Submitted by Filomena Gomes, Brentwoodian and CivicCamper
When did a simple hello to a passerby on my street begin to feel uncomfortable? I wondered about that as my daughters and I started on our around-the-block stroll for Brentwood’s first Meet Our Neighbours Day on May 4 at 7pm. 
The MONdays idea, first introduced by neighbourhood artist and CivicCamper Kirsten Horel, was so brilliantly simple that I loved it straight away. Essentially it is an invitation to approach other people in Brentwood on Monday evenings in May and June and connect in a more meaningful way than just a cursory “hi” while totally avoiding eye contact.
We headed out at 7:02pm. Éva and Madeleine, my daughters, noticed with disappointment that there was nobody on our street. (Maybe they imagined a street bustling with activity like in the recycling commercial for the new blue carts where there’s a smile on every face and everyone breaks into song and dance.) We started walking and ran into a familiar face: Ann, the customer service manager from the Nose Hill Library. She agreed it was pretty quiet but that the evening couldn’t be nicer for a walk. We also ran into Teresa, another familiar face, who was gardening in her front yard and who always takes the time to say hello to us. Turning onto another street, we were heading into more “foreign territory” and the potential for running into a new neighbour was greater but a little more daunting, too. A woman and a young boy were heading in our direction and I tried to find the right words to approach them while realizing how out of practise I was in the art of “the approach”. So, I plunged right in. “Excuse me, are you out this evening for Meet Our Neighbours Day?” The woman smiled and said that she had read about it in the Brentwood Bugle. Thankful for her smile and not having to delve into some long explanation that I wasn’t crazy or making it up, I then got about the business of introductions.
That night, for the first time, we met Zeynep and Arda walking home and we shared our names, our streets, our time and eventually our contact info. It felt great and our courage was rewarded. We continued to walk further and also met other new neighbours like Diana (who we discovered knew our house and its former residents) and Bev and Carolina. Of course, we also crossed paths with Kirsten (who came up with the idea), Doug (her husband), Cheri (the Bugle editor) and her son, Graham. Overall we saw and chatted with more than 10 neighbours, new and familiar, and by then 9pm had rolled around. Walking back home, we saw other clusters of gatherings and were pleased to see it. So, while it wasn’t a musical theatre performance like in the blue cart commercial, it was still a lovely beginning to what I hope becomes a Brentwood tradition of connection and reconnection. I am also reminded of Alfred Tennyson’s quote, “I am a part of all that I have met.” I would add that all that I have met last Monday evening are now a part of me. Hope to see them and other new neighbours again!
Filomena and Kirsten would like to see MONday spread to sidewalks across Calgary. To that end, Kirsten has generously donated the use of her MONday artwork to any community that would like to try this in their own streets. To receive a file containing the artwork (as shown above) for use in posters or community newsletters, please email civiccamp@gmail.com with MONday in the subject line.
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When my young daughter, Katie and I walk around Kensington, she spontaneously smiles and says hello to total strangers as well as friends or acquaintances–I’m the one who tends to avoid eye contact and walk on by. She always asks me for money to give to homeless people, and smiles and says hello to them just as she would anyone else….I’ve learned a lot from her about being more neighbourly!
I am a fellow Brentwoodian and had a bit better experience in my area. I sat in a patio chair in the front yard and chatted with my neighbour when he came outside. The next day I had a conversation with the enighbbour across the way. The new puppy that I have definitely helped break barriers. I have lived in my house for over 2 years now and these were the longest conversations that I have had with either of them. I will try
I have also organized the initial meeting of the community garden in Brentwood to coincide with the MONdays events and was able to meet many more of my “more distant” neighbours at the same time.
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