Calgary’s urban parks attract plenty of people to both wild and manicured spaces during the day. However, when evening arrives, some of these locations may be overlooked due to their dense and dark nature. Imagine changing these spaces by creating welcoming and magical landscapes in these environments at night. Our goal is to invite Calgarians to illuminate these forgotten locations using several hundred LED lights to create a collaborative and temporary light installation.

Imagine going for an evening stroll, and noticing some activity in an area that is usually dark and unvisited in the night hours. You notice this area is filled with lights: some flashing, some in mason jars, and others appearing to hang in midair. As you approach, you see an inviting sign: “Good Evening! Grab an LED, a battery and help us build fireflies”. You’re invited to join in on the action.

We will facilitate this experience by providing visitors with a simple starting point: space to create and materials (LED lights, button cell batteries, mason jars, wire, string, etc). In this redefined space, people can create, watch the installation’s progress, or simply relax and hang out. We will welcome folks into this space for a few hours, after which we will start to take down this light installation and leave no trace behind of our evening adventure.

Some videos from the project:

Illuminating Calgary's Landscapes Kick-off:

Installation 1 - Firefly Adventure Club:

Installation 2 - PLAY!: