It’s Jane Jacobs’ Birthday!

Jane Jacobs was a celebrated urban activist, observer, and author. Ms. Jacobs changed the way that we experience and plan our cities through her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

In celebration of the annual Jane’s Walk weekend, we would like to highlight HSCA’s long-time volunteer and Jane’s nephew in Calgary, Dr. Decker Butzner on what makes Hillhurst Sunnyside such a vibrant community: ‘In the family footsteps: An interview with Jane Jacobs' Calgary nephew’.

Spring is a special time of year when people start walking and moving outside. While we are not able to gather this year, you can check out virtual walks and tips about exploring your community around you on Jane’s Walk website.

Partner and community content 

  • The Kensington Art Walk Map was created by the Kensington BRZ/BIA showcasing the artwork on 10th St and Kensington Road. Find an e-copy at Kensington YYC.

  • Spring is a special time of year when people start walking and moving outside. Be sure to check out the virtual walks at Jane’s Walk Calgary Foundation.

  • Sunnyside is home to an outdoor art gallery! Check out the art that adorns many a garage door in the community at Sunnyside Art Crawl.

  • In summer 2018, twelve printmakers and writers interviewed people who live/work in the community, researched neighbourhood history, and transformed collected stories into art. Check them out on Instagram at @Utilistories

Here are some of the walks that the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association has hosted over the years: 

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https://www.hsca.ca/blog/2020/8/11/hillhurst-sunnyside-heritage-week-2020

 

 

Asian Heritage Month | Chong Family

Lisa & Mom Chong @ Riley Park

Lisa & Mom Chong @ Riley Park

May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada, a time to reflect on and celebrate the contributions that Canadians of Asian origin continue to make, to the growth and prosperity of Canada." -Government of Canada

My name is Lisa Chong. I have been telling the story of Calgary's community of Hillhurst Sunnyside for many years through the lens of redevelopment and inclusion. As HSCA staff, we have celebrated volunteers and welcomed new neighbours into the community. In recognition of Asian Heritage Month, I would like to share my family's story. 

2020 was a tumultuous year for us all - the stress on our mental and physical health, on our pocketbooks, and our communities. At a time when the world was collectively grieving, we saw harmful rhetoric and actions directed towards Asian communities. 2020 was a year that brought more voices into the forefront, highlighted by the disparity of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mohkinstiss is the Blackfoot name for Calgary, at the confluence of the Elbow and the Bow Rivers, a space where people have gathered for generations and built community. Alberta became a province in 1905 on land that was populated by our Indigenous people for thousands of years. 

Our family story runs parallel to the signing of Treaty 7 in 1877, which changed the traditional way of life for our First Peoples forever. Treaty 7 was signed with Indigenous leaders and drove European settlement and colonization in southern Alberta. It was the final treaty that realized the Dominion of Canada's promise to build the transcontinental railroad.

Our first ancestor, my mother's great grandfather arrived in Canada in the 1880s to support labourers working on the railroad. Many of the workers emigrated from the Four Counties of Canton (now Guangdong) province in southern China. Chinese men were recruited and worked on the Canada Pacific Railway through its most treacherous tracks through the Rocky Mountains. Many perished under extremely harsh work conditions. 

Once the railroad was completed in 1885, Chinese labourers were no longer welcome in the nation that they helped connect. Great great grandfather was expelled and relocated to a small mining frontier town in America or Gold Mountain. His grandson, my Grandpa Ernesto, made his living in Cuba (at the time, Canada and the USA were closed to Chinese immigration). He later joined his family in America, twice a refugee of communism. 

My great grandfather on my father's side paid a head tax of $50 to emigrate to Canada. The 1885 Chinese Immigration Act was the only head tax collected by the Dominion of Canada that was based on country of origin, intended to curb immigration, and dehumanize a group of people.  

Grandfather Chong paid a $500 head tax to the Dominion of Canada in 1924 at 11 years old

Grandfather Chong paid a $500 head tax to the Dominion of Canada in 1924 at 11 years old

Poverty was rampant in southern China at the time. Migrant families would pool their money to send their sons to the West. My grandfather, Jack at age 11, paid a head tax of $500 in May 1924. At that time, $500 could pay for two houses in Montreal. 1924 was the same year that Chinese immigration to Canada ended on July 1, Canada Day, otherwise known as Humiliation Day to the Chinese community at the time.

Families were separated. A generation of bachelors were created. Only the wealthiest merchants could afford to bring their wives to Canada prior to the 1924 Chinese Exclusion Act. Many Chinese men formed unions with Indigenous women (check out Cafe Daughter, a stage play based on the life of former Senator Lillian Eva Dyck). Chinese-Canadians who were born in Canada before 1947 were nationless and were not considered citizens.

The journey to equal rights is complicated. For background reading, the Canadian Encyclopedia details the history of the vote from the women’s suffrage movement and the Black Canadian vote in 1919, onward. Hundreds of Chinese-Canadians served in World War 2. The young men who fought for our collective freedom with the allied forces also fought for human rights and the hope of gaining citizenship and to simply hold the same rights as their peers, the right to vote. 

Canada's internment of Japanese-Canadians drew strong parallels and criticism on the world stage to the atrocities of World War 2. Partly because of the demonstration of loyalty on the part of Chinese-Canadian soldiers during WW2 and partly due to the global call for humanitarianism on the prosecution of the Jewish people, Canadians with Chinese and East Indian ancestry were allowed to vote in 1947, while Japanese-Canadians were permitted to vote in federal elections by 1948. For Indigenous people, 1960. 

