Browsing “Lifestyle”

COURTESY/ REPAIR CAFE CALGARY

Sustainability isn’t hard to achieve if you know where to look

In the ever-growing, ever-changing, throw-away-just-to-buy-it-again consumer culture, waste is one thing we have too much of.

“It’s a bad cycle,” says Steve Haywood, co-founder and marketing co-ordinator of Repair Cafe Calgary, a new sustainability initiative that aims to engage consumers in socially conscious behaviour and, as the name suggests, repair their broken goods.

“Too many times people are just throwing (their stuff) away and buying it again, and it’s wasteful and wastes a lot of money.”

Repair Cafe Calgary provides the space, tools and expertise of dedicated volunteers for people who want to learn how to repair their broken items while also socializing with neighbours and people around them.

The rule of thumb: if it’s in your house and it’s portable, they can probably find someone to fix it. Read more

Photo credit: Dawn – Pink Chick

Whether you’re looking for expos, musicals or out-of-the-ordinary runway shows, this edition of Awesome Events is bursting with fun things to do this week!

Improv Hamlet: Making Tragedy Fun… Thursday-Saturday

the Improv Guild is turning the greatest play ever written on its head. An Improv Hamlet: Making Tragedy Fun will be the first semi-scripted production in the history of the Improv Guild. No two performances will be the same as each night audience suggestions will help determine the outcome! This is the people’s Hamlet. You’ll have to see it to believe it. Read more details>>>

Calgary Lifestyle Expo… Friday & Saturday

The Calgary Lifestyle Expo is a consumer-focussed, activity-motivating tradeshow that showcases exhibitors who cater to the lifestyle and leisure activities and attractions sought after by the active, mainstream Calgarian. Read more details>>>

Legally Blonde The Musical… Starts Thursday

Omigod, omigod you guys! FRC is excited to bring everyone’s favourite blonde lawyer back to Calgary! With songs like “Omigod You Guys”, “Gay or European?” and “Bend and Snap”, Legally Blonde is an all-singing, all-dancing, feel-good musical comedy that will be a highlight of your year! Join us as we take you from the social whirl of Malibu to the hallowed halls of Harvard Law. The verdict? This much fun shouldn’t be legal! Read more details>>>

The East Village Vaudeville Spectacular… Friday & Saturday

After a year and a half of dreaming, planning, researching and rehearsing, the East Village Vaudeville Spectacular is coming to the Golden Age Club!
Mark your calendar and plan to attend this ground breaking civic action. Citizens from the East Village are coming together to tell the story of this historic community and ask the question: How can we learn from the past to help us do better in the future? Read more details>>>

BURST: A Runway Show Of Glass Couture… Saturday

Introducing: BURST – an extraordinary experience featuring glass couture under the stunning light of the catwalk. Guests will be delighted as they view breathtaking vestments on a runway intermingled with local artist Leslie Bell’s site specific installation piece, Simulacra. Some 16 artists will present over 20 glass couture pieces from around the world. Read more details>>>

Looking for more Awesome Events? Check out our community events calendar!

It’s gardening season in Calgary! At least I think it is. A quick google search for “when to plant seeds in Calgary” or “Calgary gardening tips” returns a lot of complicated results. Some say I should test the pH of my soil; others require me to know what “moon-favorable dates” are. Listen internet, I grew a lima bean plant when I was in grade 3. How complicated could planting a vegetable garden in my backyard really be? The answer is apparently: “very complicated”.

It is amazing how region and season specific gardening knowledge is. While there are a few great online resources for gardening and even a handful of helpful guides that are specific to Calgary, not every answer you are looking for can be found with a quick internet search. Even once you’ve done all of your homework and prepared your garden to the best of your ability there is still so much that could go wrong along the way. A true gardener accepts this fact, learns from his or her mistakes and patiently waits to try again the next season. This is what makes gardeners so awesome.

To get a better idea of how to start my very first vegetable garden, I spoke with Kath Smyth, the in-house horticulturist for the Calgary Horticultural Society…

Calgary is Awesome: Are there any specific resources that you would recommend for Calgarians who have never planted a garden before?

Kath Smyth: The Community Garden Resource Network, which is ran out of the Calgary Horticultural Society’s office is a great place to start. The Community Garden group runs  all sorts of get-togethers and have some really great discussion nights. Some of the seminars they offer are quite valuable. Honestly, what I would do is look for a community garden in your neighbourhood and just go over and chat with whoever is working in the garden. You would learn quite a bit about what they do this way.

Personally, I believe in going to one of the major garden centres and reading the seed packets. I love reading the packets from the standpoint of a plant fanatic, but I also learn something new every year from reading the packets.

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I know it’s just over a week away and I’ve already started dreaming about the long weekend. Who doesn’t love a long weekend? And of course if the weather holds, this May long will have us saying “Old Man Winter who?”. But if you’re like me, any long weekend proposes the opportunity to get the hell out of town for minute or two. Well if you’re also like me, budgets are, um, annoying but very necessary. Okay, so maybe I can’t splurge on a plane ticket to Kelowna or Costa Rica, but I have a few ideas on how to spend this coming Victoria Day weekend with out breaking the bank.

