Educator | Communicator | Photographer
“With Maggie and sticks it’s, ‘Go big or go home.’ She’ll carry them all around the neighbourhood. I have to be careful when I call her sometimes when she’s got it in her mouth or she’ll take my knees out. She’s pretty hard to photograph because she’s so dark.”
“This is totally an initiative driven by the kids. They came up with the idea. A lot of them experienced the floods in Sunnyside a few year back and wanted to know how they could help the people of Fort McMurray. They’re all too familiar with getting evacuated and losing their stuff. All the baked goods are by donation, no minimum. Everything is going into a donation pot and all of it goes to the Red Cross Fort McMurray relief fund. People have been really helping out with this.
Up till about two o’clock, we’ve raised over $3000. Some corporate supporters said they’d match everything donated, and then the provincial government said they’d match all Red Cross donations, the Feds said they’d match Red Cross donations–it’s just a really great thing. There’s so much great support for this.
It’s fantastic! We’ve had no lack of generosity. Somebody paid $20 for a cookie. It’s really amazing. People are just trying to find a way they can help.”
“Today is my day off, so I was in the park blowing bubbles, spreading happiness and love. This morning I saw this photograph of a child holding a sign that said, ‘We Are All One.’ That’s one of my favourite sayings, so I decided to do my own little spreading of happiness. Peace, love, happiness: that’s just about it.
What do I love about this neighbourhood? Hmmm. I love Sunnyside Art Store. It’s my favourite art store. I love the foot traffic around here. I definitely love seeing people. The people at the Sunnyside Art Store even coloured on the Love sign too.” Raven, www.instagram.com/ravenmoonstoneart
“I’m a lighting designer at SMP Engineering. I’m working on the West Eau Claire Pathway, amongst other things. Our office is just above Peppino on Kensington Road.
I can’t believe how many corporate offices are in Kensington. It’s great working down here, knowing you’re not just a corporate drone walking in and amongst the office towers downtown. You can actually get to know your maintenance person in your building.
I like that Kensington is a community. Just this morning on the way to work I had a wonderful conversation with a lady walking her dog. I don’t know her name, but was a nice chat. You feel like you have a place in this community, no matter who you are–you’re not just here to do your job.” Ian, Lighting Designer, SMP Engineering.
“Happy New Year – 2016 could be a BIG year for The Sunnyside Project.
In the past I have alluded to having some re-development plans for The Sunnyside Project. I am formally starting down this path in 2016 and it is important for me to have dialogue with the immediate neighbours and community. There will be a formal Community Engagement process but I want to start communicating with my Facebook friends.
I realize the important history of the Sunnyside Grocery and the many good memories and therefore want to be transparent with my plans and seek your input at an early stage. Change and managing expectations is tough so I realize that I will not please everyone with my plans but hopefully you will hear me out before you pass judgment on the plans. I have also learned the importance of pursuing passions and that we each have been placed on this earth to do something that only we can do with our unique DNA and life experiences. Through the Sunnyside Project I hope to pursue my passions for architecture/design and reasonably priced housing while facilitating community, supporting urban agriculture, supporting the visual arts and exploring my intrigue with some of the new Green Building technologies.
When I purchased the property, I did not have all of these passions but after meeting people in the community, my mind has been opened to many new ideas and I have been exposed to some of the things (and most importantly people) that make Sunnyside the special place that it is.
Even though I have only owned the property since June 2014, I have had a lot of personal enjoyment with it and it will be sad to move on to the next phase. My dream though is to create something that while different, will be even more beneficial to the residents of Sunnyside in the long-term.” To learn more about this exciting project, visit: www.facebook.com/sunnysidegrocery
“We moved in here February 2010 and moved out December of 2011. A good friend of ours lived here for about a year before they demolished it. We moved a few blocks over to 4a Street.
They way we got our house we live in now is good story. We became good friends with an older couple just by way of walks through the dog park. We mentioned that we were interested in buying a house, but wanted to stay in the neighbourhood. The couple mentioned that they were considering selling theirs, so we made a deal. We didn’t need to involve any realtors or agents–they just wanted to sell their house to people who wanted to live in the neighbourhood. It’s actually kind of funny: they had bought the house back in the day for $80000.
Anyways, before they demolished the house we moved from, we went inside and took the original doors which were made of solid wood, the old claw foot tub, even one of the original heater grates. There were a lot of hidden treasures too. There was one door knob that was a real find. It had been painted so many times that when we stripped off all the paint, it had this beautiful filigree workmanship to it. It looked like it should have been the front door, and maybe it was at one point. There’s an old picture of Sunnyside from 1911, and the house that used to be here is in it. It just didn’t have any of the additions.
I think that if you go out for a five minute walk, you hear a story. There’s such a good community here. Whenever we take the dog for a walk, we always have something to talk about. You run into people you know, even people you used to live by–they’re still happy to see you.
Sarah works downtown and this neighbourhood is central for my work. We walk wherever we need to go. There’s so many friends here. You know, good people is everything you need.
The dog park is also amazing. It’s not a manicured park. It’s a nice woods where you meet so many people.
Sunnyside is a good safe neighbourhood. You see lots of kids out playing, even though you’re in the inner city. Everyone looks out for each other, it’s really good for that.” Sarah and Jack, with Kira–standing in front of the property they used to live in. The lot has been empty and abandoned for about three years.
“This is my office away from the office. It gives me a chance to get away from the crowds and just g et some work done. Also, it’s a good opportunity to get re-caffeinated, haha!
I’ve been a bike mechanic since 1987, but off and on over the years. Joe’s Garage was opened in 2007. I’m usually set up on the Bow River Pathway on the south side of the bank between 10th street and the Peace bridge (right close to 3rd avenue SW).
When I moved from Toronto, this felt like the neighbourhood that I used to go to. I’ve lived in this neighbourhood since about 2006. It’s got a lot of the kinds of things that I like in a community.” Joe Nunn, Proprietor of Joe’s Garage.
“The first apartment I bought was down here in Sunnyside. I spent a good majority of my youth down here, so it’s nice to see some of that youthfulness still around. I moved out of the neighbourhood about two years ago.
I just like that youthful vibe. Being able to go down to the coffee shops and make friends with random people. I really felt like I belonged here, and I still feel that way. It’s so welcoming in Sunnyside, even if you don’t live here.
I’ve been a journalist for about eight years all over Alberta. I’ve been with Global for about four years doing Global Morning Live. Just this past year I picked up the camera again.” Sarah Offin, Reporter for Global News Calgary.
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