Love Stories of Arts Commons
Time to read: Less than 2 minutes
Love is in the air, or rather, halls!
Arts Commons is a home of so many memories and traditions. You might have seen your first concert, admired your favourite visual art piece, or even experienced a play. For some, memories include meeting or marrying their partner in one of our spaces.
To celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, we are sharing the experiences from staff and friends of Arts Commons who will always have a special memory of our centre in their relationship story.
Leslie Biles
When I joined Alberta Theatre Projects as the Technical Director in 2001, the computer of my predecessor had been reformatted, all their files had been lost, and no back up was to be found. I reached out to the Technical Director of Theatre Calgary next door for assistance in rebuilding crew lists, vendor information, etc. He was very helpful and shared a lot of useful information.
This led to us collaborating on a regular basis to manage our joint spaces and crews. Over the next year, we became friends and we started going for weekly coffee and then for “restorative” beer after a hard week. One thing led to another, and we found we collaborated well on a personal level too! This past fall we celebrated 18 years together.
Jennifer Johnson
I got married in the Jack Singer Lobby, May long weekend 2007. I met my hubby 1 month before starting at Arts Commons. That's how I remember how long we've been together and how long I've been at Arts Commons!
Cocktail hour ceremony were complete with blended margaritas and sangria. I came down the escalator instead of an aisle. Went right into more cocktails, dinner and party. The production team created a beautiful lighting design where the room slowly transitioned through sunset to a moon and stars. That summer there were 3 other staff weddings (IT, Bar & Finance Staff), and there had also been another programming team member's wedding reception in the JSL (John Anderson - Arts Deco Italian feast).
Josh Dalledonne
I met my fiancé in the lobby of the Martha Cohen Theatre! I was working for Alberta Theatre Projects at the time, and was simply doing my thing: standing at the theatre entrance, welcoming patrons, answering questions, helping front of house by directing folks to their seats... all that fun stuff. Then, Max walked in with our mutual friend Chima who introduced us, which led to a casual date, followed by a more formal date, and now we've been together about 8 years, and engaged for a bit longer than anticipated due to the pandemic! And I can certainly speak for both of us when I say we're both looking forward to getting back to seeing live theatre, music, circus, dance, seeing art, visiting museums... but, until then we're lucky to be safe at home and lucky to have each other!
Jordan Pinkster
Planning the big day is hard. Finding the perfect venue in the right location that fits your needs is a massive challenge. The second we walked through Arts Commons, we knew we had found the right venue. Arts Commons ticked all the boxes: a classically elegant indoor space with modern touches to catch the eye, across from beautiful Olympic Plaza for outdoor photos, and a central location so guests had easy access to great hotels and transit options.
The staff were also incredible in helping us pull together our vision. We had a plan, and they executed it perfectly. Event hosting is second nature to Arts Commons, and that was evident in how the team handled bar service, room transformations, plated dinner service, and every other logistical feature you could imagine.
Our wedding was a day that both of us will remember forever, and we have Arts Commons to thank for so much of that.
Interested in booking your wedding at Arts Commons? Download the Wedding Information package by clicking here.
