Educator | Communicator | Photographer
“This neighbourhood feels like home and the people here are welcoming. It’s a bit on the seedy side, but in a good way. I can walk everywhere, everyone greets you when you walk into a store, it’s great to visit when my kids are working. I have to confess, I don’t actually live here!” Lois.
“I’ve been riding my bike all my life, she’s been riding for five months. Our club is called Bikers Against Child Abuse. We empower children to help them overcome fear and face the world in which they live. What do I like about this neighbourhood? Let’s see…
Diversity. Cool people. Nobody wears a tie here. I like that.” Coach (Left) & Pastel (Right).
“What I like about walking through Sunnyside is the trees. If it’s a hot day, I can choose a route that gives me a reasonable amount of shade so I don’t get too hot.” Howard, commenting on his morning walk to work in the downtown core.
“Sunnyside School was originally built in 1919, but they built onto it in the 1950’s. I’ve been the principal here for nine years. I came here and loved it so much that I decided to stay! Sunnyside School has got amazing amazing kids, amazing teachers, and incredible support. It truly is the heart of the community.
Every year we host the Sunnyside School Fall Fair. It was initiated by one of our students and it has been around for over a decade. It’s a great way raise funds for school initiatives. We like to feature local artisans and people–that’s Peter Puffin over there getting ready to play, he teamed up with the students to write the Sunnyside School theme song. The kids run the games and some of the craft tables. It’s a lot of fun.
It’s been a long day, we got started at 7am.” Sandra Trumper, Principal, Sunnyside School
“The shipping container village was supposed to be removed next summer, now I’m hearing that it’s going to be extended at least for another year while the city figures out what to do with the space. They had a community forum where they wanted to hear what we all had to say, but the longer it went on, the more obvious it was that we were just there as a formality. I was told that if I didn’t change my attitude, I wouldn’t be invited to the next one. Can you imagine?
Beakerhead was supposed to have another one of their dance parties here, but we made sure they couldn’t. It’s too loud, too late at night. Don’t they realize that there’s a lot of senior people? I live in one of the houses that faces the container village and trust me, there’s some shady activity that happens there some nights.
But I suppose that’s the neighbourhood. I’ve lived in Sunnyside for my entire life. The people west of 10th are snooty, the people east of 10th are the weirdos. My photo? Ha ha ha, you don’t need an old lady’s face taking up space on your project.”
“This neighbourhood has different personalities. It has the ‘wake-up, go get coffee’ morning personality, the ‘go browsing through local stores’ personality, it has ‘after-work drinks and dinner’ personality, it has this awesome community vibe. I don’t think it’s like anywhere else in Calgary.
I like to think that it’s something that’s unique to this part of the city, I suppose that’s why so many people like it here. There’s lots of positive energy, just not the kind that spills into the street after our team wins a game sort of thing. I like that.”
“Yeah! good food, good beer. We have local craft beer on tap, lots of local seasonal beer. It’s great to see people come in and enjoy good food, best part of my day.” Ric Cutillo, Proprietor of Midtown Kitchen & Bar
New Edinborough Park, on 3rd ave and 5a Street NW. This mature park is irrigated and consists of a large playground, a large play field area and an ice surface during the winter months. It’s worth noting that this was Calgary’s first pesticide-free park.
Clouds rolling over the Bow River at sunrise on the last morning of Summer, 2015. Commuters into the downtown core have their heads down or focused ahead, not seeing the drama that unfolds in the sky.
First milestone achieved! Three months into #Sunnyside365 project! It’s the first day of Autumn. The leaves are starting to change, emerald leaves shift to gold as the seasons give way for each other and all of a sudden, colour bursts from everywhere in Sunnyside.
© 2026 Ara Shimoon
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