Night out brings Westmount community together
By Kjell Wickstrom
The inside of Cafe Tiramisu. It was the location for the last Movable Feast on Jan. 18, 2012. It's located at the corner of 124 Street and 108 Avenue in Edmonton Alberta. Photo by Kjell Wickstrom.
EDMONTON — The Westmount Community League is getting people together for a night out and at the same time supporting the local businesses that help the community grow.
The Movable Feast (a.k.a Westmount Dine-out) is a big dinner out for community members and supports a local restaurant.
“It’s a great opportunity for new people in the neighbourhood to meet their neighbours,” said Rosella Mandau, the special events co-ordinator for Westmount Community League.
The feast primarily takes place in the winter at a restaurant near the Westmount neighbourhood, typically on 124 Street.
“We try to keep it in Westmount,” said Mandau, “so people can walk from their homes to the restaurant.
“We’re fortunate, we’ve got some pretty fantastic restaurants right in our neighbourhood, but I think a lot of the people don’t necessarily dig around that close to home.”
This program taps into the same spirit as the Live Local and Shop Local movements in Edmonton. These movements encourage people to use local products and support small businesses within the community.
One of the main goals of the feast is to “support local business,” said Mandau. “A lot of the business owners in this area live in this area. So we know them personally and we want to support them.”
By supporting local businesses people hope to foster a stronger community.
“I just see the value in supporting the businesses that are owned by members of your city and community,” said Tara Hogue-Harris, a community member who has attended the previous Movable feasts. “You’re building ties within your community.”
The league works with the local restaurants to set a menu so the meal has a set price and makes things easier for the people who attend and the owners.
Making the event easier to find time for is one of the main goals of the community league. For parents of young children finding the time can often be one of the biggest barriers to going out.
The community league works with a local preschool to help parents find the time for a nice night out.
“By arranging childcare for two or three hours, parents can go to the preschool, drop their child off, walk over, have dinner, walk back and pick up their child,” said Mandau. “So it just makes it really easy (for parents).”
“It’s a chance to hang out without our kids for those of us who maybe just crossed paths at the school,” said Harris.
“It’s a great way to get out and connect with the people, the neighbours you already know and the ones you don’t know.”
The event has been growing in popularity.
“At first we didn’t know if we’d be able to fill a table,” said Mandau. “Now we have people e-mailing us for when the next one will be.”
The Feast normally takes place every other month. The last one was on Jan. 18 at, so the next is likely to be in March, but planning for it hasn’t started.
People can check the Westmount Community League website for details and sign up for the Movable Feast’s email list.
Events that bring communities together are happening all year round in west Edmonton. Check your community league website for events in your area and keep an eye on West Edmonton Local’s events Calendar. If there is anything you would like us to add to the calendar contact one of our reporters through the email at the bottom of their stories.
