Hamilton.

3. Layer in texture and pattern over a neutral base. A foundation of simplicity allows you to add personality on top with colour, texture and pattern. “A few of [my] current favourites are oversized dramatic florals for wallpapers and throw pillows, and nubby bouclé fabric or sheepskin for an accent chair,” says Hamilton.

4. Add statement lighting. Hamilton advises thinking about lighting and furniture at the same time. Fixtures with personality work best when they share a design element with other pieces in the home. “Touches of brass in your lighting can complement other brass details on a side table or decorative sculpture, helping to tie everything together,” says Hamilton.

DECOR

The tranquil main bedroom affords the couple a glorious view of the downtown Calgary skyline through its northfacing window.

SOURCE

DECOR

PAGES 76 TO 83

Interior design by Amanda Hamilton Interior Design, 403-457-5222, amandahamiltondesign.com Builder, Mairen Homes, 587-318-1599, mairenhomes.com

Wooden flooring throughout from Stone Tile West, 4040 7 St. S.E., stone-tile.com

All fireplaces from Montigo (B.C.), montigo.com

Dining-room table designed by Amanda Hamilton

Interior Design, built by Tamarack Design Centre (Ont.), tamarackhomes.com

Dining chairs and pendant light from Domicile (trade only), 403-262-9780

Brick from Brock White, 2703 61 Ave. S.E., 403-287-5889, ca.brockwhite.com

Iron divider by Octane Fab Services, 403-604-0319, octanefab.ca

Wallpaper from Crown Surface Solutions, crownsurfacesolutions.com

Kitchen cabinets from Prestige Custom Millwork, 7803 35 St. S.E., 403-230-5039, prestigecustommillwork.com

Countertop from Icon Stone and Tile (now closed) Bar stools and pendant light from Domicile Backsplash tile from Icon Stone and Tile

Hardware from Banbury Lane Design Centre, 1301 10 Ave. S.W., 403-244-0038, banburylane.com

Powder-room vanity and mirror custom made by Octane Fab Services

Wallpaper from Crown Surface Solutions

Living-room couches designed by Amanda Hamilton Interior Design, upholstered by Timeless Upholstery, 8, 1235 64 Ave. S.E., 403-291-4848, timelessupholstery.com

Chair and side tables from Domicile Central fireplace (next to stairway) stone from Pacific Stone, Granite & Marble, 10510 46 St. S.E., 403-238-1100, pacificstone.ca

Chairs from Style in Form (B.C), styleinform.com

Side table from Homesense, multiple locations, homesense.com

Basement fireplace surround tile from Tile and Stone Source, 105, 6204 6A St. S.E., 403-252-8868, tilestonesource.com

Rug from CB2, cb2.ca

Chairs from Homesense

Coffee table from CB2

Art printed by Resolve Photo, 333 36 Ave. S.E., 403-457-5527, resolvephoto.ca

Bar countertop from Jade Stone, 6429 79 Ave. S.E., 403-287-0398, jadestone.ca

Bar stools from West Elm, 868 16 Ave. S.W., 403-245-1373, westelm.com

Bedroom fireplace stone from Pacific Stone, Granite & Marble

Bedframe and rug from Domicile Pendant lights from Hammerton Studio, hammertonstudio.com

Ensuite wall tile from Saltillo Tile Calgary, 1212 26 Ave. S.E., 403-287-2100, saltillo-tiles.com

Floor tile from Stone Tile West Bathtub from Victoria + Albert Baths, vandabaths.com

Maxim pendant from Carrington Lighting, 2513 5 Ave. N.W., 403-264-5483, carringtonlighting.com ON THE COVER

Wallpaper from Flavor Paper, flavorpaper.com

Fish art from Minted, minted.com

Ladder from Octane Fab Services

BY Sarah Nealon

Asian

1. Hammerton Studio pendant light fixture, $3,672, from Signature Lighting & Fans, 3500 Blackfoot Tr. S.E., 403-245-3396, signaturelighting.com

