Announcing AF-Calgary's November Top4 Finalists

Another month, another Top4! And what a doozy it was to narrow down the short list this month as there were so many stellar submissions. I have to say that Trustee blood was definitely shed.

That said, since we're taking December off this year (the fourth Thursday of the month falls on December 22, which is really close to the holiday season), this month's Top4 Finalists also have the distinction of being the final Top4 for 2011 as well!

So without further ado, here are AF-Calgary's Top4 finalists and Honourable Mentions for November 2011, in no particular order:

Top4 Finalists:

1. Science Road Show by Ed Kusimirski: "Science experiments and demonstrations for kids."
2. Haysboro School Dream Catcher Edible Garden by Lisa Demers: "In the spring of 2012, a veritable army of volunteers will build the most unique edible garden in Calgary."
3. Sports Festival Kids Zone by Susan Cunningham: "Organize a community orientated sport and culture festival to encourage people attending the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Calgary 2012 to get involved in sport and stay active."
4. F.O.C.U.S. on Seniors Board Training by Rossbina Nathoo: "Offer multi-cultural seniors a variety of programs to enrich their lives by empowering them and reducing isolation."
   

Honourable Mentions:

• Bondai by Tristan Zastrow: "A visual interface to bring organized structure to the internet."
• The Cost of Lost by Jon Lord: "A series of succinct videos, each summarizing a great Alberta opportunity that was lost as a result of an inability to acquire local funding and/or Venture Capital - and speculating on what might have happened instead."
• Voice Up by Kerry Girling: "Creating an impact. Voice is the world's first anti-bullying page that allows anyone whom has been bullied to share their experience online."
  
• Enhanced Education Calgary by Liam Finn & Michael Manzano: "Fostering creativity and innovation in Calgary youth by allowing them to learn practical life skills from leaders in the community."
• Maker Faire Calgary Launch by Ben Reed: "We are bringing a Maker Faire to Calgary in June 2012 and we need a community launch party!"
• Rink Rat by Robert Smith: "To purchase a snowblower for the Killarney outdoor rink."
• Senior Lion Dance Club by Lisa Chan: "Seniors promoting multiculturalism to a wide variety of service organizations."
• Youth Rock Camp by Darren Ollinger: "A program for musically inclined youth to meet with others at their age and level of skill to create bands and really showcase the immense talent."
  

Obviously, since this will be the final no-strings-attached $1,000 grant that we'll be awarding this year, we had a lot of submissions to pour through, and much Trustee blood was shed in determining a Top4 as well as Honourable Mentions from so many submissions.

For those who have projects or ideas that are not time-sensitive, we invite you to apply again (whether it was this month or in months previous)! The next submission deadline for the January 2012 prize is 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10. To submit an idea for consideration (old or new), fill out this handy-dandy web form.

AF-Calgary's November 2011 Thousand Dollar Thursday, the final one of 2011, will be held at the same place where we began back in April to help close out our first calendar year: at the Endeavor Arts Gallery.

More details in this post here, but to sum up:

• When: Thursday, November 24, 2011
• Where: Endeavor Arts Gallery (1209 1st St SW #200)
• Time: Doors open at 6 p.m., show starts at 6:15ish

Hope to see you there!