Announcing our 3rd Anniversary Awesome Calgary Finalists!

Valentine’s Day Balloon Give-Aways, Speed Gaming 2.0, ‘Meat-Filled’ Zebra Piñata Parties and Cardboard Fort Days. It’s all been leading up to this: The re-launch of Awesome Calgary and our 3rd Anniversary Pitch ’n Party!

After an extended hiatus, we’re re-launching our Awesome Foundation chapter with a new mandate and vision:

We’ll continue to enable awesome in the community through our micro-granting program and facilitating connections within the community to help applicants execute their Awesome Ideas just as before, but we’re vowing to do more awesome in the community ourselves.

For those that’ve participated in our previous events this year as listed above (all inspired by projects that have received grants from AF chapters in other cities; yep, these are the sorts of things that we can also fund so if you feel that you can do better, submit your idea for consideration!), you will have already gotten a taste of the sort of awesomeness that we want to unleash on the city throughout 2014 and beyond, with the help of some fantastic community partners.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! From Awesome Workshops that’ll teach you how to do Awesome Things, to a Speaker Series that’ll inspire you to do Awesome Acts yourselves, to possibly even an Awesome Concert Series that’ll promote some wicked-cool grassroots talent or talent you may never have heard about, we have a full slate and variety of different events and activities planned and in the works for throughout the year that are designed to help build community, make the city more vibrant and to showcase some awesome things, but most importantly, geared to help YOU do awesome things yourselves.

Many things are brewing in the background right now programming wise, so stay tuned over the coming months (sign up for our newsletter to make sure you don't miss a thing!) as we get ready to announce them!

In the meantime, we still have our 3rd Anniversary Thousand Dollar Thursday to get through tonight. In keeping with the theme of ‘3’s’ today, we’ve decided to go with a Top3 instead of a Top4, just for this month to change things up. Will we ever emulate Awesome Edmonton and go with a Top5 one month? Maybe. Stay tuned! Variety is the spice of life, after all.

For now, here are your Top3 Finalists for April 2014:

1. Rainbow Connection Dome by Stephanie Orr, Janelle Pansky and Lisa Sudeikat:  “Creating a beautiful dome to showcase the Rainbow Connections summer art show.”
2. Mealshare by Jeremy Bryant:   “Help Mealshare equip our street teams with awesome materials to help spread the word this summer.”
3. Acts of Fabulousness by Yiorgos Boudouris:  “Chronicle the individual stories of gender and sexual minority youth throughout Calgary.”

• What:  Awesome Calgary’s 3rd Anniversary $1,000 Thursday Pitch Event
• Where:  Endeavor Arts & Event Space (#200, 1209 - 1 Street SW)
• When:  Thursday, April 24, 2014. Doors open at 6 p.m., program starts promptly at 6:15 p.m.

We recognize that our event coincides with Day 1 of the Calgary Expo, and as we’re big fans of that event ourselves, we’ll try our best to keep things short and sweet for this one so people can take off and participate in those other festivities. But don’t worry; we have plans to throw a BIG celebration in honour of our Third Anniversary at a future date, along with the help of some fantastic community partners and other like-minded individuals and groups. So stay tuned for that! (Hint: It too may involve a piñata, among some other things)

In the meantime, here’s a bit of a look back at some of the cool things we’ve been able to pull off in the city over the last few years:

This video was created in honour of the first-ever Awesome Day in Canada last year on June 21, where Canadian Awesome Foundation chapters from coast-to-coast (and even a handful of chapters from the US as part of a Worldwide Day of Awesome that Canada had hosted) were invited to participate by doing something public facing in their communities. Coordinated from right here in Calgary, we had various AF chapters awarding grants, holding ‘Unlimited’ Picnics, giving away balloons and throwing frisbees in a park, just to name a few of the things.

We were originally supposed to do a big giveaway throughout the day downtown ending with a Pitch Night in partnership with the Calgary Public Library, but the floods last year threw those plans out the window. Instead, we held a Relaxation Station in support of the community of Mission where we offered amenities such as free cell phone charging, massages and a place to sit in the shade for flood evacuees and volunteers. It was a huge success and the inspiration for our new direction this year.

We hope you can join us tonight for our 3rd Anniversary event in support of three fantastic ideas, and even if you can’t, we definitely hope that you’ll join us at one of the many wacky events we have in store throughout the year. It’ll be…Awesome!

Announcing our FINAL set of Top4 Finalists & Honourable Mentions for 2013!

Don’t you hate it when you run the numbers through three times and get three different results?

Regardless, the people have spoken and here are our final Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions of 2013, in alphabetical order according to YOU the voters:

Top4 Finalists

1. Girls Gone Wilde by Urban Curvs:  “Girls Gone Wilde Late Night Cabaret is a tongue in cheek evening of performances created by female artists or with a strong female perspective.”
2. Kmitt by Sunrise Community Link Resource Centre:  “To raise awareness about poverty in Calgary through the sale of locally knitted mittens by folks who have experienced poverty firsthand themselves.”
3. The Potluck Pageant by Mark Jeffery:  “An event to disarm then overwhelm around eating healthy while creating community. Local business prepares and shares healthy food - you will eat well and leave inspired!”
4. YYCShows by Cheryl Johnson:  “Comprehensive Calgary concert listings at www.yycshows.com. Links to bands & ticket sales, a show calendar, and information on music venues, blogs and promoters.”