We are a family of economic migrants. My grandfather Jack sailed to his ancestral home in Hoyping and married my grandmother, Hon Fong of Guangzhou and had two sons. With a small family to support, he departed back to Canada alone. The promises of the West beckoned. 

The Chinese Exclusion Act was lifted in 1947, which initially only allowed wives and any dependents under 18 to reunite. Jack made a marginal living running the local rural Alberta community corner store and saving up until his family could join him in 1957. Immigration in the broader sense only opened up in 1967, which is when Jack's sons married their respective spouses in Hong Kong and our family story finally begins.

Dad & Mom Chong at the family restaurant

Dad & Mom Chong at the family restaurant

Our family ran the only Chinese restaurant in a small resource and farming town in Alberta. My mother managed the restaurant for over 20 years and forged lasting relationships in the community. Over time, the restaurant became a permanent fixture and a treasure in the collective consciousness. It was a trusted Third Place, outside of the home and work where townsfolk would gather and build community and fellowship.

I am the first generation of my family to have been born in Canada. Red Hair, our people called it, referring to the country itself, owing to the red-haired settlers of British Isles origin. Indeed, Sunnyside was once called New Edinborough as adopted by Scottish settlers in the area.

This story represents many years and generations in the making. For my father, our immigrant story was seen as shameful. As pink-collar workers, our parents and grandparents mourned the loss of opportunity. As children of immigrants, the aspirations of our forebears live with us as the next generation. Our family's story is a part of Canada's living history. And as Treaty People, we continue to build families, relationships, and community together.

Sources

  • Canadian Encyclopedia

  • Malaspina University

  • Chong family oral history

May is National Asian Heritage Month

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Photo Collage by Lisa Chong

May is National Asian Heritage Month. Asian Heritage month is "a time to reflect on and celebrate the contributions that Canadians of Asian origin continue to make, to the growth and prosperity of Canada" (Government of Canada, 2021). Read our blog submissions and stories for National Asian Heritage Month! See some important resources below:

  • Check out CBC's article 'Celebrate Asian Heritage Month' to see "ways for you to celebrate and learn about the meaningful contributions of Asian Canadians" (CBC, 2021).

  • If you'd like to share an online event, story, or resource with our community related to Asian Heritage month or other topics, connect with us on Instagram (@hillhurst_sunnyside), Facebook (@hillhurstsunnyside) or email Stephanie.c@hsca.ca to tell us about it.

Reflections on Race

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Anonymous Community Member Submission 

There has recently been a disturbing pattern of hateful rhetoric and physical violence directed at Asian Canadians. While distressed at these events, I am not particularly surprised. Canadian history is full of such incidents during periods of great stress – recessions, unemployment, country at war, periods of mass immigration and now pandemics – but also during periods of change from one “normal” to unknown future.

I have been lucky in my life; I have not faced a great deal of  anti-Asian discrimination. This does not mean that I was unconscious of the difference between myself and my classmates, friends, and neighbours.

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I remember well when the issue of “race” first pushed into my conscious mind. We lived across the highway from the local school that held classes from grades one through grade nine. Every day I walked from home to school and back across the school playing fields.

On a particular day when I was in the 5th or 6th grade, I happened to cross paths with two female students who were a grade or so behind me. Politeness required me  to at least say “hello” and so I did. One of the girls was the daughter of the school principal who lived in the teacher’s accommodation in the far corner of the schoolyard. We were all terrified of Mr. B but not of his two children.

“Hi you Jap” came the reply. 

The two girls continued on to wherever they had been going, looking back, and giggling into their hands. This incident imbedded in a shy, fat, near-sighted and awkward child a harsh lesson never to be forgotten. As confused and hurt as I was, I never related this incident to anyone.

Over the years there were other instances of unfairness so obvious that it was difficult not to interpret the situation as one of discrimination against my obvious Asian-ness. But I simply did what all of our grandparents and parents and uncles and aunts did: put your head down, stay under the radar and work harder than everybody else. 

Shikagata-nai. Nothing can be done. What cannot be changed must be endured. 

Anti-Asian racial discrimination has been tolerated for a long time in our country. At times it has been encouraged by government policies. The Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 imposed a head tax to discourage Chinese men from bringing their families to Canada. In Vancouver in 1907, mobs of whites rampaged through Chinatown vandalizing the businesses owned by Chinese Canadians and physically assaulting those who tried to fight back. 

The Komagata Maru incident in 1914 was a blatant example of  Canada’s attempts to discourage immigrants of South Asian ancestry. Throughout the early 1900s Asians were denied access to jobs, licenses, union memberships and the right to vote. 

Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour was incentive for the United States to enter WWII but it was also the beginning of a mass relocation of citizens of Japanese ancestry throughout the Americas. In British Columbia, all residents of Japanese ancestry were rounded up, detained and later relocated to internment camps in the interior of the province or to farms in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Their businesses, boats, cars, and homes were seized and sold by the government to help pay for their own incarceration.

The above are well documented and part of the Asian immigrant experience in Canada. All have caused pain, suffering, and sometimes directly led to deaths. We cannot escape our history. We cannot gloss it over. We should not attempt to re-write it in a kinder light.