2. Antique four-door cabinet, $2,350, from Wu & McHugh, 3, 9727 Horton Rd. S.W., 403-475-8814, wuandmchugh.com

3. Orchid, $40 to $100, from Purple Orchid, 810A 16 Ave. S.W., 403228-2140, purpleorchidflowers.ca

403-410-9191, williams-sonoma.ca

5. Arteriors Springsteen swivel chair, $4,800, from Domaine Furnishings & Design, 7130 Fisher Rd. S.E., 403301-2339, domainefurnishings.com

6. Plated-steel floor register, $32, from Banbury Lane Design Centre, 130 10 Ave. S.W., 403-244-0038, banburylane.com

4. Schumacher Chiang Mai dragon decanter, $180, from Williams Sonoma, CF Chinook Centre,

1. 4.

2. 5.

6. Pendant photograph courtesy of Hammerton Studio; cabinet photograph by Miki Wu; decanter photograph courtesy of Williams Sonoma; chair photograph courtesy of Arteriors; register photograph courtesy of Banbury Lane

CDL South 7265-11 Street SE Calgary, AB T2H 2S1

CDL North 11752 Sarcee Trail NW Calgary, AB T3R 0A1

CDL Invermere 4B 492 Arrow Road Invermere, BC V0A 1K2 www.carpetandflooring.com

Breathtaking new home built by California Homes, backing onto the Calgary Golf & Country Club. With over 6,200 total square feet & 4+1 bedrooms, the warm tones create a welcoming atmosphere & the incredible attention to detail & mindful design provide all the modern luxuries. The main floor offers 10’ ceilings, hardwood floors & is irradiated with pot lighting & stylish light fixtures. A tiled entrance with dramatic stone feature wall & open riser staircase welcome you to this exquisite home. The formal dining room leads through the butler’s pantry to a bright kitchen, appointed with Sub Zero fridge/freezer, microwave, wall oven, Wolf induction cooktop & built-in dishwasher.

SCARBORO

Located on a quiet tree-lined street in historic Scarboro & situated on a sweeping 857 sq m corner lot, this splendid, gracious character home has been beautifully renovated & designed by Paul Lavoie, creating warmth while maintaining the original charm of the home. The main level presents hardwood floors, wainscoting & some leaded glass windows which showcase the spacious foyer, formal living & dining rooms. The family room with access to the back deck is open to the well-appointed kitchen finished with quartz counter tops, breakfast bar, island, tons of storage space & top of the line stainless steel appliance package. A tranquil front den/office with fireplace is tucked away just off the foyer.

CARPET • RUGS • HARDWOOD •

23 WINDSOR CRES SW C42765257 $2,649,999

244 SUPERIOR AVE SW C4279487 $1,750,000

WINDSOR PARK

Swantje Macke-Monteiro

Swantje Macke-Monteiro has always had two major passions, and those passions still inspire her today. Her family moved to the Canary Islands from Germany when she was 10, and she fell in love with marine life, going on to achieve a master’s degree in marine biology. Her second passion has always been interior design. “As a little girl, I apparently was always moving around other people’s furniture and re-hanging their pictures,” she says. MackeMonteiro melded those passions after moving to Calgary and starting her own business as an eco design consultant. She launched SAMM European Design in 2007, working with clients to design elegant spaces without compromising on sustainability and green living. Here are some of her favourite things in Calgary.

1

Lunch

“I can’t pick one favourite dish, because it’s all my favourite. You can build your own bowls with fresh ingredients, and they do it right in front of you. You can’t get more organic and fresh than that.”

5 Glassware from Circa Vintage Art Glass “I have a collection of glassware and I love it. Circa has amazing stuff from Europe and a lot of stuff from the ’50s. I don’t know how [the owner] even finds it all.”

2

Fabrics from Colin Campbell & Sons “They have such an insane variety of fabrics for anything you need, and thankfully, lines of 100-per cent cotton or linen or bamboo, so it’s that combination of eco-friendly fibres and great designs.”

