All Blog Entries by Justin Havre

Plenty of local art is found all throughout Airdrie. If you enjoy walking around the city and discovering all the amazing art, it's important to know what you're looking for. Here are some of the pieces you can enjoy throughout the city.

The Collaboration Project

The Chinook Winds Fire Hall provides an amazing piece of art with a unique open design and plenty of paintings. It's located at 2525 Chinook Winds Drive SW and open from 8:30am to 4:30pm daily for viewing.

Miller Street Art Gallery

Found in Nose Creek Park, this art installation provides a look at interesting aerosol art. Artists share their talents here with plenty of freedom.

Gwacheon Totems

Also found in Nose Creek Park are the six handcrafted totem poles. They were donated

Hockey is one of the most important sports and activities in Canada. Airdrie has a Junior "B" Ice Hockey team, which the community takes great pride in. They are known as the Airdire Thunder and they play in the North Division of the Heritage Junior B Hockey League. Games are played at Ron Ebbesen Arena and provide plenty of entertainment.

History of the Thunder

The Thunder have experience quite a bit of success and they are always one of the top teams in the league. They have won four division titles, two league championships and made it into the Alberta Provincial entries three times with a Silver finish in 2000.

The team has a huge rival in the Okotoks Bisons. They have gone back and forth with the team and even met in the 2005 finals.

The

It may still be a few months away, but the Airdrie Pro Rodeo event will be here before you know it. This is one of the largest and most popular events held in the area every year. It includes plenty of pure rodeo competition with some of the top professionals on hand. Here's what you will find at this incredible event.

About the Rodeo

The rodeo will be held for the 48th year in Airdrie and it's a 100% volunteer driven not-for-profit event. The Airdrie Pro Rodeo is part of the Wrangler Canadian Rodeo Tour. It offers plenty of family-friendly entertainment with free parking and camping on the grounds.

Rodeo Events

The rodeo always brings plenty of fun events for both the pros and the juniors. Some of the events you can expect to enjoy include:

Rico's is a Tapas and Wine restaurant found at 136 First Avenue NE in Airdrie. This restaurant is quite popular and provides a great place to dine. It's bordered by Edmonton Trail and since the restaurant is found in The Village, it's near older homes, mature trees and a place residents enjoy going.

The restaurant is located in an early 1900s home, which was the manse for the next door church at one time. You will enjoy a dining experience like no other in the area. Rico's only seats about 36 guests in the dining room, which provides a fantastic ambiance.

First Airdrie Tapas Restaurant

Rico's was the first Tapas restaurant to open in the Airdrie area. With a warm and inviting atmosphere complimented by amazing dishes from Chef Rico Pacheco, it

The Airdrie Lynx Air Cadets were formed in 2000 because the Airdrie area was in need of an Air Cadet Squadron. They were given strong support from the Air Cadet League of Alberta and gained plenty of steam out of the gate.

The Cadet program is designed by Canadian Forces (DND), whine the Air Cadet League administers the program and the local Squadron Staff implements the program. The "88" Airdrie Lynx hold their meetings every Wednesday at the Ecole Airdrie Middle School from 6:15 pm to 9pm.

Cadet Activities

There are multiple activities the Cadets perform throughout the year including:

• Ground School - This program includes a qualifying example for those looking to enter the Gliding Pilot or Power Pilot training courses. It's much like

Found very close to the Airdrie area, CrossIron Mills is a major enclosed shopping center. It's just east of Balzac in Rocky View County. The center was developed in 2009 and it’s the largest single-level shopping centre in Alberta.

CrossIron Mills consists of nearly 1.2 million square feet of retail and entertainment space. Bass Pro Shops was the first tenant to open within the mall in the spring of 2009. The rest of the mall was still under construction at the time and the final phase, known as The Entertainment Neighbourhood opened in the summer of 2010.

The design of the mall follows the same design as other Mills Corporation malls. It combines premium brand outlets with large format anchor stores and plenty of entertainment components. The mall

There are plenty of events happening in and around the Airdrie area. With plenty of venues for concerts, fundraisers and other types of events, residents have plenty to choose from. Here's a look at some of the upcoming events near Airdrie.

Shamrock Shimmy Fundraiser - March 14th from 6pm to 9pm

This event will be held at the Town & Country Center in Airdrie. It will include dinner, dancing and both silent and live auctions. The Irish Dancers will teach you how to perform the Irish dance and you can participate in the 50/50 raffle. Tickets are $50 per person.

Mary Walsh with Special Guest Sharron Matthews - March 10th from 7:30pm to 8:30pm

The Bert Church Live Theater will host the Mary Walsh performance, which will include guest Sharron

Located close to the Airdrie area, Market Mall offers plenty of great shops, restaurants and much more. The mall is one of the top shopping destinations for those living in the Airdrie area. Here's what you will find at the mall.

Shopping

With over 200 stores and restaurants, there's a little bit of something for everybody. The mall includes many top retailers and other local boutiques, such as:

• Aldo
• American Eagle Outfitters
• Arnold Chrugin Shoes
• Bath & Body Works
• The Children's Place
• Express
• J.Crew
• La Senza
• Little Burgundy
• Old Navy
• Nine West
• Peoples Jewellers
• Rockport
• Sunglass Hut
• Talbots
• And Many More!

There are shops in all types of different categories from apparel to specialty food found

The Airdrie Public Library is a part of a larger system called the Marigold Library System. This larger system was established in 1981 as a network of libraries serving 41 municipalities in Alberta. The system allows independent libraries to work together so that they can keep the costs down.

Since the Airdrie Public Library is a part of this network, they are able to increase their collection by leveraging the 170 other libraries found in the province There are more than 3 million CDs, DVDs, books and other resources found in The Regional Automated Consortium catalogue (TRACpac). As a member of the Airdrie Public Library, you can reserve any items from the other libraries.

Programs

The library is more than just books and DVDs, however. There are

As one of the top golf courses in Airdrie, Woodside Golf Course is a great place for golf and much more. This 18-hole championship golf course provides one of the longest golf seasons in the area. It also has a restaurant with a patio, which provides a great place to eat.

The course opened in 1989 with 18 holes and a par of 70. Some of the best playing conditions in the Calgary area are found here, along with one of the top practice facilities. The clubhouse also features a pro shop, locker room and meeting room. Whether a member or a visiting player, your time at the Woodside Golf Course is sure to be great.

The Restaurant

Woods Restaurant & Patioh! is open year-round and can accommodate up to 150 people. It's a full service event facility for