Christy Morin got tired of the negative stigma surrounding her community, so she turned to the arts to help revitalize the neighbourhood.
Now in its fifth year, the Kaleido Family Arts Festival spans four blocks along 118 Avenue between 92 and 94 Avenues and attracts visitors from all over the city.
“It all started with a gathering of about 10 people at my house just hanging out with each other,” said the festival’s executive producer. “Now people are just totally taken with the festival and the common denominator is the Avenue.”
This year the free festival featured a kaleidoscope of music, dance, theatre and visual arts.
The city is in the process of revitalizing the area around Alberta Avenue but Morin said the real change came when an eclectic mix of artists started to call the area home.
“Now instead of saying I live eight blocks from Highlands, I tell people I’m just a few blocks off the Avenue,” she said.
The annual fall festival is over for the year but the Avenue will be alive with the arts once again when the snow falls. The Deep Freeze Winter Festival takes place in January.
