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Each year, Youth Week Calgary partners with Canadian Blood Services (CBS) for YOUNG BLOODS WEEK, which happens during Youth Week (April 24 – May 2, 2010).

During Young Bloods Week, CBS encourages young people (17+) around Calgary to donate their blood to those who need it.  Did you know that just by donated a pint of blood, you can save the lives of three people?

Check out the experience of Helen, one of our Youth Week steering committee members, as she donates blood for the first time.

Interested in donating? Here’s all the info on this awesome Youth Week event:

Event:  Young Bloods Week

Held By: Canadian Blood Services

Location: Canadian Blood Services Centre Clinic (737 13th Ave. SW, Calgary, AB  T2R 1J1)

Time: 3:30-8:00pm

Cost:  Blood – Free to give, free to get.

Appropriate For:  17+

For More Info, Contact: sabrina.dicintio@blood.ca OR 1-888-2-Donate

Here’s what Canadian Blood Services has to say about Young Bloods Week:

Calgary youth are saving lives!  Canadian Blood Services is welcoming all youth donors 17 and older to make a lifesaving blood donation during Youth Week 2010!  We will special refreshments, prizes, and movies running in the clinic.  Call 1-888-2-Donate to book your appointment or contact Sabrina at 403-410-2729 / Sabrina.dicintio@blood.ca for more info.

For more info on Youth Week…click here!

A few months back we posted an article about Youth Vital Signs.  This project is based on Vital Signs which is a report card on the city of Calgary.  Youth Vital Signs was open to Youth in Calgary and YAA is proud to announce that the results have been reviewed and the grades have been reviewed.  Click here to check out the report and findings.

A big “thanks” to all of the youth who completed the survey.  Your feedback, ideas, and comments were so amazing.  YAA would also like to thank Ros Doi and the Calgary Youth Foundation Steering Committee for their hard work on this project!  YAA would also like to recognize the Calgary Foundation and Telus for their amazing support on this project.

This project was organized by YouthCentral (formerly Child and Youth Friendly Calgary) which also manages Youth Are Awesome!  Keep your eyes peeled on more amazing projects that give youth a voice in Calgary.

It was on a Saturday night

and we’ve decieded to ride the C-Train to Downtwon

While it was rainning and windy outside

but it was fun

and it was a beautiful night

… in 4 minutes! This video claims to pull together the 100 greatest videos of all YouTube history, all in under 4 minutes, and I can assure you it’s worth your time. Yes, you do get Rick Roll’d halfway through, but it’s offset by the amazing display of diversity this world has to offer, as well as a few people coming close to winning a Darwin Award. Try to see how many videos you recognize, and enjoy!

If you didn’t already know, Canada is well on its way to having its very own human rights museum. Construction of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) started in 2008 and will open for business in 2012. The museum has stressed the importance of educating young people especially, so it’s only suiting that they’re holding an art contest for youth in partnership with Taking IT Global (TIG).

The contest, called Evoke, aims to give youth a medium through which to reflect on the past, present, and future potential of human rights movements and events. Open to youth aged 13-25, the contest will be open for submissions until the 25th of May. 13 winners will be chosen (one from each province/territory) and will be given the opportunity to travel to Winnipeg this summer to have their art exhibited during a ceremony for the CMHR.

For more info on submitting to the art contest, head here. If you’re interested in learning more about the museum, head to their website and check out the live construction feed. If there’s no construction going on in the evening, you can always watch the skaters in the skater park!

Lovely weather we’re having, eh? But the bright side to this horrid snow in late April is that it stops me (and everyone else really) from taking advantage of the nice weather we just had. Last week, I told you all about senioritis. This week, I’m going to tell you how I’ve been coping with my case of senioritis!

Since the weather is just dreadful, I’ve no longer been out much in the sun (we haven’t seen much sun regardless though). Instead, I’ve been able to accomplish more homework and be more focused. So, without further ado, here are some ways (that I’ve been using this past week) to cope with senioritis!

1) Work With Others: Whether it be with classmates or friends, you’re more likely to keep each other on track since we usually feel bad about distracting others from their work. So, in a roundabout way, it gets everyone to focus on their own work more.

