A fire hydrant that’s no longer being used to put out fires has been turned into a piece of art in a northeast Calgary off-leash park.
The surplus hydrant from the Calgary Fire Department is like no other. Art students from nearby Bishop McNally High School spent much of their spring exam break adorning it with images of dogs, bones and hot air balloons.
“It feels pretty good,” said Nadriel Arthur Tacsagon, a Grade 12 student. “I feel like I really accomplished something. My family was pretty proud of me.”
Teacher Jessica McCallum-Lee says the students wanted to represent a variety of dogs.
“The diversity of different dogs represents the diversity of the Northeast,” said McCallum-Lee. “They just wanted to have hot air balloons dropping dog bones from the air, just something really fun and cute.”
The hydrant was created as part of the City of Calgary’s 'This is My Neighbourhood' program, which allows residents to partner with the city to make communities a better place to work, live and play.
“It was a really good experience for me, especially because I live around the community and I would be able to go back and see it again,” added Grade 12 student Ashley Ranada, one of the artists.
Dogs seem to love it too, according to Tacsagon. It is a fire hydrant after all. “During the unveiling a big Doberman came in and tried to pee on the fire hydrant."
"It didn’t ruin the unveiling though. It was kinda funny.”
The students and their teacher hope their work of art will spark others to take on similar projects to brighten up their neighbourhoods.