I believe what matters is whether you live your life with your hands open and palms turned upwards - uplifting and helping those around you. Or if you use your hands as a clenched fist - as a gesture towards the “other”, as a threat or a tool to suppress or diminish another.

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A community association to me has been place where democracy, equality and humanity can be practised at a grass roots level; a place where the organization has a quasi-legal status bestowed upon it by the government to ensure this is so. 

This is where we, as a group, should perform at our best to ensure that the following invocations become our everyday reality:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We won’t often get the closure from another that we desire. This means that we must discover it on our own. Forgiveness is how we find peace, no matter if they want to give it to us or not.

Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalia Lama

Between striving to change the way things are and forgiving the transgressions of the past, there is a path forward. n our journey we ought to also remember those other words from Dr. King’s speech:

"…In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”

Sunnyside Traffic Calming

Sunnyside needs your help to make 2nd Ave and 7th St safer! Check out the video made by Sunnyside neighbours to find out how you can make a difference and help calm traffic in our community.

It starts with a 311 call to the City of Calgary to request an adaptive roadway. If approved for a pilot, this process includes community engagement. Adaptive roadways can help can slow down traffic and make it safer for all road users: from pedestrians, bicycles, e-scooters, and motor vehicles.

Scroll down to find the instructions below the video for more information.

HSCA Volunteer Spotlight: Mary

HSCA Spotlight: In 5 Questions or Less

The HSCA Spotlight will introduce (or reintroduce) our community to HSCA staff, volunteers, and members of the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community. If you know of a resident interested in participating in the HSCA Spotlight Series, email Stephanie.c@hsca.ca with SUBJECT LINE: HSCA Spotlight. We know our community is full of awesome residents and captivating stories and we’re hoping to share that with everyone!  

As part of the HSCA Spotlight Series, allow us to introduce you to Mary! Mary is Vice-Chair of our HSCA Board and a long-time resident of the Hillhurst Sunnyside community (for 24 years!). She’s been on the Board for the last 3 years and is committed to supporting HSCA reach our Strategic Goals. 

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1. What is your favourite thing about the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community?

The people who live in this community 

2. What made you want to join the HSCA Board? 

[I] wanted further Board Governance experience 

3. What keeps you busy outside your Board duties?

Spending time with neighbours, walking our dog, cooking

4. What are some of your favourite spots/walks/eats/hangouts in the neighbourhood?

Kensington Pub, the river paths, Sunnyside Market, Sidewalk Citizen bread, Pulcinella

5. What does community mean to you? 

A sense of belonging.

 

Are you interested in joining the HSCA Board? 

 The HSCA Board of Directors is recruiting new board members! We are looking for members with expertise in any (or a combination) of the following areas: Legal, Planning, Childcare, IT/Tech or Engineering/Facilities.

The monthly hourly commitment is 4-6 hours, including a monthly board meeting. HSCA covers from the Calgary Curling Club to 18th street, and all members are welcome. Learn more here.

 

Painting Your Garage Door This Summer

By Christie Page (Local Garage Art Pusher)

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So, you’re going to paint a mural on your garage door this summer.

 f you’re not an artist, should you attempt to paint a mural by yourself? Absolutely! It’s a garage door, it’s blank, boring, and maybe old and ugly. You can’t possibly make it worse than what is there right now. A stick man, a flower, a hand print - anything is an improvement on doing nothing at all. If you want to improve upon your first concept you can paint over it. You can’t mess this up! If you don’t have a garage door? Look around and be creative – a fence, a shed, or ask your neighbour.

Should you sand and clean the door first? Probably wouldn’t hurt but I personally didn’t even wash off the current layer of dirt on my metal door before I painted it. It has been up since 2014 and is holding up well.  

What paint should you use? Probably exterior paint is the way to go. Although some of the paint on my garage is proper exterior paint, this is just by chance. I just used what I had in my basement (interior, exterior, water based, oil based and even a little wood stain). I also grabbed a few colors from the return rack at local paint stores that were on a deep discount. If you have a garage door with a lot of south west hot sun exposure, paint choice might be more important. 

How do you hire an artist? If you do want to hire an artist, you’re in luck because Calgary is full of talent! Expect to pay around $10/sq ft. Although established artists might charge more, someone just starting out might be willing to work for the cost of paint. If you ask for a pre design concept work, be prepared to pay the artist for this time, even if you don’t go ahead with the mural. Here are a few #YYCarts Instagram follows to help find an artist: @sunnyside_garage_art @sunnysidemurals @yycbump

If you have a high visibility location consider contacting Dexter with the Sunnyside Murals Project who is hoping to apply for a grant to hire 5 YYC artists to do new murals in Sunnyside this summer. He can be reached at dexter.sunnysidemurals@gmail.com

If you’re able to give a young artist just starting out a location to paint be in touch with Gerald gerald.wheatley@gmail.com He has helped facilitate connecting youth from the Alex to the ContainR lot and allowing them to build their portfolio. You would need to cover the costs of paint.  

Can’t wait to see our out-door gallery grow this summer. 

How to find art in Sunnyside:

http://bit.ly/sunnysideartwalk

In Memory of Doreen Orman, Sunnyside Resident & Life-long Volunteer 

HSCA’S Virtual AGM is April 27, 2021. HSCA celebrates National Volunteer Week (April 18-24, 2021) with a dedication to Doreen Orman.

