Originally published in July 2021. Learn more about Faces of Bowness here.

“David moved here 10 years ago with his wife and three children. Here’s some of the things he had to say:
“Before we got down here we saw the “I Heart Bowness” bumper stickers everywhere and I couldn’t really understand it, but now I can say that we’ve officially drank the kool-aid, hook, line and sinker.”
“There’s a community spirit here and I can’t even put my finger on it, even after 10 years.”
“When the flood came through here in 2013, for a community that already was deeply connected, that brought it together even more, it was remarkable to experience it first hand, we genuinely got an opportunity to see the best of people up close.”
“We’d always like to stay here – we’re proud to call Bowness home, 100%.”
“What I’m drawn to is the community – I can’t imagine leaving, why would you want to live anywhere else? That’s what I don’t understand.”
“We’ve always been very active about supporting local restaurants and stuff like that.” – David made sure to order from his favourite restaurant (Leopold’s Tavern) at least once weekly during the pandemic.
“I’m excited, I see all the house construction going up, that makes me happy, building homes brings more families to the community, more kids in the schools.”
“It’s a small town feel, I never felt like we’re in the city, but we’re pretty close to downtown.”
“You can take the boy out of Bowness, but not Bowness out of the boy.”

Run bowness 2023 — sponsored by bloomculture

It was a Run Bowness for the books as we welcomed over 320 runners, walkers, and rollers to the BCA for a race through beautiful Bowness and Baker Parks.

The streets were lined with friends, family, and neighbours cheering the competitors on, and we all met together at the finish line for a post-race celebration with live music, a beer garden, and pancakes from the Bowness Lion’s Club! 

Thank you to our 2023 title sponsor Bloom Culture for helping make the day possible, along with all of the businesses and organizations who contributed to the event: Bowness Lion’s Club, Bowness Soapworks, Car Star, City of Calgary, CPS, Planet Foods, The Rocking Kings, Running Room, Small Bits of Happiness, Startline Timing, St. John’s Ambulance, WayBack Burgers, Yoga in Bowness, and 7-11 in Bowness. 

Volunteers

This year’s Run Bowness would not have been possible without an incredible showing of volunteers. Thank you Bownesians for coming together to make events like these possible in our incredible community! We appreciate you and are so grateful for you. A special thanks also goes to BCA Volunteer and Event Coordinator Laddie Trithara for coordinating this year’s event. 

Run times

Whether your goal was to cross the finish line, set a personal best, or finish in the podium places — congratulations you on your accomplishment! 

Full results available here. All times below are gun times. 

10K – Men’s

1st: Austin Jones – 0:35:48

2nd: Mark Fewster – 0:37:29

3rd Kevin Masleis – 39:19

10K – Women’s

1st: Kasia Lenz – 0:49:50

2nd: Alice Maitland-Bussoli – 0:51:35

3rd: Kierra Nash – 0:52:47

5K – Men’s

1st: Zachary Hill – 0:22:48

2nd: 0:23:17*

3rd: Oliver Olivera – 0:23:18

*Name unavailable due to bib mixup. Know who this was? Email communications@mybowness.com

5K – Women’s

1st: Breanne Everett – 0:20:25

2nd: Isabella Abbruzzese – 0:21:28

3rd: Deb Hall – 0:24:34

Kid’s Mile

1st: Joshua Doran – 0:07:15

2nd: Hali Sroka – 0:07:18

3rd: Kian Williams 0:07:24

Image Gallery

Thank you to all of the volunteers, staff, and community members who submitted photos to help capture the day. 

From the May/Jun Bowest’ner

Interview and article by Sophie Stocking

James Zeigler is this spring’s featured Artistic Resident as part of the BCA A.R.T.S. (Artistic Resident Talent Share) program. I had the opportunity to drop into the home basement studio of James Ziegler where he’s creating an interactive, sculptural art installation called “Traces”. The sculptures themselves are cut out of thin stainless steel and hang from the ceiling by wires, turning and reflecting light onto screens and walls. Different projected lights and soundscapes interplay and create an ever changing display.

How did the idea for “Traces” come about?

“Originally the sculptures were very small and hanging in my windows. They were metal copies of my Ziegler-Tiny-Art paper cut-outs. I noticed how they reflected sunlight and created beautiful shadows on the walls. I started to think of them as instruments that paint the walls with art. I’ve programmed my computer to turn different lights on and off in a sequence. The more lights I have on, the more the projections grow in complexity.” James switches off the ceiling lights, and then turns on a few spotlights that cause the moving metal sculptures to shine and project shadows and light reflections onto the screens that enclose the space.

It’s beautiful and so relaxing! It reminds me of light moving through water, or maybe the Northern Lights. Are people supposed to interact with this somehow?

“Yes! There are two ways of interacting. People can touch the sculptures and move them, or just watch how air currents do it. There will also be pieces that can be picked up and played with. Visitors can experiment with the reflections they can create. With the Artist in Residence program, I’ll be bringing the installation to the BCA where we’ll do two one day workshops.

We’ll start out using my Ziegler Tiny Art paper cut-outs, and people can use the light from their phones to start experimenting with shadows. Then we’ll hang up the big sculptures and experiment with them. It’ll happen over a weekend, and on Saturday evening we’ll open the space to the public. It will help me to see what people gravitate to and how they interact with it. The BCA is letting me use the big hall for a demonstration day, so it will be interesting to work in that huge space.”

Is this about anything philosophical for you?

