Thirty years isn’t that long in the life of a city, but these days it’s definitely a long time for a magazine. A lot has happened in Calgary since Avenue magazine published its first issue in December 1994.
The city’s population has almost exactly doubled in that time, from just under 800,000 to over 1.6 million. In 2023 alone, we welcomed almost 96,000 new residents. And as the city grows, the work we do at Avenue to connect people to this city through the stories of the people, places and organizations that make it great, seems even more relevant.
Since 1994, Calgary has weathered dramatic ups and downs including the floods of 2005 and 2013, the financial crises caused by the sub-prime mortgage crash as well as the pandemic, but we’ve also outgrown a boom-bust mentality and put down roots. More and more, this is a city that people move to to live in, not just to make a buck and get out.
And yet some things stay the same. The cover of that first issue of Avenue featured the One Yellow Rabbits, the troupe whose creativity was already putting the city on the map globally amongst theatre lovers by 1994. And you’ll find them in this issue as they prepare for their annual High Performance Rodeo, which runs from January 14 to February 2.
You’ll also hear from Avenue’s first editor, Val Fortney, about those early days. Fortney went from here to an illustrious career as a writer and editor with the Herald but she still makes time to occasionally write for Avenue.
Another constant — Jann Arden. In 1994, her album Living Under June made waves worldwide with hits including “Could I Be Your Girl,” “Insensitive” and “Good Mother.” In this issue, we talk with her about the impact and importance of that album. Former editor Shelley Arnusch did that interview — I want to take a moment to thank her for her years of service to the magazine even as we had to make changes to our business structure that meant we had to part ways.
As we look towards the next 30 years of publishing Avenue, we also continue to change and evolve.
Almost two years ago, my business partner, Roger Jewett, and I bought Avenue and its parent company RedPoint Media Group as well as the arts and culture magazine The Scene.
We are committed to ensuring that Calgarians connect to their city through engaging storytelling. We believe that these stories should be high quality, trustworthy and freely available. But in order to continue to keep doing that, we need your help.
If you’re a business owner, please join the ranks of the incredible local businesses who support our work through their marketing efforts — if you rely on others to buy local because it builds a great community, think about how your marketing dollars can do the same.
If you’re a reader, please buy a subscription or become a member of our A-List program. It’s my incredible privilege and honour to have this platform to tell Calgary’s stories and I hope we get to keep doing it for many years to come.