 

Honourable Mentions

• Dinosaur Dance Party by Brendan McGuigan:  “A youth-friendly, all-ages outdoor dance party featuring young electronica artists…and dinosaurs.”

Once again, a BIG THANK YOU to everyone above for volunteering to participate in our first-ever Audience Participation selection process. It’s not something we’ll do every month, but variety is the spice of life, as they say. Did you enjoy it? Should we do more things like it? And if so, what or how? Let us know in the comments or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter. We might just incorporate some of them when we re-launch sometime in 2014.

Our final Pitch Night of 2013 will be on Wednesday, December 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Endeavor Arts & Events Space.

 

• What:  The FINAL Awesome Calgary Pitch Night of 2013, featuring Top4 Finalists selected by YOU!
• Where:  Endeavor Arts & Events Space (1209 - 1 Street SW)
• When:  Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook

So please join us in supporting our four great ideas this month (especially if you voted for one of them!) before we break until the new year.

Our final $1,000 micro-grant of 2013: YOU be the Trustee!

We’re nearing the end of our year here at Awesome Calgary, but before we break for the holidays, we still have one final $1,000 micro-grant to give away before it’s all said and done.

This time around, we’re doing something different. We’re giving YOU the opportunity to be a Trustee, and we’re letting YOU pick which four ideas from our submission pool will be invited to pitch their ideas in front of our Trustees of Awesome and the general public at our Pitch Night in December.

On Monday, November 18, we’ll start posting the submissions from our pool of submissions who have agreed to participate in this, each in separate blog posts, all at once. You’ll be able to read through all of the submissions the same way we do and get a taste of what we as Trustees have to do every month when we have to decide upon our Top4 Finalist and Honourable Mention short lists.

You’ll then have to decide on which are YOUR Top4 ideas out of that submission pool, or in other words, the four submissions you’d like to see at our final Pitch Night of 2013. You’ll be ranking them from 1 to 4, with 1 being your most favourite, and 4 being your “still my favourite, but I’ve got three others that I favour more” selection. Once done, you’ll submit your selections to us through an online ballot form that will be posted at the end of each submission for your convenience (Note: One vote per person participating, please).

The deadline to get your votes in will be midnight on Saturday, November 30 (which is just under two weeks for you to review the submissions). We’ll tabulate the results the next day, and then we’ll announce our final set of Top4 Finalists on the morning of Monday, December 2, along with our final Pitch Night and venue for the year.

So to sum up:

1. We’ll post this round’s submission pool here at awesomecalgary.org on the morning of Monday, November 18 for your perusal.
2. You’ll read through all of the submissions and pick (and most importantly, rank) your Top4 favourites, or in other words, the four submissions you’d like to see be invited to pitch at our final Pitch Night of 2013.
3. You’ll submit your ranked Top4 picks to us no later than midnight on Saturday, November 30 through an online ballot form to be released alongside the idea submissions on Nov 18.
4. We’ll tally up the results and announce the final set of Top4 Finalists for 2013 here on the blog along with our Pitch Night date and venue on the morning of Monday, December 2.

Simple, right? Everything’s now live, so get cracking!

If you have any questions about any of this, feel free to reach us at contact@awesomecalgary.org. We’d love to hear from you.

F.A.Q. (Will be updated frequently)

Q: What happens if I have more than four favourites?

A: Congratulations! You’re experiencing just one of the many dilemmas we go through as Awesome Foundation Trustees each and every month! You’re just going to have to whittle your short list down to four of them, using whatever method you feel it’ll take. Some AF-Calgary Trustee favourites:

• Subjective points system (ex. Points for creativity, Awesome Impact, community involvement, bang-for-the-buck, uniqueness, probability of successful execution, broad appeal, is it a realistic idea, etc; basically, rank ideas based on whatever criteria is important to you).
• Strenuous discussion and debate on the merits of each and every idea amongst your friends and peers (usually over food and beverages).
• Reach out to the various submitters for more information on their projects.
• Random number generator (method most favoured by AF nerds and geeks alike).
• Weighing the probability of bribes and the effect of one’s biases on your personal selection process.
• The ‘Dart Board’ method.

Q: But what happens if I have less than four favourites?

A: That’s not a problem! You don’t need to feel obligated to have to submit four choices. Just list your top 1 or 2 (or 3) choices, and for whatever is left over, choose ‘No Selection’ on the ballot form. Our super-secret scoring algorithm is smart enough to weigh your choices appropriately (which is why it’s important for you to also rank your choices when you submit them to us), knowing that if push came to shove and there was only one slot left to fill, you would prefer that your Number 1 choice made it in over your Number 2 choice, etc.

Q: Wait, you guys have a super-secret scoring algorithm?! How does that work??

A: Duh, it’s a secret! But if you really want to know, track down our Dean of Awesome at one of our events, and he’ll be happy to tell you in explicit detail about how it all works. Because he’s a nerd.

Q: Alright, sounds like fun. Where can I read the submissions?

A: All eligible submissions for this initiative can be found here and here. Read carefully through all of them before choosing your Top4 picks!

Q: OK, I’ve chosen my Top4. Where do I go to submit them to you guys?

