East Village Junction Pop-up Retail Park is tucked in just north of the King Edward side of the National Music Centre near 4th Street and 8th Avenue S.E. The eight-foot-by-20-foot containers are lined up at a slight angle, painted bright pink, green and blue (the same colours as the bistro tables placed throughout East Village and on St. Patrick’s Island) and customized for each business.
There’s a common area with another container transformed into a stage that the resident container businesses will take turns using as a space for workshops, workouts and other community events. Think yoga classes with Lululemon. Springboard Performance’s containR (the original container pop-up in Calgary) will also use the common stage area for performances every Thursday night. Like any good summer hub, EV Junction also has food trucks. Two food trucks from the YYC Food Trucks roster will be there each day.
The pop-up is open Thursday through Sunday from June 1 to October 1. Here are the businesses you’ll find taking up residence in the containers.
Apple Lady
This fruit stand sells cherries, berries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, apples and pears as they come in season at Avalon Orchard in Oliver, B.C. Stop by the container to buy a batch. The container is also a pickup location for weekly fruit shares. Shares are $15 per week for couples and $25 per week for families, with a 17 week commitment starting June 12 and ending October 2. A selection of fruits will be set aside for you and you can fill out your order by selecting fruits of your choosing from the shop.
Alto Collective
Kevin and Owen Alto are brothers and woodworkers. They started creating custom longboards and now they also make wallets and phone cases out of wood.
Dor-Bel International Fine Foods
This frozen food shop is a staple at many local markets and it will help make your next barbecue much tastier. Dor-Bel International Fine Foods focuses on meat, including steak, bison, chicken pork and lamb. You can also buy sustainable seafood including salmon, char and sable fish, as well as prepared foods like crab cakes and beef Wellington.
East Village ConneXion Pod
This container will operate as a sort of community bulletin board. Pop in to learn about services offered by local residents and businesses, and to post community want ads. For example, if you are looking for a dog walker or are a dog walker and want to let your neighbours know, this is the pod to go to.
Family Squeezed Treat Box
The team at Family Squeezed create treats that include gourmet ice pops (most famously the mini doughnut pop for Stampede), fresh lemonade in all sorts of flavours, cups of edible cookie dough and beaver balls (aka doughnuts piled with delicious toppings). Basically all the best, indulgent summer treats.
Fond Boutique
This mobile consignment clothes boutique is parking itself in one of the East Village pods. Find gently used clothing from high-end brands like Rag & Bone and Pendleton. It has a specific focus in athleisure consignment from brands like Stella McCartney and Adidas.
Lululemon Run Hub
Lululemon’s container is taking advantage of the East Village location and steering the attention away from its yoga mats and toward its other fitness focus of running gear. It will host weekly yoga classes, runs and other group fitness classes out of its summer base at EV Junction. Also watch for Lululemon’s More Than Miles Tour, set to stop in Calgary from July 9 to 29. That tour is making its way to popular running routes across North America to test some of Lululemon’s new running products.
Modern Menswear
This boutique has a permanent location in Mission where you can purchase casual clothes for men from brands including Raised by Wolves, Wood Wood and APOC. This container outpost pairs perfectly with Modern Menswear’s urban clothing.
Munch YYC
If you are in the mood for vanilla latte almond butter, go to Munch YYC. The Calgary company makes nut butters and raw cacoa bars. Its protein balls are also delicious and a good snack to pick up when you are out on the river pathway.
Rath Bicycle
Rath is a family business that restores vintage bikes. It will have several on display in its pink container. You can geek out looking at them, asking questions about bike restoration and maybe hiring Rath to fix up your old bike. The best thing about this business — and that EV Junction is so close to RiverWalk — is that it rents classic cruisers for one hour ($15), two hours ($25), four hours ($35) or the day ($40). Helmet rental is $5. Rath Bicycle also sells vintage and new bikes.
Wrinkle and Crease
Kayley Stenger started this luxury paper products business in 2014. Wrinkle and Crease sells letterpress art prints, gift tags, greeting cards and note cards that are hand-pressed through a letterpress. You can also buy coasters, planners and notebooks.
For programming and news updates related to East Village Junction, visit evexperience.com.