HAVE YOUR BEST HOLIDAYS EVER
Make the most of the season
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’TIS THE SEASON FOR GINGERBREAD 16 cookies for Christmas
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We are pleased to announce that our teams at Bosa Development and Embassy BOSA have joined to form the new BOSA. Our name has evolved but our belief in Calgary as one of North America’s most dynamic and entrepreneurial cities is stronger than ever. For over 20 years we have led projects here that have built communities that have changed the way we live. And we continue to combine functionality and aesthetic excellence to increase the urban vibrancy of the city’s most desirable neighbourhoods.
BOSA has a big vision with a long term commitment to Calgary. With our current projects we strive to elevate expectations at every level. These exceptional developments are more than just homes, they are vibrant destinations.
A DAZZLING DISPLAY OF 150 CHRISTMAS TREES. FREE PHOTOS WITH SANTA. MUSICAL PERFORMANCES. A FESTIVE SCAVENGER HUNT. A CHANCE TO WIN A WEEKEND GETAWAY WITH ALFA ROMEO AND 24 RETAILER PRIZES! Find out more at COREShopping.ca
$5,500,000
Over 6,000 sq.ft 26 storeys up in Keynote Tower this penthouse offers panoramic views & executive living. MLS C4110289
Dennis Plintz 403.608.1112
Plintz 403.608.1112
In vibrant Quarry Park, this modern 4 bedroom townhouse with double garage offers quality and elegance. MLS C4139679
Dennis Plintz 403.608.1112
1188 3 Street SE, Calgary, AB 40th floor Sub-Penthouse in The Guardian with panoramic views, 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 4 parking stalls, 3 balconies. MLS C4137813
Corinne Poffenroth 403.804.2444
In the heart of downtown, steps from Prince’s Island Park and river pathways is boutique and modern Churchill Estates. MLS C4122586
Dennis Plintz 403.608.1112
MLS C4118883 Heather Waddell 403.471.0467
Stunning 2 bedroom + flex 2.5 bathroom contemporary two storey industrial loft suite at SoBow in Inglewood. MLS C4123850
Corner bungalow townhouse with an bright and open living space, basement, private patio, and attached garage. MLS C4143122
Dennis Plintz 403.608.1112
$1,324,999 SOLD
Dennis Plintz 403.608.1112
A bright and vibrant upgraded 3 bedroom townhouse with fully developed basement in Killarney. Steps to Marda Loop. MLS C4144004
Dennis Plintz 403.608.1112
$749,900
71 Wentworth Manor SW, Calgary, AB
Dennis Plintz 403.608.1112
Contemporary design and style throughout this 4 bedroom inner city home with city and mountain views. MLS C4135099 Dennis Plintz 403.608.1112
11370
AB Stunning timber frame home of daring design that blends inspiration from Canmore & West Coast architecture. MLS C4123651 Dennis Plintz 403.608.1112
$1,089,000
Stunning character home with gorgeous renovations and curb appeal in the neighbourhood of Elbow Park. MLS C4124424
#2601 220 12 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB
#4003
Take care of your holiday shopping while exploring your city. Find everything for everyone on your list in the downtown core, the Design District and on 17th Avenue S.W., as well as in Mission, Kensington, Inglewood, Willow Park Village and at the big-name retailers you know and love.
By Shelley Arnusch, Andrew Guilbert, Jennifer Hamilton and Käthe Lemon
Going big at Christmas doesn’t have to mean taking on too much. If holiday celebrations are feeling more like obligations, it’s time to stop, take stock of the things you truly love, like decorating or entertaining, and do them in a big way while ditching the rest.
By Jennifer Dorozio, Jennifer Hamilton and Käthe Lemon
Mountain towns and other recreation destinations often lack surgical facilities and emergency medical services. Find out why it can be difficult to find qualified professionals to live and work in non-urban areas and what getting seriously injured in these places can mean for tourists and locals alike.
By Christina Frangou
29
Detours
Inside Calgary’s “biggest little free library,” where the experience of reading to kids is as important as the books themselves. Plus, a new initiative to make live theatre more accessible to people with physical and intellectual disabilities.
35
The Pour Columnist Tom Firth’s yearend picks for his favourite wines for drinking as well as gifting to the oenophiles on your Christmas list.
38
Comfort foods to enjoy when the weather outside is frightful.
In mountain towns, snow is something to celebrate. Here’s how they do it at the annual winter festivals in Canmore, Fernie, Jasper and Lake Louise.
Personal stylist and fashion blogger Sunjeev Prasad on his streetsavvy prepster look.
Jimmy-Lee Vennard, director of butlers at Azuridge Estate Hotel, on where he goes for haircuts (and beard trims), nachos, canary bird treats and more.
A look inside the remodeled inner-city bungalow that is home to designer Karen Ryan, her husband Ron Ryan and their extensive art collection.
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Take advantage of our holiday gift wrapping services throughout the month of December in support of the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter Visit bankershall ca for further details
“ t Canadian while s n top of the O m a Canadian anthem.”Michelle Cameron Coulter 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist Synchronized Swimming Clothing: La Chic Jewellery: Carati
Have a better holiday by focusing your efforts and embracing the sensory overload of the season.
Christmas, in my opinion, should come in a highly concentrated dose. If I had my druthers, all of the celebrating would start on December 20th with everyone running out to buy their tree (or digging it out of storage), setting it up, doing their shopping and gift wrapping and then settling in with a glass of egg nog to watch a classic holiday movie, gathering around the piano to sing some carols, going to see The Nutcracker, or what have you.
However, as anyone who has bemoaned the premature sighting of Christmas decorations can attest, Christmas is a holiday that has a tendency to spill out all over the place, with many events starting in early November. The sheer volume of celebration makes it feel more like obligation and by the time the actual day arrives many of us are burnt out and completely over it.
And that’s coming from someone who celebrates and loves Christmas. For those who don’t, the season is a relentless barrage of expensive and over-decorated irrelevance (with the added indignity of the same terrible adult-contemporary Christmas carols playing everywhere you go).
So this year we looked at things from a new angle. What if instead of trying to lock Christmas down into a manageable form, we reveled in its inherent extravagance?
Starting on page 55 we look at how to enjoy a big Christmas. From our list of iconic Calgary holiday events and experiences to a veritable army of gingerbread people from local bakeries, we’re highlighting the abundance of the season. This certainly doesn’t mean we think you should do it all, rather, that the best way to enjoy the season is to stop, think about what parts of the holidays you truly love, and then fully commit
Käthe Lemon Editor-in-Chief klemon@redpointmedia.ca
to what you want to take part in. This way, you can enjoy every aspect of your celebration and revel in the full sensory experience of it, but not feel compelled to take part in things that aren’t meaningful to you.
For me that means greatly curtailing the events I attend and curating my gift-giving list, leaving me time and money to go all out on Christmas dinner and the few gifts I do buy, as well as a lengthy card-sending list. Our family buys a live tree no earlier than the 19th of December and we make a family event of decorating it — putting on our Vinyl Cafe and Charlie Brown Christmas albums and drinking hot chocolate from special mugs while we work.
If celebrating Christmas is not a tradition of yours, I hope you can still find a way to enjoy this
To get the tablet edition, go to avenuecalgary.com/tabletedition.
month that offers so much: the smell of pine in the air, the flavours of roasted vegetables, skating under the sparkling lights at Olympic Plaza or just hunkering down with a good book in front of a fire — all are not-to-be-missed seasonal pleasures no matter your background.
As this year that has been full of so much disruption and chaos comes to a close, I also want to take a moment to wish you all a time of peace, joy and togetherness with the people you hold dear and all the very best for the new year.
Born and raised in Calgary, Madison Farkas graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Mount Royal University in 2016. Her work has appeared in Avenue, Pink Pages Magazine, Best Version Media, and on CBC Books and Global News Calgary. She is now based in Peterborough, Ont., where she is furthering her love of hyper-local storytelling as the content manager for more than a hundred community magazines across Canada. She is a yoga lover, obsessive reader and her latest project is a series of essays on the intersection of feminism, queer identities and pop culture.
Pui Yan Fong is a Toronto-based illustrator. She focuses on editorial and sports illustration with a simple, flatgraphic style and bright colours. Fong loves reading and coming up with conceptual imagery. When she is not drawing or reading, she is gaming or watching sports. See more of her work at puiyanfong.com.
Ashley King is a former editorial intern at Avenue, and a final year journalism student at Mount Royal University. She has studied broadcasting and music journalism in the United Kingdom and has been recognized for excellence in journalism by the Associated Collegiate Press. Having caught the travel bug early in life, she’s always on the hunt for writing assignments that reach beyond her own backyard. Aside from writing and travelling, her passions include hot sauce and her dog, Ducky.
Farouq Samnani is a Calgary-based fashion and editorial photographer, illustrator and award-winning designer. He recently moved back to the city where he grew up after spending the last 16 years living in a number of different cities in Canada and abroad. During this time, Samnani built a career in visual design that includes work for the global energy, technology, film and entertainment, music and fashion industries. He is now bringing his international experience back to Calgary to co-found a new design house. Find him on instagram @farouqsamnani or online at farouqsamnani.com.
Peek inside some local celebrations and find out what Calgary newlyweds say was the best part of their day.
As Loose Moose celebrates its 40th anniversary, alumnus Bruce McCulloch reflects on how the worldrenowned improv group influenced his career and life.
We start the new year by helping you figure out how to get what you want — whether that’s a cleaner house, a healthier body or a happier outlook.
Most people remember the first book they loved, but probably don’t consider the importance of where they read it — whether it be in the arms of a parent, under the covers with a flashlight, or during class story time.
Last June, when Calgary Reads executive director Steacy Collyer decided to transform an Inglewood heritage house that she owns into the “largest little free library” in Calgary, she did so because she believes creating a space for children to read is just as important as providing access to books. “I wanted to ensure that any child and any family could have the opportunity to build a literacy-rich environment for themselves,” Collyer says.
The Children’s Reading Place, as it’s known, is a three-level home packed with books. Every child that visits can take a book when they leave. While the house is intended to be a space where parents can read to their kids, there are also two official “readers in residence,” as city zoning regulations require that the premises be occupied.
The project primarily operates through volunteers who are on hand to show children around the house. The rules are you can’t come without a child in tow and you have to book your visit in advance. Only five families are allowed in at a time in order to create a more intimate reading experience, Collyer says.
The Children’s Reading Place gets books through donations and partnerships with
publishers, such as Scholastic, which net them significant discounts.
Each room also features decor inspired by children’s literature: the entrance’s blackand-white frames and quirky quotes are modelled on the works of Shel Silverstein; look upwards while you’re on the staircase and you’ll see where the wild things are. The decor was a partnership between Calgary Reads and first-year interior design students at Mount Royal University — groupings of approximately six students were paired up with an alumnus of the interior design program to make reading-friendly rooms, all for a budget of zero dollars. “[They were] intentional about each thing that they introduced,” says Collyer, “whether it was reminiscent of their childhood or because they were readers.”
Collyer says the neighbourhood of Inglewood was an ideallocation for the project on account of its “quirky urbanvil-lage” feel. The home is adjacent to the city bike paths and several bus routes stop nearby. “We want everyone, regardless of socio-economic status, to enjoy the house,” says Collyer.
The Children’s Reading Place house is still owned by Collyer, who says she will happily sell it to Calgary Reads if the organization wants to continue the program beyond the first-year trial run. Her own thoughts on the subject are pretty clear, however. “Reading is everything,” she says. “It’s a foundation of who we are as human beings.”
— Jennifer DorozioTo book a visit to the Children’s Reading Place visit calgaryreads.com
Often, people with disabilities aren’t able to fully engage with the arts in the same way as the able-bodied, but Calgary’s Good Host Program is hoping to change that. The program — the first of its kind in Canada — collaborates with theatre companies of all sizes to improve inclusion and accessibility for Calgary’s disabled community.
Col Cseke, artistic director at Good Host’s partner company Inside Out Theatre, coordinates the program. Cseke describes the Good Host Program as a warm welcome into theatre spaces, with each space anticipating the needs of different communities. “The people in these communities have never been invited to come see theatre, or even been marketed to,” he says. “Every step we take, we’re working with the community we’re trying to reach.”
The program can provide things such as American Sign Language interpretation for the hard of hearing and performances where audience members are welcome to move around or engage in other behaviours that might be seen as disruptive in order to enjoy the show. “We’ll have a chill-out zone in the lobby for people with autism or sensory processing concerns,” Cseke says. “If the world of the play is a little too intense, they can come and chill out for a while. The biggest thing is that all those really strict theatregoing rules get relaxed for a bit.”
Kathy Austin, a visually impaired theatregoer, was hired to help develop the program. Austin has previously used telescopes to see during performances, but says the tactile tours — a chance to touch the set and costumes prior to the show — allows blind people to share the experience seeing people have. “Generally my theatre experiences are very good, but with touch it makes it better and starts to level out the field,” Austin says.
Austin and other visually impaired patrons also benefit from radio-connected headphones where an actor gives a live audio description throughout the play. “The audio description we write describes all of the visual elements of the play,” Cseke says. “The performance of these descriptions will match the intensity, mood or tone of the scene ... hopefully building in listeners’ imaginations what the sighted audience sees.” —Ashley King
For more information, visit insideouttheatre.com/good-host
While it’s customary to deck your own halls in December, when it comes to windows, you’ll want a professional on the job. Outside of Stampede, the holiday season is the busiest time of year for Valerie Nimchuk, who has been in the windowpainting business for 17 years. “It’s the best job in the world because I get to draw and paint all day,” Nimchuk says. “I have a big book of designs that I can pick through and customize. (A reindeer with braces for a dental office, for example.)
“I do it all by hand. I draw it on first and then paint after. Your writing, of course, is backwards so you get used to doing that. I can handwrite backwards now. Sometimes when I’m writing forward I’m like, ‘is that correct?’” —J.D.
For more information, visit windowpaintingcalgary.com
“THE BIGGEST THING IS THAT ALL THOSE REALLY STRICT THEATRE-GOING RULES GET RELAXED FOR A BIT.”
— Col Cseke
BREAD & CIRCUS TRATTORIA
B-Mex Restaurant Group didn’t stray far to open Bread and Circus. You’ll find this 38-seat Roman trattoria next door to its popular Una Pizza + Wine restaurant in a 900-square-foot space that’s wedged between the Una Takeaway counter up front and Frenchie Wine Bar in the back. Bread & Circus features a pasta-focused menu from chef Kayle Burns, with house-made gelato and other sweets for dessert.
616 17 Ave. S.W., 403-476-3615, breadandcircusyyc.com
THEATRE A CHRISTMAS CAROL
NOV. 23 TO DEC. 24
Theatre Calgary presents its annual production of the Charles Dickens classic with Stephen Hair returning as Ebenezer Scrooge — his 24th year in the role. Travel back in time to Victorian England to be spirited away by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, and rejoice in this heartwarming tale of redemption.
Max Bell Theatre, Arts Commons, 403-294-7447, theatrecalgary.com
NUTCRACKER
DEC. 8 TO 10
This year marks the 30th year that the Jeunesse Classique Ballet will perform its annual holiday production of The Nutcracker. The young dancers in the company, which is a registered charity, bring sugar plum fairies, mischievous mice and, of course, the Nutcracker Prince himself back to enchant audiences of all ages.
University of Calgary Theatre, jcbs.ca
CONCERT A JANN ARDEN
CHRISTMAS
DEC. 13 AND 14
Calgary’s own superstar chanteuse will perform Christmas classics as well as selections of her chart-topping hits with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra as her backing band.
Jack Singer Concert Hall, 403-571-0849, calgaryphil.com
DANCE
BESO DE TANGO NEW YEAR’S EVE MILONGA
DEC 31
Local tango dance club Beso de Tango hosts a New Year’s Eve dance at the Petroleum Club. The event features cocktails, dinner (with optional wine pairings) and tango dancing to music by guest DJ Vincenzo Renzi. Tickets are pre-sale only via eventbrite.ca, with a reduced-price danceonly ticket (no dinner), though all ticketholders do get a Champagne toast at midnight.
Calgary Petroleum Club, 319 5 Ave S.W., besodetango.com
For more things to do this month, turn to page 58 or visit AvenueCalgary.com
The former La Vita é Bella in Victoria Park has been revamped into a new 85-seat Italian restaurant called Cardinale. Executive chef Steven Dowdell has created an entirely new menu of made-in-house pastas, brisket and short-rib meatballs and entrees such as heritage pork braciole and seared halibut. 401 12 Ave. S.E., 403-264-6046, cardinale.ca, @cardinaleyyc
CRAFT BEER MARKET
Craft Beer Market’s second Calgary location is now open at Southcentre Mall beside Crate & Barrel. There are 122 draft beers to choose from as well as a menu of items such as Big Rock beer can chicken, grilled West Coast salmon and Baja fish tacos. During the summer months, you can enjoy them all on the restaurant’s main level patio. Southcentre Mall, craftbeermarket.ca, @craftbeermarket
HENRY SINGER
Family-owned menswear retailer Henry Singer has opened a new 6,000-square-foot flagship store in downtown’s Eighth Avenue Place, just in time for the Alberta company’s 80th anniversary. Designed by McKinley Burkart, the new store houses a tailor shop, a made-to-measure suite and its own barbershop and apothecary. Shop luxury menswear brands such as Eton, Hugo Boss, Canali and Kiton. 545 8 Ave. S.W., henrysinger.com, @henrysinger1938
TWO PENNY CHINESE
A sister restaurant to Native Tongues Taqueria and Calcutta Cricket Club, Two Penny Chinese opened this past fall in Victoria Park. The menu is filled with family-style Chinese fare such as wok-fried noodles, dumplings and roasted meats served in a space that features a custom-made moon gate.
1213 1 St. S.W., twopenny.ca
this month
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Follow up your last run with a truly authentic dining experience from Stones Restaurant. Inspired by the rich history of the Chiniki First Nation and the finest Indigenous chefs across Canada. Menu items are prepared using top quality ingredients, seasonally sourced and grown locally.
chinikiculturalcentre.com
Sometimes, it’s pretty awesome being me. It’s not all wine and roses of course, but looking back on 2017 and some of the incredible bottles I tasted, shared and wrote about reminds me what a joy it is to be a wine-lover in Calgary.
This past year in wine saw an emphasis on getting the best bang for our buck, what with value being on everyone’s mind. It’s a hard thing to launch a super-premium luxury wine in this market these days, but no matter one’s budget, the trend is toward perceived value. Whether a kick-ass Rioja, a beautiful Port or a wickedly awesome German bottle, it isn’t good enough for a wine to be simply good or rare, it has to sell at a fair price, too.
It is no secret that Albertans enjoy the largest selection of wines in the country and, increasingly, consumers are looking for cool and interesting wines that are different but not too far off the beaten path. We continue to see more and more smaller producers capturing attention while large or overly commercial offerings fall out of favour. And we still love wines with a good story or a cool personality behind them — if the price is fair. Don’t get me wrong, there are still a lot of overpriced wines out there, and there certainly are wines that might be boring to some people, but the selection is better than ever.
What follows are some of my favourites from the past year. They aren’t the most expensive (although there is a $450 bottle here) or the hardest to find, but at each price point these wines were captivating, curious and possessing enough personality that they’ve stuck with me. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
PICKS
RED, BIERAS, PORTUGAL
For my dollar, Portugal still offers almost unheard-of authenticity in its wines. Made from the baga grape, of which Luis Pato is the undisputed master, its nose is smoked strawberries, leather and blueberry with a spicy, peppery palate and some cellar-worthy tannins. $35
An almost unapologetic example of what chardonnay can be — big, bold, with loads of oak and shades of sourdough bread while fruits lean toward lemon drops and green apples. Richly flavoured and textured, it’s a wine that drinks like a meal. Don’t serve it too cold, though. $59
PORT, PORTUGAL
Love old wine, but don’t have the patience for cellaring? The most recent offering from Taylor Fladgate’s single-vintage (or colhita) tawny Ports is a perfect choice. The 1967 is a barrel-aged Port made entirely from 1967 fruit and released this year. With nearly 50 years in the barrel (it spends a little time in the bottle, too), it’s plump with orange and dried-lemon, pecans and saltedcaramel flavours, with a long peanut-brittle finish. $264
Looking for a super-premium malbec for your favourite carnivore? Fortuna Terrae (luck of the Land) is a small, five-acre parcel of Catena’s Adrianna vineyard. Classic stylings but offering so much more in the balance, with black fruits, plum and garrigue, with cocoa and charred wood on the finish. Stellar from first sip to last drop. $125
Hands down, one of the finest riojas to bear the name. Sure, it is a little more fruit-driven than some traditional examples, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just goes down that much quicker. Full of cherry and black-currant fruits, with some smooth but weighty tannins, it’s a good wine to have on hand in the cellar, so buy a few. $58
A million miles away from those “gooey” off-dry or sweet gewürztraminers, the Eichberg is a grand cru vineyard noted for its exceptional terroir and the wine it produces. It’s sleek and citrusy on the nose with loads of crushed rock tones, while the palate is citrus and honey, with only a pinch of sweetness. Will age well in the cellar, too. $35
One of my current favourites from the Okanagan, Ex Nihilo’s merlot is all about firm tannins supporting deep and layered earthy berry fruits. Merlot is one of my favourite grapes from the Okanagan and the Ex Nihilo doesn’t disappoint. I’d recommend decanting it if you’re opening now, but it will sing after five years or so in the cellar. $40
One of the greats in American wine, Chappellet makes a number of cellar-worthy stunners. Its Mountain Cuvee is a Bordeaux-style blend with deep berry fruits, star anise, licorice and a great earthiness to bring it balance. It’s big, beautiful and a bear of a wine, so let it sleep in the cellar for a bit. A great gift for the collector on your list. $55
Tinhorn Creek has a new flagship wine. You might wonder why it took so long, but it was worth the wait. A cabernet sauvignon-based Bordeaux blend, it shows the cassis and bell pepper spiciness cabernet is known for with balanced notes of fruit, earth and spice tones throughout. Note the screw top for long-term cellaring. $65
Limited to approximately 5,000 bottles worldwide, The Caley is Yalumba’s super-premium flagship wine sourced from two of Australia’s notable regions, the Barossa and Coonawarra, and their flagship grapes — shiraz and cabernet sauvignon. Mouthfilling and mouthwatering, with layer upon layer of aroma and flavour, it’s a wonderfully crafted wine that showcases its homeland. If your budget permits, buy it, cellar it, and yes, drink it. $450
This is a single-vintage tawny Port that’s perfect for enjoying or gifting. These wines are released ready to drink and exhibit the power and structure of Port, with a nuttiness to balance the sweetness. With peanut-shell and lime aromas, and caramel and crème brûlée on the palate, it’s nearly impossible to only have one glass. A sweet choice for someone you know with a sweet tooth. $120
Silvaner, an uncommon grape, is often overshadowed by riesling and other Germanic varieties, which is unfortunate when you consider the honey and vanilla-bean aromas with a touch of plum and spice that waft up from the glass. Lightly oaked from newer French barrels, it would easily be a discussion-worthy alternative to most chardonnays on the table. $26
When it comes to soaking up soup, a flimsy slice simply won’t do. The multi-grain and Yukon sourdough loaves from Prairie Mill, an Alberta company with Calgary origins, have just the right amount of chew to handle hot stew. They’re also great on their own — slathered in butter, of course.
129, 4820 Northland Dr. N.W., 403-282-6455, prairiemillbread.com
This hearty soup has been a staple on the menu for years at Cilantro (part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts group). Now available to grab and go from CRMR’s Urban Butcher shops, you can serve it at your own table, or eat it on the couch, wrapped up in blankets. 2100 4 St. S.W., 403-245-6662, and two other locations, urbanbutcher.com, @urbanbutcheryyc
Is there a more comforting dish, especially in Alberta, than tender beef slowly braised with bourbon? Pair it with some mashed potatoes to catch the drips and there’s really no need to leave the house.
216, 10816 Macleod Tr., 403-264-6336, meezcuisine.com, @meezcuisine
Vital Greens organic farm near Lethbridge makes a 52-per cent heavy cream that is pure decadence. Drizzle it over your pie or keep a bottle on hand for any time you need to add richness to soup, coffee or anything else. Available at Blush Lane Organics, blushlane.com, @blushlanecalg and other fine grocers around the city
The apple pie of your dreams is at Bite in Inglewood — extra-deep dish with bronzed apples and a flaky crust just waiting for a scoop of vanilla (luckily, they sell Made By Marcus ice cream there, too). 1023 9 Ave. S.E., 403-263-3966, biteyyc.com, @biteyyc
Soups, stews and pies always taste better when someone makes them for you, so when you want to comfort someone (including yourself) with food on a cold winter day, here are a few dishes worth seeking out.