A: Fill out our handy-dandy web ballot. The deadline to get your submissions in is midnight on Saturday, November 30, 2013. (Note: One vote per person, please; any suspicious looking entries will be discarded).

The final results will be announced on our website on the morning of Monday, December 2 as well as our end-of-year venue announcement.

Q: Wow, that was fun! I like what you guys do. What more can I do to help?

A: Glad you asked! We’re always on the look out for new Volunteers to help us at our events or with the day-to-day operations of keeping our chapter running in between micro-grants, and of course, we’re ALWAYS on the look out for new Trustees who wish to help fund more Awesomeness in the city. The more Trustees we have, the more grants we can give away and the more often that we can do it!

If you’d like to learn more about some of the wonderful opportunities that our Awesome Foundation chapter has to offer, there’s a checkbox at the end of the ballot form where you can indicate your interest. Otherwise, send us a message through our volunteer contact form at any time, and one of our Ninjas of Awesome will get back to you.

We’re looking at trying some different things in 2014 operationally and in the public just to keep things fresh, and we could definitely use some more help to try and pull it off. So if you feel that you have a skill or something else to contribute, we’d love to hear from you, whatever it is!

Q: How can I stay updated with what you guys are up to?

A: You can find us on Twitter at @awesome_calgary, on Facebook at facebook.com/awesomecalgary, on Google+ at gplus.to/awesomecalgary, on Storify at storify.com/awesomecalgary and right here on our blog at awesomecalgary.org. You can also sign up for our newsletter, which we’ll be using to announce our public-facing events and activities, news on what’s happening in the International AF world as well as follow up stories with previous Awesome Calgary micro-grant fellows, Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions on all of their awesome journeys.

Our chapter will be relaunching sometime in early 2014 with a new granting schedule, so make sure to follow us on our various social media channels above or subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know!

Is this thing on? Announcing our November granting process - Warning: It's different!

Hi. You may have noticed the lack of updates here recently. Well, the truth of the matter is, our chapter is on hiatus until next year, but in the meantime, we do have ONE FINAL $1,000 micro-grant left in the war chest to give away.

AND we want YOU to help us decide who gets it.

That’s right, for this go-round, our final one of 2013, YOU GET TO BE THE TRUSTEE. We want YOU to help US choose our final set of Top4 Finalists for the year. Yep, this month, we’re crowd-sourcing the selection process.

On Monday, November 18, we’ll be posting the various submissions that are vying for our final $1,000 micro-grant of 2013 right here at awesomecalgary.org, where you can take a look at them and then vote for your Top4 selections through an online ballot we’ll release closer to the day. You’ll have until midnight on Saturday, November 30 to get your submissions in.

We’ll then take that weekend to tabulate the results and announce our final set of Top4 Finalists for 2013 on the morning of Monday, December 2, the four of which will then be invited to pitch their ideas to the AF-Calgary Trustees and the public at our final Pitch Night for 2013.

So, if you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at being an Awesome Calgary Trustee, now’s your chance. Stay tuned!

EDIT: And it’s on!

Announcing our Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions for August 2013

Summer's winding down (already?!) but things are heating up here over at Awesome Calgary, as we prepare to award yet another $1,000 micro-grant to someone to help make their Awesome Idea become a reality.

So, without further ado, here are our Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions for August 2013, in no particular order:

Top4 Finalists

1. Crowdsourced Sculpture by Tom Bielecki:  "Engineering+Art: World's first crowdsourced 3D printed sculpture."
2. Buck E. Deeds by Cory Chapdelaine:  "Random good deeds all over Calgary for the entire month of September."
3. Waterways - A Commemorative Flood Sculpture by Alia Shahab:  "A kinetic water sculpture constructed using salvaged flood materials, through a community collaboration, to explore the power and mystery of water and highlight the resilience and spirit of Calgary's community."
4. Bridgeland Community Kids Basketball Camp by Paul Lau:  "Free fun Basketball Camp for Kids."

Honourable Mentions

• Crazy EL-Wire Guerrilla Art by Kyle Cappis:  "Public lit-up EL-Wire art installations."
• Pterodactyl HD by Jason Bedard:  "The idea is to make a model pterodactyl with embedded HD video camera fly continuously back and forth overhead of a busy public event, wirelessly broadcasting all that it sees with its fearsome dino-birdie eyes."
• Meaningful Meals by Anneke Scholten:  "Bringing people back together around the dining table!"
• Funding the Vanguard by Daniel Rodriguez:  "Bringing forward the newspaper that Calgary deserves."
• Vital Signs Machines!!! by Shauna Brady:  "We (the nurses) want to buy fancy vital signs machines to better serve our patients on U43!"

This month, our Awesome Calgary Pitch Night will take place on a special day of Tuesday, August 27 at 6 p.m. at our usual haunt, the Endeavor Arts and Design Space. That's this TUESDAY!

• What:  Awesome Calgary's July Pitch Night and Awesome Hours
• Where:  Endeavor Arts & Event Space (1209 - 1 Street SW)
• When:  Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook

 Hope you can make it out!

Back on Schedule: This month's Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions!

Flood Madness threw us off our usual schedule for a few weeks, but we're back just in time to celebrate the fourth anniversary of The Awesome Foundation, complete with our very first dinosaur-themed submission to crack Top4!