Doreen Orman (1925-2020)

Doreen Orman (1925-2020)

By Lisa Chong & Lorna Cordeiro, friends of Doreen

In memoriam of Doreen Orman: 1925-2020.  Featured in the YWCA “She Who Dares” Canada 150 project, Doreen lived in Sunnyside from 1946-2017. Since the 1930’s, Doreen has dedicated her entire life to volunteering. Doreen’s passion for social justice included advancing the rights of youth and women and especially Indigenous and marginalized people. Doreen received the Governor General’s Award in 1992 for her work on advocating for women’s rights.

Doreen lived in Sunnyside for 70 years. Her husband, Jack was raised in Sunnyside and his parents lived down the street from Jack and Doreen’s home. Jack’s grandparents lived nearby. Lilian Orman (or Nana to Doreen & Jack’s children) parents, the Dunns were British immigrants who settled Sunnyside in the early 1900s. Doreen’s father, Jack Dunn was the first sanitary engineer in the city. 5 generations of Doreen’s family have lived on Memorial Drive.

Doreen’s vision and activism and collaboration with the City of Calgary and development partners helped shape the special character and charm of Hillhurst Sunnyside as an urban village; Doreen was HSCA Board President and a strong community voice behind the original 1988 Hillhurst Sunnyside Area Redevelopment Plan, which envisioned a choice of housing, including family-oriented housing to prevent the closure of inner city schools. She also fought against the proposed widening of Memorial Drive in the 1970s. 

To date, Memorial Drive is the only designated parkway in Calgary, hosts the Bow River Pathway – the crown jewel of Calgary’s pathway system – is popular for its scenic views of the river, the Landscape of Memory and Road of Remembrance legacy projects (see: our HSCA blog on Memorial Drive Trees: A Living Legacy). 

Plaque Ceremony, 2016

Plaque Ceremony, 2016

While she served on the HSCA Board, Doreen helped foster a tone of collaboration by starting the practice of asking developers to come to the community association with their proposed buildings and to allow residents to have a dialogue with developers to build a better community. This is a practice that continues today.

Doreen had the foresight to go through the process via the City of Calgary to legally protect her home. The Orman Residence at 734 Memorial Drive NW, was the first home in Sunnyside to be designated as a Municipal Historic Resource for its architectural and cultural significance, forever embedded in the historical fabric of the city.

We are honoured to have dedicated the 2020 Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association Annual General Meeting to Doreen Orman, a community member who dedicated her life to the service of the community. We were joined by Doreen’s children, Maureen & Rick to celebrate Doreen’s memory and legacy to HSCA at the very spot she was presented with HSCA’s Volunteer Service Award in 2017!

Photo by Carol Armes, HSCA AGM – April 25, 2017

Photo by Carol Armes, HSCA AGM – April 25, 2017

 Photo credits: Jenn Crack, Lorna Cordeiro, Orman family

Share your Vegetarian Recipes! Participate in our Community Cookbook

Submit Your Fave Recipes to our Community Cookbook 

HSCA is currently collecting as many vegetarian recipes as possible to fill up our community cookbook! The idea is to be able to still feel connected and engaged in our community over food when we are not able physically share a meal. Copies will be printed for all who want them, and it will be made available digitally. 

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 This is open to all HSCA friends, neighbours, vendors, businesses, staff, etc. to contribute. We would love this to be a celebration of all the folx who make this community such a vibrant and welcoming place. Please submit by Friday April 9, 2021. 

 

Here is the link to fill out the form. You can submit as many recipes as you want! 

HSCA Spotlight: Sophie

HSCA Spotlight: In 5 Questions or Less

The HSCA Spotlight will introduce (or reintroduce) our community to HSCA staff, volunteers, and members of the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community. If you know of a resident interested in participating in the HSCA Spotlight Series, email Stephanie.c@hsca.ca with SUBJECT LINE: HSCA Spotlight. We know our community is full of awesome residents and captivating stories and we’re hoping to share that with everyone! 

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As part of the HSCA Spotlight Series, allow us to introduce you to Sophie. Sophie is our Alternate Program Manager with HSCA’s Daycare and has been with HSCA for over 14 years. Sophie supports a team of dedicated childcare workers at HSCA, who are committed to the health and safety of children, their families, and our community. Sophie is always ready to share a smile (even under the mask!) and brings an incredible passion and love to her role at HSCA. Outside of HSCA, Sophie a grandmother and a very talented painter and specializes watercolours and acrylics! 

Here’s a spotlight of Sophie… in 5 Questions or Less!

1.     What is your favourite part of HSCA?

The HSCA Farmers’ Market! Especially the outdoor season during the warm Summer months!  

2.     What is your favourite part of the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community?

The people and the parks! 

3. What is your favourite part of your role with HSCA Daycare?

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Organizing special events at the Daycare and working with the great team and our sweet children. It’s great to give [the children] all the support and see them grow in a loving and healthy environment.

4. What is your favourite activity to engage in with children? Why?

Singing action songs and reading ‘Felt Stories’. Children love to participate and enjoy new stories with actions.

5. What is your favourite dish/meal to cook?

There are few Polish dishes I like to cook: porkchops with mushed potatoes and sauerkraut, hunters stew (bigos) and pierogis with sauerkraut and wild mushrooms.