This year, Avenue editors explored different areas in the city to find the most creative, unique, practical and splurgy gifts from stores ranging from tiny boutiques to major chain retailers. The result is sure to provide ideas and inspiration for everyone on your list, while encouraging you to get out and explore some shopping districts you may not have visited for a while.
BY Shelley Arnusch, Andrew Guilbert, Jennifer Hamilton AND Käthe Lemon PHOTOGRAPHY BY Jared Sych
A Woolrich blanket has the kind of heritage cred that rugged outdoorsy types (and those who fancy themselves rugged outdoorsy types) appreciate.
$212.95 at Hanson’s Fishing Outfitters. 813 1 St. S.W., 403269-9371, hansonsoutfitters.com
Brooks Brothers Royall Mandarin lotion eau de toilette is like a dash of summery warmth during the months when your guy needs it most.
$52 at Brooks Brothers. The Core Shopping Centre, 403-4410841, brooksbrothers.com
This golden metallic lantern makes a stylish addition to any well-curated shelf with its clean, geometric lines, or use it with a pillar candle to create a warm cozy vibe in any room.
$20 at La Maison Simons. The Core Shopping Centre, 403-6971840, simons.ca
Miu Miu’s gold wallet will make your golden girl gasp with delight on Christmas morning. $450 at Holt Renfrew. The Core Shopping Centre, 403-269-7341, holtrenfrew.com
There are two types of guys: the guys who would be happy to find a plain, non-descript sweater under the Christmas tree and the guys who would be happy to find this Diesel sweater featuring a Tyrannosaurus rex pushing a shopping cart under the tree. $248 at Harry Rosen. The Core Shopping Centre, 403-294-0992, harryrosen.com
A full-sized pinball machine is tough to fit under the tree, so go for this table model instead. $15.75 at the Glenbow Museum Shop. 130 9 Ave. S.E. (Stephen Avenue entrance), 403268-4119, glenbow.org/shop
This Panthère de Cartier gold ladies watch is a reissue of a design from the 1980s, so there’s a touch of Studio 54 glam in this classic timepiece. $28,400 at Brinkhaus. 823 6 Ave. S.W., 403-269-4800, brinkhaus.com
These gloves are the perfect wooly warmer for when it’s cold outside but you still need your fingers free. $139 at Oska. Bankers Hall, 403-384-9772, calgary.oska.com
Wine and chocolate? Yes please! Cococo’s Canadian Icewine Truffles are the treat every wine and chocolate lover wants in their stocking. $10 for a package of three at Cococo Chocolatiers. Bankers Hall, 403-288-3010, (and nine other Calgary locations), cococochocolatiers.com
Bring the spa home with luxurious “deep relax” Himalayan bath salts. $89 at Stillwater Spa at Hyatt Regency Calgary. 700 Centre St. S.E., 403-5374474, hyatt.com
Canadiana kitsch is oh so cool right now. Get it on the rocks with Drake General Store’s printed bar glasses. $12 each at the pop-up store in the Hudson’s Bay Downtown. 200 8 Ave. S.W., 403-262-0345, thebay.com
Whether it’s to be used as a toy or as a decoration, this beautiful Inuit-made mama polar bear with baby bear from Taluq Designs is a perfect commemoration for Canada 150.
$479.95 at Livingstone & Cavell Extraordinary Toys. 1124 Kensington Rd. N.W., 403-270-4165, extraordinarytoys.com
It’s a candle, it’s a massage oil — it’s relaxation in a jar and it’s locally made in Okotoks with soy wax, shea, hemp oil and essential oils. Burn the Sweet Dreams Natura Soy Massage Candle then use the melted wax for a soothing massage. $19 at Kensington Florist. 3, 1145 Kensington Cr. N.W., 403-2704026, kensingtonflorist.com
Designed by Manitoba artist Shirley Lloyd-Davies and then embroidered by a family in the Kashmir region of India, these pillow covers are a traditional craft and a work of art rolled
up into one great gift. $56 at Mañana Imports and Gifts.
1132 Kensington Rd. N.W., 403283-6537, mananaimports.com
Locally made Bar Country dehydrated cocktails are all you need for a cocktail party on the go. Just add water, booze and shake. $15 for a package of six (a variety of cocktails available) at Meraki Supply Co. 103, 305
10 St. N.W., merakisupplyco.com
Keep your coins purr-fectly safe in this cat coin purse
imported from Asia. $12.99 at Unique. 1, 338 10 St. N.W., 403-245-6778
Available in a wide range of surreal photo-collage scenes, Pullin lycra underpants will keep you both smiling. $40 at James & Dickson Clothiers. 1130 Kensington Rd. N.W., 403262-2214, jamesanddickson.com
The Secrid Crisple wallet combines peace of mind and convenience into one handy little package. It keeps credit cards
safe from RFID scanners and a handy mechanism pops cards out so you don’t have to open it each time you want to pay for something. $95 at Ingear. 1127 Kensington Rd. N.W., 403283-9387, ingearstore.com
This slim oval flask is the perfect size and shape to keep in a pocket. $42 at Purr Fine Clothing & Accessories. 1220 Kensington Rd. N.W., 403-2703585 (and two other locations), purrclothing.ca
It’s a crossbow that shoots marshmallows. ’Nuff said. $82 at The Uncommons. 1325A 9 Ave. S.E., 587-353-9337, theuncommons.ca
While this is a great gift for the hirsute hombre in your life, it’s his bathroom sink that will really appreciate the beard bib’s knack for catching shavings. $20 at Kent of Inglewood. 1319 9 Ave. S.E., 403-457-1595, kentofinglewood.com
Cochrane artist Stacey Bru’s charming comics series about living with anxiety is a great introduction to the world of zines and makes for a cool stocking stuffer. $5 at Phoenix Comics. 1325 9 Ave. S.E., 587-352-9870, phoenix-comics.ca
This tiny Danesco grater is a workhorse that produces delicate shavings of ginger, parmesan or whatever else you need a soupçon of. And it’s something they’ll use more often than they think. $5.95 at Savour Fine Foods. 1331 9 Ave. S.E., 403-532-8222, savourfinefoods.com
A great introduction to the world of woolcraft, this easy needle felting kit will produce a furry, felted friend that fits in the palm of their hand. $24 at 28 Blankets. 1317 9 Ave. S.E., 403-263-8088, 28blankets.com
Hand screen-printed using non-toxic water-based inks, this tea towel by Fine Mesh features all the YYC landmarks that give this city its character. $24 at Plant. 1327 9 Ave. S.E., 403-585-4226, plantshop.ca
Lawren Harris is a Group of Seven member who’s enjoying a bit of a comeback. While his prints might be too expensive for most, these fine bone china mugs do an excellent job of bringing Harris’s work home. $32 at Tea Trader. 1228A 9 Ave. S.E., 403-264-0728, teatrader.com
Champagne Cognac is a classy gift for those who appreciate the finer things, and with its smart, bright-orange box you don’t have to worry about giftwrapping. $117 at Metrovino. 722 11 Ave. S.W., 403-205-3356, metrovino.com
A seven-quart Staub cocotte in rich dark green will delight any home cook. $450 at The Cookbook Co. Cooks. 722 11 Ave. S.W., 403-265-6066, cookbookcooks.com
This weighty Taschen tome is the ultimate coffee-table book, filled with famous faces
and style icons galore. $130 at Kit Interior Objects. 725 11 Ave. S.W., 403-508-2533, kitinteriorobjects.com
The Burton Beeracuda is the best thing to happen to six-packs since, well, anything. The insulated “over-theshoulder beverage holder” fits six cans end-to-end and features an attached koozie up front for when you want a cold-one close at hand. $29.99 at the Source Snowboards and Skateboards. 738 11 Ave. S.W., 403-270-3719, sourceboards.com
A solid cast-iron pirate-face dish can hold loose change,
keys or whatever else your matey has laying around. $19.95 at Stuff. 102, 709 11 Ave. S.W., 403-209-2606, stuff4him.ca
Yeti is the it brand of cooler right now. The Yeti 18 Rambler vacuum bottle (pictured here in trendy seafoam) keeps cold beverages extra cold and hot beverages extra hot — ideal for either the dedicated home juicer or coffee nut who prefers to tote their own brew. $40 at MEC. 830 10 Ave. S.W., 403-269-2420, mec.ca
Local make-up academy
Artists Within has its own line of products and the AW03
matte lip colours have something of a cult following. You can’t go wrong with the classic “Ruby” red for Christmas, or the more neutral “Flirt” — a good colour for any season.
$26 at Artists Within. 306, 822 11 Ave. S.W., 403-208-0034, artistswithin.com
A bag of pretty pastel meringues tied with a bow will make your sweetie smile on Christmas morning. $6.25 from Sucre Patisserie & Café. 1007 8 St. S.W., 587-352-5505, sucrecafe.com
Leather-strap backpacks have been trending for a while. This hand-dyed leather Officine Creative Olds pack is a top-ofthe-line example, with enough space and pockets to make it practical and fashionable.
$735 at gravitypope. 1126 17 Ave. S.W., 403-2090961, gravitypope.com
Diffusers are like marriages — in theory, you should only need one. So, make sure the scent-spreader you give is a stylish addition that will fit in with your giftee’s home decor by choosing an AromaGem Ultrasonic diffuser in black, silver or gold. $80 at Saje. 880 16 Ave. S.W., 403-475-7263, saje.com
Made with real feathers sustainably sourced from birds such as peacocks and pheasants, these Brackish bowties are one-of-a-kind accessories that are sure to complement anyone’s personal plumage. $265 at Rubaiyat. 722 17 Ave. S.W., 403-228-7192, rubaiyatcalgary.com
High-quality metal makes these measuring spoons practical, while the hand-applied enamel with vintage designs adds a little fun to your cookware. $38 at Steeling Home. 1010 17 Ave. S.W., 403-2450777, steelinghome.ca
These handcrafted petrified wood coasters, made from Alberta’s official stone, have been 60 to 90 million years in the making, and combine the natural beauty of wood with the cool, durable nature of stone. $83 at West Elm. 868 16 Ave. S.W., 403-245-1373, westelm.ca
More than 200 characters combine to form personal affirmations, general reminders or favourite puns on this home-sized Modernspeak message board. $65 at Krickets. 2306 4 St. S.W., 403-244-9330, facebook.com/kricketscalgary
Inspired by ’60s and ’70s studio potteries, A Question of Eagles handmade ceramic pots will elevate any indoor plant installation. From $70 at Fieldstudy. 102, 1812 4 St. S.W., 587-356-2134, fieldstudyshop.com
These Sardinha knife rests have been gracing Portuguese tables since 1884. With styles
ranging from traditional fish to funky cityscapes, they’re sure to make any table display pop.
$50 each at Inspirati. 2207 4 St. S.W., 403-244-4443, inspirati.ca
This pig paper-towel holder adds a certain rustic charm to the kitchen counter that regular spindle holders can’t match. $29 at Urban Barn. 2500 4 St. S.W., 403-245-1031, urbanbarn.com
The Touch Organic Tea Floral Label Collection is beautifully packaged tea and offers 20 pyramid bags in flavours such as jasmine, passionfruit or ginger orange. $11.50 at Marlow Floralworks. 2101 4 St. S.W., 403-228-6335, marlowfloralworks.com
For the oenophile who has everything, the Forge De Laguiole bottle opener, handmade in France, is the crème de la crème of corkscrews.