6 Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant “This is my favourite place to bring friends from out of town for dinner. The dishes are beautiful, seasonal and local, and it’s a lovely place to be with the setting and the history.”

7 Light Fixtures from Robinson Lighting & Bath

“I’m never disappointed when I go here — they always have something I’m looking for. From chandeliers to simple path lighting to go over artwork, it’s funky and modern and unusual.”

8 The Consignment Gallery

3 Bread from the Italian Centre Shop “Bread is definitely one of my comfort foods, and the Italian Centre bakes its own bread from scratch daily. It’s so fresh and it has a crunch that’s so satisfying and delicious.”

“There are so many treasures here! It’s a great place to hunt for high-quality second-hand furniture, artwork and decor, and it’s already sustainable because it’s being reused instead of going to the dump.”

4 Spice Blends from The Silk Road “Oh, the smell in there is amazing! And it’s beautiful as well, with glass spice jars and a display of vintage containers on the shelves. I love cooking and I love spicy food, and they have the most amazing spice blends."

9 Merlot and Cachaca from Willow Park Wines & Spirits “Willow Park has the best selection of wines, beers and spirits. I like to try new merlots and they have a great selection from around the world. And my husband is happy he can find his Brazilian cachaca there, which he has trouble finding elsewhere.”

10 Leighton Art Centre

“The setting is gorgeous It’s a beautiful spot to go see, but also to look for local art and experience history.”

bread and seed N Salt by Jared Sych; glassware and Cachaca supplied by vendors.

Swantje

at Seed N Salt

photograph, spice blend,

BY Colin Gallant

Local Finds

JUICE IMPORTS NATURAL WINE CLUB

Juice Imports offers its club members three bottles of organically farmed, minimal intervention wine per month, but more importantly a package of information, podcasts and events to increase subscribers’ wine knowledge. Each month’s bundle comes with a newsletter and podcast that delves into the background of each wine in loving detail. The newsletter also comes with two invites to free, private tastings per year, first dibs on rare wines and special discounts.

Sign-up at juiceimports.com for pick-up at either Vine Arts location or Kensington Wine Market.

Boutique Africaine

Boutique Africaine is an online vendor platform for African and African-inspired homewares and fashion. Calgary-based founder Franck Hounsokou created the Etsy-style operation based partly on his experience growing up in the vibrant market city of Cotonou, Benin, and partly in frustration at the glacial pace of shipping on goods ordered from Africa. Currently, more than 50 vendors use Boutique Africaine’s payment system and streamlined shipping services. While the business is based in Calgary, prices are listed in Euros, US dollars and pounds only.

boutiqueafricaine.com

Glitter Camo

Glitter Camo is the first new glitter line by Calgary-based Lit Cosmetics in several years. Lit has long been loved by celebrity makeup artists — Oprah and Lady Gaga have both been photographed wearing Lit — due to its extra-strength, signature glitter glue. Glitter Camo also boasts a one-step application process for those who need to glow on the go.

Glitter Camo is available in white, silver and gold.

Available at litcosmetics.com

Sacori Eyewear

The new line of glasses by Arlene Dickinson is quite literally for those who want to look like a boss. Each frame is named after the roles we play in the world and the workforce — The Entrepreneur and The Doer, for example — and manufacturers FYidoctors promise a studier-than-average frame design and made-in-Canada lenses.

Available at FYidoctors, 11 Calgary locations, fyidoctors.com

ENTRIES ARE NOW OPEN FOR THE 2020

Made in Alberta Awards

PRIZES

One overall winner of the Made in Alberta Awards 2020 will receive $5,000 cash!

Winner and runners-up will be featured in Avenue magazine’s September 2020 issue.

ELIGIBILITY

If you are an Alberta business or maker with a product made in the province that will be available for retail purchase in Alberta through to the end of September 2020 you may be eligible.