So without further ado, here are our Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions for this month, in no particular order:

Top4 Finalists

1. Pterodactyl HD by Jason Bedard:  "The idea is to make a model pterodactyl with embedded HD video camera fly continuously back and forth overhead of a busy public event, wirelessly broadcasting all that it sees with its fearsome dino-birdie eyes."
2. Zine Machine by Jeffery Wood:  "Zine Machine is a vending machine that dispenses 'zines' (small magazines)."
3. Song of Life by Daniel Okpala:  "Music for a cause. Write a song that would be used to raise awareness and money for a cause or issue affecting Calgarians."
4. Bikes for Needy Kids by Richard Link:  "I have the opportunity to supply quality mountain bikes to needy kids during 2013 Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day."

Honourable Mentions

• Starting the Telegraph by Daniel Leon Rodriguez:  "Funding help starting The Calgarian Telegraph, a new publication that will work as an open publication for all members of the community where anyone can contribute."
• The Party Bike by Bob (Nowak) Michalewich:  "A mobile audio/visual experience, putting smiles on faces at events and group rides."
• Meaningful Meals by Anneke Scholten:  "Create awareness about the importance of eating together by organizing events such as the Week of Eating Together."
• Silk Road of Peace by Jorg Ostrowski:  "Using Calgary experience of the last 36 years, we plan to ecological retrofit a few caravanserai along the old Silk Road to resurrect and regenerate, revitalize and repopulate this model of peaceful coexistence and international exchange."

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This month's Awesome Calgary Pitch Night takes place on the special date of Tuesday, July 23. So for all of those out there who were concerned about scheduling conflicts with Calgary Folk Fest in the past, we've accommodated! It'll take place at our usual haunt: The Endeavor Arts & Events Space.

• What:  Awesome Calgary's July Pitch Night and Awesome Hours
• Where:  Endeavor Arts & Event Space (1209 - 1 Street SW)
• When:  Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook

Hope you can make it out!

Updated venue information for 06/27 (a.k.a. Awesome Day in Canada!)

A reminder that this month's $1,000 Thursday falls on 06/27, otherwise known as Awesome Day in Canada! Not only are we partnering with the Calgary Public Library for this one, but also with our friends over at Calgary Is Awesome! Why? Because we're all equally awesome! That's why.

In fact, we'll be performing Random Acts of Awesome from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Stephen Avenue Walk downtown to celebrate. Come grab your choice of a free hug, a limited edition Awesome Day in Canada themed button, or an ultra limited-edition customized Awesome Calgary Fortune Cookie that highlights one of our previously funded projects. Plus, have your picture taken with our virtual Chalkboard of Awesome that will be included in a national (and possibly global!) photo montage later on!

• What:  Random Acts of Awesome with Awesome Calgary!
• Where:  Stephen Avenue Walk (8 Avenue SW between 1 Street SE and 4 Street SW)
• When:  Thursday, June 27, 2013 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

We'll be capping off our Awesome Day in Canada festivities with our traditional Awesome Calgary $1,000 Thursday Pitch Event at 6 p.m.

Note that this month's $1,000 Thursday venue is the Louise Riley Library Program Centre, which is in a separate building from the library itself. Refer to the map below:

We'll have signs outside directing people to the proper building, but if in doubt, look for the building with this picture of Mona on it; you can't miss her!

• What:  Awesome Calgary's $1,000 Thursday, Super-Special Awesome Day in Canada Edition!
• Where:  Louise Riley Library Program Centre (1904 - 14 Avenue NW)
• When:  Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook

Hope to see you out on 06/27, either downtown in the afternoon or at the Louise Riley Library in the evening!

They say you need a montage...

With Awesome Day in Canada coming up in a few short weeks, we thought it'd be fun to take a look back at some of the Awesome Ideas that have come through our doors over the last couple of years.

So what better way is there to do that than with a music video? Enjoy and please join us on 06/27 at the Louise Public Library for our $1,000 Thursday - Awesome Day in Canada Edition, presented in partnership with our friends at the Calgary Public Library!

Also, our submission deadline for June is coming up fast. If you'd like to submit an Awesome Idea to us for consideration, fill out this handy-dandy web form by Monday, June 10, 2013 at 11:59 p.m.!

And if you'd like to join us for our 06/27 festivities as a Guest Trustee, we still have a few spots open for that as well! If you've ever wanted to try your hand at being a Trustee of Awesome here at Awesome Calgary without the long-term commitment, then sign up to be an AF-Calgary Guest Trustee!

Guest Trustees get all the voting privileges as a full-time Trustee (including helping to narrow down the monthly short lists the week prior to the event) and get the best job of all: Awarding the winning project with $1,000 to help make their idea a reality! If that sounds interesting to you AND you'd like to be one of our Guest Trustees for Awesome Day in Canada, fill out this super-simple web form by June 10 as well and one of our Ninjas of Awesome will get back to you.

Save the Date: 06/27 is Awesome Day in Canada!

In the last few months, we've celebrated some big milestones here at Awesome Calgary. Our Second Anniversary event in April and our 25th $1,000 micro-grant in May. How can we possibly top that?