$185 at Bin 905. 2311 4 St. S.W., 403-261-1600, bin905.com
This Castarède XO Willow Park Select Armagnac, France’s first brandy, is so good Willow Park bought a whole barrel of it to sell exclusively at its store. $91.49 at Willow Park Wines and Spirits. Willow Park Village, 403-296-1640, willowpark.net
Dishwasher-safe and virtually indestructible, these RSVP Endurance stainless steel martini vessels make a beautiful and practical addition to the modern bar cart. $25 each at Compleat Cook. Willow Park Village, 403-278-1220, compleatcook.ca
The Garson vest by Canada Goose may look retro but it has all the features of modern technical outerwear so you look stylie and stay warm. $425 at Sporting Life. Southcentre Mall, 403-313-4477, sportinglife.ca
For the citrus lover in your life, these preserved lemons from CRMR Kitchen are packed with flavour. Use then anytime you’d use regular lemons, especially stuffed into roast chicken. $6.50 at Urban Butcher. Willow Park Village, 403245-6662 (and two other locations), urbanbutcher.ca
Start a beautiful holiday tradition with the gift of stacking rings from Wong Ken’s. The 18K gold rings with diamonds and coloured gemstones start at $3,900. Diamond bands start at $1,245. Willow Park Village, 403-271-9267, wongkens.com
Be pretty in pastel knits by The Lemon Collection. $50 at BLU’s. Southcentre Mall, 403225-8315, and Banker’s Hall, blus.com
Heart pendants never seem to go out of style, and this one by Israeli designer Danon is great for layering with other necklaces or on its own. $115 at Blue Moon Accessories. Willow Park Village, 403-278-7039
Like the woman herself, Céline Dion’s collection of handbags are classy, chic and very of-themoment. The Vibrato Satchel is $368 at Nordstrom. Chinook Centre, 587-291-2000, nordstrom.com
For the pour-over coffee aficionado who’s short on time and/or patience, there’s the Chemex Ottomatic Coffee Maker. $499 at Crate and Barrel. Southcentre Mall, 403-278-7020, crateandbarrel.com
Pompoms aren’t just for cheerleaders anymore. Cheer up your ho-hum handbag with this furry number in the hottest colours of the season or use it as a key chain. $98 at Michael Kors. Multiple locations, michaelkors.ca
Multi-coloured and multipractical, this Rainbow Multi Tool Set has a multitude of uses. $22 at Indigo and Chapters. Multiple locations, chapters.indigo. com
Unlike that other cold remedy, Organic Cold 911 tastes great and it works. $12 at David’s Tea. Multiple locations, davidstea.com
Add a pop of colour, a pinch of glam and a touch of whimsy to tea time with the Kate Spade New York Greenwich Grove Teapot. $175 at The Bay. Multiple locations, thebay.com
All wrapping paper from Papyrus. Gold and silver $6.95; all other colours $7.95. Multiple locations papyrusonline.com
‘‘I decided on the Alberta Haskayne Executive MBA for my education because of the local learning community created within the Haskayne School of Business. The ongoing face-to-face interaction with faculty and classmates was instrumental in the development my skills and knowledge. The Alberta Haskayne Executive MBA network has been a great resource for me to draw upon, both in and outside of the classroom.”
Rachel Moore, EMBA’15 Vice President, Human Resources Encana
Make this holiday season a joyful celebration of the abundance of everything the season brings.
Jennifer Dorozio, Jennifer Hamilton, Käthe Lemon AND Jaelyn Molyneux
Whether or not your celebration is overtly religious, Christmas is a holiday that lends itself to lavishness. It’s a holiday that has expanded in every conceivable way — growing in length of time, money spent, decorations deployed and food consumed year over year — and all of this can add up to actually taking away from the joy of it all.
Abundance becomes overabundance and “just enough” tips easily into “too much.” And then it can seem that there’s just too much of everything — over-consumption of food and drink and overspending on everything from gifts to decor,
along with over-partying and certainly just being over having all your family hanging around. So how do you go big at Christmas without becoming overwhelmed?
The answer is to do it in a focused way. In other words, pick and choose. Decide which parts of the celebration are most meaningful to you and do those in a way that is significant. For example, skip the gift giving and focus on a delicious Christmas feast. Or make the gift ritual, rather than the gifts themselves, the focus with overthe-top gift-wrapping. Maybe your family has an elaborate advent calendar or maybe you host a big ol’ tree-trimming party. Whatever it is, do one
thing (or maybe a couple if your reserves of time, money and sanity allow) and do it well.
While the concepts of mindfulness and big holiday celebrations may seem anathema, engaging all of your senses and taking note of each part of the season — from the twinkle of the lights to the crunch of your favourite cookie to the scent of the tree — will make your celebration big even if you don’t lift a finger. Because the most important part is to have big joy this season, and the best way to recapture the feeling of excitement about Christmas that children have is taking it all in through fresh eyes.
1. Heritage Park Plain Gingerbread Men, $1.50 or $3.75 with a decorating kit 403-268-8500, heritagepark.ca
2. Rosso Coffee Roasters
Large gingerbread people, $3 multiple locations, rossocoffeeroasters.com
3. Crave
Gingerbread Man Sandwich Cookies, $8 each four Calgary locations, cravecupcakes.ca
Run, run to catch these gingerbread men (and women) at local bakeries and cafés throughout the city just in time for the holidays.
4. Entrees Etc. Multicultural multi-gendered vegan gingerbread people, $3 to $4 403-926-3265, facebook.com/ entreesetccalgary
5. Decadent Brulee $2.25 each or $24/dozen 722 11 Ave. S.W., 403-245-5535, decadentbrulee.ca
6. Glamorgan Bakery
Large cookies, $5.70 or $3.35 for medium and $2.35 for small 19, 3919 Richmond Rd. S.W., 403242-2800, glamorganbakery.com
7. Pretty Sweet Bakeshop
Baby G Boys, $6/bag
(approximately 30 in a bag), 536 42 Ave. S.E. (open Friday and Saturday only), 587-3561225, prettysweetco.com
8. Good Earth Coffeehouse
Gingerbread family members, $7.25/family of three ($1 from each purchase goes to the Calgary Food Bank) multiple locations, goodearthcoffeehouse.com
9. Pie Junkie and Bakery
Home style gingerbread cookies, $2 each
8 Spruce Centre S.W., 403-4523960 and 1081 2 Ave N.W., 403-287-8544, piejunkie.ca
10. Yum Bakery
Package of four cookies for $8.50 Calgary Farmers’ Market, yum-bakery.com
11. Sweet Relief
Gingerbread Cookies, $1.75, large packaged cookies $3.50, decorated cookie platters $12/dozen, 120 13 Ave. S.W., 587-894-0822 and Granary Road Market, 226034 112 St. W., MD of Foothills, sweetreliefpastries.com
12. Calgary Co-op
Brad (shown) and Ginger Cookies, $2.95 each (“naked” gingerbread also available, $3.99/half dozen), multiple locations, calgarycoop.com
13. Sunterra Market
Gingerbread Cookies, $1.99 each or $6.89/four, multiple locations, sunterramarket.com
14. Rustic Sourdough Bakery and Community Natural Foods
Gingerbread men, $2.25, 1305 7 Ave. S.W., 403-245-2113, also at the Market on Macleod, rusticsourdoughbakery.com; also available at Community Natural Foods, $2.29, three locations, communitynaturalfoods.com
15. Edelweiss Village
Gingerbread people decorated with marzipan clothing, $4.95 each, (heart-shaped gingerbread cookies also available, $2.95 each), 1921 20 Ave. N.W., 403-282-6600, edelweissimports.com
16. Delissitude
Nut- and gluten-free vegan gingerbread people, $2.75 each for small, $3.25 for large, Calgary Farmers’ Market, 403-803-0913
Hark! The Christmas season is upon us. Cram more of the spirit of the season into your month with these 25 iconic Calgary activities, one for each day of the countdown to Christmas.
HANDEL’S MESSIAH Listen to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra’s production of Handel’s Messiah or sing-along with the choir and orchestra at the final performance.
Dec. 1 and 2, Sing-along Messiah Dec. 3 | $25 to $85 Jack Singer Concert Hall, Arts Commons, 403-571-0849, calgaryphil.com
Stroll through the section of Confederation Park that borders 14 Street N.W. to take in the largest free light display of its kind in the city.
Nightly until Jan. 7 Free 2490 14 St. N.W., 403-282-3299, lionsfestivaloflights.ca
Jog off the holiday ’nog beneath row upon row of twinkling lights at this five-kilometre fun run out at Spruce Meadows.
Dec. 8 | $50 to $70
S pruce Meadows,403-974-4200, sprucemeadows.com
FESTIVAL OF CRAFTS Find crafty stocking stuffers and gifts by more than 250 Canadian makers at this popular holiday market.
Dec. 7 to 10 | $7 adults, ages 17 and under free BMO Centre, Stampede Park, 613-241-5777, festivalofcrafts.ca
Enjoy A Charlie Brown
Christmas two ways: hear the music performed live by a jazz trio led by the original soundtrack’s drummer Jerry Granelli and watch Storybook
Theatre’s performance of the stage version as part of a double feature with You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown
Musical performance:
Dec. 2 | $30 to 35 general admission, $15 to $18 kids
Central United Church, 131 7 Ave. S.W., 403-2330904, calgaryfolkfest.com
Theatre double feature runs until Dec. 17
$28 general, $23 kids
Vertigo Theatre Studio, 115 9 Ave. S.E., 403-216-0808, storybooktheatre.org
Get the feeling of strolling through a holiday market in Europe at this annual holiday market (you may even spot some reindeer).
Dec. 1 to 3 | $10 Spruce Meadows, 403-974-4200, sprucemeadows.com
Enjoy both savoury and sweet holiday dishes at the Fairmont Palliser’s famous spread.
Daily, Dec. 4 to 22
$44 adults; $22 kids; $35 senior 133 9 Ave. S.W., 403262-1234, fairmont.com
Wander through wintry Prince’s Island Park then reward yourself with a fireside meal at River Café.
Restaurant closed
Dec. 24 and 25
25 Prince’s Island Park S.W., 403-261-7670, river-cafe.com
Dec. 9 | 6:45 pm | Food bank donations accepted Anderson C-Train Station, South C-Train parking lot, cpr.ca
Wear your favourite hockey jersey or holiday sweater to the Calgary Civic Symphony’s Icetime show, featuring Roch Carrier’s recorded reading of his book The Hockey Sweater and winter classics performed by the symphony.
Dec. 10 | $24 to $30
Jack Singer Concert Hall, Arts Commons, 403-294-9494, artscommons.ca
Cococo Chocolatiers’ five-month kirschsoaked, hand-dipped, limited-run chocolate cherries are the ultimate holiday indulgence. Available during December while supplies last | $33 small box; $66 large box
11 Calgary locations including Bankers Hall shopping centre and Calgary International Airport, 403-265-5777, cococochocolatiers.com
Do a self-guided downtown walking-skating tour. Begin with a skate at Olympic Plaza, then enjoy the light displays as you walk up Stephen Avenue, stop into The Core Shopping Centre to marvel at the 45-foot tree, then walk through the light display at McDougall Centre before finishing with another skate at Prince’s Island Lagoon. Throughout December, weather dependent Free Olympic Plaza, 228 8 Ave. S.E. McDougall Centre, 455 6 St. S.W.
Savour authentic European holiday treats such as imported German lebkuchen (a soft gingerbread-like cookie) and marzipan pigs and sheep from Edelweiss Village; imported or house-made panettone from the Italian Centre Shop and bûche de Noel from local Belgian baker Manuel Latruwe. Edelweiss Imports, 1921 20 Ave. N.W., 403-282-6600, edelweissimports.com
CHRISTMAS TREE HUNT Cut down your own Christmas tree using one of the following three methods (in order of adventurousness): take a road trip to Raven Ridge Tree Farm near Rocky Mountain House, Alta., which also sells wreaths and lights; visit the Junior Forest Wardens Association tree lot just off Highway 68 on the Powderface Trail; or get a permit from Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, then grab your saw and venture out on approved crown lands. RR#3 Rocky Mountain House, 403-722-3207, ravenridgetrees.com, ajfwa.ca
POST HOTEL & SPA Spend a relaxing night at the Post in Lake Louise — named one of the world’s top 10 most beautiful ski lodges by CNN Travel News
200 Pipestone Rd., Lake Louise, 403-522-3989, posthotel.com
THE NUTCRACKER Be dazzled by Alberta Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker
Edmund Stripe.
Dec. 15 to 17 and 21 to 24 | $35 to $144
Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, 1415 14 Ave. N.W., 403-245-4222, albertaballet.com
Find locally made gifts such as unique artworks and jewellery pieces and handmade mittens, while enjoying live music.
Dec.1 to 3, 8 to 10 and 15 to 17
$5 weekend admission; kids free Inglewood Warehouse, 1390 17th Ave. S.E., marketcollective.ca
LIGHT PARADE
Visit the southeast community of Legacy to see the Legacy Light Parade, which includes more than 100,000 lights and Christmas displays in the parks and on the houses. Take a drive through the neighbourhood, or park and explore on foot. There’s also an outdoor rink.
