FARM TO TABLE SERVED WITH A SIDE OF EDUCATION
Active Learning Park, market to open at ambitious Granary Road project
The rolling foothills south of Calgary are dotted with an eclectic array of businesses from Spruce Meadows and Sirocco Golf Course to the Saskatoon Farm and Spirit Hills Honey Winery. And in the region near the Leighton Art Centre, Red Deer Lake Meats and the Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch, there's a huge new project that will open later this month. It's Granary Road, a 36-acre Active Learning Park and Market aimed at families.
Granary Road (pronounced gran-a-ree in the English manner), is a project by 5 Red Granaries, a group of Alberta folk who have come together to build it. When they purchased the property, there were five red granaries on site. Unfortunately, the granaries did not survive an attempt to move them.
A big part of Granary Road is a sprawling Active Learning Park with 11 indoor-outdoor themed exhibits that teach and entertain at the same time. For example, the Chicken Coop has a five-foot wide slide, a rope climber and a four-seat “Egg Scrambler” merry-go-round. Wetlands Discovery includes an aquarium-terrarium and the Bat Cave houses a Blind-as-a-Bat Echolocation Labyrinth.
The content of each pavilion, which is aimed at grades K to 9, has been overseen by Calgary teachers to ensure it aligns with Alberta educational curriculum. The overall design of the park has been handled by Keith Lock- wood, who lives locally but works internationally in the world of creative retail. Lockwood has used his experience with companies such as Apple and Adidas and smaller startups entering the retail market to help bring Granary Road to fruition.
The park's exhibits are open by admission from April through October. But there's another huge component to Granary Road that runs year-round. That's the 21,000-square-foot (1,950 square metres) Market, a full-on farmers' market that includes many local farmers' market favourites.
Among the 40-odd vendors, shepherded by director of business development Jane Walter-Lockwood, you'll find Soffritto with its olive oils, vinegars, fresh pastas and now pizzas, Luc's European Meats with cured meats and artisan cheeses, Shirley's Greenhouse with fresh, locally grown produce and Walker's Own with Alberta and B.C. fruits and vegetables. And you'll see a strong presence from Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts (CRMR) in the form of a bakery, a butcher shop, a wine shop and a restaurant.
The Loft Bakery will offer fresh-baked muffins, croissants, breakfast sandwiches, breads and locally roasted coffee to fuel your visit. CRMR's 150-seat Loft Kitchen, which includes an outdoor patio, will have a fast-casual tone with soups, sandwiches, salads and a carvery station for locally sourced meats. (The CRMR ranch is next door and Red Deer Lake Meats is just down the road, so local it is.)
The 60-seat Loft Lounge is situated on the roof overtop the Loft Kitchen and is a full-service restaurant that will serve casual dishes with some menu overlap with the Kitchen. Beer and wine are served here, all with a great view of market activity and the Active Learning Park. With a 12-metre roof overhead and windows and huge garage doors throughout, the Loft will be a lovely perch from which to watch Granary Road activities. Leading the kitchen charge is CRMR veteran and executive chef of The Lake House, Thomas Neukom.
Back on the main floor Urban Butcher, a new CRMR project formerly known as Second to None Meats, will open its third location for fine, high-quality meats. And Bin 905, CRMR's Mission-area wine shop, will open a second outlet.
Outside, bratwurst and ice cream carts will cruise the Park for those who want a bite while enjoying the pavilions and the Bee Hive Snack Shack will provide grab-and-go items, too. Look for sculpted cotton candy in the Park. (Apparently sculpted cotton candy is a thing these days.)
A good deal of the produce available at Granary Road vendors and prepared in its restaurants will come from a 10,000-square-foot greenhouse just a few metres away from the Market.
The Market, which is managed by Melonie McKee, will be open on June 29. It will run 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday year-round with the park open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in summer months only. For more information go to granaryroad.com.
Directions: Head west on Highway 22X from Macleod Trail and turn south on 37th Street S.W. (That's the Calgary 37th Street S.W. You will see MD of Foothills signage too.) Head south about five kilometres until you come to a four-way stop. Red Deer Lake Meats is on the southeast corner. Turn west and you will come to Granary Road in a few minutes. in a core of black cherries and plums. It also doesn't hurt that the labels this producer uses are among some of the most fun and whimsical around.