First Time Challenge

Last month, I decided that one of my goals would be to attempt to have a "first time ever" experience two times a month...where I would do or experience something that I had never done before. And I challenged you to have a first-time ever experience each month as well!

Earlier in February, I told you about my first-time experience where I visited a "new-to-me gallery" (Master Gallery Ltd.) for the first time. Now I want to tell you that my second "first-time" experience was on Saturday (Feb. 27th) when my husband and I drove to the Bragg Creek Performing Arts Centre to hear a very special concert.

Award winning artists Raylene Rankin, Cindy Church and Susan Crowe gave a concert filled with folk, country, jazz and contemporary music, much of which I had not heard before. They have an absolutely phenomenal guitarist who plays with them (not the one in this video). I would have bought a cd of his playing in a heartbeat! They played to an audience of about 500- so it felt quite "intimate" actually. The sound was great, and they packed every minute with music.

When we left Bragg Creek, the full moon was shining, the tall fir trees were swaying in a slight breeze, the brightest stars were visible in the huge expanse of a prairie sky, you could smell the smoke from a fireplace nearby, and the temperature was still above zero at 10:30 p.m. Really beautiful.

So I had my 2 "first time ever" experiences for the month of February. How about you? Did you find a couple of things to do or see or create for the first time ever?

First Time Challenge Event

Today, in keeping with my "First Time Challenge", my sweet husband and I spent most of the day in the city of Calgary. After I had my hair cut, we visited Masters Gallery Ltd. - a visit which was a first time experience. It is a really beautiful gallery, laid out on two levels, with a great variety of art work: sculptures, glass blown objects, pottery work, art books, and of course, many different styles and mediums of paintings. The staff was very welcoming, offering cookies and coffee, without being pushy or obtrusive. There were a couple of artists whose work I found very exciting and inspiring. They even had one watercolorist whose work was amazing in terms of how he portrayed light! His name is Keith Thomson. You can view his work here. Beautiful work, and in a size that is huge for watercolor! I totally enjoyed the visit.

Afterward, we traveled to one of my favorite places to visit - the Calgary's Farmer's Market on what used to be the Currie Barracks grounds.

We had lunch at Simple Simon's Pies (I had a vegetable curry pie, and my husband had the pepper steak pie). We wandered throughout the market place - it is fairly large - and I bought handmade soaps, a fabulous artichoke/spinach dip, organic apples, and some amazingly gorgeous flowers to paint - purple and orange tulips and various shades of orange and red Gerber daisies. We also picked up some organic produce, and wandered through the many stalls, enjoying the sights, smells and sounds.

All in all, it was a wonderful start to the long weekend here in Alberta! I love having "experiences" - spending time in unusual places, enjoying the company of my husband, family and/or friends! And I now have had one of my two "first time" experiences for this month of February! Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day. ♥