BowWest Community Resource Centre – Partnership Highlight

As we approach the spring of 2021, there is an air of hopefulness that we will soon be able to spend more time outside and socializing from a distance with our community. As we trudge along in hopeful optimism, we wanted to remind people of a great resource that is still available and currently serving our community from afar: The BowWest Community Resource Centre!

BowWest Community Resource Centre is operated by the BowWest Community Support Services Society. This Society is a non-for-profit organization that serves the residents of northwest Calgary by connecting individuals and families to economic, social and educational opportunities that help them lead more resilient lives. BowWest’s programs are delivered in two centres - Ranchlands and Bowness - and are staffed by community advocates and volunteers who provide program support (BowWest, 2021).

We at HSCA are grateful to be connected with BowWest as a Community Resource Hub. BowWest serves several communities in northeast and northwest Calgary through these hubs to allow residents to access their basic needs services and supports closer to where they live. 

We virtually connected with Sarah and Douw to fill us in on how BowWest has been managing the pandemic and continuing to serve so many community members this past year. Sarah has an educational background in property management, health and safety, and business which all led to her passion in community advocacy. Douw’s educational background in social work (addictions) led him to his passion in social services. 

Sarah and Douw stated that because of the pandemic, BowWest is currently offering remote services. The results of the current restrictions have inevitably put hub locations and financial programming on hold, and there is currently no food program link, but emergency food hampers are still readily available on an appointment basis. The best way to reach BowWest is either by phone or email (below) and in unique circumstances in-person service delivery could be an option.

The focal point of Sarah’s and Douw’s outreach work is rooted in the stages of change and that entails ‘meeting people where they are currently at’. This resonates with us at HSCA and we share their passion for making valuable information accessible, and connecting people regardless of their affiliation within the community to experts and organizations that can support complex needs.

Douw is the first person of contact for the Hillhurst Sunnyside community members and he enthusiastically stated that people can reach out to him anytime and he can provide information, referrals, and other support for all community members and friends of HSCA. 

We thank BowWest, Douw, and Sarah for their continued support this past year and cannot wait until we are able to connect again as an in-person Community Resource Hub!

www.bowwest.org

Douw Vorster (He/Him/His)

Community Advocate

Douw@bowwest.org

Phone 403-374-0448  Cell 403-804-2908  

 

Sarah Padget (she/her)

Community Advocate

Sarah@bowwest.org

Phone 403-216-5348   Cell 403-874-8291  

 

 

March is Community Association Awareness Month in Calgary

As proclaimed by Mayor Nenshi, March is Community Association Awareness Month!

Although operations have changed at HSCA since Covid-19, we’re still working to interact, engage, and support our community safely. 

 

Here Are Just Some the Ways You Can Get Involved & Support HSCA:

  • Check out our online programming- Neighbour Night, Chair Yoga, Caregiver Connections.

  •  Enter our ‘Paint Our Sunnygirl’ Contest!

  • Submit photos of and around our community for our newsletter and social media

  • Purchase an HSCA Membership (a win, win because you’ll be supporting HSCA programming and getting great Membership perks and discounts at some awesome local businesses!

  • Submit content to the Voice or our blog. We welcome residents to share their unique perspectives and voices relevant to our community! (Have an idea, content or questions? Email: stephanie.c@hsca.ca).  Or participate or submit for our HSCA Spotlight Series. 

  • Volunteer! There’s so many roles and opportunities available with various commitment levels at HSCA (visit www.hsca.ca/volunteers). 

  • Sign-up for our monthly e-newsletter for the most up-to-date information, events, and programming around our community.

  • Tag us on social media and show us your community spirit (we love hearing from you!). Find us on Instagram @hillhurst_sunnyside and Facebook @hillhurstsunnyside. 

HSCA Spotlight: Emily

HSCA Spotlight: In 5 Questions or Less

The HSCA Spotlight will introduce (or reintroduce) our community to HSCA staff, volunteers, and members of the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community. If you know of a resident interested in participating in the HSCA Spotlight Series, email Stephanie.c@hsca.ca with SUBJECT LINE: HSCA Spotlight. We know our community is full of awesome residents and captivating stories and we’re hoping to share that with everyone! 

“Hillhurst is where I grew up and I’m now a Sunnyside resident. I am energized by the opportunity to further support and engage with our community. Sustainable food systems have long been a passion of mine. I’ve always felt compelled to foster the connection between food, wellbeing, and community. Plus, I’m biased and think the HSCA Farmers Market is the best in the city!”
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As part of the HSCA Spotlight Series, allow us to introduce you to Emily. Emily recently joined the HSCA Team and we’re thrilled to welcome her as our Community Programs Coordinator & HSCA Farmers’ Market Manager. You can spot Emily at our Saturday Farmers’ Market, HSCA’s Monday’s Sustainable Food Programming, or riding her bike around our community. Here’s a spotlight of Emily… in 5 Questions or Less!

 

1.     What drew you to this role?

Hillhurst is where I grew up and I’m now a Sunnyside resident. I am energized by the opportunity to further support and engage with our community. Sustainable food systems have long been a passion of mine. I’ve always felt compelled to foster the connection between food, wellbeing, and community. Plus, I’m biased and think the HSCA Farmers Market is the best in the city!

2.     What’s your favourite part about the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community? 

Diversity, inclusion, engagement.