Well, us and many of our Canadian AF brethren have declared Thursday, June 27 as Awesome Day in Canada! Many Canadian Awesome Foundation chapters will be doing something special in their city on that day to help celebrate, whether it's holding an Awesome Hours Meet & Greet, performing flash mobs or give aways, or hosting a Pitch Event or grant recipient ceremony.

Here in Calgary, we'll be teaming up again with our friends at the Calgary Public Library to host our June $1,000 Thursday event, this time at the Louise Riley Library in the NW. Our Pitch Event will cap off Calgary's Awesome Day in Canada festivities, and you're invited!

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• What:  Awesome Calgary's $1,000 Thursday, Super-Special Awesome Day in Canada Edition!
• Where:  Louise Riley Library Program Centre (1904 - 14 Avenue NW)
• When:  Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook

Free pizza and pop will be provided courtesy of the Calgary Public Library to help celebrate, so come hungry!

We'll also be doing things throughout the day and during the lead up to the event online and in the city in honour of Awesome Day in Canada, so keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter feeds as we're ready to announce what those are.

For now, please join us on 06/27 at the Louise Riley Library as we'll award another $1,000 no-strings-attached micro-grant to help make an Awesome Idea in the city become a reality.

We hope to see you then!

May's Top4 Finalists, Honourable Mentions and Venue

As we say goodbye to year two and start on the road to year three here at AF-Calgary, this month we'll be awarding our 25th $1,000 micro-grant on a special date: Wednesday, May 22.

With that in mind, here are this month's Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions, in no particular order:

Top4 Finalists

1. BuckTeeth: Oral Hygiene with a Social Conscience by Kyle MacQuarrie:  "Receive a new toothbrush to your door every three months while making a philanthropic donation of four toothbrushes to a chosen charitable organization."
2. Pavo Concertus by Ravi Mani:  "Junk Yard Wars + Pickup Truck + Peacocks + Pianos = Peacock art truck with an array of lights and sound."
3. Largest Potluck Challenge by Anneke Scholten:  "To promote the importance of Eating Together, we will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for Largest Potluck!"
4. 2013 People's Poetry Festival by Shannon McClennan:  "A free, three-day celebration of poetry in Calgary for young and old, amateur and beyond!"

Honourable Mentions

• Song of Life by Daniel Okpala:  "Music for a Cause."

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Again, please note that this month's Awesome Calgary Pitch Night takes place on a special date:  Wednesday, May 22 at the Endeavor Arts and Events Space.

• What:  Awesome Calgary May 2013 Pitch Night
• Where:  Endeavor Arts & Events Space (#200, 1290 - 1 Street SW)
• When:  Wednesday, May 22, 2013. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Finally, we're accepting submissions for our June grant, and the deadline for that is Monday, June 10. Apply here.

In June, we'll be returning to our regular fourth-Thursday-of-the-month schedule and it'll be a special month for us as the Canadian chapters of The Awesome Foundation have declared Thursday, June 27 as Awesome Day in Canada! It'll be a fun one for sure. Stay tuned for more details.

Hope to see you out on Wednesday!

Announcing our Second Anniversary $1,000 Thursday Venue!

Citizens of Awesome, has it been two years already?  It doesn't seem so.  But it's true.  We've given away $23,000 to help enable Awesomeness of all kinds in our city.  We've funded everything from cool art projects, wicked documentaries, farewell bashes for long standing Calgary landmarks and nerdy robots.

Without your support, we couldn't have made it this far.  Every idea that you submit to The Awesome Foundation for consideration, every minute of time you donate to our organization to help us keep things running, every person or organization that's offered space for us to host our events, every person that volunteers to be a Trustee and throws in their own money out of their own pockets each month to help enable awesomeness in the city, and every tweet, share or good word you say to friends, family and strangers to help us spread the word has allowed us to showcase as much awesomeness as we can and has helped the people who come through our doors make connections to help make their ideas a reality, despite, perhaps, not winning our monthly $1,000 micro-grant.  All of it has allowed us to grow leaps and bounds in such a short time.

So for that, Citizens of Awesome, we here at AF-Calgary proudly tip our hats to all of you and thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for all your support over these last two years.

And with that, we would like to cordially invite you to come celebrate two whole years of Awesome in the city with us as we award Awesome Calgary grant #24 at our Second Anniversary $1,000 Thursday event on Thursday, April 25.

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• What:  Awesome Calgary's Second Anniversary $1,000 Thursday Bash!
• Where:  Endeavor Arts & Event Space (1290 - 1 Street SW)
• When:  Thursday, April 25, 2013.  Doors open at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook and Yelp

Yep, we're returning to where it all began for us two years ago, the Endeavor Arts & Event Space.  Shannon and Maria Hoover, the owners of the gallery, have been such great supporters of the Awesome Movement in Calgary, and we can honestly say that if they didn't volunteer to provide us a space to host our very first event back in April 2011, we probably wouldn't be where we are today.

So please, come join us as we say farewell to Year Two and greet Year Three here at AF-Calgary with as much awesomeness as we can muster, and see four great ideas on how to forward the interests of awesome in Calgary (and the universe!) get highlighted.

And if you have an Awesome Idea that you'd like to submit for consideration, please fill out our handy-dandy web form.  There's one more day to get your application in for our second anniversary event, as the deadline for submissions is tomorrow, Wednesday, April 10 at 11:59 p.m.

