Elizabeth May's 1st Official EverGreen Visit

Tuesday, April 10th

Canceling some of her less urgent appointments, Elizabeth May rushed on a plane (she prefers train, of course) to give our candidates in the Alberta election a Green boost.  We got the spend the entire day with her, and crammed in as many events as we could without getting unreasonable... 

 

Breakfast: 10:30 AM

Many of our Calgary members took time out of their work and campaigns to make it up North to enjoy a delicious brunch hosted by our new friends at Absolutely Edibles.  Known for their vegan and vegetarian selections, all our members were able to enjoy a hearty and healthy start to their day.  Many of us were only meeting in person for the first time, and it was a joyous meeting of the minds and celebration of all we have achieved in these past few months.  More pics here:

Vegetarian BBQ at EGS: 12:30 PM

No time to slow down, though...  Michael Kalmanovitch, owner of Earth's General Store, our local go-to community location for all things green, offered to host a BBQ for our leader and our supporters  Gratefully accepted, we all gathered at EGS for more munchies and much talk.  Elizabeth was interviewed by CBC inside, and then we had speeches outdoors.  There were sooo many reporters there to talk to us all.  It's always gratifying to see such a vigorous interest in an election.  One might even say brisk, too, but it IS April...  More photos here:

Scrum: 3:30 PM

After a quick break to catch up on her correspondence and other requirements, it was off to catch any of the media who hadn't been able to meet up with us yet.  Global met us at the ArtsBarns, and we had long and detailed interviews.  After Elizabeth May came our candidate for the Senate, Elizabeth Johannson, the only woman on the Senate ballot.  Speaking for the EverGreen MLA candidates, Dari Lynn took the stage and eloquently presented our solutions, gave her reasons why she was running for the Greens and why youth should support us.  More coffee and beverages (campaigns run mostly on coffee), and we were all able to get caught up on each other's lives and efforts.  More pictures here:

Lecture sponsored by the U of A Greens: 5:00 PM

Off to the U of A for the final event of the evening.  Speaking primarily to youth but also urgently to all Canadians, Elizabeth's message of the hidden dangers of the latest, and most dangerous, Harper budget was not lost on the crowd.  The funding cuts, complete elimination of programs, and its obvious ideological agenda makes it one of the most frightening pieces to ever come out of almost any federal government in living memory.  She detailed some of the most egregious parts and broke it down to explain what it really meant for different departments and for our culture, climate, and environment as a whole. It was a difficult note to end on, but a necessary one.  It was a call to arms for the Greens, the activists, and the public, and as always, I felt deeply privileged to be able to represent the Greens and witness first-hand this kind of honesty and passion.  More pictures here:

It was all over too soon, and we had to say good-bye to Elizabeth once again.  It is always an honour when I am called upon to organize her events and make her stay as useful and pleasant as possible.  It was a joy to see her again, and connect more personally with some of the most progressive activists in the province.

(Catch up on some of the rest of EverGreen campaign on this blog post)