The passionate community members! Everything I’ve learned about this community has been from local leaders. There are so many motivated, compassionate, grass roots individuals that create our amazing network!

3.     What is your most used emoji?

Heart eye emoji almost always directed at food or mountain views

4.     Tell us a fun fact!

 I love rollercosters and the feeling of falling. It’s almost impossible for me to get dizzy so I enjoy all the rides that everyone dislikes hahaha

5.     What is your favourite dish or meal to cook? 

Tacos! Anything with cilantro and lime! So that spans a lot of Latin American and South Asian cuisine. It’s really difficult to choose favourites…

 

Contest Time: Paint Our Sunnygirl

Calling All Artists, Sunnygirl Is Looking for Your Talent!

 

Who is SunnyGirl? In the 90s, the SunnyGirl logo was developed by Alberta Agriculture as the official logo of Alberta Approved Farmers’ markets! As an Alberta Approved Farmers’ Market, following the “Make It, Bake It, Grow It” philosophy we have a life-size (4-foot-tall) SunnyGirl woodcut ready for your artistic vision.  

We’re calling on our talented community to enter the SunnyGirl contest! Show us how you would you paint our SunnyGirl.

 Not a painter but a crayon artist instead? We still want to see your creations!  

Please fill out our online form here to enter!

 

How does it work? 

In-person: Submit your entry (coloured and or designed Sunnygirl below with your name and contact info) at the HSCA welcome table at market (Saturdays, 12-4pm) before March 31 to enter!

Online:  Email your entry to emily.j@hsca.ca before March 31 to enter!

  • Entrees will be reviewed by your HSCA team and Farmer’s Market Advisory Committee. Top three entries will be awarded prizes from the Farmers Market, and then be entered for a community vote!  

  • Voting can be completed on our website. Votes must be cast by April 14.

  • Winner will be announced April 16 on social media and will be contacted directly by Emily  

  • Painting of our 4-foot-tall SunnyGirl wood cut must be complete by May 20.  

Read more about the contest on the HSCA Farmers’ Market page here.

Please note: submissions may be shared on our social media and all entries grant this permission. We want the community to see your talent! 

Contest is limited to Hillhurst Sunnyside Residents, one submission per person. 

 

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HSCA Staff Spotlight: Heather

“At the Market, Heather embodied the Sunnygirl values (the Alberta Approved Farmers’ Market mascot), usually donning blue overalls, a red scarf and a broadbrimmed farmer’s hat and ensuring nutritious, local and fresh offerings every week. ”

As we continue to move through 2021, we wanted to take the take the opportunity to spotlight the staff and volunteers at HSCA. While our commitment to the safety of our staff and community remains our top priority, our health and safety protocols have drastically changed how staff and volunteers interact and connect with each other and the Hillhurst Sunnyside community. These spotlights are intended to give a snapshot of some of the stories behind our hardworking team and the programs and initiatives being offered at HSCA. 

At the end of 2020, we saw some staff changes when our Community Programs Coordinator & Farmers’ Market Manager, Heather, moved on to another opportunity. We caught up with Heather on her way out (she was an especially busy bee at the end of the year), and she’ll kick off our first ever HSCA Staff Spotlight!

While we’re thrilled for Heather to venture out on her next journey, she made an important impact during her 3.5 years here at HSCA with some fantastic initiatives, events, and programming that will continue for years to come including:

Be sure to watch for next month’s spotlight where we’ll introduce you to our new Community Programs Coordinator & Farmers’ Market Manager, Emily (spoiler: she’s also fantastic and brings a ton of passion to her new role).

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If you frequent our HSCA Farmers’ Market (now running Saturday’s from 12-4pm), then chances are you’ve seen Heather in action: moving signage, organizing with vendors and volunteers, snapping photos and everything in between. At the Market, Heather embodied the Sunnygirl values (the Alberta Approved Farmers’ Market mascot), usually donning blue overalls, a red scarf and a broadbrimmed farmer’s hat and ensuring nutritious, local and fresh offerings every week. Heather herself is an avid baker (she generously shared these creations with staff many times, namely her sourdough!) and a gardener and has posted a lot of her creations and recipes on the @hsca.farmersmarket Instagram page using products from the HSCA Farmers’ Market. 

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One of Heather’s exciting projects in 2020 was her work on Sunnygirl’s Field Notes. Markets displaying the Sunnygirl logo informs consumers that at least “80% of all products are made, baked or grown in Alberta” (HSFM Sunnygirl’s Field Notes, 2020). Through the eyes of Sunnygirl, Heather visited some of the farmers from the HSCA Farmers’ Market in an effort to share vendor stories and profiles and help our community better understand our food system. These field notes are an effort to show rather than tell consumers what it means to be an Alberta Approved Farmers’ Market and what methods these growers and farmers are using.  “We’re the real deal and our farmers are growing what they say they’re growing,” Heather says. Be sure to visit our Farmers’ Market website and read through Sunnygirl’s Field Notes. This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, and by the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association and will continue in the new year so keep checking back for the newest vendor profiles and interviews.

Join us in wishing Heather the best of luck on her new journey!

 

Meet HSCA's New Interim Executive Director

“Community for me is the people – it’s how we choose to live, work, play, and interact with one another.”
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Brief history of your expertise and background

Matt is an energetic, passionate, and highly adaptable professional with close to 20 years experience in the Social Profit, Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Hospitality, and High Tech sectors, and is a past Chair and Founder of TEDxFortMcMurray. Matt currently sits on the board for CommunityMediation.ca, a nonprofit that offer free mediation and conflict assistance to neighbours in dispute, and is a dedicated volunteer with both the Basic Income Calgary and Basic Income Alberta teams.