Finally, we're looking for some great Volunteers and new Trustees to help us move forward in Year Three.  If you're interested in signing up in whatever capacity, or just want to learn more about what kinds of opportunities are available, come down to our Second Anniversary event this month and meet the team, catch us at one of our Awesome Hours events (they're like Office Hours, but more Awesome) around town (keep an eye here and on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to see when and where we'll be holding them), or fill out our super-simple application form and one of our Ninjas of Awesome will get back to you.

In fact, we'll have a few Guest Trustee slots available for our Second Anniversary event.  If you've ever wanted to try being an AF-Calgary Trustee but weren't sure about the time commitment, taking on a Guest Trustee role for a month might be a great way to dip your toe in the water, and help us fund as much awesomeness in the city as we can.  If you're interested, make sure to select the Guest Trustee option on the application form.

Hope to see you out this month at Endeavor, and Stay Awesome!

Announcing our March 2013 AF-Calgary $1,000 Thursday Venue!

And we're Bach!  It's time to face the music as we're ready to announce our March 2013 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday venue.

This month, we're pleased to announce that our March 2013 Thousand Dollar Thursday event will be held at the National Music Centre in Calgary's East Village.

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• What:  March 2013 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday
• Where:  The National Music Centre (134 - 11 Avenue SE)
• When:  Thursday, March 28, 2013.  Doors open at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook and Yelp

The National Music Centre's collection features more than 2,000 artifacts that tell the stories of music in Canada.  Other significant artifacts include one of the first pianos ever made in North America, the ARP 2500 synthesizer used in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind to communicate with the aliens, and Elton John's former songwriting piano!  There's just so much awesomeness in the NMC's collection and if you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, you should try to drop in on one of their public tours which they hold every Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon.  The NMC is definitely one of Calgary's (and Canada's!) cultural gems.

With four great ideas pitching for a chance to win $1,000 of no-strings-attached cash to make their idea a reality, who will walk away with the lute this month?  Can we possibly keep the piece?  Make sure to come down this month and find out!

The Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions for February 2013

Only a few more days until this month's Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday and without further ado, here's this month's AF-Calgary Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions, in no particular order:

Top4 Finalists

1. The Big Green Puppet Bus by Sean Fraser:  "A travelling Puppet Theatre teaching environmental conservation to families and school kids."
2. Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day 2013 by Richard Link:  "Mountain bikes, little kids and a party.  What could be better?"
3. Play It Forward Projects by Darlene Fedyna:  "Free Sport Spectacular Summer Camp."
4. The Neighbourhood Project: An Epilogue for 809 Gallery by Caitlind Brown:  "A community-based experiment re-imagining domestic spaces, eight curators and 30 artists are transforming 11 houses scheduled for demolition into temporary art, installation, and performance spaces at the end of April 2013."

Honourable Mentions

• Hip Hop Innovation by Rebecca Dawn:  "Indie rock meets Hip Hop: multi-element, multi-media event for all ages."
• YYC Burger Week by Sabahat Naureen:  "A week-long friendly competition between YYC's best burgers!"
• Gotwood Field Invitational by Tony Grimes:  "Five hand-made, laser cut Settlers of Catan game boards, each given as gifts or tournament prizes to local gamer groups."

 

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A reminder that this month's Thousand Dollar Thursday is presented in partnership with the Calgary Public Library and the Calgary Public Library Foundation, and will be at the Memorial Park Library, second floor on Thursday, February 28.  Come see the Top4 Finalists for this month pitch their ideas for a chance to win a $1,000 no-strings-attached micro-grant to make their idea a reality!  Doors open at 6 p.m. and we hope to see you there.

• What:   February 2013 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday presented in partnership with the Calgary Public Library and the Calgary Public Library Foundation.
• Where:  Memorial Park Library (1221 - 2 Street SW), Second Floor
• When:  Thursday, February 28, 2013.  Doors open at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  CPL, Facebook, Yelp

Also, we're officially recruiting again for 2013!  If you're interested in joining the team or simply want to learn more about becoming an AF-Calgary Trustee or Volunteer, send a message to kevin@awesomecalgary.org.  We'd love to hear from you!

Finally, we're now taking submissions for our March 2013 prize.  If you have an Awesome Idea that you'd like to submit for consideration, fill out this handy-dandy web form.

Announcing our February 2013 AF-Calgary $1,000 Thursday Venue!

For our final Thousand Dollar Thursday event of 2012, we hosted it in partnership with the Calgary Public Library at their Central location as part of their One Book, One Calgary program.  If you missed it, check out this Awesome story that the Calgary Journal did last year, or our recap of it on Storify.

This month, we're pleased to announce that we're teaming up with the Calgary Public Library and the Calgary Public Library Foundation again to throw another one, this time at the Memorial Park Library, located in the heart of Calgary's Beltline.

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• What:   February 2013 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday presented in partnership with the Calgary Public Library
• Where:  Memorial Park Library (1221 - 2 Street SW), Second Floor
• When:  Thursday, February 28, 2013.  Doors open at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  CPL, Facebook, Yelp

Calgary's Memorial Park Library opened on January 2, 1912 and was Alberta's first major public library building.  Now over 100 years old, what better way to help kick off year 101 than with showcasing four Awesome Ideas and awarding one of them $1,000 in no-strings-attached cash on the spot?

