Announcing our October 2012 Thousand Dollar Thursday Venue!

September's Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday was on a SUPER SPECIAL Saturday, but in October, we're bringing it back to its normal day and time of the fourth Thursday of the month at 6 p.m.

In October, we're hitting the books and heading back to class as we'll be holding our October edition of Thousand Dollar Thursday at Mount Royal University!

Specifically, we'll be in the main atrium of the Bissett School of Business at the Mount Royal main campus, which is awesome as we've always wanted to hold more events at various post-secondary institutions around town.

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• What:  October 2012 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday
• Where:  Mount Royal University (4825 Royal Gate Mount SW), Bissett School of Business, Main Atrium
• When:  Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook or Yelp

We're still taking submissions for October's $1,000 no-strings-attached prize.  If you'd like to submit an Awesome Idea for consideration, fill out this handy-dandy web form!  The deadline for October submissions is Wednesday, October 10 at 11:59 p.m.

And if you're a fan of the Calgary Public Library's One Book, One Calgary program, then you may have already noticed that we'll be holding our November 2012 Thousand Dollar Thursday (and FINAL one of 2012!) on Thursday, November 22 at the Central branch in the main floor!  Since the book chosen for this year is The Book of AWESOME, it's only fitting that we close out the calendar year with our friends from the Calgary Public Library and we're honoured to be a part of not only their One Book, One Calgary program, but their Centennial year as well.

A more detailed post will come closer to the event, but in the meantime, feel free to RSVP for November's event on Facebook, Yelp or Eventbrite as well.

We hope to see you at both events and remember:  Be proud and Be Awesome!

A SUPER SPECIAL Night with Four Super-Awesome Ideas!

September's Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday was SUPER SPECIAL, being held on a Saturday (instead of the normal fourth Thursday of the month) to coincide with Alberta Culture Days, Doors Open at King Edward and the milestone We Should Know Each Other #100!

There were so many things happening at the King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator during the weekend, and Awesome Foundation - Calgary was excited to be a part of it all!  Our Pitch Night event was sandwiched in-between speeches from Alberta's Minister of Culture, the Honourable Heather Klimchuk, and a performance by Calgary's first-ever Poet Laureate, Kris Demeanor.

Our emcee for the night, AF-Calgary Trustee of Awesome Sue McMaster, had her work cut out for her, and it was with that backdrop that the Top4 Finalists for September 2012 took to the stage to try to convince the Trustees and the audience why their idea should win the $1,000 no-strings-attached micro-grant.

Pitch 1:  PODPLAYS: Downloadable Art for Your Ears

First up was Natalie Meisner with PODPLAYS:  Downloadable Art for Your Ears.

Created by Natalie and her students, these free PODPLAYS are downloadable plays designed specifically for your ears that anyone can access.  Some are best listened to in a certain location or site, some ask you to be a spectator on the move and listen while you walk or run a certain route, and some ask you to simply download, plug in your earphones, and close your eyes.

Natalie wishes to develop these plays to highlight unused or neglected spaces in the city core to the public.  This project would also allow Natalie's students first-hand experience working with professional directors and actors.

The entirety of the $1,000 would go towards hiring actors and directors instead of props and other high cost items.  Any leftover money would go towards promotion of the project.

Pitch 2:  52 Weaks Strong

Next up was 52 Weaks Strong by Jason Hagen.

52 Weaks Strong is a project to help build stronger marriages through journaling.  The way it works is that every week for one year, the husband in the relationship would be encouraged to ask his wife one question, and then the husband then has one week to create an experience or gift based on her response.  One side of the page of the journal entry for the week would contain the question and the answer, and the other side would contain the wife's account of the experience that he created for her.

The idea of the project would be to create a program that would try and help encourage stronger relationships one week at a time.

The $1,000 would go towards developing a template for the journal that anyone can access and download, as well as to start up a website where men can blog about their experiences.

Pitch 3:  Start-up of a Community Food Security Strategy

In third was Start-up of a Community Food Security Strategy by Quentin Sinclair.

Quentin's idea is to lead community events and workshops that teaches people about Food Security and the benefits of locally-sourced and sustainable foods centred around a new monthly winter farmer's market located in the Hillhurst-Sunnyside area to compliment the one already held during the summer.  A new monthly winter market would allow the existing summer farmers a break while still allowing them the opportunity to sell things that are available locally in winter.