1. Do it yourself yoga retreat. I’ve always wanted to spend a weekend engorged in headstands and down-dog, giving my limbs a hug on a tropical island somewhere. Yoga retreats can be pricey, with accommodations, flight and the cost of endless rum drinks. Although Calgary might not be floating in the middle of the Pacific somewhere, we do have some stellar yoga studios here that offer tons of classes all weekend, every weekend. Most studios offer a five or ten class card for around $120, so why not just spend a couple of days at the studio and try a whack of classes? Then buy yourself some rum and turn on Bob Marley, now that’s a retreat!

2. Hike local. To me, camping and hiking go hand in hand, but booking a spot anywhere for Victoria Day long weekend can be tricky. Not to mention, if you do get a spot, it’s not always guaranteed you’re going to like your neighbors when you set up camp. And driving into the mountains for a day hike is nothing short of a nightmare. Try hiking local or close to, Bragg Creek has a ton of beautiful trails at a short drive (or bike!) away. If you’re really looking to stay close, try Fish Creek Park, it’s in the city limits and yet it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere.

3. Do a pub-crawl in another community. When I’m on vacation I like to check out the local hot spots. How often do you venture away from your typical watering hole to head across town to see what’s happening? I know cabs can be a pain, and you might not be that familiar with the bus line where ever you’re going, but you’re on staycation! What you saved on a hotel and airfare, splurge on local transportation. Hell, who knows you might make some new friends way out in McKenzie Towne, Bowness or Rundle.

4. Spend a night in one of YYC’s boutique hotels. Alright, so this one may bit a little over budget, but still not the cost of a trip to Vegas. I’m not sure if you’ve heard but Calgary’s got a couple of super baller hotels. If you can’t get out of town then get the eff out of your house and enjoy the luxury of the Hotel Arts, the Germaine or (gasp) the Kensington Riverside Inn. Oooooh. If you’re feeling really spendy, all of these places have epic restaurants attached to them too. Pick jaw up and make reservation.

I think these items are a great way to get some ideas flowing for your DIY vacation, remember you don’t have to travel far to find an adventure. Personally, I am going to probably try all three maybe not in that order. If any of you see a lady in yoga pants and hiking boots reeking like rum, wandering around Calgary looking for a room to stay, you’ll know I’ve reached staycation bliss.

On Monday, Wine-Oh’s Bistro was at capacity and I snuck in just before they turned people away. The basement was full and for a good reason, the Calgary Slam Finals was just starting.

The monthly Slam is hosted and organized by the Ink Spot Collective and last year it took a team of four competitors to the 2012 Canadian Spoken Word Festival (CSFW) in Saskatoon. On Monday night, the finals determined the next top four competitors who will go on to represent YYC  in this year’s CSFW taking place Montreal. Read more

We’ve partnered with the folks behind the new development at Bridgeland Crossings to take an intimate look at this awesome Calgary neighbourhood, the people, and the homes themselves.

Imagine being able to wake up to a view like this.

At Bridgeland Crossings, that’s exactly what you’ll get to see. Located in the up-and-coming inner-city neighbourhood of the same name, this condo development offers an amazing level of comfort, style, and amenities to fit right into your lifestyle.

Take for instance the larger-than-life decks. Each unit is made to feel more like a house than a suite with extra-spacious bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, baths and most importantly, the decks. This isn’t your average balcony – standard size is approximately 70 square feet – but many homes have even larger ones up to 900+ square feet. There’s nothing more that Calgarians love than sunny patio times and it’s even more enjoyable from the comfort of your own home.

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The Calgary Home & Garden Show is coming to the BMO Centre this Thursday, February 28 and going on until Sunday, March 3. There are going to be hundreds of exhibitors addressing all your home renovating, decorating and gardening needs! HGTV personalities Bryan Baeumler and Paul LaFrance will be gracing the Main Stage to share their home improvement tips, and Bob the Builder will be entertaining kids on Friday, March 1, the Home & Garden Show “Family Day”.

Of course, being the Food Editor, I’m more excited about Food Truck Alley and the Food Truck throwdown happening on Saturday, March 2 at 10:30 AM, where two food truck chefs go head-to-head with garden party-themed dishes they created just for the show! Local chefs like Geoff Rogers from MARKET and Kyle Groves from Catch and… myself (!!!) on behalf of Passion for Pork will also be on the Main Stage to demo a few yummy dishes.

I managed to score three (3) pairs of tickets to give away to Calgary is Awesome readers. All you need to do is email me with your favourite pork dish at vincci [dot] calgaryisawesome [at] gmail [dot] com for a chance to win! Contest closes on Tuesday, February 26 and I will get the tickets out to you by Wednesday just in time to enjoy the show. Good luck and hope to see you there!

PS: I’m also giving away tickets through my blog, Ceci n’est pas un food blog and the Passion for Pork Facebook page.

