Kin Park Teepee Village

On June 21 it was National Aboriginal Day and on my drive home last week I noticed this teepee village setup in Kin Park.  Occasionally you can see displays like this at the Saamis Teepee, but it's not often that you find a village left to freely explore and in such great quantity.  The authentic display was really beautiful and seemed like the perfect focal point for a new Around the Hat photo set.  

Fifth Avenue Memorial United Church

It was one hundred years ago today on June 26, 1912 that the corner stone for the Fifth Avenue (Methodist) Church was laid in place.  You can see a picture of the stone below. It was actually a big year for church construction as both St. Patrick's and St. Barnabas were being erected in 1912 as well. 

Perched on the corner of 4th street and 5th avenue, the church overlooks much of downtown Medicine Hat.  The church was actually ravaged by fire and largely destroyed in July 1931, but was rebuilt almost immediately.  Today the Fifth Avenue Memorial Church looks much as it did in 1912, with the exception of the education centre added on to the rear of the church in 1957.

Fifth Avenue Church sometime around 1920.

Church construction in 1912.

5th Ave. United Church ca. 1930s

As the Search Continues

A few nights ago, digging through a photo box of road trip memorabilia, I began rewriting portions of my rough outline for Searching Salvation.  I don't think I've ever dwelled on a project this long before.  My personal documentary/video poem about the death of my friend Dave, and our memorable visit to Salvation Mountain needs to be just right.  I feel like it's my final word on Dave's death, and I think I'm striving for it to be a bookend of sorts.  

Since editing a memorial video for Dave just days after his death, I feel like Searching Salvation is more about the context of our friendship, the meaning behind it, and less about the shock or frustration that I felt after it happened.  It's a challenge striking the right balance, and I want to be truthful in why our experience at Salvation Mountain was meaningful to begin with, and not just aggrandize it because Dave is gone.  At this point in my life I feel like just thinking about this as much as I have has really helped me grow and appreciate specific moments.   

My goal now is to have the project complete by September 10, the anniversary of Dave's death.  I think the timeline is realistic, and as the memories are going to be coming back for a lot of us around that date, I think it'll be a meaningful tribute focused on moving forward.  If anything, this entire project has given me an outlet to do just that.