10-15 vendors are already signed up for the program, and Quentin would use the $1,000 to promote and host supporting events leading up to the new farmer's market, to develop the workshops centred around cooking with food available locally over the winter months, as well as investigating other ways to develop programs that aim to reducing food insecurity in the long term.

Pitch 4:  Kmitt (a.k.a. Homesewn)

Last was Kmitt by Nick Meehan, formally known as Homesewn.

Inspired by the TOMS' Shoes initiative in Chicago where for every shoe purchased from their website, a pair of shoes is donated by the company to a person in need, Kmitt aims to create mittens from scratch in a one-for-one model for the homeless to help keep them warm and to create awareness for homelessness in Calgary, as well as to strengthen community bonds by engaging many people such as seniors groups to gather and knit together on a volunteer basis for a worthwhile cause.

The mittens would be easily distinguished from normal mittens through an accent piece with a simple colour contrast, promoting awareness of the issue of homelessness in Calgary (similar to how those popular red mittens raised awareness of sport and Canadian athletes during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics).

One ball of yarn is enough to create one pair of mittens, and 100% of the $1,000 would go towards knitting supplies to use in the project.

And The Winner Is…

Another tough month to decide on a winner, but Natalie Meisner wins our SUPER SPECIAL September 2012 no-strings-attached $1,000 micro-grant for her PODPLAYS project.  Congratulations, Natalie!

Make sure to check out www.PODPLAYS.ca in the coming weeks to learn more about how you can participate in the project.

A BIG Thank You to Mark Hopkins for including us in the We Should Know Each Other #100 extravaganza, and to cSPACE for allowing us to participate in Doors Open at King Edward.  The King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator will be an AMAZING collaborative space when it fully launches, so keep an eye out on that!

And if you missed this edition of We Should Know Each Other, keep an eye on WSKEO.com for details on the next one and meet someone new!

Finally, we're still accepting submissions for our October 2012 prize.  The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, October 10 at 11:59 p.m. and if you'd like to submit an idea or project for consideration, fill out this handy-dandy web form!

Thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy evening to come down and watch, and we hope you'll join us next month as we return to our regular fourth-Thursday-of-the-month Thousand Dollar Thursday schedule!

In the meantime, relive the events of our SUPER SPECIAL Thousand Dollar Thursday by checking out our Storify piece!

Reminder: This month's Thousand Dollar Thursday is SUPER SPECIAL!

Just a quick reminder that our Thousand Dollar Thursday for September is taking place on a SUPER SPECIAL Saturday (i.e. NOT tomorrow!) as a part of Alberta Culture Days, We Should Know Each Other #100, Doors Open at King Edward (itself a part of Doors Open YYC Naked), and a whole whackload of other things!

• What:  SUPER SPECIAL Saturday September 2012 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday
• Where:  King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator (1720 - 30th Avenue SW)
• When:  Saturday, September 29 (Note the date change!) at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook and Yelp

Also, a quick programming note:  September 2012 AF-Calgary Top4 Finalist Joe Vipond with his "Hillhurst-Sunnyside Harvest Fair" submission has decided to bow out.  Why?  In his own words:

Last year we pulled off the Fair with a $150 budget.  Not great, but it got us through.  This year, however, we applied to you, and to gigYYC for a grant.  As fate would have it, gigYYC honoured us with a $1200 grant in the last month competition... we will put it to good use.

Because they're already getting $1,200 from Calgary 2012's super-awesome Grassroots Inspired Grants program (you should definitely check it out; only a few months to go!), Joe has chosen to step aside and allow someone else a chance to win AF-Calgary's no-strings-attached $1,000 prize in his place.

As we only had two Honourable Mentions this month, we flipped a coin and "Start-up of a Community Food Security Strategy" by Quentin Sinclair won the toss up.

So, the four people who'll be pitching their Awesome Ideas this Saturday are:

1. PODPLAYS by Natalie Meisner:  "Downloadable Art for Your Ears."  
2. HomeSewn by Nick Meehan:  "One for one, locally knit mittens for Calgary's homeless population."
3. 52 Weaks Strong by Jason Hagen:  "The project is building a marriage. Its a marriage journal. Every week you ask your wife one question (52 weeks in a year means 52 questions). The husband then has one week to create an experience based on her response. On one side of the journal is the question and response. On the other side is the area where the wife gets to document the experience that was created."
4. Start-up of a Community Food Security Strategy by Quentin Sinclair:  "Lead community events and workshops centred around a new monthly winter farmer's market."

Big thanks to Joe Vipond for his noble gesture and good luck to everyone pitching this Saturday!

