Five years ago I had this idea, primarily born out of frustration (like most innovative ideas are). As I drove around town literally passing by events as they were happening, I said to myself… I can’t be the only person in this town who doesn’t know what is going on?
On that day, as a marketer and website designer I decided to fix this problem and Urbancasual.ca – the events & community news website for Cochrane, Alberta was born.
The first article hit the website on February 28, 2018 (Tip: it was about SUNNY SIDE UP Cochrane, who is also celebrating their 5th birthday!) and we haven’t looked back – adding in job listings, photos and pets of the week, editorial submissions, as well as partnering with local historians at the Cochrane Historical & Archival Preservation Society to help share the stories of our town’s beginnings.
I have learned a lot about the businesses in Cochrane, both brick and mortar and home-based. I have also connected with and helped many organizations with their events as both a marketer and a volunteer. I have shared many promotions, designed graphics for and highlighted all Cochrane events without prejudice (even when some people were not in agreement with the event).
Why? Because events are WAY MORE fun when people show up & to be honest (and this was a very unexpected side of WHY I started UC in the first place), there are so many people venturing to live in our town each and every day, that a lot of our new residents are following us and all of our town’s amazing events BEFORE they even move here.
At the beginning of Covid, I was the girl with the empty events website. I still recall that day before my weekly live video where I would tell you about all the exciting things coming up in Cochrane on the weekend… and it had all been cancelled. For that weekend and for the foreseeable future. So I invited Councillor Marni Fedeyko (thank you for bravely accepting!) to come chat with me on a weekly live, about how we as Cochranites were going to get through this time together.
I strove to help you know what/who was open and how to keep supporting our local businesses, as an effort to keep as many doors open as possible. Weekly I was joined by Cochranites who wanted to share their messages with our audience, and I must say that I am thankful for this turn of events. Getting to know you all during this awkward time in history cannot be matched!
It was also during this time that we stepped out of our element and started live-streaming local events. Sometimes the wi-fi Gods are friends and sometimes they are foes, but the important thing was to allow people to share in the moment, when we were not all able to be physically together.
We continue to post daily on this page, allowing all comments to stand ( never deleting even one!), only asking that we all use manners and share kindness, because when we work together, we create something so much more significant.
Thank you from the very bottom of my heart for following along and for sharing this account with your friends, for telling new residents about us and for commenting. It all really means a lot and I hope you’ve found value on our pages.
Happy 5th Birthday to Us!
*Sam