10 CATEGORIES

Beauty, Craft, Drink - Alcoholic, Drink - Non-Alcoholic, Food - Savoury, Food - Sweet, Fashion and Accessories, Furnishings and Home Decor, Games and Leisure, Unique Product

$100 entry fee per entry. Entry form closes February 29, 2020.

WORK OF ART

CURATED BY Katherine Ylitalo

Manga Ormolu Ver. 5.0-Q

An Imperial Chinese blue-and-white vase births a sci-fi robot while prettily perching on an ornate display stand? Manga Ormolu Ver. 5.0-Q evokes wonderment. The long, slender neck curves like a swan, widening at the top into a bulbous head, finishing in a thin lip. The body spreads out into a pear shape, then stretches, wrinkles and sags, as an alien mechanical form crowns from below.

Artist Brendan Lee Satish Tang handles clay with ease and skill, using wheel-throwing and hand-building to construct persuasive, surreal objects. Manga Ormolu Ver. 5.0-Q is one of an extended series of Chinese functional ceramic

TITLE: Manga Ormolu Ver. 5.0-Q (2015).

ARTIST: Brendan Lee Satish Tang.

MEDIUM: Underglaze and glaze on white earthenware, wood.

SIZE: 24-inches high by 11-inches wide by 11-inches deep.

LOCATION: Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta University of the Arts.

NOTE: The exhibition Ready Player 2 Sonny Assu and Brendan Lee Satish Tang is organized and circulated by The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford, curated by Laura Schneider, and is on view at the Illingworth Kerr Gallery until March 7.

to Tang’s was estimated to sell at auction in Hong Kong this past year for more than a halfmillion dollars.

Social, economic and political histories that play out through fashion and consumerism are incorporated in Tang's work with humour that carries an afterburn. Look closely at Manga Ormolu Ver. 5.0-Q and you’ll notice the crackle pattern in the transparent glaze over the vase (but not the robot).

It’s a nod and a wink Tang makes to the Western appetite for traditional ware to look distressed, although the Chinese originals remain exquisitely clear.

Displaying fine Chinese porcelain and mantel clocks on elaborate gilt mounts, known as ormolu, became fashionable in England and France in the 17th and 18th centuries. “Chinamania,” the craze for blue and white porcelain among the Victorian middle class, is considered by some to mark the beginning of Western consumer culture.

manga robot grafts that he has created over the last 15 years and named like software. As Tang became interested in the way technology (including social media) is based on other technology, which is constantly being revised, he issued the 5.0 upgrade, highlighting the capacity to transition. The shape of the vase — known to collectors as a garlic-mouth vase — was popular at the Qing Dynasty court to display a single flowering or fruiting branch. The cobalt blue-painted decoration on Tang’s vessel includes classic Chinese motifs such as the stylized “cloud and thunder” meander at the top and bottom of the neck that symbolizes life-giving rain. An original Qing vase with a design very similar

Tang was born in Ireland to Trinidadian parents of Chinese and Indian ancestry, moved to Canada, became a naturalized Canadian citizen and spent his young adult years in Nanaimo, B.C. After earning a diploma from Malaspina University College, a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and a master of fine arts from Southern Illinois University, he attracted attention in the art world for smart, culturally mashed-up, precision crafted, vestigial vessels. Influenced in his early career by flamboyant American ceramist Howard Kottler and Francophone Richard Milette, he currently teaches at Emily Carr University in Vancouver and exhibits his work nationally and internationally. This summer, he plans to participate in the Medalta International Artists in Residence proggram in Medicine Hat.

Manga Ormolu Ver. 5.0-Q will be shown during the last stop of the popular touring exhibition Ready Player 2 — a double header with Ligwilda’xw Kwakwaka’wakw interdisciplinary artist Sonny Assu. Both B.C.-based Gen-X-ers, their perspectives on youth culture will have you reaching for the bowl of Cheezies.

Photograph by Suzanne Ward