In the meantime, we're still accepting submissions for our October 2012 prize.  If you have an Awesome Idea that you'd like to submit for consideration, the deadline for that is Wednesday, October 10 at 11:59 p.m.  To submit an idea, simply fill out this handy-dandy web form!

Hope to see you out this Saturday and make sure to sample the wealth of events happening this weekend as part of Alberta Culture Days!!

Something Awesome: Laughs, Laughs and more Laughs!

You may think this is funny, but when it comes to comedy, Calgary is no laughing matter…

…okay, that was was lame.  But you can't blame a guy for trying!

Actually, Calgary has a lot to be proud of when it comes to the world of comedy.  Many famous comedians and improvisationalists have cut their teeth here in Calgary and were able to propel themselves into successful careers!

Some examples:

• Mark McKinney and Bruce McCulloch from Kids in the Hall fame both started their comedy careers with Calgary's famous Loose Moose Theatre Company.
• Pat Kelly and Peter Oldring were both born in Alberta (Pat from Calgary and Peter from Drayton Valley) and went on to work at YTV in Toronto as television hosts, as well as with The Second City comedy troupe in Toronto. They currently host This is That on CBC Radio.
• Rebecca Northan was raised in Calgary, is a graduate of the University of Calgary and an alumna of Loose Moose Theatre and has gone on to guest on CBC's Being Erica and guest host This Hour Has 22 Minutes, among starring and touring in many other improve and off-Broadway shows.

Calgary has a lot to be proud of when it comes to contributions to the comedy industry, but the unfortunate thing is that most people here outside of that industry might not even know it.

The brand-new YYComedy Festival, running September 24-30 in various venues around the city, aims to change that and it's part of the reason why the YYComedy Festival was chosen to be a Top4 Finalist here at AF-Calgary in August 2012.

Conceived by Cory Mack, Harry Doupe and James Sutherland, the inaugural YYComedy Festival, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of Loose Moose Theatre and the 25th anniversary of Yuk Yuk's, hopes to showcase Calgary's best locally grown talent and those with a Calgary connection in the comedic field, paying tribute to the past, present and future of Calgary comedy.

And that's definitely Something Awesome.

Tickets as well as more information for the festival including a list of performers and show schedules are available at yycomedy.ca.  For more information on the festival itself, check out these excellent articles by FFWD Weekly and the Calgary Herald.

Announcing September 2012's AF-Calgary Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions

Pre-season professional hockey may be out of the cards for the moment, but there'll be no stoppage on the awesomeness on this end as we're ready to announce our September 2012 Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions!

So without any further ado, here they are, in no particular order:

Top4 Finalists

1. PODPLAYS by Natalie Meisner:  "Downloadable Art for Your Ears."  
2. HomeSewn by Nick Meehan:  "One for one, locally knit mittens for Calgary's homeless population."
3. Hillhurst-Sunnyside Harvest Fair by Joe Vipond:  "Annual celebration of urban agriculture."
4. 52 Weaks Strong by Jason Hagen:  "The project is building a marriage. Its a marriage journal. Every week you ask your wife one question (52 weeks in a year means 52 questions). The husband then has one week to create an experience based on her response. On one side of the journal is the question and response. On the other side is the area where the wife gets to document the experience that was created."

Honourable Mentions

• Start-up of a Community Food Security Strategy by Quentin Sinclair:  "Lead community events and workshops centred around a new monthly winter farmer's market."
• Westwinds Music Society by John Evans:  "We are non-profit and celebrating our 25th Anniversary this year, we want to celebrate this milestone!"

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A reminder that this month's Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday is a SUPER SPECIAL Saturday September edition, taking place at the King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator on Saturday, September 29 as a part of Alberta Culture Days and Doors Open at King Edward, and in conjunction with We Should Know Each Other #100 and a whack load of other events all happening at the King Edward that weekend.

• What:  SUPER SPECIAL Saturday September 2012 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday
• Where:  King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator (1720 - 30th Avenue SW)
• When:  Saturday, September 29 (Note the date change!) at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook and Yelp

Again, please note the date change:  This month's Thousand Dollar Thursday event will be held on a Saturday due to the special festivities.  Sure, it's not exactly on a Thursday this month, but it's the thought that counts, right? ;-)

Hope to see you there!

And in the meantime, we're now accepting submissions for our October 2012 prize.  If you have an Awesome Idea that you'd like to submit for consideration, the deadline for that is Wednesday, October 10 at 11:59 p.m.  To submit an idea, simply fill out this handy-dandy web form! 

CLOUD debuts to tremendous success!

Last Saturday, AF-Calgary's August 2012 winners Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett's CLOUD made its appearance at Calgary's first-ever Nuit Blanche festival.

Throughout the eight-hours of the festival, which ran from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., Calgarians from all over were pulling on the rain shower of metal cords turning lights on and off creating a simulation of an electrical cloud.

Popular with the crowd, even a brief period of rain didn't detract from the interest of festival-goers as they went right back to it once the rain stopped.

Here's a taste of what happened that night, courtesy of Twitter:

Congratulations, Caitlind and Wayne on pulling off such an AWESOME project!  To learn more about the CLOUD project, check out their website.

Announcing our SUPER SPECIAL September Thousand Dollar Thursday venue!

Over the last year and a half, we've tried to stay consistent here at AF-Calgary when it comes to our calendar.

For example, our monthly deadline for submissions is always the 10th of every month at 11:59 p.m., our Trustees meet every third Thursday to create our monthly Top4 Finalist and Honourable Mention short lists, and we usually hold our Thousand Dollar Thursday events on the fourth Thursday of the month (not to be confused with the last Thursday of the month, as some months have five Thursdays) at an Awesome Venue around town.

For the most part, we've been pretty disciplined about sticking with it, but ever since our chapter's conception, we've always toyed with the idea of either holding special events outside of our usual schedule, or being open to the possibility of moving our main event if a special opportunity arises.

Well, September 2012 may be the first time that we break with tradition.

This month, a super-cool space is opening at the old King Edward School in SW Calgary.  In 2001, the King Edward School officially shut down and while portions of the space were leased for use as a private, French-language institution as well as a film production location between 2001 and 2004, the building has been essentially vacant since 2005.

In 2010, through a partnership between The Calgary Foundation and Calgary Arts Development, the King Edward School was purchased to turn it into a mixed-use hub and art incubator that would provide for a space for collaborative gathering and advancement of professional arts practice, social innovation and community development in South Calgary.

The brand new King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator is holding an open house during the last weekend of September as a part of Alberta Culture Days, and Awesome Foundation - Calgary will be there holding a special edition of Awesome Calgary's Thousand Dollar Thursday.

Rather than holding our event on the fourth Thursday of this month, instead, we'll be holding the event on Saturday, September 29 at 6 p.m. at the King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator during Doors Open at King Edward and in conjunction with many other events such as Doors Open YYC Naked, We Should Know Each Other #100, PechaKucha Night #13:  Seed and much more!

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• What:  SUPER SPECIAL September 2012 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday
• Where:  King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator (1720 - 30th Avenue SW)
• When:  Saturday, September 29 (Note the date change!) at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook and Yelp

There's a lot happening at that space over those three days, and AF-Calgary is proud to be a part of the festivities.

So note the date change for this month's Thousand Dollar Thursday (the last Saturday of the month rather than the fourth Thursday) and we hope to see you there!  And make sure to check out the other cool things happening at the King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator over the weekend as well.

Century Homes Calgary a resounding success!

2012 is the Centennial year for many organizations in Calgary.  The Calgary Stampede, Calgary Public Library, The City of Calgary Recreation and Theatre Junction GRAND are just some of the organizations celebrating 100 years in our city.  We've been designated Cultural Capital of Canada by Canadian Heritage, and there's lots of awesome things happening in our city year-round thanks to the efforts of Calgary 2012.

In celebration of this momentous occasion, a grassroots movement of Calgarians decided to get together and celebrate century homes built in 1912 in the Victorian, Edwardian and Craftsmen styles by researching the history behind their homes and telling their stories by creating visual displays outside their homes to educate all Calgarians.  The public could then take themselves on self-guided tours that would take them to various Century Homes in neighbourhoods across the city where they could then learn about the stories behind those homes.  Things such as "Who once lived here?" and "What were their lives like?" were some of the questions this project aimed to answer.

Lindae Stokes, Awesome Calgary Top4 Finalist for June 2012, pitched Old Homes. Great Stories. to Awesome Foundation - Calgary on behalf of Century Homes Calgary, a project of the Calgary Heritage Initiative Society.  While Lindae did not win the grant that month, the event took place regardless between July 27 and August 6 and was a complete success.

Their goal, according to their project submission, was to have 350 century homes signed up for Historic Calgary Week.  Instead, they had to stop taking sign-ups at 504 when they ran out of signs and banners!  It didn't stop people from putting together their own signs and joining the celebration though.

According to Lindae:

What we really noticed is how we were able to raise awareness around the century homes and how important they are to all Calgarians. In fact, everyone is assuming that this is going to be a regular project -- both participants and heritage advocates such as The City of Calgary Heritage Planning. We know heritage homeowners love their homes and how researching the home's history makes it even more special. We also got thousands of Calgarians to experience why these old homes need to be appreciated and preserved whenever possible.

Many people who participated in the project this year celebrated their homes in different ways.  The people in the picture at the top of this piece celebrated by creating a giant birthday card wishing their home a Happy 100 Years, while the people above included a news clipping of the Calgary Herald covering a wedding involving one of the home owner's daughters in their display that details the story of their home and the people who live in it.  The current homeowners believe that the peonies used for the wedding flowers are still growing in their garden.

Thanks to the hard work of Lindae and her team, homeowners of Century Homes in Calgary have a reason to feel proud, and people all over the city now have a greater appreciation for some of these historic monuments.  It's always awesome for us to see projects or ideas execute even if they don't win a $1,000 grant from us so to Lindae, her team and to all homeowners of a Century Home in the city:  Happy 100 from your friends at Awesome Foundation - Calgary!

Something Awesome: Live Art Battles

Picture this:  Two artists.  One Wheel of Doomb.  One random idea.  Two hours to make art.  That, in a nutshell, is what happens every Wednesday evening at the Gorilla House.

Dubbed Gorilla House LIVE ART, these are live art battles where two artists have two hours to create a piece of art from a random idea, which then gets auctioned off at the end of the night to any in attendance that evening.

The brainchild of Rich Théroux, Awesome Calgary Top4 Finalist for August 2012, these battles are open to the public and free to attend.  You can wander around the gallery to view other exhibits as the battle takes place, or stay and watch and be a part of the creative process.

To get a taste of what the Gorilla House LIVE ART experience is like, the video above tells you exactly what the concept of an Art Battle is, and the videos below show highlights from the summer and highlights from the art battle that took place on Wednesday, August 15.

• What:  Gorilla House LIVE ART
• Where:  Gorilla House Studios (1503 - 15 Avenue SW)
• When:  Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

You can check out more Gorilla House LIVE ART videos on their YouTube channel and follow them on their Facebook page to learn more.

So if you're looking for a place to monkey around, do yourself a favour and check out the awesomeness that happens every Wednesday evening at the Gorilla House!

"Buy Local" Episode 2 by Ashleigh Ahern is now up!

June 2012 AF-Calgary Fellow Ashleigh Ahern is back with Episode 2 of her Buying Local video series.

Ashleigh won Awesome Calgary's June 2012 grant to create a video series that would give exposure and create public awareness of local businesses that are green and sustainable by shining a spotlight on them and profiling them on the web.

Today, Ashleigh speaks with Rod from Leaf and Lyre about the SPIN (Small Plot INtensive) method of farming.

Check it out!

Awesome Ideas abound! Plus: Kids in kilts

This month, Awesome Calgary's Thousand Dollar Thursday was held at The AREA in Inglewood, in conjunction with Mark Hopkin's We Should Know Each Other #99.3, an event where people are encouraged to expand their social circles by meeting and mingling with people they may never have met before.

Dubbed Awesome at The AREA, an Awesome Space was able to be highlighted for those who had never been, Awesome People could meet other Awesome People, and four really Awesome Ideas would be able to have their time to shine in the spotlight.

The emcee for the night was AF-Calgary's very own Trustee of Awesome Kevin Hayes and it was with this back drop that the Top4 Finalists for the month of August would take the stage for 90 seconds each to try the wow the AF-Calgary Trustees and audience and convince them why they deserved to win the $1,000 no-strings attached micro-grant.

Pitch 1:  Gorilla House LIVE ART

First up was Rich Théroux with Gorilla House LIVE ART.  Art Battles take place on Wednesday nights at the Gorilla House studios where two artists are given a theme or idea by spinning a wheel and have two hours to produce a piece of art.  These art battles are free for the public to attend and all finished pieces created that night is later auctioned off.  The appeal to viewers is that they have an opportunity to see pieces that they like grow and become a part of that growth as well.

The $1,000 would be used by Gorilla House for rent, art supplies and advertising for the gallery as well as to ensure that the Live Art Battles can continue.  Leftover money would be used to create a children's gallery at the Gorilla House and other improvements.

If you'd like to catch one of the live art battles, drop by the Gorilla House at 1503 - 15 Avenue SW.  To learn more, check out this recent article by FFWD Weekly as well as their Facebook page.

Pitch 2:  YYComedy Festival

Up next was Cory Mack and Harry Doupe with the first-ever, brand new YYComedy Festival.

From September 24-30, the YYComedy Festival will celebrate the best of the local comedy community.  Featuring the best comedians in stand-up, sketch and improv, all performers at this year's festival have some kind of connection to Calgary.  Among the performers invited to perform are Bruce McCullock and Mark McKinney from the Kids in the Hall, Gavin Crawford of This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Just For Laughs favourite Ryan Belleville.

Currently, there are only three people (Cory Mack, Harry Doupe and James Sutherland) organizing the entire festival, and the $1,000 would go towards helping fund advertising and getting the word out.  Cory and Harry feel that Calgary is the best comedy community that doesn't celebrate itself, and this festival aims to change that.

To learn more about the YYComedy Festival, check out yycomedy.ca.

Pitch 3:  CLOUD

Third up was Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garret with CLOUD, an 18-foot interactive sculpture created from 5,000 re-appropriated incandescent light bulbs.

Created as a part of Calgary's first-ever Nuit Blanche, CLOUD will allow the public to wander beneath an installation representing a giant cloud created out of light bulbs through a rain of pull strings allowing them to switch on and off lights to create the illusion of lightning on the cloud's surface.  CLOUD is also an experiment in community collaboration, as they hope to create the installation entirely through the use of donated light bulbs.

However, with a debut date of September 15, Caitlind and Wayne are far short of their goal of collecting 5,000 light bulbs as they have only managed to scrounge up about 300 so far.  The $1,000 would go towards a promotional campaign raising awareness of the project as well as to encourage ordinary Calgarians not affiliated with Calgary's art scene to donate their used light bulbs.  This would be achieved by purchasing ads in local newspapers and other avenues and channels that ordinary members of the public frequent.

Those in Calgary who are interested in donating incandescent light bulbs for the project can do so at the Alberta College of Art and Design (1407 - 14 Avenue NW) as a collection box has been set up in the front lobby.  To learn more about the types of light bulbs that they're looking for, see here.

Pitch 4:  A Strong Impression

Dressed in kilts and with caber in hand, last up was Marshall and Ryerson Ennis with A Strong Impression.

Marshall is a former highland games competitor and youth coach who wants to introduce the junior highland games to youth in Calgary to help build up an appreciation and awareness of Scottish heritage, tradition and family values among youth.

The $1,000 would be used to create "kits" consisting of the equipment that would be used to teach kids how the sport is done, as well as to help fund the camps that this education would take place in.  All youth would be invited to come out and try the different highland games, such as Putting the Stone, Caber Toss and Hammers.

The hope is that these camps can get youth interested in the Highland Games and perhaps motivate them to compete in the official tournaments in the future.  Fun fact:  Marshall is in training to flip the caber 150 times for a world record.

And the winner is…

AF-Calgary's August 2012 no-strings-attached $1,000 micro-grant went to Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garret and CLOUD.

Make sure to check out their installation at Calgary's first-ever Nuit Blanche on Saturday, September 15 at Olympic Plaza Park from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.  And if you're interested in helping out with the project by providing some used incandescent light bulbs, make sure to drop them off at the Alberta College of Art and Design.

 

Congratulations Caitlind & Wayne!

BIG Thanks to Dave Winkler and our venue sponsor for this month, The AREA, as well as Mark Hopkins for allowing us to collaborate with him for We Should Know Each Other #99.3.  If you haven't been, you should definitely check out a We Should Know Each Other party.  They're awesome.

Finally, we're still accepting submissions for our September 2012 prize.  The deadline for submissions is Monday, September 10 at 11:59 p.m. and if you'd like to submit an idea or project for consideration, fill out this handy-dandy web form!

Thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy evening to come down and watch, and we hope you'll join us next month for a very special Thousand Dollar Thursday!  Stay tuned for more details on that coming up later…

In the meantime, check out some photos from our event on our Flickr channel!

This month's Thousand Dollar Thursday is also We Should Know Each Other #99.3

 

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A quick reminder that this month's Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday will be held at The AREA in Inglewood on Thursday, August 23.  Doors open at 6 p.m.

But did you know that this month's Thousand Dollar Thursday is also being held in conjunction with Mark Hopkin's We Should Know Each Other Summer Tour?  In the lead up to WSKEO #100, Mark is taking his WSKEO parties on the road, teaming up with various different groups doing amazing community-building things in the city with each location being a community gathering hub.

What is a We Should Know Each Other party?  Since February 2008, local artist and community-builder Mark Hopkins has hosted ‘We Should Know Each Other’ parties in his living room, where hundreds of strangers have shared stories, laughter and new friendships.  Everyone is invited to attend to stretch the limits of their social circles and to meet some of the diverse people that make up Calgary.  Doctors, accountants, labourers and even politicians have attended in the past, and you're always guaranteed to meet someone new.

Dubbed Awesome at The AREA: We Should Know Each Other #99.3 will be the event where you can come check out the four Awesome Ideas being featured this month and then meet and mingle with people you've never met before in an awesome space dedicated to the arts, recreation, education, environment and agriculture communities!

• What:  August 2012 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday a.k.a. Awesome at The AREA: We Should Know Each Other #99.3
• Where:  The AREA (1119 - 10 Ave S.E.)
• When:  Thursday, August 23.  Doors open at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook or Yelp

It promises to be a Trifecta of Awesome!  Hope to see you there!

Announcing August 2012's AF-Calgary Top4 Finalists, Honourable Mentions and Venue!

The summer months are winding down here in Calgary, but that doesn't mean we are!  The Awesome Foundation - Calgary Trustees have just met to go through this month's submission pile and we're ready to announce the short lists for this month.

So, without further ado, here are AF-Calgary's August 2012's Top4 Finalists and Honourable Mentions, in no particular order:

Top4 Finalists

1. YYComedy Festival by Cory Mack, Harry Doupe and James Sutherland (YYComedy Collective):  The YYComedy Festival will showcase the best of Calgary’s comedians in performances, screenings, and workshops covering stand-up, sketch, improv, theatre, film, television, radio, and the web.
2. Live Art Battles by Rich Théroux:  Local artists have a place to do live art battles.
3. CLOUD by Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett:  A large-scale interactive sculpture created from 5,000 re-appropriated domestic light bulbs, CLOUD invites the viewer to wander through a rain of pull strings, switching on and off lights to create the illusion of lightning on the cloud’s surface. (Nuit Blanche Calgary, September 15, 2012).
4. A Strong Impression by Marshall Ennis:  Introduce the strength of history, tradition and family to young adults in Calgary.

Honourable Mentions

• Community Housing Program Expansion by Raman Basi:  Discovery House.  Where women say no more to domestic violence.
• Movie in the Park by Janet Lymer:  Hosting a movie in the park in our neighbourhood.  It's open to everyone!

We're pleased to announce that this month's Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday will be held at The AREA in Inglewood on Thursday, August 23.  Doors open at 6 p.m. and we hope to see you there!

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• What:  August 2012 Awesome Calgary Thousand Dollar Thursday
• Where:  The AREA (1119 - 10 Ave S.E.)
• When:  Thursday, August 23.  Doors open at 6 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook or Yelp

Last but not least, we're now accepting submissions for the September 2012 prize.  

If you have an Awesome Idea that you'd like to submit to AF-Calgary for consideration, fill out this handy-dandy web form! The deadline for submissions for the September AF-Calgary prize is Monday, September 10 at 11:59 p.m.

Hope to see you out this Thursday!

AudioMob YYC 2: The Headphones Strike Back!

The next iteration of May 2011 AF-Calgary Fellow Kiran Somanchi's AudioMob YYC is back this month as AudioMob YYC 2: The Headphones Strike Back is almost upon us!

AudioMob YYC was heavily inspired by New York's ImprovEverywhere prank collective and was based off of their highly popular MP3 Experiments where members of the public were encouraged to download an MP3 file with audio instructions prior to meeting at a pre-defined place and time where they would then all activate the instructions simultaneously and follow them wherever they led.  The effect being that those who weren't involved would have absolutely no idea why massive amounts of people were moving and doing seemingly random things in a coordinated manner, and those who were involved would get to be a part of one GIANT (and fun!) in-joke.

Billed as "one part flash mob, one part decentralized dance party and one part Jane's Walk," Kiran's AudioMob YYC project aimed to bring a similar experience to Calgarians, while at the same time helping to promote local Calgary musicians by featuring their works in the soundtrack, educating participants on local culture and landmarks, and showing everyone in general that Calgary truly is a cool, hip and happening place to be.

The first AudioMob YYC took place last August with hundreds of Calgarians taking part.  Here's a taste of what happened:


The second AudioMob YYC is set to take place later this month and everyone's invited!  Here's how it works:

1. Download the mp3 file from AudioMobYYC.com starting five days prior to the event and load it into a mobile audio device.
2. Sychronize your iPods, iPhones, Androids and wrist watches to the clock on the website.
3. Show up at the starting location on the specified day and blend into the surroundings.
4. At 5:15 p.m., hit play on your audio player and follow the instructions!

This year's AudioMob YYC will take place on Friday, August 24 at 5 p.m. and will take approximately 45 minutes to complete.  The secret meeting place is in downtown Calgary at Courthouse Park, which lies to the north of the 4th street LRT station next to the old courthouse (4th Street and 6th Avenue SW).

View Larger Map

• What:  AudioMob YYC 2: The Headphones Strike Back!
• Where:  Courthouse Park (along 4th Street and 6th Avenue SW)
• When:  Friday, August 24, 2012 at 5 p.m.
• RSVP:  Facebook

With promises of special guests and other surprises, this year's AudioMob YYC looks to be more awesome than last year's, so help spread the word!  Tell your friends and family, keep an eye on the AudioMob YYC Twitter and Facebook accounts for continuing details, grab the MP3 file from the AudioMob YYC website when it's available, and join Kiran and many other Calgarians on Friday, August 24 for all the fun, nay, AWESOMENESS!

in Awe of so many!

The people in this city never cease to amaze me ... and inspire me.  I am humbled by the people who both choose to help support Awesomeness in Calgary (the amazing Awesome Trustees) and those who bring forth their ideas to help make this place the best city on earth (the Awesome idea submitters).  Together we're all going to achieve higher awesomeness!

Our most awesome trustee, Reg Tiangha just returned from the first ever Awesome Foundation Summit in Boston and he chose to emcee for us and share some of the insights and ideas that came out of this rapidly growing, global movement of micro-funding. 

The 3rd anniversary of the global Awesome movement is happening. right. now.  And in honour of the 3rd anniversary of The Awesome Foundation as well as the first-ever chapter, Awesome Foundation - Boston, we decided that living in the heart of dinosaur country that we'd better pay tribute to them tonight!   And they were in abundance ... but thankfully they took care not to damage the amazing host venue of DaDe Art & Design Gallery! 

disclaimer:  no dinosaurs were harmed in the making of this event. And all dinosaurs have now made their home in the hearts of a child (courtesy of new AF Calgary Trustee Jonathan Glover) 


Now on to the Awesomeness ... 

Every month we say it was such a tough choice, and we wish we had 4 $1000 prizes to give out.  This month was certainly no exception to that and it really breaks my heart that we have so many great ideas being shared at these events and not enough money to reward them all.  

Our Top4 finalists this month were a wide and varied group of people and ideas.

First up:  Urban Stationary by Kai Sinclair & Alastair Pollock of C4:  "Local semi-permanent art installations in Calgary Transit stations."

They wished to use the $1,000 to pay for the art supplies and materials required to create and install the art work at various LRT stations around town, as well as on marketing and promotional materials to advertise the initiative.  Currently, many of the up-front costs come from out-of-pocket.

Followed by: Culinary Treasure Hunt by Anneke Scholten:  "Find Calgary's hidden culinary treasures during this one day event!"

Anneke wishes to use the $1,000 to help with marketing and promotional work.

Next up: People's Poetry Festival by Shannon McClennan:  "A free, 3-day street festival in Kensington, August 17-19, 2012."

Shannon wishes to use the $1,000 to supplement the meager budget that the People's Poetry Festival draws from, as many shortfalls are covered out-of-pocket by their various volunteers.  The money could be used to provide artist and poet honorariums and possibly help fund their second collection of Calgary street poetry.


And the Avengers were next ... with Call for Help! by Derek Wilken:  "A comic book for young adults to promote the ConnecTeen line at the Distress Centre."

Derek wishes to use the $1,000 to provide Mac & Cheese to the various ACAD volunteer artists to fuel creativity and to help cover various production costs.

Dinosaurs, Avengers, Comic books, Poetry, Artmobs in transit stations, Amazing Race for food .... how much more awesome can an evening get?? ... and how on earth can we decide?? 

And the winner is ... 

Kai & Alistair of C4 - Stationary Art - "Art for public transit stations"! 

Stationary Art!!   Congratulations for amazing vision and drive to get things done.  You are truly inspiring.