Journey Home

Time to read: under 2 minutes

On May 15, my wife, Aliza, our two dogs, Olive and Pickle, and I embarked on our five day RV adventure across the United States with only one purpose: arrive in Calgary to join the Arts Commons family. This new leadership role will not only lead to meaningful work and collaborations during challenging times--but it's already blessed us with great friends and colleagues. The generosity that Calgary has shown us fuelled our 4,000 kilometre drive across 10 states, and with every hour our excitement increased. 

We began our journey in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where we were isolating from COVID, and drove across the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana, before crossing the border into Alberta. With the exception of a few strategic stops along the way (Kansas City BBQ, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and Mount Rushmore just to name a few), we drove 6-10 hours every day. 

Upon our final arrival into Calgary, our excitement outweighed our exhaustion so much, that instead of going straight to our new home, we made sure that our first stop was Arts Commons. Sitting in our parked car looking at the big performing arts centre that was at the core of our international drive, I couldn't help but feel sad that the doors were closed and that people couldn't hold space and build community through the power of the arts. But the sadness was soon followed by excitement at the realization that one day soon we will be welcoming Calgarians back into their building, and that I will be standing on the other side of those doors, welcoming people as they arrive, and working hard to extend to them the same warm welcome they have extended to me and my family. 

Here are a few images of our journey. If you're interested in seeing more, please connect with me on instagram (@alexsarian), where you'll be able to track our #nosleeptilyycarts adventure! It's good to be home!