In 2017 Matt founded Human Elements to provide top-quality Strategic Planning, Facilitation, Mediation, and Human Resources support to social profit organizations in Canada, and enjoys working with small, powerful teams, helping them be better tomorrow than they are today. He named the company after the most powerful piece to any organization - the human beings, who with passion and dedication, make their dents in the universe.

Matt has a handful of educational papers on his office wall, and has held a CHRP/CPHR designation since 2010. He is married to an extremely supportive wife, and is fearful that one day their two rescue cats might learn to work a can opener and cut out the middleman.

What drew you to this role? 

In my role as a consultant for nonprofits I often talk about how I love that the work I do helps to strengthen community – but this time it’s my actual community I get to make an impact in, even though the one block walking commute is a challenge during rush hour.

What’s your favourite part about the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community?

When my wife and I decided to move to Calgary and we purchased our Hillhurst home in late 2014, a huge draw for us was the community – it has almost everything we wanted: close to downtown, beautiful streets with character to walk down, great local shops, and we could walk to get our groceries or jump on the CTrain - all things we couldn’t do from our previous home in a suburb.

What does community mean to you?

Community for me is the people – it’s how we choose to live, work, play, and interact with one another. I love when the diversity of our backgrounds and of how we think all come together to create pluralistic society - where we get to live in a peaceful, coexistent community made up of different values, interests, and lifestyles.

 

What are some of your favorite spots/walks/eats/hangouts in the neighbourhood? 

  • You can quite often find myself and my wife walking through and around Riley Park (have you seen the new drinking fountain yet?), or up and down the streets of Hillhurst or Sunnyside. We do love to walk over to Sunnyside and spend time walking along the top of McHugh Bluff.

  • Now coffee can be a very personal thing, but for me, my two favourite coffee spots are Good Trade Company, and The Roasterie. I’m a decaf drinker (sorry!), but these are my go-to spots and I always have some Good Trade “Last Train” decaf in my cupboard.

  • We’re very lucky to have so many ramen shops in the area, but for me, when I’m in the mood for noodles, it’s tough to pass up the Spicy Tonkontsu Ramen at Menyatai Japanese Noodles.

  • Not-So-Hidden gem: Poppy Plaza along the Bow River near Memorial and 10st – a sunny day, a coffee or tea… and for those with better knees, perhaps a skateboard.

 

HSCA Membership Drive: Contest Time!

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HSCA is excited to partner with the Kensington BRZ and Water for Riley in our HSCA Membership Drive! When you purchase or renew your HSCA Membership online, you will be entered into a draw to win 1 of 6 $100 gift card from a LOCAL Kensington business or our grand prize: a night and brunch at Hotel Arts Kensington! Purchase your HSCA membership by December 15, 2020 for your chance to win! Current and new membership holders are automatically eligible. The final draw will happen on Wednesday December 16 at noon.  Winner will be contacted by phone or email.

To find out more about the HSCA Memberships perks (spoiler: there's so many) and purchase your Memberships online, click here. Stay tuned on HSCA’s Instagram and Facebook page as we welcome more great Membership Partners in the weeks to come as part of our #MembershipMonday campaign. Be sure to follow the Kensington BRZ on Instagram for other updates and information on how you can support local (FYI: Late Night Shopping in Kensington begins Thursday, November 19th) or sign-up for their e-newsletter here.

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Water for Riley’s celebration and farewell

This blog post is reposted from Water for Riley

Graphic of the Reflecting Blooms drinking fountain by Maddie Wong Selby

Graphic of the Reflecting Blooms drinking fountain by Maddie Wong Selby

By Deborah Sword
Volunteer Project Manager
Water for Riley

 

RIP: June 19, 2012 – October 25, 2020

Its purpose complete, Water for Riley is no more 

The drinking fountain is installed and dedicated to The City of Calgary, which was Water for Riley’s sole mission and it’s accomplished. You have a last chance to win awesome prizes still, read down for details.

We always said the last task was to party at the drinking fountain. Alas, it could not be in Riley Park because of COVID 19, so we pivoted. On Sunday, October 25, 2020, we held a much scaled down celebration of that success. Water for Riley partnered with the Kensington Business Redevelopment Zone (BRZ) in a public market.

Scaled down and still local

Water for Riley was always hyper local. Our talented team and all the money was raised spent and locally. Water for Riley was founded on the idea of building community and building relationships by building a drinking fountain. Whereas we’d hoped the party for the drinking fountain could be city-wide, complying with health rules meant even the party was local.

As well as vendors the BRZ arranged, Water for Riley hosted its team. Displaying and selling their art were local artists, Framed on Fifth gallery owner and sculpture Hannah White, Artsploration painter, Mary-Leigh Doyle, woodcrafts by Jeff Melnyk and handmade glass bead jewelry maker Karyn Williams. 

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NorthWest Healthcare Properties, the developer of the Grace Hospital site north of Riley Park, donated a gorgeous, huge gift basket to give away. NorthWest Healthcare Properties employee Rachelle Donaldson volunteered at the market for the day.

