Budding artists take to easel

By Lori Larsen

The City of Camrose Discovery Kids program taps into the skills and talents of Camrose youth through a variety of programs including Youth Art Class and Teen Art Class hosted by the Chuck MacLean Arts Centre.

The classes are instructed by City of Camrose Recreation and Culture employee and art teacher Jayda Calon.

Calon grew up just outside of Camrose and after attending high school at Camrose Composite High School, she attended University of Alberta Augustana Campus for two years, earning her fine arts degree, then onto the main campus of the U of A to complete her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2021.

Jayda spent summers working for the City of Camrose as a seasonal employee, working in the Parks and Recreation and Culture departments.

“I worked with the flower crew tending to all the many flowerbeds in Camrose and did a little push mowing (which was my favourite) on the side,” said Calon. “I loved working with the friendly parks crew and being outside all summer.”

Now, as an employee for the City’s Recreation and Culture Department, part of her duties include teaching art to all ages.

“What I love about teaching is lifting my students up and witnessing their pride in finished works. It’s easy to get down on your own work and it’s hard not to compare to others, but that’s the beauty of making art–each work is individual. I keep reminding my students of this until they believe it.

“I also love teaching and seeing the growth that happens in not only the detail of work, but also in the creative thinking that happens over the span of these sessions.”

Calon has also shared her own talents with the City by designing the Discovery Kids logo (see above insert).

“I wanted to create a logo that encapsulates the many wonderful types of programming we offer at the Arts Centre. I have experienced firsthand leading and being a part of these creative and diverse activities. I reflected on some of our programs like our kids’ camps, birthday parties and art classes, and on future programs we are currently cooking up.”

Calon said she knows how much fun these programs are and how passionate the staff are about offering a variety of opportunities to Camrose youth. “This logo demonstrates that there is lots to discover here at the Chuck Maclean Arts Centre.”

With the goal of encouraging youth and children to explore their artistic interests and talents, the City offers Youth and Teen Art Classes either on-line or in person through the Chuck MacLean Arts Centre.

Youth Art Class (for ages seven to 12) runs Tuesday nights from 5 until 7 p.m., and covers a variety of styles of art and art mediums.

Teen Art Class (for ages 13 to 16) runs Monday and Wednesday nights from 5 until 7 p.m., and develops the participants’ skills and interests while providing a social outlet for other like-minded teens.

“Art can inspire youth and teens to explore their creative sides and find different ways to express themselves. Through the exploration of media, artists, and art movements, students can start to develop various skills and learn more about the visual art world. This is important as youth can begin to understand which types of art inspires them to make individualized artwork. It is also the perfect way to meet like-minded youth, which makes for a great environment in the classroom and a fun/safe space to create.”

For more information on the Discovery Kids art classes, visit the City of Camrose website at www. camrose.ca/programs, email at recreation@ camrose.ca or telephone 780-672-9949.

YOUNG AT ART

Lori Larsen, Camrose Booster

City of Camrose Recreation and Culture art teacher Jayda Calon provides instruction to Youth Art Class participants, left to right, eight-year-old Paulette Velaquez Arroyo and seven-year-old Ariadni Georganteli.

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Queen has all the power By Laurel Nadon

A few weeks ago, my husband was taking our two sons ice fishing with Grandma and Grandpa. For my 12-year-old daughter and I, this was literally the last thing we wanted to do with our day. My daughter suggested that we spend the time learning how to play chess. I have learned a bit of the game over the years, but not enough to play confidently. We were excited at the prospect of learning a new game. On a family trip to Mexico right before COvId struck, there was a chess game with large pieces at the resort and I had thought then that it would have been fun to know how to play.

My daughter and I found a website that taught us the name of each piece, what moves they can do, how to promote pawns and how to end the game. I thought of how chess is described in the Harry Potter books, with each piece a live creature that moves around the board.

We quickly figured out the game and noticed one interesting subtlety. Even though the game seems to be about the king, because his death is what determines the end of the game, it is truly the queen who has the most power based on mobility, as she moves any amount of squares in any direction. The king is resigned to one square at a time. Seems to be a case of behind any great man is a great woman?

