Little community library with a twist
The community of Legacy in the southeast has two new little libraries that were put up at the beginning of October and instead of books, one is filled with games.
Alexandra Velosa is the president of the Calgary Legacy Community Association who says the idea was sparked by a Facebook post with someone trying to trade puzzles.
"We all love puzzles and games, but sometimes we get bored of the same games and the same puzzles," said Velosa. "So we were thinking about giving this library the opportunity for people to the exchange puzzles and board games."
Velosa pitched the idea to the Federation of Calgary Communities and received a grant for close to $2,500 to pay for two little libraries and some games and books to go in them.
"We also got the kids in the community engaged to paint the libraries," said Velosa. "Because we wanted everyone to be part of it and participate and some of the ideas on how to decorate them came actually from them."
'I REALLY LIKE LEGO'
Valerie Herrera is 10 years old and was tasked with making the sides of the Play Little Library colourful, so she used Lego.
"I put it on the sides because the sides were pretty empty and my mom wanted to color on them but I wanted to put something fun and I put Lego because I really like Lego," she said.
Herrera says it took two days to paint and mount the Lego onto the little library and she's proud of how it looks because her friends and other kids in the community are playing with the games and the Lego.
"You just bring games (or) take a game which is pretty fun," said Herrera. "Yeah, it actually turned out really cool."
The Multicultural Little Library is a few blocks away and has greetings from a number of languages painted on the sides. This one shares books and recipes. Velosa moved to Canada from Colombia 17 years ago and says the community is diverse with people from many different backgrounds and places. She wanted to give everyone the opportunity to share a little bit of their culture.
"The idea is that it holds books in different languages and it also works as a space for people to exchange recipes," said Velosa. "When you want to learn about a culture, there is no way no better way than by their cooking so we are promoting recipe exchanging through the multicultural library."
Angie Locking is at the park with her four-year-old daughter Ezira and is sharing one of her favourite recipes.
"I know how to make those Vietnamese lettuce wrap rolls and you know people are always amazed when I teach them," said Locking. "But it's really so easy they just don't know how to work with the materials is all."
The two new little libraries are getting attention from other communities that are looking to set them up in their neighbourhoods.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.