#iamdowntown

A country music band performing on the #IAMDOWNTOWN Stage on Stephen Avenue during the 2019 Calgary Stampede.

Between the Gums #calgaryunseen #nationalmusiccentre #nmc_canada #nmc #studiobell #calgarydowntown #iamdowntown #iamdowntownyyc #calgary #yyc #yycarchitecture #calgaryarchitecture (at National Music Centre)

😷 #CovidAB #covididiots #iamdowntown . The lockdown "cabin fever" has been pretty fierce this time round. I have been feeling particularly stir crazy this week & decided to make a trip #downtown for a much needed change. I was looking forward to seeing the 🎄 lights, skating rink & taking some photos. #calgarydowntown is usually quiet on a Sunday and it was, until I heard a huge roar as I approached #StephenAvenue. It was pretty unnerving until I realised that there was also a substantial police presence accompanying the ruckus that turned out to be an anti-lockdown protest (with some overtly racist overtones). I must have looked pretty startled because a lady told me not to worry. Apparently, they do this every day. I followed at a safe distance, choosing to proceed with my original plan to make it to #OlympicPlaza to see the 🎄 & the ⛸️ skaters. The protesters continued on the City Hall, handing out pamphlets on "constitutional rights" to anyone that would take one. . I found myself getting quite emotional - quite sad - as the protest chants echoed through the streets, boosted by numerous honking horns adding their support & thumbs up (incl. @cityofcalgary truck 😡). . This pandemic has been quite painful. The loneliness of this lockdown in particular has been crushing. The fear I have carried having known people who had #Covid. I know how it can turn your life upside down. I know that even "mild" symptoms are horrible. Millions have died. . I want this nightmare to be over too. But I believe the only way to get through is to listen to the experts & do what they tell us. Distance, #stayhome 🏠 & #wearamask 😷. Protesting is idiotic & counterproductive. Not the day I planned. . Today's spectacle was heartbreaking & shameful. Surely, we're better than this? _____ "We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense." — Barack Obama . . . . #calgary #dailyhiveyyc #alberta #abpoli (at Downtown Calgary) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJCwHTih2he/?igshid=e9s3tnh4fs1q

Nov. 15, 2020 Rider was quite impressed with the giant Christmas Tree at The Core #iamdowntown #chiuphotoaday2020 https://www.instagram.com/p/CHopbpVlkXz/?igshid=1l9isqx112rnd

#pandeconomics Marginal members of society are displaced in favour of for-profit economics. I've observed many ramps on 17th Ave NE, #calgary not suitable for people with limited mobility. Let them drink wine! #iamdowntown #iamon17th @17thavesw @cityofcalgary #newtopographics #calgarytopographics #calgaryunseen (at 17th Ave SW) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFh34XGhOdG/?igshid=11q925v433lxh

Long's #newtopographics #calgarytopographics #calgaryunseen #iamdowntown #iamon17th (at Long's Chinese Food) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFYjBsch_1Y/?igshid=cu6c4xtg4ri5

🌈 #calgarypride #rainbows #capturecalgary #iamdowntown . Looking for some colour in this colourless night that we are living in. The last couple of days in Calgary - the sun has been completely obscured by stratospheric smoke. Gray, gloomy, depressing days. Dark, sunless skies. Air that is abrasive - hard to breath. The pandemic had began to surge again, I find myself being confined in yet another anxious season - fearful yet again. Aware more that ever before, of the cold, dark season ahead & the beginnings of something that feels like hopelessness. . September is traditionally Calgary's #pridemonth but there is no parade this year - no summer's end celebration of the colours of the rainbow. The streets are quiet & deserted. No #beakerhead installations - postponed until next year. My heart is heavy with the summer that we have lost. . But I think the thing that is the most difficult to bear is how unnecessarily cruel we are to each other. The human devastation caused by leaders who fail to lead & a general lack of empathy. Particularly heartbreaking right now is the decades long denial & neglect of the climate change crisis. The misguided & unnecessary attacks on Alberta's doctors, parks, & AISH recipients by the UCP . But perhaps the heaviest weight to bear is the brutal inequality that the pandemic has exposed - the vulnerability of the groups disproportionately affected by the lockdown ... by climate change ... by the world's greed for always wanting more than the earth is able to provide. . Things are hard right now - so be kind. Our very future depends on concerned citizens willing to step outside of the confines of "me first" & instead supporting the collective "we". Like it or not - we are in this together & need each other to make it through 😷. Be the rainbow in somebody else's cloud (Maya Angelou). ______ "And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow." ― Gilbert K. Chesterton . "Rainbows introduce us to reflections of different beautiful possibilities so we never forget that pain and grief are not the final options in life." ― Aberjhani . #abdocs4patients #saveourabparks #firetheucp (at Downtown Calgary) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFM09GoBhkZ/?igshid=i7y6psuhvpy5

🏙️ #IAmDowntown #capturecalgary #loveyyc #sayinggoodbye #shareyourweather . "Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation." — Rumi . . . . . . . . #explorecalgary #calgary #bowriver #bankershall #yycpublicart #bloom #StPatricksIsland #yycinfluencer #dailyhiveyyc #iamdowntownyyc #placesilove #outWalking #calgarytower #calgarydowntown #downtowncalgary #rivers #explorealberta #beautifulplaces #urbanphotography #downtown #imagesofcanada #snow #frozenriver #winter #winterwalker (at Calgary, Alberta) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7pSmLgBzLt/?igshid=oilpcf8229wy