Christmas lights lighting up the dark, long nights.
Category: #Sunnyside365 (Page 21 of 39)
December 22 marks the first day of Winter. Despite the fact that it’s the shortest day of the year, Calgarians can boast about having the most sunny days year round of Canada’s 100 largest cities, with just over 332 days of sun. After all, it is the ‘Sunny Side’ of the Bow River.
From here the days grow longer, the chinooks feel warmer, and the residents nestle in to wait for the Spring.
“I started The Real Calgary Street Paper as a protest in ’97. I continued doing it because there’s a lot about society that required some serious analysis and thinking.
You see, there’s a lot of things people let slide and I don’t think we can let them slide anymore…
I mean, for example, this neighbourhood used to be about all the characters, but now none of those characters can afford to live here. They started the neighbourhood, but I guess that’s the price of development.
Of course, I’m a grumpy old man, haha! We need to put more ‘social’ into society. The economy is here to serve society, not society being here to serve the economy. Yes, it’s an activist paper… I try to keep the public aware.
I tell you, this is a great neighbourhood. Lots of good eating places, lots of great people, really friendly. It’s a good thing and we should fight harder to keep it that way.” Ron, Writer, Publisher, Seller, The Real Calgary Street Paper, Published by The Underground Press.
Day 183 marks the official cross-over into the second half of #Sunnyside365. It’s also two days before the Winter Solstice and the beginning of longer days. What a tremendous experience it’s be so far.
Today and tomorrow mark the halfway point of #Sunnyside365. It’s been quite an experience so far and I’m truly, truly humbled by the experience of meeting so many wonderful people in this incredible part of the world.
I’m totally stoked to be on second half of this project and I can’t wait to see what it’ll be like seeing the days grow warmer, the afternoons get longer, and the colours change again.
“I was born and raised in Calgary but I was living in the countryside. I wanted to move back into the city so I looked for a place in the inner city and here I am! I’ve lived in Sunnyside for three months. I’m at St. Mary’s taking my Bachelor of Science in Biology.
Oh gosh! What do I love about the neighbourhood? Friendly people, walkability, good food, really, really good coffee. Ha!
I’m on the lookout for the chance to volunteer. I’d like to meet some new people and help out in the community. I love this neighbourhood–it’s a mix of all the things I would look for in a place t to live!” Jenn
“We get so far from the Sun, as a planet, y’know? We get so far from the thing that gives us life that we retreat back into ourselves… all the trees change, the plants die, we think about death a lot.
But then, after the solstice, we start getting closer to the Sun again and the days get longer, the snow melts, things turn green and new animals are born in the Spring…. It’s all natural, a cycle of life that’s gone on for billions of years. It’s all natural, man.”
“It’s really beautiful isn’t it? The snow is so romantic! It’s nice to sit by the window and watch it fall… He’s gonna have to go out and shovel it though!”
“Story of my life!”
“You’re looking for something that’s ‘Quintessential Kensington’? How about the clocktower on the corner? After the old building burnt to the ground, the new developers promised to keep the ‘small-town’ feel of the neighbourhood by putting a clocktower into their building design. That’s why that corner looks the way it does.”
“Okay, fine. I know it’s this special time of the year for everyone, but not for me. It’s too commercial, too much spending, too much pressure to buy… Especially with all the thing going on in the world, I think we should just call a moratorium on buying things and instead spend time with each other, y’know?”