It’s difficult for me to imagine a world without communities. Perhaps because it’s human nature to find like minded people to collaborate with, the process of forming a community is quite natural.

I’ve seen the amazing things communities can accomplish with my own eyes.

From an assembly of just a few neighbours, to a group of thousands, communities can accomplish things that an individual can dream about, but that take many to actualize.

The diversity of Edmonton’s communities is as great as the diversity of its citizens

 

Newcomers to Edmonton are faced with a set of difficult challenges that come with settling in a new place. To meet these challenges, grassroots organizations are forming to offer support to these new Edmontonians in the form of homework clubs, skill enhancement, and mentorship programs. These groups provide an important link in connecting new Edmontontonians to the community at large.

The success of these organizations will be visible in the future as these new Edmontontonians make and strengthen ties to their new community.

The efforts made by these organizations today will be paid back in spades as these newcomers establish roots and begin to help shape the future of our community.

Edmonton’s underground music scene has long been a hotbed of creative activity. This type of activity is not unique to Edmonton, but we are fortunate to have a thriving, well known scene. Artists among the music community have been writing interesting songs, releasing records and playing shows for as long as I can remember.

From community hall shows to large venues, Edmontonians show their support for this music by attending these events and forming relationships with artists.

The music scene provides people of Edmonton the opportunity to pick up an instrument, form a band and go about the business of rocking out. It offers music lovers the opportunity to closely follow the careers and work of artists and bands that they share the community with. The efforts of the music scene greatly enhance the vibrancy and culture of Edmonton.

Ho Nutha Level is a collective of Edmonton breakdancers. HNL hosts breakdance events throughout the city which bring a diverse group of b-boys and b-girls together. Waves of positive energy are created as the dancers are engaged by the hip-hop DJ. Forming a circle around a crude cardboard dance mat, the dancers cheer and celebrate as one of their fellow dancers enters the circle and begins to throw down. The intense physical art of breakdance is explored as breakers of different skill levels execute their best moves.

HNL is an example of a group of people just getting together to do what they love to do.

The dancers dance for themselves and for the pure joy of expression. Contests and battles are sometimes held, but the overall purpose of these events is basically just to get everyone together and have a fun time. This community extrudes positive energy like some kind of positive energy generation machine.

Every day across our city our indoor and outdoor community rinks are bustling with activity. Indoor ice slots are hard to find and are almost booked well in advanced. At these rinks you’ll find hockey players of all ages from beginner mite to senior beer league teams. These leagues bring together players who battle and compete for fun, exercise and camaraderie.

A lot of those players will tell you that the day of their hockey game is their best day of their week. Parents of hockey players will tell you that their kid’s hockey nights have become a social night for them as well.

Playing and watching hockey is fun, but what makes the experience special is the bonds formed with teammates and friends.

Edmonton is lucky to have such a dynamic hockey, and recreational sport community.

Right now there are people in this city conceptualizing events, sharing ideas and crafting new creative works.

Find a like minded community and work on something you care about, do something fun, or mentor a new peer… before you know it you’ll find that you’ve become a vital part of Edmonton’s social fabric vis-a-vie one of its unique communities.

NextGen focuses on bringing together the community in many ways. Through events like Petcha Kucha and MEÆT,
NextGen brings people together to share ideas, have fun and help make Edmonton a more interesting place to live.

Bio:
Blake Betteridge

Blake was born and raised in Edmonton and is proud to call Edmonton home. He is currently working with the City of Edmonton as the Administrative Support to the Community Sustainability Task Force after starting in the Grants department. He has a background in Journalism and attended the MacEwan School of Communications.
Blake is a very creative individual and is happiest when he is creating something new. He plays the guitar, piano and the drums and is currently in the art-punk band, Bayonets!!! Following in the footsteps of his Great Grandfather, Blake taught himself how to draw, and then to paint. To date he has completed 111 paintings which have earned him recognition in the Edmonton Journal and See Magazine.

Blake rounds out his busy life with a part time job at Rexall Place as a Rink Rat where he can be seen shovelling the ice during the TV time outs of NHL and WHL games. He is also a puck-moving defenseman for the Shredders, a local beer league hockey team.

Disclaimer
NextGen Speaks Out, our guest blogging series, is envisioned as a hub for information and discussion. NextGen is a non-political, non-denominational organization focused on giving all nextgeners a voice. NextGen does not represent the opinions expressed by the individual columnists.