Bloco Vivo, the Samba & Maracatu band that practices in Riley Park, brought energy and warmth on a cold day with its performance.

Water for Riley’s biggest hit of the day was the giveaways to people who stopped to chat about the drinking fountain in Riley Park and membership in the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association (HSCA). Water for Riley offered gifts to entice people to join HSCA, and the HSCA offered discounts on memberships. Important to note is that Water for Riley bought all the gifts to give away, the final way it supported local community and business as thanks for all the support the project received.

COVID 19 changed what could have been

The event had been scheduled for 13 June, 2020, and we’d booked a full and active day of local celebrities, fun and performances in Riley Park. Then, COVID 19 shut down the parks and public realm. We cancelled and hoped restrictions would be brief. That, obviously, didn’t work out and we had hard decisions to make.

We decided to not wait until 2021, because there’s no guarantee it would be any better or safer. We scaled down the event and accepted that we could not meet Alberta Health Services rules to hold the event in Riley Park.

Water for Riley has now reported to its donors and presented its final accounting to its HSCA oversight Board, which is the Hillhurst Sunnyside Planning Committee.

It’s done. Thanks for the memories and for the drinking fountain in Riley Park.

A Call to Join the Sunnyside Brightening Committee 

A Call to Join the Sunnyside Brightening Committee 

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Time limited opportunity to join your fellow Sunnysiders “brighten” upcoming infrastructure. Let's improve the Bow River Pathway, our interaction with the Bow River and create art projects throughout our community. 

With flood mitigation infrastructure projects now confirmed by the City of Calgary, the new Sunnyside Brightening Committee (SBC) has organized within HSCA to advocate for community-oriented customizations. The SBC feels these infrastructures could be customized to help create a better sense of place through art, aesthetic, and recreation initiatives. Importantly our initiatives would not compromise the infrastructure projects’ technical aspects nor incur significant cost increases. The three priority areas are: 

  • Connecting to the Bow – With the construction of a higher 1:100 flood barrier, SBC will (A) engage with Parks on the design of the planned boat launch at 3 St NW to better serve the community; (B) advocate for accessibility to the wooded riverside area between 7 St NW and 4a St NW. 

  • Brightening the Barrier – Municipal plans currently show the construction of new floodwall and pathway as part of the 1:100 barrier. SBC will advocate for this infrastructure be brightened through concrete texturing, murals, mosaic, and seating or other features. 

  • Stormwater Lift Station Art – Station #1 plans will have wall space for community art. SBC will engage with the municipality to secure and develop community-led art projects. 

Call to action: If you would like to contribute or have questions, please contact the SBC group chair, Preston Welker, at preston.welker@ucalgary.ca. Stay tuned for future updates!

Hillhurst Sunnyside Heritage Week 2020

Did you catch our #HeritageWeek2020 campaign on social media last week? It featured seven days / seven stories celebrating the people who have made Hillhurst Sunnyside home, past and present. Find our enriching local stories and images on our Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and/or by clicking on the links below, which will open in new browser windows for viewing ease.

We kicked off #HeritageWeek2020 by placing copies of the award-winning Hillhurst Sunnyside Heritage Walking Tour & Map brochure in a few Little Free Libraries in our community. There is still a handful of paper copies at the Little Free Library outside HSCA or you can find a digital copy online on our website here.

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Day 1 began by acknowledging our past prior to European settler history and a Land Acknowledgement. As People of Treaty 7, Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association as an organization is a part of our collective path toward Indigenous reconciliation. HSCA staff and programs will be sharing what reconciliation means to us in the coming weeks via social media and on our e-newsletter.

Day 2 featured the Corless family, lifelong volunteers in our community. See Bob Corless’ photos, memories of the area and the family’s contributions to HSCA.

Day 3 introduced Pamma FitzGerald, the artist and Hillhurst Sunnyside community member who designed the pedestrian gates on the north side of Kensington Road NW.

Day 4 put the spotlight on Violet King, the first Black woman in Canada to graduate law school and practice law. Learn about her perseverance, activism against racism and advocacy for Civil Rights and read community Lorna Cordeiro’s powerful story about Ms. King here.

Day 5 showcased Adam's house. Places have stories and remnants of memories. Century Homes was a volunteer-led initiative that celebrated local stories, as unearthed by residents of century-old homes built during the first building boom in Calgary. Read Lisa Chong’s (HSCA Planning & Engagement Coordinator) story about Adam’s house on our social media channels.

Day 6 shared Everett Klippert’s story. Mr. Klippert was at the forefront of the fight for human rights in the late 1960s. His imprisonment sparked public outcry and led to the 1969 decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada. Read his story, discover his family’s connection to Hillhurst and watch the 2018 short film, Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story.

Day 7 wrapped up with a tribute to Doreen Orman. Featured in the YWCA “She Who Dares” Canada 150 project, Doreen had lived in Sunnyside from 1946-2017. Since the 1930’s, Doreen has dedicated her entire life to volunteering and received the Governor General’s Award in 1992 for her work on advocating for women’s rights and read more about Doreen’s legacy on the community. Her advocacy led to Memorial Drive’s dedication as the only in parkway Calgary.

#HeritageWeek2020 is just the beginning of this storytelling journey in our community! We’d love to continue to share stories and memories with YOUR help! Email your stories and photos to lisa.c@hsca.ca or stephanie.c@hsca.ca.