Like our November 2012 event, a few of our previous submitters will be on hand showcasing some of their Awesome Success (whether they won the $1,000 or not), and we'll be holding Awesome Hours before and after the event where you can meet some of our Trustees and learn more about the AF movement (as well as sign up if you're interested in joining Team AF-Calgary as a Trustee or Volunteer), and the library will also be providing some light refreshments as well.

As always, our events are 100% open to the public, so we hope to see you there!

Finally, we're now accepting submissions for our March 2013 prize.  The application deadline for next month is Sunday, March 10 at 11:59 p.m.  To submit an idea to AF-Calgary for consideration, simply fill out this handy-dandy web form!

Back in the saddle again with a six-shooter and a bag o' cash

The start of a new year means it's time to bring back everybody's favourite fourth-Thursday-of-the-month event.  I'm talking about, of course, Awesome Calgary's Thousand Dollar Thursday.

This month, you can find our recap of the event on Storify, which is also embedded below for your reading pleasure.

The winner for this month was Neil Egsgard with Kensington Interaction, a space built by Neil to showcase local knowledge and to connect community in the neighbourhood of Sunnyside.  You can see Neil's project submission on the main AF website here and read our micro-grant announcement on the International AF blog here.

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to join us at our event yesterday, and thank you to all of our Top4 Finalists for the month of January.  We hope we were able to bring you some exposure to your Awesome Ideas, and you never know who's out there watching…

Big thanks to Chinook Centre for graciously hosting us this month as well.

And thank you to everyone who submitted an idea for consideration this month too.  It's always hard to whittle down all the monthly submissions into our short lists, and we encourage you to resubmit your idea if you wish.  We're currently accepting submissions for our February prize; if you'd like to put forward an idea, simply fill out this handy-dandy web form.  The deadline for submissions this round is Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 11:59 p.m.

Finally, we're on the look out for new Trustees and new volunteers across a wide variety of positions.  If you feel that you have something to contribute to the Awesome Movement in Calgary (or if you're a venue interested in hosting one of our events this year), send a message to kevin@awesomecalgary.org.

Until next month, Stay Awesome!

Important Information regarding this month's Thousand Dollar Thursday event at Chinook Centre

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Just a reminder that our Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday event for January 2013 (our first of the new year!) will be held at Chinook Centre.

This month, we'll be on the lower level of the shopping mall at Target Court (formally Zellers), near the escalators and the Starbucks kiosk.

• What:  January 2013 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday
• Where:  Chinook Centre, 6455 Macleod Trail SW at Target Court, Lower Level (formally Zellers, beside the escalators and Starbucks kiosk)
• When:  Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 6 p.m.

Important Information for Calgary Transit Users

If you're a transit user (like the author of this blog post) or planning to take transit to this month's venue, please note that the Chinook LRT station is closed for construction for the next eight months for modifications to accommodate four-car CTrain cars in the future, and that you won't be able to board or disembark from the CTrain at that station.

Alternative route information can be found at Calgary Transit's website, but if you're a CTrain user and want to take that to the venue, shuttle buses to Chinook station are available at the 39 Avenue CTrain station.

The Chinook bus terminal has been relocated to 3 Street SW as well and all buses that normally would have stopped at the Chinook LRT station can be caught there.

For the most up-to-date information regarding alternative transit routes at Chinook, make sure to check out Calgary Transit's website.

Finally, the new year means we're on the look out for bold ideas and new ways of thinking.  We're looking to bring on many new Trustees and volunteers in a variety of fields for 2013, so if you've ever thought about (or if you're interested!) in joining Team AF-Calgary, now's the perfect time to send an email to kevin@awesomecalgary.org.

Hope to see you this Thursday!

Our FINAL set of Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions for 2012!

This is it!  It's time for the FINAL Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday of 2012.

First off, here are Awesome Foundation - Calgary's Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions for November 2012, in no particular order:

Top4 Finalists

1. Locked into Calgary by Sarah Hbeichi:  "Love padlocks adorned to public art that declares 'I Love Calgary.'"
2. Make Fashion by Shannon Hoover:  "Make Fashion - Showcasing wearable technology by local designers."
3. End of the World Music Festival by Kenna Burima:  "The question posed to all Calgary musicians: If you had one last show, what would you do?"
4. The Dybbuk-A Modern Day Dance by Jenna Shummoogum:  "Incorporating interactive media projection, contemporary dance fused with the technical grace of ballet, and opera in an immensely theatrical presentation, La Caravan's newest awesome creation, set to premiere in January 2013, "The Dybbuk" is a hypnotic journey of love, obsession and surrender, that illustrates the importance of transcending our belief systems and revealing what is left beyond the body and beyond our thoughts."

Honourable Mentions

• Battle City YYC by John Nguyen:  "The first ever city-wide battle of the quadrants, i.e. the Stanley Cup of Calgary breaking (breakdancing)!"
• LUNCH'OUR' LAUGHTER by Noelle Rees:  "Host massive lunch hour laughter yoga sessions for lots of downtown corporate stressed out folk in a convenient central space."
• UAS White Dwarf Gallery by Sally Raab:  "United Art Society launches a brand new exhibition space featuring community-oriented programming."

BIG Congratulations to all of our Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions for November, and thank you so much to everyone who submitted an idea for this month!  (Tip:  Did you know that you can still submit your ideas for future months as well?  Just resubmit the form!)