Until Jan. 8 | Free legacylife.ca
Italian Centre Shop, 9919 Fairmount Dr. S.E., 403-238-4869, italiancentre.ca
Manuel Latruwe, 1333 1 St. S.E., 403-261-1092, manuellatruwe.ca
A CHRISTMAS CAROL Pre-order your beverage at Theatre Calgary’s A Christmas Carol so it’s waiting for you at intermission. Until Dec. 24 | tickets $35 to $120 Max Bell Theatre, Arts Commons, 403-294-7447, theatrecalgary.com
VOLUNTEER Do good and give back by serving food at the Calgary Drop-In Centre. Call ahead to reserve a time.
1 Dermot Baldwin Way S.E., 403-266-3600, calgarydropin.ca
ZOOLIGHTS Make a wish on the wish tree after a stroll through the light displays.
Nightly in December (except Dec. 25)
$15 adult; $12 child; $23 senior Calgary Zoo, 210 St. George’s Drive N.E., 403-232-9300, calgaryzoo.com
ICE SKATE Go for a glide on the Bowness Park Lagoon followed by hot cider or cocoa by the fire pits — you can bring your own in a thermos or grab some from the Seasons of Bowness Park café. All winter (weather permitting) Free to skate, gear rentals available 8900 48 Ave. N.W., 403-268-2489v
ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS Ride a sleigh, catch a Christmas play and purchase (and decorate) gingerbread cookies — all part of the holiday festivities at Heritage Park.
Saturdays and Sundays until Dec. 23
Regular park admission rates apply
1900 Heritage Dr. S.W., 403-268-8500, heritagepark.ca
THE SANTALAND DIARIES Laugh (and cringe) at the misadventures of a departmentstore elf in this one-man stage show based on the story by David Sedaris. Mondays through Saturdays until Dec. 23 $26 adults, $21 students and seniors Lunchbox Theatre, 160 9 Ave. S.E., 403-265-4292, lunchboxtheatre.com
Spread Christmas cheer by shovelling your neighbours’ sidewalks or baking and delivering your favourite holiday treat.
Anytime | Free Your community
Batch drinks make entertaining a crowd easy. Here are a few to try courtesy of the cocktail masters at Cannibale, Native Tongues and Raw Bar.
Raw Bar’s Franz Swinton uses a blender to give this easy eggnog a frothy texture without having to emulsify yolks and beat egg whites. And, he adds an Asian twist with Chinese five-spice syrup.
SERVES 6
4 whole eggs
4 oz. heavy cream
8 oz. Cognac or brandy such as Remy Martin VSOP
2 oz. Chinese fivespice simple syrup (recipe below)
12 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
1 cup ice
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend for 20 seconds on medium or until smooth and frothy. Serve over ice and dust with Chinese five-spice powder.
TIP You can make this in advance and chill it in the fridge but it’s at its frothy best fresh out of the blender.
—Recipe courtesy Franz Swinton, general manager, Raw Bar
Cannibale’s spin on the Old Pal is sour, pungent, sweet, bitter and spicedup for the holidays.
SERVES 8
8 oz. rye
4 oz. Campari
4 oz. sweet (red) vermouth
4 oz. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 oz. Chinese fivespice simple syrup (recipe below left) You can premix this drink and keep it chilled overnight in a pitcher or punch bowl. To serve, add ingredients to shaker with ice. Shake. Strain into chilled Old Fashioned glasses with large-format ice cubes. Garnish with a flamed orange slice (or just serve on the rocks for quick execution).
Recipe courtesy of Cannibale
FIVE POINT PLANE
Because teetotallers deserve a tasty holiday drink, too.
SERVES 8
Dylan Macleod of Native Tongues brings apple brandy, pear cider and fig syrup together in a giant bowl.
SERVES 16
24 oz. Pere Magloire Calvados
12 oz. Quinta Do Portal fine ruby Port
12 oz. fig and honey syrup
(recipe at right)
8 oz. lemon juice
32 oz. dry pear cider
Freshly grated nutmeg
Ice
Add all ingredients to a punch bowl and stir until chilled.
Serve in punch glasses or teacups and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
—Recipes courtesy of Dylan Macleod, Native Tongues
250 grams storebought 100-per cent fig jam
500 grams liquid golden honey
375 mL water
4 grams salt
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and stir
CHINESE
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 tbsp of Chinese five-spice powder
over medium heat until the honey and jam are completely dissolved (there will be small bits of fig leftover). Cool to room temperature and strain through a tea strainer. Bottle and store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Bring sugar and water to boil to dissolve sugar. While it is simmering add the Chinese five-spice.
12 oz. fresh orange juice
4 oz. fresh lemon juice
4 oz. five-spice syrup
18 dashes Angostura bitters
Combine all ingredients. Pour into glasses and top with soda water or Sprite and garnish with a five-spice-dusted orange wheel.
Recipe courtesy of Cannibale
Creating big style for the holidays can seem daunting, with demands of budget, space, time and tradition. Whether you’re starting from scratch or updating your seasonal collection, here are some tips from Golden Acre Home & Garden’s seasoned holiday decor buyer Rowena Bell.
Create consistency of style and colour among the decorations, even from the front
Some of the things you already have can be used as seasonal decor by adding a Christmas element such as frosted branches, fresh evergreens or
When it comes to the artificial models are great from a decorating standpoint as they are often designed to be tall and slender. But real trees can be to make them decor-compatible.
Golden Acre even carries a topiary- style artificial tree with a small ball of branches at the top, making it a perfect fit in a bedroom, hallway, or small condo space.
If you want your decorations to be big but you don’t have the floor space for a huge tree, just look up. Consider adding swags of greenery (real or artificial) along the ceiling line, interior doors, railings, mantelpieces or along the tops of bookshelves. Add to your or to the backs of
Clustering one particular element (such as a ) or a colour will make the impact bigger. A cluster of four will have more impact than the same number spread throughout the
Children’s ornaments can be featured on their own smaller or on a wreath for more focus on them. Or try displaying grandma’s special all together in a
Ornaments will be better protected in a vase and it can make them even more special.
o, you want to host the most badass Christmas feast? Then you must shoot a wild turkey yourself. You’ll need a special license issued through a lottery to shoot a bearded Merriam’s turkey, a subspecies of wild turkey that runs
wild in southern Alberta. They’re smaller, sweeter and juicier than their grocery-store cousins and far more striking, with bumpy blue heads, bright-red cowl necks and shimmery bronze feathers. They’re damn good deep fried, but then you miss out on their rich gravy.
A serious dilemma, indeed. However you cook them, hunting season runs through May. To be entered for a license you must have applied the previous spring, so you’re out of luck this Christmas. Fortunately Christmas comes every year. albertaregulations.ca/huntingregs
Una Pizza Who doesn’t want Pizza for Xmas!? Calgarys favorite pizzeria is offering Xmas Gift Certificates in all denominations. Purchase online now at unapizzeria.com
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Mammoth Beard Canada’s best beard care line, keeping faces hairy since 2014. With Gift Boxes to make any beard smile this season! mammothbeard.ca
Thank You Hospitality Give Gift Cards from Two Penny Chinese, Calcutta Cricket Club and Native Tongues Taqueria! Pick yours up in store! thankyouhospitality.com
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Heritage Park Walton Wood Farm Products. Unique bath and beauty products, for the unique people in your life. Shops open daily 10-5. heritagepark.ca
One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo January sizzles at the 32nd High Performance Rodeo! Tickets & Festival passes make perfect holiday gifts. hprodeo.ca.
Studio Bell A membership is the perfect gift for any music lover. Discounts, benefits and more! Purchase at 403.543.5115 or at studiobell.ca
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Meez Fast Home Cusine Give the Foodie on your list a night off! Chef-prepared, gourmet meals to heat and serve from home! #216, 10816 Macleod Trail South 403.264.6336 meezcuisine.com
First Calgary Financial Give the gift that grows, with investments for life’s important moments. Visit FirstCalgary.com
Apex Massage Therapy You and your family deserve our 23 years of experience. Gift Cards available. 2012 12th Avenue NW 403.270.788 apexmassage.com
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Wu & McHugh Salvaged Furniture and Décor from the Middle Kingdom. Add a unique touch of ultra cool Old China to your living space. 3-9727 Horton Rd. SW 403.475.8815 wuandmchugh.com
Bears Den A gift card for Calgary’s Most Luxurious Restaurant is the perfect gift this holiday season. Located just past 12 Mile Coulee off of Hwy 1A at 254028 Bearspaw Rd. NW. 403.241.7611
Teatro Group Give the gift of choice! Teatro Group’s universal gift cards can be purchased and used at any of our seven properties or bought online at teatrogroup.ca/gift-cards
Alberta Diamond Exchange WOW HER! Come visit our showroom to see our latest collection of diamond jewelry. Offering complimentary diamond lessons by appointment. 403.262.5212 abdiamond.ca
Carriage House Inn Perfect Stocking Stuffers! Gift Certificates! Sunday Brunch, Peanuts Public House & 9030 Dinner, Guestrooms! MacLeod Trail 403.253.1101 sales@carriagehouse.net
Aldila Boutique Stand out this Holiday Season with uniquely beautiful pieces from Aldila Boutique and Canadian designer Joseph Ribkoff. aldilaboutique.com
Girl & Company
Limeapple Cuddle Bubble Hoodies are at the top of every little girl’s Holiday Wish List! limeapple.ca
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Lake Louise Ski Resort
The Lake Louise Plus Card includes Lake Louise, Castle, Panorama, Revelstoke, Schweitzer, RED Mountain, and SilverStar. skilouise.com/louise_cards
Cody & Sioux Vintage, Boho & Modern West with a generous measure of edgy. Visit our 2,500 sq. ft store in Inglewood or shop online at codyandsioux.com
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Wild Rose Brewery Cherry Porter is back! Find it at our taproom located at 4580 Quesnay Wood Dr SW, Calgary, Alberta wildrosebrewery.com
Kitty and Hound Fashion Company
Treat your beloved pup to a genuine leather collar paired with a sterling silver pendent declaring their love for you. kittyandhound.com
Last Best Brewing & Distilling
Give the gift of beer this holiday with a Growler Fill Card! It’s the gift that keeps on pouring. 607 11th Ave SW 587.353.7387 lastbestbrewing.com
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Thermotex Platinum The gift of comfort and healing with the most effective far infrared therapeutic heat pad that naturally relieves pain. thermotex.com 403.252.5335
Pacific Wine & Spirits Taylor Fladgate 325 Special Edition Tawny Port - one of a kind, gift it while it lasts! To find retailer liquorconnectcom/791646
SwizzleSticks This Holiday Season, rediscover SwizzleSticks! Locally shop our carefully curated collection from the comfort of our newly renovated store! swizzlesticks.com
Anthony of Calgary Jewellers
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Custom Made Morganite & Diamond Rose
Gold Ring $2075.00 Operating Since 1981. Marlborough Mall 403.273.3735
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Commitments Lingerie Gift certificates now avilable. 2 locations: 179 - 5005 Dalhousie Dr. NW, 403.288.4188 or #119, 333 Aspen Glen Landing SW, 587.351.3303 commitmentslingerie.com
2018 Calaway Park Season Passes $41.95 plus GST per pass (reg. $115.95). Save 63%! Available from Nov. 5th, 2017 to Jan. 1st, 2018 at any Calgary Co-op location or online at calawaypark.com.
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Home Treasures and More The secret to easy gift giving this Christmas is Thomas Sabo! #284-10816 Macleod Trail SE Willow Park Village hometreasures.ca
LESS17 Online and brick and mortar boutique offering exclusive contemporary menswear, footwear, and accessories curated from around the world. 930 17th Ave. SW
The Shooting Edge For the person who has everything. Take them on an adventure they’ll never forget. Shoot pistols, rifles or shotguns, no license necessary! TheShootingEdge.com 403.720.4867
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The Source Every thing you need this winter - mens, ladies & kids. 11th Ave SW & Shawnessy South. Shop Local, Support Local.
JOEY Restaurant Gift the JOEY experience. Receive a $10 bonus card for every $100 gift card purchased. Buy instore or online at joeyrestaurants.com
Kensington Wine Market Home to Canada’s best selection of rare and unique Champagne! Reference this AD & SAVE 10% 403.283.8000 kensingtonwinemarket.com
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Modern Steak The perfect stocking stuffer for the steak lover or corporate thank you for that special client. Call 403.670.6873 for more information. modernsteak.ca
William Evans English Tweeds and Cashmere From the UK and greater Europe Gift cards and ‘size free’ scarves, capes and wraps for ease of giving williamevans.ca 403.475.6477
ALEX AND ANI creates meaningful, eco-conscious jewelry and accessories to positively empower and connect humanity. Blue Moon Accessories. 403.278.7039 facebook.com/bluemoonaccessories
The mountain towns and other places where Calgarians go to recreate have an abundance of natural beauty, wildlife and outdoor activities. But what they and other rural communities often lack are surgical, trauma and emergency medical services. For those who make these and other nonurban areas their home and those who are there to visit, a scenic setting often comes with a price.
