Category: west side culture

Chinatown, design, hintonburg, little Italy, O-Train, sidewalks, somerset street, Uncategorized, west side culture, west wellington

Public art for Somerset Street

Westsideaction

The City has a “percent for art” whereby a percentage of capital (construction) costs of projects is to be spent on public art. West siders will be familiar with public art sculptures on Preston (postcards from the piazzas), West Wellie (marble fire hydrants), and Bank Street (the bike racks). So now it is the turn for the current Somerset construction projects running from Bayswater to Preston, and the Preston to Booth Street sections. The City combined the two projects in order to afford a larger art installation. The City encouraged artists to employ lighting. Community input suggested that the slope eastbound up from Preston into Chinatown … Continue reading Public art for Somerset Street

somerset street, Vietnamese Monument, west side culture

Festival Dalhousie

Westsideaction

This past weekend was a busy one in our west side neighborhoods. There were a number of festivals, parades, and cultural events. It was Budda’s birthday. Shown below is the float that was the key piece in the parade from the Buddist temple on Somerset Street (beside the Plant recreation centre): The Vietnamese community held a fundraiser at the site of their proposed museum and cultural centre at the corner of Somerset and Preston, diagonally opposite the refugee memorial. I was particularly interested to note the proud wearing of the South Vietnam military uniforms by veterans of that war. Continue reading Festival Dalhousie

west side culture

Science Canada awards national prize to local school

Westsideaction

Science Canada had a national short film contest for high school students, on the subject of science. Ecole Secondaire de la Salle (on Old St Patrick St) is the local french language public high school for the west side action area.  Produced for chemistry class, and recorded in a single 75-minute period, this short rap film extols the virtues of science and technology through the illest lyrics you’ve ever heard . It was produced from start-to-finish in less than five days while the students continued attending regular classes. ES de la Salle won first, second, and fourth prizes in the film contest. You can watch … Continue reading Science Canada awards national prize to local school