I looked up the background of the game and discovered that the origins are unclear and disputed. Some historians believe the game was invented in China around 200 BC by commander Hán Xin to represent a particular battle. Soon after the battle, the game was forgotten and then resurfaced in the seventh century Ad with several new rules. Other sources claim that early forms of chess like the game chaturanga originated in India around the sixth century Ad. The names of the pieces and appearances were later changed by Europeans to resemble the English court.

Some chess historians believe that the queen was originally known as the advisor and could only move one space diagonally at a time. In the 15th century, chess moved into European countries, coinciding with a rise in female monarchs. The advisor piece was changed to a queen with powers of both the bishop and rook. The one undisputed fact I found was that the first World Chess Championship was held in 1886.

As soon as my two sons returned home, we taught the game to them as well, and since then, there have been lively chess matches almost daily. Our Christmas poinsettia that refused to die has been removed from the oak chest so that we could have at least two chess boards set up at all times.

I decided to look up the best strategies for the game. I read tips like get the knights and bishops out, watch your back, castle early (swapping the rook and king to protect the king) and lose pieces wisely. Sometimes we would get so excited to kill an opponent’s piece that we wouldn’t notice our piece would be taken in return.

One website stressed advancing only one or two pawns in the chess opening and then developing the other pieces. Another said the keys to the game are to control the centre, focus on developing knights and bishops, protect the king by moving him away from the centre, move each piece only once at the beginning, and don’t bring out the queen too early.

In short, there is a lot going on. I am sure it takes years to truly be a skilled chess player, but that’s okay. We have reached a stage with our children in the past few years where they suddenly need us a lot less. I remember a time when it was an enormous production to get three children outside to play in the winter. Then one day, they swished out the door on their own without needing a single thing. We quickly went from that stage to trying to pry our oldest, who already seems suspiciously like a teenager, out of her room. (We find that tempting her with food and board games is the best strategy.)

If chess is one more trick up my sleeve to spend quality time together as my kids get older, I’ll take it. Now if I can just figure out how to win a game of chess against my husband…

Family Day weekend fun

Lori Larsen, Camrose Booster

The City of Camrose, Camrose Adult Learning Council, Camrose Public Library and Camrose Family Resource Centre hosted some fun activities at the Stoney Creek Centre on Saturday, February, 19. Photo left: Mengestab Gebremariam, left, helped his nieces and nephews, five-year-old Mary, 10-year-old Arsema and six-year-old Maranata Hagos with some snowshoe fun.

Camrose Adult Learning Council Melanie Poole reads a book while 10-year-old Arsema Hagos enjoys a cup of hot chocolate.

Lori Larsen, Camrose Booster Three-year-old Teklemariam Hagos just about kept the stack of Jenga blocks standing during some Family Day fun at the Stoney Creek Centre on Saturday, February 19.

Lori Larsen, Camrose Booster Ryan Kalynka and his five-year-old son Merrick were getting down to some disco tunes during the free public skate held on Sunday, February 20 at Border Paving Arena.

Murray Green, Camrose Booster Families gathered at Retro restaurant to create a mandala piece of art on Family Day. Traditionally, a mandala is a geometric design or pattern that represents the cosmos or deities in various heavenly worlds. Five-year-old Anastasia Cherry concentrates on creating a colourful work of art.

Budget moves province in the right direction

By Murray Green

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation said the Alberta budget begins to move the province in the right direction after years of overspending and big deficits.

Balancing the budget and reducing spending to be in line with other provinces of like size were the major recommendations presented by the CTF during the pre-budget consultations. Both of those were achieved in this budget.

“The government deserves credit for beginning to roll back years of government overspending that has wreaked havoc on our province’s finances,” said Kevin Lacey, Alberta director with the CTF. “Finance Minister Travis Toews is right for signaling government spending will slow to a drip, and the province will finally balance the budget.”

Prior to this budget, government operating spending increased 144 per cent from 2004 to 2018. That’s an increase of about nine per cent a year. This budget shows that from 2018-19 to 2022-23, spending is up by 3.6 per cent or about 1.2 per cent per year.