There, in a picture-perfect moment captured on an iPhone, photographic evidence of that ominous adage: life can change in an instant. Lorna White standing in a stream, looking up at her hiking companion, frothy alpine waters gurgling at her feet. “Stay right there,” her friend, Krista, had instructed on that sunny Sunday in 2015. “That’s a great photo.”
White smiled. Krista got the shot. White turned around to resume the hike out of the Purcell Mountains, intending to drive back to Calgary that night.
And that’s when she saw it — a massive boulder “the size of a minivan” tumbling down the mountain toward them. White screamed at Krista, who stood in the boulder’s path. But before the rock reached her, it bounced and landed near White, breaking on impact. A remnant the size of a piano redirected toward White. She remembers turning and ducking before the rock smashed into her, pinning her to the ground, bent at the waist, her head, her legs and right arm trapped underneath the rock.
The first responders who arrived on scene reported that only her shoulders, back and left arm were visible. “I kept saying to myself, ‘stay awake.’ I was scared to fall asleep,” White recalls.
Her friend ran for help, summoning another group of hikers which, by chance, included trained experts in wilderness first aid. Someone phoned down to Canadian Mountain Holidays’ Bugaboos Lodge, which sent a helicopter. Using heavy-duty jacks and pry bars brought by the chopper over repeat trips, rescuers were able to lift the rock just enough to extricate White. She was flown to the lodge, where she was transferred to a STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service) helicopter and whisked to Calgary’s Foothills Medical Centre, all within a few hours of the accident. Miraculously, White’s injuries were limited to a broken arm, a broken thumb, fractured sternum, three fingers that required amputation and soft tissue damage, plus emotional trauma (for which she saw a therapist).
“Whenever I think about it, I still cannot believe how I possibly survived,” says White.
There’s a term used in emergency medicine, “the golden hour” — the first hour after a traumatic injury during which there is the greatest likelihood that medical care will save a person’s life. Whether someone is injured in the mountains, in a car crash or at home, their chances of survival are best if they can get treatment quickly. For severe cases, treatment often requires surgical intervention.
In a city such as Calgary, getting an injured or sick person to medical and surgical care can be swiftly accomplished. But in many non-urban areas — including those frequented by Calgarians for recreation — and where 70 per cent of Alberta’s fatal car crashes happen, it is more complicated, as rural towns across Canada are losing services such as surgeons and 24-hour medical care and relying instead on medical transport to get sick and seriously injured patients to cities for treatment.
The state of rural health care affects not only the residents of rural communities but, as is the case in recreation destinations, people who live in cities, too. About 12 per cent of patients seen in the emergency department of the Banff Mineral Springs Hospital are from Calgary. In Golden, B.C., 11.9 per cent of patients are from Alberta; at the Queen Victoria Hospital in Revelstoke, 8.5 per cent. And at the Invermere & District Hospital’s emergency department, one in four people treated at the emergency department is from Alberta.
As Laurie Norris, a retired emergency nurse in Sylvan Lake, Alta. put it: “Calgarians don’t realize that if they need medical attention while they’re here, they would need to drive 22 kilometres into Red Deer. Twenty-two km to someone who is injured or has appendicitis is a long drive.” Sylvan Lake does have an ambulance, however it may not be in Sylvan Lake at that particular time. “So you can still get an ambulance, however, it may have to come in from Red Deer or another outlying area,” Norris says.
In the ski town of Fernie, more than 10,000 patients came through the emergency department of its single-story, brown-andbrick Elk Valley Hospital last year. Of these, nearly 12 per cent were visiting from Alberta. Located approximately a half-hour’s drive west of the Alberta border, the picturesque town encircled by the Rockies has a population of 4,850 and approximately 2,700 private dwellings, many of which are second homes owned, most often, by Albertans hooked on the world-class alpine activities in the area.
But while Fernie’s population has grown by 16 per cent since 2011, its breadth of health-care services has diminished. The Elk Valley Hospital’s only general surgeon retired last spring and although the town had advertised for a new surgeon for more than five years up to that point, the position was left vacant. This isn’t a terribly big surprise, as it is difficult to recruit physicians in much of rural Canada — 18 per cent of Canadians live in rural areas but only eight per cent of physicians do, and it’s especially difficult to attract general surgeons to work in small towns. The reasons are many: in a small community, a single general surgeon can be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week without back-up; surgeons often train in large urban centres where most will sub-specialize in certain types of surgery (hernia, breast, trauma, for example) with less focus on procedures such as Caesarean sections that can be the bread and butter of a surgical practice in a rural town. Additionally, it can be difficult for a surgeon’s spouse to find employment in their field in a small community.
But the shift of physicians from rural areas goes beyond individual surgeons’ preferences for where they’d like to live. Regional health-care systems across Canada tend to funnel surgical and very sick patients to larger centres, both to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. And there’s evidence that surgeons and hospitals
performing higher volumes of specific surgical procedures produce better results for patients (however, this finding is not without debate).
For the Elk Valley Hospital, with a catchment area of nearly 15,000 people, the loss of the general surgeon has left gaps in care, says Fernie-based gastroenterologist Dr. Tara ChalmersNixon. Basic surgeries such as appendectomies, removals of minor lumps and bumps, gall bladder removals, hernia repairs and carpal tunnel and trigger-finger surgeries (not uncommon in Fernie with its high proportion of manual labourers) can no longer be done locally. Most surgical patients are now sent to Cranbrook, B.C.; the more complex cases to Calgary or Kelowna.
When a hospital loses its surgical service the domino effect can be “devastating,” says Chalmers-Nixon. “With loss of regular elective surgeries, we lose the skills of our operating nurses and our anesthetists, then we lose the ability to perform emergency C-sections, then we lose our maternity program, then we stand to lose it all.
“Maybe I’m being dramatic but evidence has shown that the gradual loss of surgical programs adversely affects rural health and access to medical care,” she says.
University of Calgary, works with physicians, medical trainees and policymakers across the province to remedy health-care inequities in rural and remote areas. Myhre says that many small towns throughout Alberta and British Columbia experience closures of hospitals and urgent-care clinics as a cost-saving measure or are unable to recruit physicians.
“[Mountain towns such as] Fernie, Revelstoke and Kimberley have an issue; but, it’s no worse or better than places like Pincher Creek, Taber or Crowsnest Pass,” he says. “No surgeon means no obstetrics and that means less use of the hospital and then it gets downgraded. Fewer services, means less teaching, means less ability to recruit. You have a spiraling and dwindling of resources that becomes almost inevitable. It’s a cascading event, which is all defended by talking about economics and cost and centralization.”
Myhre emphasizes that the quality of health care in rural areas remains high, however, the availability of services is concerning. In 2016, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, in collaboration with the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada, released a background paper on the challenges for medicine in rural communities. It stated that Canadians who live in rural communities tend to have poorer health than their urban counterparts — a disparity “directly related to their distance from urban cities.” This trend, they found, is particularly severe among Indigenous populations, which often live in rural and remote communities.
In 2013, Drs. Mike Stuckey and Deena Case, a husband-andwife duo, arrived in Fernie from Australia. Stuckey and Case are family physicians with additional training in obstetrics and, for Stuckey, anesthesia. Their presence in town means women can still have Caesarean sections in Fernie — albeit only at certain times. The hospital’s operating room closes every second weekend and for five weeks during the summer to accommodate a shortage of nurses. The rest of the time, Drs. Case and Stuckey alternate nights on call — meaning someone in their family is on call every night. When the operating room is closed, all maternity patients in labour, with the exception of very low-risk patients, are transferred to Cranbrook. “That’s not ideal by any means but that’s what happens when there’s inadequate staffing,” says Case.
Twice last winter, the highways going north and south out of Fernie toward hospitals in Calgary and Cranbrook, respectively, were closed simultaneously due to ice and snow. And last August, one labouring mother en route to Cranbrook by car was involved in a motor-vehicle accident. Fernie’s physicians hope the town’s surgical access will be more consistent next year when a family doctor with surgical skills is due to begin work in the summer of 2018. This will lighten the call load on the Case-Stuckey household and allow for some minor surgical procedures to be done in town.
The problems that Fernie faces are not unique, however. Dr. Douglas L. Myhre, a family physician who practiced in Lethbridge for more than two decades before joining the faculty at the
The increasing shift of health services to urban centres means small communities are experiencing the loss of more than surgeons. Sylvan Lake draws more than 750,000 visitors a year to its kid-friendly waters but currently lacks medical services at night and on Sundays. Residents and physicians have been lobbying for an urgent-care facility since the winter of 2012, when more than 500 people attended a town hall meeting on the issue.
In the summer of 2013, on a Saturday afternoon, Brent Boychuk, a 49-year-old Sylvan Lake resident, became ill from carbon monoxide exposure while working on his house. In a video created by the Sylvan Lake Urgent Care committee, Boychuk’s widow tearfully recounts how their daughter drove him to two different clinics, finding both closed. Boychuk collapsed in front of the second clinic. His daughter performed CPR until paramedics arrived but he died before he could get to hospital in Red Deer.
An advanced ambulatory care service is anticipated to open in Sylvan Lake in May 2018.
Key to Canada’s rural-and-urban health-care structure is the transport system that connects the two. In places without 24-hour medical care or a surgical service, transport is critical to getting patients timely and reliable access to health care. This is true not just in instances where the clock is ticking during the “golden hour” of trauma. Residents of smaller communities, when questioned for a provincial government study of rural health care, said they were frustrated by frequent and long-distance travel for treatments such as dialysis and chemotherapy.
“Sadly, the committee heard about cases where patients had chosen to discontinue treatments because of the hardships introduced — a choice that had, in some cases, resulted in premature death,”
“YOU HAVE A SPIRALING AND DWINDLING OF RESOURCES THAT BECOMES ALMOST INEVITABLE. IT’S A CASCADING EVENT, WHICH IS ALL DEFENDED BY TALKING ABOUT ECONOMICS AND COST AND CENTRALIZATION.”
–Dr. Douglas L. Myhre, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary
states the Rural Health Services Review Final Report, which was published in 2015.
Rural transport is more intricate than one might think, consisting of land and air ambulances, as well as private vehicles, working across provincial borders and paid by different provinces, and constrained by factors such as weather, regulations and staff shortages. Newborn babies from Fernie are unable to be transported to Alberta due to provincial rules. As a result, the nearest places these babies can go are Kelowna, 625 km away, or Vancouver, 939 km away. When a premature infant requires transport, a member of the care team travels from one of those cities to Cranbrook by plane. There, they switch to a road ambulance to drive the 96 km to Fernie to pick up the child, returning by the same long route. “As you can imagine, the babies don’t always have the best possible outcome,” says Case.
From its bases in Calgary, Edmonton and Grande Prairie, STARS flew 1,529 missions in the 2016-2017 fiscal year. About three-quarters were transfers from rural hospitals to metropolitan centres; the remainder were calls to scenes such as car wrecks or farm-related accidents. STARS’ efforts are often about getting someone to a place with surgical services, says operations manager and paramedic Bob Odney. “If you need a surgeon, you need to get back to the city quickly, so that’s what we do,” he says. “Studies have shown that the quicker you can get somebody back to a surgeon, the better outcomes they have. If you’re bouncing around on a country road for two-plus hours in the back of an ambulance, it doesn’t give you as good a chance of survival if you need a surgeon as if we fly you in 30 minutes back to a surgeon. That’s where we make the biggest difference.”
Head west from Calgary along the Trans-Canada highway to the mountain towns of Canmore and Banff and you’ll find a relative abundance of healthcare services for places of their size. The region, which draws more than 4 million tourists a year, breaks with the pattern of rural medicine throughout much of the province. Both towns have hospitals with acute care and surgical services (though surgical services are not available 24 hours and urgent surgical patients are sent to Calgary overnight and on weekends). Canmore doubled its maternity delivery rooms this year from two to four.
In fact, some Calgarians choose to be treated in these towns where wait lists for some treatments are known to be shorter, especially in the cases of minor emergency care and some non-urgent surgical procedures. Banff, with its three orthopaedic surgeons and a plastic surgeon, has developed a reputation for excellence in all sports-related orthopaedic surgery — especially knee surgery. A search on Instagram pulls up photos of Calgarians grinning as they lean on crutches outside the Banff Mineral Springs Hospital.
“I feel we are lucky in Canmore to have resources like a CT scanner, surgical specialists, ALS [advanced life support] paramedics and many family MDs, which many mountain towns like Fernie, Revelstoke and Golden do not,” says Dr. Kyle McLaughlin, an emergency physician in Canmore. Banff and Canmore also don’t have difficulty recruiting physicians. Quite the opposite: physicians who want to work in these communities full-time may have to wait for a position to open. McLaughlin worked part-time in Banff for six years and in Canmore for approximately two years before a fulltime job in Canmore became available.
But it just goes to show that the health-care services in every town are a reflection of that town’s unique characteristics: its proximity to a city, its economy, its ability to attract tourists and physicians alike and other factors. What works for Canmore and Banff won’t work for Fernie, Sylvan Lake or other communities throughout Alberta and British Columbia, as there is no one-sizefits-all solution for medical care in rural areas.
Nearly four years ago, several national physicians’ groups — representing family doctors, obstetricians and gynecologists, general surgeons and rural physicians — met in Banff to discuss the challenges of rural surgical care. They agreed the answer lies in some kind of a networked system of care, linking urban specialists with rural generalists. But the ideal formula remains unclear.
Different approaches are currently being used across Canada. In Ontario, general surgeons provide most surgical care in remote areas, while towns across western Canada rely on about 150 family physicians who have undergone some surgical skills training. Some of these family physicians are international medical graduates who trained as surgeons abroad but work as family doctors in Canada. There is currently only one program in Canada, located in Prince Albert, Sask., that teaches surgical skills to family doctors. Fifteen family physicians have graduated from the program since its inception in 2007 — a number that falls far short in matching the number of retiring rural general surgeons.
Dr. Stephen Hiscock, a general surgeon in Salmon Arm, B.C., points out that Canada has an excess of general surgeons but they are poorly distributed across the country, disproportionally based in cities that have surgeons who are currently underemployed or unemployed. Jurisdictions across Canada are exploring different options to address this imbalance, looking at ideas such as rotating general surgeons into smaller communities for short periods, attracting more rural students to medical schools and developing surgical residency programs that prepare surgeons for rural practice. “Our job is to look after people in this country,” Hiscock says. “When you look at people in some isolated areas [their access to health care services] approach that of a developing nation. We can do a better job.”
“IF YOU’RE BOUNCING AROUND ON A COUNTRY ROAD FOR TWO-PLUS HOURS IN THE BACK OF AN AMBULANCE, IT DOESN’T GIVE YOU AS GOOD A CHANCE OF SURVIVAL AS IF WE FLY YOU IN 30 MINUTES BACK TO A SURGEON. THAT’S WHERE WE MAKE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE.”
–Bob Odney, STARS Operations Manager
The Calgary Drop-In & Rehab Centre Society (DI) provides over 50 services and programs, including aff ordable housing to its clients. Our goal is to rehabilitate the homeless by finding permanent supportive housing to help those that need it.
We need your support; this holiday season be someone for those that have no one and donate to the Calgary Drop-In & Rehab Centre Society.
www.CalgaryDropIn.ca/donate
#BeSomeoneYYC
When you live in the mountains, snow is something to celebrate. Join in the festivities this winter in Canmore, Lake Louise, Jasper and Fernie.
BY Shelley Arnusch, Madison Farkas AND Lisa KadaneIce Magic Festival in Lake Louise
Every year in January, internationally renowned ice-carving artists convene on the grounds of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise to work 300-pound blocks of solid ice into elaborate creations. The invitational competition and the resulting icesculpture garden are the basis of the annual Ice Magic Festival in Lake Louise. Over the course of two decades, Ice Magic has become one of the top winter attractions in Banff National Park. It’s so popular that those who wish to visit the site during peak-volume weekend hours must take a ticketed shuttle that runs from the parking lot of Samson Mall in Lake Louise Village (during non-peak times, such as mid-week, visitors are free to drive up to the site).
In addition to the festival sculptures, Lake Louise’s other icy attractions include outdoor skating on the lake and an ice bar run by the Chateau where you can warm yourself from the inside out with mulled wine. —S.A.
Ice Magic Festival in Lake Louise 2018 runs Jan. 18 to 28, banfflakelouise.com/ice-magic-festival
Jasper in January
There’s no such thing as the winter blues during the Jasper In January festival, when the town of Jasper throws a big party that extends over three weekends and includes arts, food and outdoor activities.
The festival, entering its 29th year in 2018, includes free and ticketed events — everything from live music and fireside storytelling to dark-sky snowshoeing (Jasper National Park is an official Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Dark Sky Preserve, so the stargazing is stellar, so to speak). You’ll also find fatbike races, dogsledding and even winter survival lessons. During the festival’s second weekend, restaurants across town offer $15 meal-and-drink pairings as part of the Food-a-Palooza culinary crawl, or you can skip straight to the drinks with Wine in Winter, an evening of international wine tastings and hors d’oeuvres.
If you really want to party like a local, Mountain Park Lodge’s famous Chili Cook-Off is a mustattend. The competition pits dozens of teams against each other for both their chili recipes and their themed costumes and booths — last year’s event saw Batman, the cast of Netflix’s Stranger Things and a circus booth (complete with a life-like camel costume), to name a few. The Cook-Off predates Jasper in January by a year, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2018, and has become one of its biggest events. The winners in each category get prizes (and serious bragging rights) and once the last dregs of chili are packed away, the 18-plus licensed event turns into an oldschool dance party that lasts until midnight. —M.F.
Jasper in January 2018 runs Jan. 11 to 28, jasper.travel/January
The Kid N Mutt races at the Canmore Nordic Centre are a popular event at the Canmore Winter Carnival.
Gorgeous, outdoorsy Canmore is an ideal spot to celebrate all the best things about winter, which is what happens each year at the Canmore Winter Carnival. The annual February festival organized by the Town of Canmore dates back more than two decades and features a roster of events including ice-carving, competitive log-sawing and outdoorskating parties.
This festival also has a unique canine component. The Kid N Mutt races, where junior entrants pilot sleds pulled by real sled dogs down a track at the Canmore Nordic Centre, are a Carnival highlight, as is the annual “Pooch Parade,” where local dogs strut their stuff in winter finery.
If anything will define the 2018 edition of the Carnival, however, it will be the good old hockey game. Canmore is a hockey town at heart. In addition to providing the location for the 1999 Hollywood hockey movie Mystery, Alaska starring Russell Crowe and Burt Reynolds, it’s home to the Canmore Eagles AJHL club and the Carnival usually includes street- and pond-hockey events. But the big news for 2018 is that the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour is coming to Canmore Feb. 10 and 11, which just so happens to be the Carnival’s final weekend. Hosted by Ron MacLean and Tara Slone, the live-broadcasted series examines the local hockey culture and will feature free family activities and appearances by NHL alumni. —S.A.
Canmore Winter Carnival 2018 runs Feb. 2 to 11, canmore.ca
Every ski town needs a legend and Fernie’s legend of The Griz is a doozy that culminates in a festival every March. The mythic story involves a baby boy born long ago in a grizzly bear cave, who fought the beast for his life. As he grew, he morphed into a bristly, grizzly-coat-and-hat wearing bear of a man believed responsible for bestowing the mountain town with the epic powder for which it’s renowned. According to lore, The Griz wanders the jagged teeth of the Lizard Range high above Fernie Alpine Resort and periodically shoots a musket into the clouds, which respond by dumping fluffy white stuff on all the runs.
Griz Days is an annual tribute to Fernie’s powder benefactor, put on to ensure he keeps blessing the town with snow. The festival packs in fun for all ages. For families, there’s skiing with The Griz mascot, a pancake breakfast and a main-street parade. There’s a bacon-eating contest, live-music events and a rowdy pub crawl (for those who don’t have kids in tow). There’s also a lumberjack show, fireworks and a “dummy downhill” that sees dummies on skis launched off a jump. But the best tradition by far, is the Extreme Griz Competition, where strong women and men compete for the title of Fernie’s Extreme Griz by throwing axes and demonstrating their prowess through other tests of strength.
—L.K.Griz Days 2018 runs March 2 to 4, ferniegrizdays.com
The personal stylist and fashion blogger behind the Street
Gentlemen imageconsulting company and website draws inspiration from his grandpa, Instagram and street style in his home city.
Sunjeev Prasad is the sartorially conscious image consultant behind Street Gentlemen, a personal styling business for professional thirtysomething men. Prasad also authored an e-book, Men’s Style Mastery: A Proven Guide for Busy Professionals and writes weekly posts on his Street Gentlemen website. His goal with Street Gentlemen is to help men feel more confident in their personal style — whether to help them feel more attractive for dating or more polished for career success.
With his hybrid preppy-streetwear look, Prasad describes his own style as being somewhere between The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s Carlton and Will. He documents his outfit-of-the-day on his Instagram account, a quick stop for style ideas and inspiration and to show the evolution of his own personal style.
How did you end up with a career in image consulting?
When I was younger I had no idea what I was doing when it came to style. I often share my “before” photos on social media and you’ll see that I wore oversized pants and extra-large sweaters when, really, I was a small or medium. It came to the point where I realized that my confidence, my self-esteem and my dating life weren’t where I envisioned them being. I knew something had to change and I felt that the fast way to get to that point was to improve my image. When you look good, you feel good. I just started slowly figuring out style. It was pretty great that both my mom and grandpa are very stylish people and one of my best friends is a designer — I started working with him on his streetwear company 6streets back in 2013. Between that and working in men’s retail, I learned about proper fits and how to put outfits together. When I realized that it had become my passion, I decided to launch my business.
What do you take into consideration when creating a wardrobe for a new client?
I like to find out what they want their style to be and get an idea of what’s holding them back. We develop some goals and then we start building the foundation wardrobe, the timeless pieces that every guy needs. I prefer to stay away from overly trendy items that will disappear or look dated in less than a year. I usually audit their wardrobe and help them decide what pieces they need to add. The second step is shopping for it all. Once we’ve put it together, we plan outfits and actually shoot a lookbook of them wearing each outfit so they can reference it later.
What appeals to you the most about men’s fashion?
It is something I love to talk about all day, every day. I love to learn about it, read about it and find inspiration seven days a week. I’ve seen the difference style can make in someone’s confidence and I want to help people feel empowered by that.
LEFT Coat from Club Monaco; glasses by 9Five; shirt from personal collection; jeans from Topman; Chelsea boots by Steve Madden; bag by Calvin Klein
ABOVE Suit jacket, dress pants and shoes all from Topman; shirt and tie from personal collection; bag by Calvin Klein; watch by Vestal; bracelets by Playfield Co.
Something as simple as changing a few things or trying a new fit can really lift someone’s spirits. A lot of men do not enjoy shopping and do not explore style by trying new things on so they never really evolve out of their comfort zone.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Instagram, for sure, is where I love to gather inspiration from style bloggers, suit designers and other brands. I’m pretty lucky that my three best friends are all pretty stylish guys. I can always rely on them to help me with ideas and
ask for their feedback. We are all pretty honest with each other — if something isn’t working we will call each other out on it.
How would you describe your own personal style?
My company’s name, Street Gentlemen is inspired by my own personal style. I love a suited-up preppy look, but I also really love athleisure street looks.
Is comfort important to you when it comes to fashion?
I would totally choose fashion over comfort. I’m willing to sacrifice my comfort for skinny jeans.
I WOULD TOTALLY CHOOSE FASHION OVER COMFORT. I’M WILLING TO SACRIFICE MY COMFORT FOR SKINNY JEANS.
Do you have a favourite fashion find – something you are over the moon about?
My favourite streetwear brand is called A Bathing Ape from Japan. I’m really drawn to their design and colours — people like Pharrell and Kanye West have worn their stuff. A shirt from them is definitely an investment piece.
Why is fashion important to you?
It is a really good chance to express who you are without having to say anything — some days you just want to wear all black, a hat and hide out in a coffee shop, other days you want to be more outgoing and approachable and you like what you are wearing, you feel great.
What does the future hold?
I’m going to be focusing on the digital side of things for my company. I’ll be shooting more videos and doing more writing.
Where do you shop locally?
