Plaid, Rocks, Saxophones and Affirmations

October 2012's Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday returned to its normal schedule of the fourth Thursday of the month, and we headed back to class as we held it at the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University.

The emcee for the night was Brian Singh, a Founding Trustee of AF-Calgary.  He had the privilege of hosting four super-awesome ideas, all attempting to convince the Trustees and audience why their idea deserved AF-Calgary's November $1,000 no-strings-attached micro-grant.

Pitch 1:  Gratitude Rocks!

First up was Gratitude Rocks! by Susanne Alexander-Heaton.

Susanne's idea was to get artists at the Calgary Drop-In Centre (who are also residents) to paint one of 26 different powerful words (Examples:  Harmony, balance, love) on approximately 450 rocks.  A pay-it-forward process, these rocks would then be given away to people who they feel most needs the words on the rock.  The person must then share their story when they give the rock away.  This way, the artists at the Drop-In Centre can see the impact they have on people with their creations.

The $1,000 would go towards paying the artists at the Drop-In Centre directly for their time in painting the rocks as well as for materials and supplies to pull off the project.

Pitch 2:  I am. We are. We will.

Second was I am. We are. We will. by Kaitilin Roth.

An enthusiastic Calgarian herself, Kaitlin's idea is to create a wall of affirmations from fellow Calgarians highlighting who they are as a person, who they are as a group of Calgarians, and what they will do as a city to continue in their Awesomeness.

Three large canvases would be decoupaged with written affirmations, as well as with various photos taken around the city of Calgarians in action, serving their fellow Calgarians through various AWESOME acts of humanity.  Finally, a mirror would be placed in the middle of each canvas so that no matter what you look at, your awesome self will be reflected as you contemplate on how you have and can serve Calgary better.

The majority of the $1,000 would be used to pay for the materials needed to pull of the project.  Any leftover money would go towards light refreshments and other goodies to be given away at the official Hanging Ceremony where the completed project will be displayed.

Kaitlin would love for the project to be ultimately displayed at City Hall or one of the universities, and would aim to have the project completed by July 2013.

Pitch 3:   A Song for Westwinds

Third was A Song for Westwinds by the Westwinds Music Society, accompanied by a lovely performance from one of their saxophonists.

This year is the society's 25th anniversary, and they hoped to commission pianist Matt Harris to write a piece of music to commemorate the special occasion.  The piece would be premiered with a Big Band Dinner Dance at the end of the year that would be open to the public to enjoy.  The piece of music would be kept in the society's music library, and possibly made available to school and community bands everywhere.

The $1,000 would go solely towards the commissioning of the piece.

Pitch 4:  The 2nd Annual Log Driver's Waltz Gala - A Plaid Party!

Last was The 2nd Annual Log Driver's Waltz Gala:  A Plaid Party! by Karilynn Thompson on behalf of the GIRAF Animation Festival.

A Plaid Party! is a wholesome plaid-themed party hearkening to the days of National Film Board animations on CBC television in the 1960s and on.  The Log Driver's Waltz Gala is a family-friendly event featuring GIANT retro-animations projected onto the five-storey tall side of the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, along with fire-pits, lots of free hot chocolate, animation workshops, DJs, food trucks and more.

The name of the gala was inspired by the famous piece of Canadiana, Log Driver's Waltz, an animated short by the NFB created in 1979.

The $1,000 would be used towards helping to pay for the projection equipment needed to run the event.  That way, Karilynn would be able to ensure that the event could be kept at low-cost to no cost for the public to attend.

And the Winner is…

AF-Calgary's October 2012 no-strings-attached $1,000 micro-grant went to Karilynn Thompson and her Plaid Party.  Congratulations, Karilynn!

This month, each of our AF-Calgary Top4 Finalists received an Awesome Foundation - Calgary T-shirt as well as a $250 gift certificate from Gilmour Photography that the finalists can use towards highlighting or showcasing all of their awesomeness, in whatever form it takes.

Thank you to Mount Royal University for allowing us to host our event on campus.

Also, a BIG Thank You and heartfelt thanks and appreciation to ING Direct for sponsoring our latest batch of AF-Calgary T-shirts.  The only way you can get one is if you're a Top4 Finalist or a Trustee/Volunteer with Awesome Calgary, so they're super-extra limited edition.

If you'd like to relive the night's events as they happened, check out our recap on Storify.

And with that, we look forward to our FINAL Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday event of 2012, being held in partnership with the Calgary Public Library and their One Book, One Calgary program on Thursday, November 22.  For more details, see here, and if you're coming, make sure to RSVP on Eventbrite, Facebook or Yelp!

Photo Copyrights:  Brett Gilmour / Eleni Tsaprailis