Absolutely. It’s called Traces of Consciousness and it’s about my fascination with the abstract marks of artists over time. I’m thinking of Kandinsky and abstract expressionists, or even earlier painters like Rembrandt, his rough sketches, just blobs of paint and dabblings of ink on the page. It also has echoes of quantum mechanics and physics!

It reminds me of microscopic images of neurons in the brain. I just like sitting here and watching it. It’s so relaxing.

It is, isn’t it? I’m interested in taking it out into the larger world and doing pop up installations, say in a parking garage, or under a bridge.

Thanks so much James, I look forward to the workshop!

Did you miss out on James Ziegler’s Traces demonstration event as part of BCA ARTS?

Catch right up with this incredible video recap James produced. 

Head to the arts page to learn more about James’ drop in studio dates in May and June and sign up for his free full-day Traces workshops happening the weekend of June 10 and 11 at the BCA, with a drop-in public showcase happening the evening of June 10!

The BCA ARTS Program is made possible with support from Calgary Arts Development and the Community Hubs Initiative: A partnership between The City of Calgary and United Way of Calgary and Area, with Rotary as a founding partner.

This Saturday May 13 was a momentous day here at the Bowness Community Association as over 60 dedicated volunteers gathered to bring the long-awaited Community Garden to life! Under the warm sun and with a refreshing breeze, Bownesians came together armed with tools, supplies, and elbow grease to construct 29 new community garden beds in the green space here at the BCA. The day was filled with laughter, hard work, and a strong sense of community, setting the stage for an exciting summer of gardening and connection.

The day commenced with First Nations Elder Marilyn Shingoose leading the volunteers in blessing the land and garden as it becomes a vibrant space for all to enjoy. After that, it was all hands on deck as volunteers worked enthusiastically to tackle all of the tasks on the day’s to-do list.

The main focus was constructing 29 garden raised beds using 3 different designs. This involved teams hauling paving stones, digging and leveling soil, and constructing the beds out of lumber, tin, and concrete. Meanwhile, more volunteers made countless wheelbarrow trips to backfill the completed beds with a combination of mulch and wet cardboard, forming a base for the soil that will be delivered to the garden later this week.

The Bowness Community Association would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to all those who made the Community Garden Build Day a resounding success. Denny’s and Papa Murphy’s kept us well fed with breakfast sandwiches and Pizza, while Bartlett Tree Service, Hempalta, and Cowboy Trail Tree Service provided the mulch and woodchips for the base layer of the beds. Volunteers from Simon House and Village Honda showed up with their sleeves rolled up, and even more community members lent tools and came in advance to drop off soil and mulch from home. Bowness Soapworks even donated soap for all of the volunteer to take home!

Special recognition goes to the Volunteer Garden Committee who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to plan, organize, and design the garden. And Lastly, we want to extend our deepest appreciation to every single volunteer who took time out of your Saturday to come out and participate in the build day.

As the beds stand ready, there is an undeniable sense of anticipation around the garden! We can’t wait to see how these garden beds are enjoyed this summer — each rented plot represents the potential for an abundant harvest and deepened connection between neighbours. Just another reason we love Bowness!

Plot rental applications for 2023 have now closed. Questions about the garden? Contact the volunteer garden committee at volunteer@mybowness.com

Have photos of the build day you’d like to share? Email communications@mybowness.com

Thank you Kathy and Adam for taking photos of the day!

Faces of Bowness – Jayanne 

I’ve been living in Bowness over 20 years. My daughter went to school in Bowness and I have a husband named Darren who works in construction.

I use the Community Association a lot, I love coming here. It’s a beautiful place to hang out and The Landing upstairs is gorgeous, I had never seen it before! I also enjoying sitting outside by the old Bownesian visiting with my friends. I go to Maranatha church’s free dinner and movie every three weeks, The Lutheran church’s Saturday lunch, and the Christmas meal every year here at the BCA.

I work at Bowness High and have been there for almost 16 years. I love it. My favourite parts are seeing the kids and having a job I enjoy. People in the community are very helpful and very friendly, and we have a great boss and staff at Bowness High. If someone’s sick, we just pitch in and do what we have to do to help everybody. And it’s beautiful to see what you guys are doing here at the BCA, like the community garden starting!

I would definitely recommend people to come to live in Bowness. There’s a library here for kids, the Boys and Girls Club (Trellis), a good Community Association, and lots of activities for people to do. Thursday I’m going to come down and try out Elevenses with my friend Jacqueline. I want to try it out and meet new people in Bowness!

There’s one lady I met who I help get to church in Bowness, and I helped her out the other day with her TV. She asked if she could come to my place for mother’s day — I said yeah, you can come! So I took her in as my new grandma. She’s pretty cool!

At the Bowness Community Association, we are committed to creating welcoming gathering spaces where all members of our community can come together to enjoy programs, activities, and events. That’s why we are pleased to announce that we will endeavour to provide free childminding services to parents and caregivers during BCA Events, allowing them to fully participate while their children are cared for by experienced childminders in a safe and fun environment.

To ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children in our care, we will be following the BCA Childminding Guidelines, which outline our policies and procedures.

In order to utilize our childminding services, parents and caregivers must complete and sign the BCA Childminding Guidelines & Consent Form, which can be viewed here and will be available at events where childminding is available. This form must be completed no more than 48 hours in advance and signed for each child at every drop-off.

It’s important to note that childminding services are not guaranteed and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. We will post childminding availability in the description of each event’s listing in the BCA Events Calendar, so be sure to check in advance and reach out to the organizer if you have any questions or concerns.

We hope that this initiative gives parents and caregivers more opportunities to fully engage in community events here at the BCA. So, come on down and join us for some fun – we can’t wait to see you!