Modern Menswear, Brooklyn Clothing and Understudy.
What about home decor?
West Elm is great; I’m in love with their chairs.
Favourite hangout?
Phil & Sebastian on 4th Street.
Favourite place to work?
When I want to be really productive I go to Philosafy Coffee on 17th Ave. S.W.
Favourite local brand?
6streets — it’s my friend’s company.
What do you do in your spare time?
I love going for coffee. And I work out at Goodlife
Fitness five times a week. Daily must-have item?
A really nice cologne. My favourite is Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit de l’Homme.
Recent fashion splurge?
I just designed my first pair of sneakers on Nike ID. Favourite magazines?
GQ and Sharp Magazine.
Favourite Instagram accounts?
@mr.danielocean
@menwithstreetstyle
@menwithclass
@keymanstyle
@aleksmusika
As the director of butlers at Azuridge Estate Hotel, Jimmy-Lee Vennard acts as a host, friend, confidant and pseudo-psychologist for guests. Outside of the estate, he has been a singer on a cruise ship, a mastermind party-planner and a world-traveller (with 72 countries crossed off his list). These are the 11 things in Calgary he can’t live without.
1
Botanical Gin Kit from The Silk Road Spice Merchant
This kit is great. It comes with all these different things so you can make your own blend, like juniper berries, coriander, lime peel and cardamom. I think it’s just amazing that I’m making my own gin at home.
2
The Incense & Embers candles are so fragrant. The experience of buying the candle, having it wrapped and carrying away the Jo Malone bag is always so exciting.
3 Twisted Follies at Twisted Element
Drag queen Terri Stevens hosts this show every week. I get all gussied up every Sunday and it’s just the best night — it’s crude, it’s rude and it’s hysterical.
4 Steeling Home
They always have something unique in this store, which is what I love about it. I once bought a taxidermy crocodile head there, and this glass-globe ecosystem with five live shrimp in it that I’ve had for years.
7 Pisces Pet Emporium
Pisces is a Calgary icon and the experience of shopping there is incredible. I get homemade canary bird treats there, and they have monkeys and ducks in the store — it’s such a fun outing.
8 Christmas Ornaments from Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany's at Chinook Centre calls me each year when the crystal ornaments are in. I used to buy one for me and one for my grandma. She passed away in 2016, so now I buy for my mom.
I love going for a French 75 cocktail and the lobster nachos here. I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the city you can find lobster nachos. It’s heaven — and they’re gluten free, which is even better.
10
Remedy from Saje I get Chinook headaches, so I’m obsessed with Peppermint Halo oil. I just rub it on my scalp and my headache is gone in minutes.
6 $20 Haircut from Great Clips
I’ve been going to Great Clips on the corner of 11th Avenue and 8th Street S.W. for 10 years and I love it. I’ve had the best (and some of the craziest) hairstyles from them. Plus, they trim my beard!
Every Tuesday night
I rehearse with this men’s choir in Bridgeland. It’s my Zen, my therapy, my choir. We have every walk of life there so you can just go and be yourself.
11 Sex and Cigars Beard Oil from Mammoth Beard Co.
Dab a little dollop in your hand, run it through your beard and you walk out the door looking like a new person. The scent is amazing, plus, it’s locally made.
A remodeled 1951 home shows how dark and dramatic and bright and white can artfully coexist.
Empty nesters Karen and Ron Ryan were looking to downsize from their suburban family home. Instead of opting for a turnkey condo or infill, however, they decided to redesign the 935-square-foot Mount Royal bungalow that had previously been a showroom and office for Karen’s interior-design business. With the project, Karen had carte blanche to create a new space. She knew that dramatic changes would be necessary to accommodate the couple’s modern lifestyle but she also wanted to retain some of the charm of the original 1951 home.
The Ryans, who recently celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary, wanted something with character and that truly represented the two of them. “For this next chapter in our lives, we wanted something smaller but still with enough space for us to breathe — and to entertain,” says Karen. “We love to ride our bikes or walk
to go out for dinner, so naturally an inner-city home was ideal for our lifestyle, but we didn’t want to build from the ground up.
I do get a thrill out of working with an existing structure and creating something within that.”
To bring together Karen’s love of natural light and Ron’s
appreciation for dark wood, luxe fabrics and black everything, the solution was a black and white home — albeit one that is elevated beyond mere colour-blocking by Karen’s expert use of texture and lighting and placement of the couple’s enviable art collection.
To remodel the Mount Royal bungalow, the Ryans literally elevated the home. “We cut the house in half horizontally, raised it on stilts for 33 days, added four feet to the entire construction and took out 29 loads of dirt,” Karen
says. “The only thing that fazed Ron was when we were putting the third coat of black paint on our front living room walls.”
The room in question, which Karen lovingly refers to as “an ode to Ron Ryan,” is a complete visual representation of her husband’s personal style:
masculine, a bit swanky and with lots of charisma. Filled with artwork that the couple has collected throughout their life together, including blown glass, sculptures and paintings, the front room is the perfect spot to enjoy a cocktail and turn up the music a bit.
“When you’re dealing with a historic or older property, you have a little bit more license to go deep with your design,” says Karen. “Utilizing the original architectural details of the home, we created a space that has the essence of a Hollywood Regency-era club interior.”
The kitchen is a welcoming space where the Ryans enjoy cooking and entertaining. Claiming Ron is the better cook, Karen designed the kitchen with him in mind.
While the front room may be an ode to Ron Ryan, the back of the home reflects Karen’s affinity for natural light. The indoor and outdoor living rooms
expansive kitchen and to the breezeway that joins the home and the previously attached garage are welcoming spaces for friends and family members.
Karen sketched the addition while sitting in the backyard, before the couple had even decided to make the bungalow their home. Working with her friend Dean Thomas, of the Dean Thomas Design Group, Karen brought the vision to life.
The resulting home includes a protected courtyard living room with harmonious flow between the outdoor and indoor spaces.
“The way we live is very Euro-inspired,” Karen says. “We spend as much time out here as possible, whether with a coffee or having a glass of wine with friends. In Calgary, this concept of an outdoor courtyard is still somewhat unique. We wanted something like we’ve experienced in European cities.”
The courtyard has another advantage for the active empty nesters as well. “Since we travel so much, we needed something with zero maintenance,” Karen says.
1. Life In Art “Purchase art when you are celebrating major times or significant changes in your life. When you look at that piece you will always remember the significance of that.”
2. Gallery Hop “Wandering through galleries is what I do,” Ryan says. “I’m glad that there are so many amazing galleries here in Calgary, and part of our holidays abroad is always to wander through galleries and flea markets.”
3. Artful Souvenirs “When you travel, you open yourself up to a whole new world of art. You never know what you might find. If you do find a piece you love, make sure you buy it because you can’t just go back. I’ve experienced that regret and still think of a few pieces we passed up over the years.”
The master-suite’s dressing room features glam touches such as mirrored surfaces, and a surrealist vanity stool.
The spacious master bath is the ultimate escape from the hustle and bustle of life with his-and-hers sinks and a soaker tub.
The home was raised to add 11-foot ceilings and plenty of natural light to the lower level, which contains the master suite.
Butler’s pantry custom cabinetry by Bec Woodcraft, 8600 34 Ave. S.E., 403-273-8394, becwoodcraft. com; Bolier bar cabinet from Bondars
1930s black table from Porte de Clignancourt flea market (Les Puces), Paris, France
Michael Aram martini tray from Rubaiyat, 722 17 Ave. S.W., 403-228-7192, rubaiyatcalgary.com
Kreiss rosewood dining chairs from Bondars, 6999 11 St. S.E., 403-253-8200, bondars.com; red-velvet host chairs acquired via Karen Ryan Design, 403-630-7500
Dining-room artwork by Sheila Kernan from Gibson Fine Art, 628 11 Ave. S.W., 403-244-2000, gibsonfineart.ca
Library leopard-hide rug and Fortuny light fixture acquired via Karen Ryan Design; black-leather chairs and ottoman from Restoration Hardware, Southcentre Mall, 403-271-2122, restorationhardware.com
Sepia library artwork by Barry Weiss, barryweiss.ca
Black foyer chair from Chintz & Company, 1238 11 Ave. S.W., 403-245-3449, chintz.com; Penny
Dog artwork by Barry Weiss
Vintage black chandelier from Karen Ryan Design
Wine fridges from KoolSpace Wine Cellars, 3431 12 St. N.E., 403-283-7575, koolspace.ca
Kitchen cabinets by Athena Industries, 7271 12 St. S.E., 403-860-9445, athenaindustries.ca
GE Monogram kitchen appliances from Jerome’s Appliance Gallery, 7152 Fisher St. S.E., 403-255-6050, jeromesappliancegalleryinc.ca
Kitchen island stools from Restoration Hardware; island pendant lights from Robinson Lighting & Bath Centre, 4120 Blackfoot Trail S.E., 403-245-8637, robinsonlightingandbath.com
Great room custom-made Burton James sofa and black CR Laine chairs all from Bondars
Bookcase from Restoration Hardware
Glass-and-silver coffee table from French Connection Interiors (now closed); vintage glass vases from Circa, 1226A 9 Ave. S.E., 1-877-290-0145, circa5060.ca; Abelman Artglass snail from Rubaiyat
Stone-cast fireplace mantel by Karen Ryan Design; large mantel art by Barry Weiss
Pillars by Essentials in Moulding, 1259 46 Ave. S.E., 403-287-2110, mouldingessentials.ca
Courtyard zinc wall fountain from Restoration Hardware
Moooi light fixture in lower-level gallery from Robert Sweep, 808 16 Ave. S.W., 403-262-8525, robertsweep.com
Deco art panel from Walls Alive, 1328 17 Ave. S.W., 403-244-8931, wallsalive.com
Mahogany table from an antique market in Lyon, France; deco vase and floral arrangement from Chintz & Company
Dressing room custom closet millwork by Bec Woodcraft; StudioA vanity stool from Chintz & Company
Fresh floral arrangements throughout the home by Blue Hydrangea Floral Boutique, 3A, 2501 Alyth Rd. S.E., 403-266-2583, bluehydrangea.ca
Enter the northeast stairwell of cSPACE, Calgary’s new community arts hub, and you enter a giant illustrated pop-up fantasy as a series of worlds unfold along the stairs and landings. Birds and fish, mammals and monsters appear within expressive lines and soft layers of colour. Creatures and plants blend, braid, tangle and morph. Eyes and hands protrude. Each casts its own spell: a child’s early drawings, a snippet of sci-fi, an ecosystem in flux, a snatch of nightmare, a flourish in the sky.
Creators Katie Green and daniel j. kirk are frequent collaborators. At the outset of this project, they invited students at Maria Montessori Education Centre, one of the tenants of cSPACE, to “imagination workshops” where they invented and illustrated words such as “mermicorn,” “plob” and “ptor.” Green and kirk were intrigued with how people develop visual language through the flow of the conscious and unconscious. Their interpretation of the mind’s eye took hold as they developed master drawings, mixing workshop material with their own.
Both BFA graduates from the University of Calgary, Green and kirk each bring strengths to this project from their individual practices. Green has a light touch with drawing and watercolour and an interest
TITLE: Imaginarium, 2017
ARTIST: Katie Green and daniel j. kirk
MEDIA: Acrylic on digital print (paper), acrylic on polystyrene and plaster, wire mesh, fabric, aluminium tubing, light bulbs and reclaimed material from King Edward School.
SIZE: Four-storey stairwell installation with eight sections of varying sizes.
LOCATION: cSPACE King Edward, 1721 29 Ave. S.W.
in masks, puppetry and fabric, while kirk enlists storytelling, visual language and community engagement to realize large painting projects and constructions. Both admire Spanish muralist Aryz and Polish duo Etam Cru, but here they wanted to bring illusion into three-dimensions. With iPads as sketchbooks they created digital drawings printed on 20-pound paper. After adhering the drawings to the walls, they added sculptural elements as outgrowths. According to kirk, Imaginarium is “a visual dreamscape that is loaded with layers of playful, whimsical images, so that people who use the stairwell daily or visitors who come again and again can see different things.”
NOTES: This public art project was awarded to Katie Green and daniel j. kirk based on a competition organized in 2016 by cSPACE King Edward with the support of The Alberta Foundation for the Arts and The City of Calgary’s Public Art Policy. Two other murals by Katie Green and daniel j. kirk can be seen at the Bowness Public Library and in the department of art entrance on the sixth floor of the Art Parkade at the University of Calgary.