Premier Jason Kenney introduced bracket creep in his 2019 budget, despite promising not to raise taxes in the election. Bracket creep happens when governments stop indexing their tax brackets to inflation and taxpayers get bumped into higher tax brackets even though they can’t actually afford to buy more.

The government promised to bring indexing back once the budget was balanced. The CTF wants to see a commitment to start indexing tax brackets again. The government forecasts $200 million more in provincial income taxes this year alone, yet it failed to end bracket creep.

“It’s time the government ends this sneaky tax increase,” said Lacey. “The government promised to restore indexation when they balanced the budget. We’ll hold them to that and expect to see bracket creep end in the next budget.”

According to the federation, Toews’ budget gets a handle on government spending, contains no new major tax increases and provides Albertans with a fiscal plan on which they can be judged.

“Taxpayers should welcome this budget which puts Alberta on a sustainable path into the future. It is our hope the government will continue to control spending and end bracket creep in the next budget,” said Lacey.

Vikings teams qualify for playoffs

By Murray Green

Augustana Vikings court sports are now allowing spectators at games again, with the first 150 fans allowed to attend. Fans will also need to selfscreen for COVID-19 symptoms ahead of time and masks will be mandatory.

Augustana Vikings women’s volleyball team ended the season in second place and are at home on March 6 at 3 p.m. for playoffs.

On the men’s side, Augustana is on the road for playoffs from March 4 to 12.

Basketball

The women’s basketball team lost 74-65 to Lakeland and beat Grande Prairie 87-45.

Against Lakeland, Lauren Cardinal led the Augustana offence with 19 points, while Hannah Mitchell chipped in with 16 points against Keyano on February 18.

Cardinal scored 14 points as the leader against Grande Prairie, while Mitchell added 12. The Vikings are at home on March 4 at 6 p.m. for playoffs.

The men’s team won both games: 101-93 over Lakeland on February 18, and 99-71 against Grande Prairie on February 20.

In the first game, both Nathan Bowie and Nic Harder scored 20 points each. Both Jake Frostad and Marc Parma chipped in with 17 points.

Parma led with 35 points, while Harder added 20 points in the Grande Prairie contest.

The Vikings are hosting a playoff game at 7 p.m. on March 6.

Hockey

Augustana defeated Portage 5-3 on February 22, lost a close 3-2 game to NAIT on February 18, and lost a 2-1 game in overtime to NAIT on February 19.

Against NAIT in Camrose, the Ooks built up a 3-0 lead before Kyle Ford replied for the Vikings midway into the middle frame.

Tanner Manz added the second tally for the Vikings in the third period to make the close.

Goalie Daniel Moody turned away 31 of the 34 shots he faced. The Vikings recorded 31 shots on goal.

In the rematch, the Vikings scored first in the opening period on a power play marker from Jake Gudjonson. NAIT tied the game in the third period to force overtime.

Goalie Moody stopped 36 of 38 shots directed his way, while Augustana fired 17 shots at the NAIT net.

The Vikings are in fifth place with a 5-7-2 record. They will play SAIT in the first round of the playoffs, with a home game on March 5 starting at 3 p.m.

Curling

Both the women’s and men’s rinks qualified for the playoffs. Augustana will be hosting the ACAC championships on March 5 and 6 at the Rose City Curling Club. Saturday games begin at 9:30 a.m.

Indoor track

The indoor track championships will be on March 26 and 27.

Indigenous speaker series

By Lori Larsen

In partnership with Cargill, Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life, the Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Performing Arts Centre, the Calgary Institute for the Humanities, the International Indigenous Studies Program, and the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Calgary, Augustana will be presenting the fourth event in the Indigenous Speaker Series on March 10 at noon.

The event is a free digital presentation and will feature Leanne Betasamosake Simpson for discussing her recent novel Noopiming and the constellation of short films, records and artists surrounding it.

Betasamosake Simpson is a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer and artist, who has been widely recognized as one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of her generation. Her work breaks open the intersections between politics, story and song, bringing audiences into a rich and layered world of sound, light, and sovereign creativity.

Those wishing to attend can sign up for tickets at http://camroselive. ca/event/noopiming-thecure-for-white-ladies.