Announcing April 2012's Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions!

12 Awesome Winners

151 submissions, 42 Honourable Mentions, 44 Top4 Finalists, $12,000 awarded to 12 Awesome projects, but only one no-strings-attached $1,000 prize to give away per month.

We've only been around for a year, but what a successful year it's been here at Awesome Foundation - Calgary, and an eventful one in the city! We've helped people create fireflies under a bridge at night, watch a movie under the stars and say farewell to a beloved gym in Calgary, just to name a few.

It's amazing how much Calgarians have embraced what we're trying to do here at Awesome Calgary, which is to help bring exposure to just a few of the Awesome Ideas floating around the city, and the people who help try to make them a reality.  We're very grateful for your support because without that, we wouldn't be able to help as many people as we have been able to over the past year.

That said, the third Thursday of the month has now past, which means the AF-Calgary Trustees have met and gone through the monthly submissions.  So without further ado, here is AF-Calgary's April 2012 Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions (in no particular order):

Top4 Finalists

1. The Calgary Cookie Chase by Simon Rock:  "Imagine the Cookie Monster chasing cookies through Marda Loop.  Now imagine that on YouTube done by four 15 year-olds. Yeah."
2. Awesome Accordions! by Brenda Turley:  "Behind every great accordion, is a great accordionist."
3. Production Ski Bike by Chic Tyson:  "Ski biking is awesome and easier than learning to ski or board."
4. Take Off Your Clothes - Calgary Clothing SWAP by Vanessa Erickson:  "Take Off Your Clothes is a giant clothing swap for charity that helps promote the local fashion industry, the community, and on top of that:  It's great for the environment!"

Honourable Mentions

• Chalk Art by Youth by Barb Drake:  "Young local artists getting exposure and creating original chalk art."
• Responsive Surface by David Evans:  "A cushion that prevents bedsores."
• Poster Trail by Matt Gallivan:  "Making nearby posters available through your cell phone."
• Sched-U-All Student Scheduling Software by Kyle MacQuarrie:  "Building community by allowing students to connect outside of class for group work."
• Multi-Ethnic Interactive Seminar by Kathryn Fasegha:  "An interactive seminar involving different ethnic groups to address the integration issues of Canadian children born to immigrant parents."
• Dil Walk by Raman Kapoor:  "Create awareness about heart disease in South Asians as they are higher risk of cardiac events as compared to other Canadians."
• Prairie Party and Collaborative Barn Dance! by Caitland r.c. Brown:  "Featuring locally created western films, a boot-stomping honky-tonk band and the collaborative spirit of an artist-run festival, Prairie Party is a one-night showcase of art in unexpected places: a windswept prairie field in rural Alberta."

Make sure you join us for this month's Thousand Dollar Thursday on Thursday, April 26 at Endeavor Arts & Event Space (Suite 200, 1209 1 Street SW) and not only see the Top4 Finalists for the month of April present their ideas, but also help celebrate one year of helping to enable Awesome in Calgary!  Doors open at 6 p.m. and the program will start at 6:30 p.m.  If you're planning to come, please RSVP through Eventbrite.

In the meantime, we're currently accepting submissions for our May 2012 prize.  To submit an idea to AF-Calgary for consideration, fill out this handy-dandy web form.  The deadline for May 2012 submissions is Thursday, May 10 at 11:59 p.m.

Hope to see you out next Thursday!