Educator | Communicator | Photographer
“The people that live in these houses often say ‘Oh, I love this cute house, it has so much personality!’ I wonder if these houses actually do have personalities, do they miss their friends after they’ve been torn down to be replaced with something new? Can you imagine watching your friends grow old and neglected? Would you miss the trees that used to line your front lawn? Do you think you’d get along with the new in-fill mansions? Would you resist the change or hope to be part of it?”
“I have a friend here who knows Kim Avery, the host of this event. Kim is putting on this market because she lost her mother to cancer and her son to SIDS. The funds raised here are going to charity in their memory and this market is a memorial to her family members.
The past couple of years I’ve been making Christmas cards and sending them to my loved ones. This year I decided to sell them and raise some money for a good cause. I’m on Instagram and Etsy as Soapl.” Savanna Lawless, selling her gift cards the ‘Kim Avery Christmas Market’ hosted at Maurya on Kensington Road.
“The plants, flowers, trees… all of it, it has this slow natural process of going to sleep. You see vibrant flowers and lush trees in the sun, but after the cold and snow comes in, life slowly puts itself to bed, waiting for the Earth to get closer to the sun again.”
The colour and warmth of summer is becoming a memory to the residents of Hillhurst and Sunnyside.
“Twenty-nine years we’ve been in business. You know ‘Grass Roots’ down on 10th, that was our first location. Where ‘Fresh’ is was our second. We moved here in late 2000/early 2001.
This building used to be a Baptist Church–it was built about 1907. There was a lady named Mrs. King, apparently she was one of the first black women who lived in Sunnyside, she used to sing at the church and people would sit on their porches and listen to her because she could really belt it out and I guess that was the only entertainment of the time. I guess without any cars or traffic noise, it would have been easy to hear.
Roughly in 1970 it was deconsecrated and shortly afterwards it was a hippy art collective, a theatre, a Korean grocery store and, prior to my arrival, a wedding boutique. They built the Tae kwon-Do place about then.
It’s my thirtieth year in this neighbourhood.” Norm Person, Owner, Lifesport
“I’m working on my Master Thesis in Social and Cultural Anthropology through the University of Vienna. The first thoughts for my Thesis was to study this city. Then I came across the BRZ concept and as soon as I got here, I thought I would start with Kensington. However, the more I talked to people, it felt more natural to study this neighbourhood closely. So I’m studying what makes this neighbourhood so unique: the business owners, the residents, the people.
When I first saw Calgary, I was terrified. My friend and I were driving from Whitehorse, down to Vancouver, through the mountains to Calgary and then on to Newfoundland. We were in Calgary and were broke and I had to find a job. I found a job in Kensington and we made enough to make our way through to Newfoundland. Not long after I returned to Calgary for a few weeks.
What I love about this neighbourhood is that I can come back and visit the places five years apart and it’s the same faces, the same regulars. It really is a special place in the world.” Marieluise. #Sunnyside365 would like to wish her good luck with her Master Thesis as she returns to Vienna the same day as this post!
“The Tiny Gallery project builds small, enclosed plinths on pedestrian-friendly Calgary streets. By bridging the gaps between street art, gallery art, and public art, this project promotes local artists, makes art more accessible to the general public, and encourages pedestrians to explore Calgary.
In keeping with our tiny scale placemaking experiments in Sunnyside, the Pooh Corner Tinier Gallery will feature art by ‘tiny artists’ over the next year (plus the occasional grown-up artist). If you know (or are) an artist aged 5–17 who would like to exhibit, please email poohcorner@picolina.net.” Tiny Gallery on 1st Ave in Sunnyside.
“Well, I suppose we’ve had it good so far. It’s coming down pretty hard in the mountains where it belongs. A few inches of snow isn’t bad, especially when you think about how we’ve had the sunniest days where it counts the most.”
“Perhaps when you’ve been walking or biking around town you’ve seen little boxes full of books in neighbourhoods all around Calgary. These Little Free Libraries are are really fun initiative that’s been popping up in cities all over North America. The concept is simple: you leave a book or two that you don’t need anymore and then borrow books that your neighbours have left. It’s a great way to not only encourage reading with your kids, but to also get them out and about in the neighbourhood.
You can also get more information about the Little Free Library movement at the LittleFreeLibrary.org website.” A bench outside of the Pooh Corner Little Free Library on 1st Avenue NW
A sign posted outside the Sunnyside Housing Co-op, lamenting the loss of garden art.
© 2025 Ara Shimoon
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