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November's AF-Calgary Pitch Night is held in partnership with the Calgary Public Library's One Book, One Calgary program and as part of their Centennial celebrations.  The book this year:  The Book of Awesome.

• What:  The FINAL Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday of 2012, held in partnership with the Calgary Public Library's One Book, One Calgary program!
• Where:  Calgary Public Library, Central Branch (616 Macleod Trail SE), Main Floor - South Open Area
• When:  Thursday, November 22.  Doors open at 6 p.m., pitches at 6:30 p.m. and AF-Calgary Awesome Hours/Meet & Mingle reception afterwards.
• RSVP:  Eventbrite, Facebook or Yelp

Everyone is invited to come and watch the pitches and stay afterwards for a Meet & Mingle reception.  Some refreshments prior to the event will be provided courtesy of the Calgary Public Library, and some of our previous Top4 Finalists will be in attendance to showcase some of their AWESOME SUCCESS, whether they won the $1,000 grant or not.

The Central CPL also has a Community Art Wall where people can submit art pieces for inclusion.  The wall will be on display for the entire month of November, and for this event, the library will have a table set up with various art supplies that people can use to create some AWESOME art either before or after the event.  So make sure to add your mark to this awesome art exhibit!

AF-Calgary Trustees will also be around before and after the event holding an informal Awesome Hours session where you can pick our brains about all things Awesome Foundation.  If you've ever had a burning question about how the whole Awesome movement works, or need some inspiration about what projects or ideas are eligible for funding through our chapter or have been funded around the world (To date:  59 chapters, 12 countries on 6 continents!), feel free to ask us or to speak with previous Top4 Finalists and AF-Calgary Fellows for advice at our event!

So read up on The Book of Awesome, tell the library you did so, and help us end 2012 here at AF-Calgary with an Awesome BANG!

Finally, we're accepting submissions for our January 2013 micro-grant.  If you have an Awesome Idea that you'd like to submit for consideration for the new year, fill out this handy-dandy web form!

Hope to see you out tomorrow!

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

The FINAL Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday of 2012!

As we don't typically hold our Thousand Dollar Thursday events in December (as the fourth Thursday of the month brings us too close to the holidays), we'll be ending 2012 with a BANG.  An AWESOME BANG!

The Calgary Public Library is celebrating 100 years this year, and all year long, they've had special programming at all the branches around the city to commemorate it.

This year also sees the return of One Book, One Calgary, a city-wide library initiative designed to ignite community dialogue and enrich community connections through a shared reading experience.  All Calgarians are encouraged to read the same book and to connect and engage with one another.

The book chosen this year:  The Book of Awesome.

Which we believe is an apt choice around these parts. ;-)

As such, we're happy to announce that our FINAL Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday of 2012 will be held in conjunction with the Calgary Public Library's One Book, One Calgary program, and will be hosted at the Central branch of the Calgary Public Library on the main floor.

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• What:  November 2012 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday
• Where:  Calgary Public Library, Central Library (616 Macleod Trail SE), Main Floor - South Open Area
• When:  Thursday, November 22, 2012 at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Evenbrite, Facebook or Yelp

We'll also have an area highlighting past Awesome participants who have AWESOME SUCCESS to showcase so come down and meet some of our previous AF-Calgary Fellows, Top4 Finalists, Honourable Mentions, fans and supporters!

We're currently accepting submissions for our November 2012 no-strings-attached $1,000 prize.  If you'd like to submit an Awesome Idea for consideration, fill out this handy-dandy web form!

A BIG Thank You to the Calgary Public Library for including us in this AWESOME initiative, and we wish you a very Happy 100 years!

We hope that you can make it out to our final event for 2012, and make sure to check out a copy of The Book of Awesome from the library or elsewhere and then take part in the conversation!

A shout-out for AWESOME SUCCESS in the city!

While it's true that October 2012's Awesome Calgary Thousand Dolllar Thursday is tomorrow evening (6 p.m. in the first floor main atrium of the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University), it's never too early to start planning for next month's Pitch Night!

November is our final event of the calendar year (some may argue it's the last one before the Mayan apocalypse, but we hope that isn't the case; end-of-world = not awesome), and Awesome Calgary is celebrating with our biggest Pitch Night yet! We're hosting our end of the year pitch night on November 22, 2012 at the Central Library in conjunction with the Calgary Public Library's One Book, One Calgary program, and we're inviting everyone who has ever submitted an idea to Awesome Foundation - Calgary to come out!

We would like to make a special request that if anyone has any AWESOME SUCCESS and is interested in showcasing their success at the event to please let us know! We will have a limited number of tables available, and want everyone to be given the opportunity!

If you have ever submitted an idea to us, whether it made our Top4 Finalist or Honourable Mention lists or not, and have made progress on your Awesome Project, we would love to hear about it and we want to help you to show it off to the world!

If you'd like to take advantage of this opportunity to showcase your AWESOME SUCCESS, feel free to give Tristan Bauer, part of our Awesome Success Liaison team, a shout with your Success Story and let's make November 22 a night to remember for everyone!

And whether you're planning on coming down or presenting in November, please sign up on our Eventbrite for that night!

Thank YOU for your dedication to making Calgary Awesome!