Photos by Brett Rieger.

“Calgary is the centre of a new renaissance,” – and Dr. Patrick Finn certainly fits in to his idea of Calgary. One of Avenue Magazine’s 40 under 40, the professor, writer, designer, and self-described computer geek is somewhat of a renaissance man himself, not just the “strange bald man driving a smart car who works at the university” that he likes to describe himself as.

Finn seems to have struck a perfect balance between ambitious and happy, and he shared some of his tips with a thrilled crowd of around 50 that filled the John Dutton Theatre for the closing event of One Book, One Calgary.

The talk was a compilation of his previous presentations as part of the program, all centering on the theme of happiness. He started by touching on some central themes from The Book of Awesome, by Canadian author Neil Pasricha, namely the importance of attitude, awareness, and authenticity. He then moved on to give mini-versions of his four talks – covering non-work life, the science of happiness, the truth about creativity, and awesomeness.

The talk, which took place on Thursday, Nov. 29, was Calgary-centric, as according to Finn, we cover all of those bases pretty well. Calgarians are ambitious and busy, some of the happiest people in the world, and our city is a cultural capital. We have a lot of good stuff going on. Whenever a Calgarian is asked about why we live here, Finn says the reply is a little shocking. Almost everyone will say “the people.” “When you’re living in a paradise, and say people, that’s an extraordinary place to be.”

The event was followed by a reception, with pretty awesome snacks and beverages, while library employees, Finn, and enthusiastic attendees mingled. All in all, it was a great way to end the third annual One Book, One Calgary program on a high note. On the way out, I overheard some attendees comment on the gorgeous community art wall. The living Art Wall, made out of pieces by the community, is up in the south section on the main floor of the Central Library. You might not have the chance to check it out for much longer, but you can see a sampling of the submissions online, here.

If you’re pretty broken up over missing some of this year’s One Book, One Calgary events, not to fear! Right now, the library is taking suggestions for next year’s book at their website: onebookonecalgary.com. If you joined in this year, and read The Book of Awesome, visit their site to check in! At the time of writing this, over 2,000 Calgarians have read it. Join the awesome!

Calgary is Awesome is a proud supporter of One Book, One Calgary.

It’s hard to believe that it’s almost 2013. Where has the year gone? In any case, we are close to ringing in the New Year and making the inevitable New Year’s resolutions to go along with it. My annual refrain come every January is to get in shape and shed a few pounds. But rather than waiting another couple of months, I decided to get my fitness going before the holidays. Now, where to begin?

Lately, I’ve heard a lot about CrossFit, the latest workout craze that has taken over North America. CrossFit is a timed or scored workout that incorporates a variety of functional movements similar to what you would do in everyday life. It’s done at a super high intensity fitting in weights, push-ups, squats, gymnastics, rowing and a variety of other movements. Rather than just working on one body part at a time, it works out all your muscle groups at once – the ultimate boot camp if you will. The lovely folks at Reebok invited us down to their partner location at Reebok CrossFit Ramsey to give it a try. C.I.A. Editor Jen and I along with her husband and sister headed down for the day to see what it was all about.

First off, I will tell you that I was super scared to try this. I am not a particularly active person (my idea of a tough workout is dragging three bags of groceries up to my third-floor walk-up). When we got to the centre, we had already missed warm ups, but we jumped right into the class (TIP: Always make sure you Google a location before you leave the house. It will save you at lot of time and then you won’t miss warm ups!).

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In my previous job I was a public servant, which meant little more than NO MONEY FOR CHRISTMAS PARTIES.  (Taxpayers would rarely tolerate paying for bureaucrats’ coffee, much less festive jelly roll cakes or reindeer napkins).  The result?  We got either really boring, or really creative.

Boring
There’s no need to describe a boring office Christmas party in detail.  And C.I.A. allows only awesome so… I leave you to imagine a combination of bowling, yawning, and people showing up just so they can leave for home earlier than if they had stayed at the office.

Creative
My favourite bureaucrat Christmas party took place in one of my colleagues’ living rooms.  I had suggested crossing the potluck-and-punch planning with some sort of karaoke or improv activity.  Sure enough, the afternoon ended with us exhausted from behaving like fly girls to back-up my colleague Byron’s rendition of Bust A Move, Wii karaoke style.

Tell your story
But we’ve all done Wii karaoke with our office mates, no?  I’m therefore sure that most of you could easily one-up me here.  So bust it: send us your most awesome stories from Christmas parties past.  And by awesome, I mean amazing, unusual, or even awkward.  We’ll feature the best ones on our site to help get Calgary in the office Christmas party zone.

Successful stories will be:
•    125 words or less;
•    Set in Calgary;
•    Clean (as in, not dirty);
•    Awesome;
•    Emailed to andrea@calgaryisawesome.com; and
•    Submitted by Sunday, December 2 at midnight.

Can’t wait!  In the meantime, here’s my favourite instructional video on how to behave at this year’s office Christmas party: