Summertime Fun in the Rivers District
Placemaking—our purpose and our passion—is all about creating spaces that bring people together for experiences enriching, uplifting and often exhilarating. Through summer 2019, CMLC drew tens of thousands to the energy and excitement of downtown Calgary’s east end with oodles of opportunities for unforgettable fun.
Hitchin’ some extra summertime fun to a fantastic venue
Throughout August, CMLC made regular use of the huge festival venue that served as the Cowboys Stampede Tent from July 5 to 14. Located adjacent to Enoch Park, the spacious venue—redubbed “The Big Big Tent”—proved ideal for family-friendly events like movie screenings, musical performances, roller skating, a skateboarding competition and more.
Some playful springing in the summer sun
A fun-filled multi-use games park and outdoor play space, The Bounce opened this summer at 4th Street and 8th Avenue SE—the site of last year’s EV Junction container park. The Bounce includes a full-sized basketball court, ping pong tables, snakes & ladders, hopscotch and murals by MAUD (Calgary duo Kathryn Pearce and Tanner Hamilton) titled 'Found Home'.
The Hive in East Village
East Village was abuzz this summer—literally! In a partnership with MOB Honey—one of last summer’s EV Junction container park vendors—and local makerspace Fuse33, CMLC installed five hives next to the EV Experience Centre, where thousands of our pollinator friends took up residence from June through September. The open-topped plexiglass enclosure surrounding the hives allowed passersby to see the bees’ comings and goings while giving the hard-working honeybees plenty of room to go about their buzzy-ness.
Public art—bold and beautiful
Always keen to showcase amazing artistic talent from home and afar, CMLC helped bring more temporary and longer-term art installations to East Village this summer. In July, The Device to Root Out Evil, a well-known piece by the late American artist Dennis Oppenheim—known for his eclectic and sometimes outrageous artistic creations– found a new home in 5th Street Square. And Katie Green's new artwork—a boldly colourful collection of oversized portraits of East Village residents in papier-mâché masks—is now adorning bridge abutments, sheds and public washrooms along RiverWalk. Aptly entitled Bridge, Katie’s work represents people intimately connected to East Village, their stories and the neighbourhood landscapes in which they unfold.
When life gives you temps that top 30 degrees…
On a sweltering late August day that pushed the mercury to 31ºC, CMLC popped up a spontaneous—and free!—lemonade stand with our friends at Family Squeezed. Passersby were thrilled to cool off with tasty, refreshing treats.
Click here to see what’s unfolding next in East Village events: https://www.evexperience.com/events
