Author: Ara (Page 30 of 41)

“We’ve been in business here for twenty-four years. Yeah, we’ve seen this neighbourhood in all it’s cycles.

It’s a village in the city. I know that’s a hack phrase, but it’s a great community. There’s a great group of people here and some really tremendous support. Working down here is great.” Edward Cavell, Proprietor of Livingstone & Cavell Extraordinary Toys, Kensington.

“It’s like in soccer: at the end of the game, when the referee gives more time to play based because of stoppage from penalties, injuries and whatever. Summer has given us stoppage time to use in October. I say take what you can and use it as much as possible, the game will be over soon. Ha ha, how’s that for a metaphor?”

“I have been creating a series of copper skulls based loosely on the five elements and four Seasons. I’ve been at this for almost a year. I think it’s the first of its kind at The Roast, usually the art that goes up there is two-dimensional. Stuff like paintings or photographs. It’s awesome that the stars aligned for my turn to put up art was in October and that it’s the Roasterie’s 30th anniversary of business. I think the piece fits the time and place.

This series was created as a challenge to myself, I have been practicing metal work as my main discipline for the last 4 years. Before that some people may remember me cutting out intricate designs and drawing at The Roasterie.” Markus. “Momento Mori” is on display in the month of October at The Roasterie. See the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1646337365634071/

“Actually yes, there was an Ikea here when we opened in 1987. My wife worked there when we came from Germany.

We got here in the early Eighties. Things weren’t good in Calgary at the time so we laid low and then we purchased this building.

Kilian is a family business. Our dad was doing the same thing in Germany with a very similar sized store. We grew up in a furniture store and when when our family moved to Canada, our parents, Frank and me, we started this business.

The neighbourhood has been very good to us. We were in here early, we put probably one of the first nice buildings into the area. We’ve always been attracted to the European flair of this neighbourhood. You could walk around and go to the coffee shops. Downtown was closed at four o’clock–it’s not like it is now. We didn’t want to go and open a flat store in an open field, we wanted a vibrant neighbourhood with a mixture of people. It’s nice to have a small town feel in big city.

We’re retiring. Everything in the store has been marked down and we’re planning on selling the building. It’s time.” Gunnar (left) and Frank (Right), Owners of Kilian International Design.

“There’s the whole niqab debate going on in the media right now. There’s a lot of concern in the community about how we’re depicted and what to do about it. I tell people that: “The light shines brightest when surrounded by darkness” We need to be that light.

I work a lot with youth, and focus on making changing without resorting to violence. We volunteer at the Drop-in Centre and the Bethany Care Centre to be grateful for the blessings we have, and to find purpose and meaning in life beyond ourselves.

This neighbourhood is great! My favourite bakery is Sidewalk Citizen and my favourite coffee place is the Roasterie. Every Sunday my wife and I drop our kids off at Quran class and usually go for breakfast–today we decided to come here.” Navaid Aziz, Director at the Islamic Information Society of Calgary.

“When the owner suggested putting a bar in the alley way, I was like, ‘What alley?’ As it turns out, this sort of thing exists all over the world. People re-purpose shipping containers for all sorts of things: homes, businesses, bars–you see it all over the place. So we stuck a shipping container in this spot and opened the bar up. Container Bar is just a cool pop-up use of an unused space. Our last regular day is Sunday, but through the Winter we’ll have special events.

Tonight was the Dandy Brewing takeover. Usually a brewery will take over the taps, but we only have one so they’re taking over the whole space–DJ and everything.

I’ve lived in this neighbourhood for years. I even used to work at Red Robin over on the corner (now where Julio’s Barrio is). I’ve always felt this neighbourhood is a small town within the city. You get to know a lot of people who hang out and work in the neighbourhood. I love that you can access everywhere just through walking.” Bill, Assistant General Manager, Winebar and Brasserie Kensington.

“Oh my god, I love Sunnyside! It’s like the only thing that I’m going to miss about Calgary. Ha ha, I’m just kidding.

I’m one of the lucky ones who moved directly to this place from Little Portugal in Toronto. Our two year plan became ten years, so I guess this place grew on me.

But we’re moving as soon as our place sells. We’re going to Vancouver Island.

I feel like all my friends are at The Roasterie. I love that I don’t have to drive, that I can get everything I need in this place–food, art supplies, everything.” Helena.

October is a time synonymous with harvest, changing of the seasons, and taking advantage of what last few moments we can enjoy outdoors.