Bigger than ever
Jane's Walk starts
May 1
EVA FERGUSON, CALGARY HERALDMore from Eva Ferguson, Calgary Herald
Published on: April 22, 2015
Last Updated: April 22, 2015 7:22 PM MDT
Andrée Iffrig led a tour of Inglewood for a Jane's Walk in 2013.
Gavin Young / Calgary Herald
S H A R E A D J U S T C O MM E N T P R I N T
Expanding by an additional 10 walks from last year, Calgary celebrates its largest
ever Jane’s Walk starting May 1, looking to books and the ‘burbs as themes of
interest.
“It’s just fantastic to see it growing by so much, it’s just bubbling up,” said event
organizer Julie Black, citizen engagement associate with the Calgary
Foundation, which organizes the walks. Up to 55 are scheduled between May 1
and May 4, up from last year’s 45.
“People keep coming forward and volunteering more walks, and I think it’s
because Calgarians are just really engaged in the discussion about what their
city should look like, and what kinds of neighbours we can be.”
Black is particularly excited about the literary theme permeating both innercity and suburban walks for the weekend.
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They start with a Friday evening stroll with local essayist and poet Shaun
Hunter, author of Skin Deep and A Magpie Season, walking through the city’s
downtown as seen through the eyes of writers.
Writing The City will begin at Central Memorial Park’s Cenotaph with a talk
about Maxwell Bates, an expressionist painter and poet who was born in
Calgary in 1906.
The walk continues to wind through the downtown and meets up with several
guest authors, including Calgary writer Aretha Van Herk at the Palliser Hotel,
who will chat about her novel Restlessness.
“I just hope we get not just writers and those interested in books, but people
who are just curious to see where the city pops up in terms of books,” Hunter
said.
Literary walks continue Saturday morning with Roxboro to Ramsay, a walk by
local author Lori Beattie to celebrate the new edition of her popular guide
book, Calgary’s Best Walks. This tour takes walkers through hidden stairways,
natural area trails, bridges, funky neighbourhoods and cafes for a reflection on
why it’s so great to walk in Calgary.
And on Sunday, local guidebook author David Peyto takes a tour of North
Tuscany Trails, Pathways and Ponds, allowing walkers to immerse themselves
in the hidden surprises of the suburbs.
Black said his tour and several other suburban area walks speak to the breadth
of this year’s Jane’s Walk, which expands to the city’s farthest reaching
corners, from Tuscany in the northwest, to Taradale in the northeast, to
Mahogany in the southeast. Even Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park is included.
“What I’m most proud of more than the numbers is the range of our walks this
year,” Black said.
Jane’s Walk is a worldwide, global festival of walking tours in more than 100 cities,
inspired by Jane Jacobs, an American-born journalist, author and activist who has
written about urban issues in New York and Toronto.
For more information on upcoming walks, go to janeswalk.org.
eferguson@calgaryherald.com