Dynamic community of Canmore evolves with its newcomers and visitors
Canmore is a community of newcomers, with a healthy proportion or the permanent population residing here less than five years.
When I passed the eight-year mark of living and working in this beautiful town at the beginning of the summer, I felt like a relative old-timer!
When you’ve lived here a whopping eight years, it’s not uncommon for people to ask you how the town has changed in that time.
That’s an entirely silly question asked of someone from a small town in many other parts of Canada, because it’s a safe bet that nothing much changes in eight short years.
One of our writers this month, Jason Lyon, popped in to say hi yesterday after a few weeks away visiting family in his hometown in New Brunswick. “It’s great, because I can go home after years away, and nothing ever changes,” he told me with a chuckle.
Back home in Canmore, he is not alone in his appreciation for an environment that can only be described as “small town with a decidedly urban flair”.
I think we have our visitors, our tourists, and our second homeowners to thank for the many changes we see around Canmore throughout the year. We have a very special small town where people definitely stop and chat in the grocery store or in the street. At the same time, it’s always clear we are among first-time visitors to the mountains. Our visitors may have grocery bags in hand and the mountain casual clothing that allows them to blend in with the locals, but it’s easy to pick them out. They’re the ones who have a hard time lowering their eyes from the incredible view. (This can be particularly dangerous if they are driving!)
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Canmore has great restaurants, fabulous shops, a broad range of entertainment and some of the best festivals in the country because we are attractive to visitors the world over.
In this issue, you’ll read about a few things that add to the great experience of our visitors, and also draw the people who eventually call Canmore home.
Read about the world-renowned Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival, an event that attracts everyone from the armchair traveler to the extreme adventure seeker. Learn about the man who discovered the migratory path of the golden eagle high above Canmore. And your mouth will water as you read about how local chefs use precious regional ingredients — like mushrooms that have flourished in areas besieged by last summer’s forest fires — in their autumn menus.
Enjoy these last days of summer in the Bow Valley — and discover something new whether you’ve lived here a decade or you have just arrived for your first visit.
- Shari Bishop Bowes, Editor, SolaraLife
We welcome your comments and suggestions, as well as submissions from freelance writers who have a passion for the Canadian Rockies. Contact us at contact@solaralife.com
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