2) Plan A Work Schedule: Set out certain times for yourself where you will focus completely on your work (as in, zero distractions…keep that phone away!). Don’t forget to give yourself breaks too! Focused work sessions are usually much more productive than doing your work while multitasking.

3) Work At The Library: When you’re at the library, you’re hopefully not being distracted by any new tweets from Twitter or new Facebook status updates because you won’t be at the computer…or that’s how I spend my time at the library anyways. I don’t get any work done with MSN, Facebook, Twitter, and etc open on my computer at home, so when I’m at the library, I stop multitasking! I also don’t text as much since I can hear my phone keys being obnoxiously loud in the quiet library.

Don’t let these last few months get to you! Try your best and we’ll all pull through just fine. =]

Earlier today my friend sent me a message to check out this really cool video, and when she sends something your way, its generally REALLY cool. Today was a video  directed by Dennis Liu for Diane Birch’s song “Valentino”. Diane and the crew practiced for weeks to get one perfect single shot.

Pretty cool hey? Now I’m sure you’ve already figured out how its done, but what’s even cooler than the music video itself is watching the “Behind the Screen” video, that even has the final cut of the music video playing off to the side.

We’re halfway done Youth Week, and we let you in on what’s happening today, but there’s still tons of events to hit up during the rest of the week (don’t event get me started on the weekend…awesome!).  Here’s what’s going on on April 29th:

The youth at National Philanthropy Day are spending the day getting inspired on how they can make change and practice philanthropy in our awesome city!

Feeling artsy? Come paint Pottery @ the Chill Zone – let your creativity run free, and have snacks and meet new people while you’re at it!

Did you know by donating one pint of blood, you can save three lives?  Thursday marks the start of Young Bloods Week…so if you’re 17, head over to Canadian Blood Services and donate!  You’ll get cool snacks and a chance to win some prizes while you’re there!

Want to celebrate the cultural diversity in our city?  Head over to the Multicultural Fair at Sir John A. MacDonald Jr. High!

The Calgary Public Library is also getting in on the Youth Week action – If you head over to the Shawnessy branch, you can join in Game On! and enjoy a full night of video games…If you head over to the Village Square branch, you can share your talents, or chill and watch other youth perform at the Teen Open Mic Night!

Finally, if you’re into deep discussions about how we can make the world a better and more peaceful place, check out the Global Peace Cafe at the Crowfoot YMCA

Want more details on an event listed above?  Check out the Youth Week Events page.

Do you like surprises, random objects or presents? If a flying alarm clock or a portable ping pong set is something you would like then the somethingstore might be just for you!

Got a calvin klein tie, pretty cool gold color, to give to my muse at christmas..also a sort of funky purse.. not my style but unlike any ive seen so kudos for originality–Gwen

How this work is you order something and a random something will be sent to you. Each something is $10 USD (approximately $14.75 CDN) and a week or two after your package will arrive. The object sent out is guaranteed to be valued over $10. I personally think this a fun way to do gift exchanges without the stress or spoil the surprise.

My experience was great! The process is easy, and the anticipation is thrilling. The gift I recieved was very cool, and the value of the item was not a concern at all. –Ashely

Some of the neat quirky things people have received is: a USB Rocket Launcher, roll up piano, ipod shuffle, RC Ford Mustang and Fossil Watches.

As of right now, the website does not take in consideration to gender or age. This has its pros and cons, but that makes it more mysterious plus you could always pass it along and give it to someone else. I recently just ordered something and I am really excited! I will give an update as soon as I have received it!

Hey, here’s another poem from my sweet rapper friend Alex Dias. I hope you guys enjoy it. To find out more about the different religions around the world, click here.

One Nation
By: Alex Dias

We fight Muslims, call ‘em terrorists,
For no reason, like the Communists,
Today continues on the senseless fight,
Much like the apartheid, black and white.

They went in looking for WMDs,
All they had was cheap IEDs,
In response to an invasion,
Against conquerors, a revolution.

We label them extremists,
While we are supposed “pacifists”
Curse their view of heaven,
Blame on them, nine-eleven.

Yet, our religions are the same,
We share the idea of Abraham,
Adam, Eve, as well as Jesus,
We all wait for God to save us.

We share Judgement Day,
Fight regardless, come what may,
We all love our family,
Lay down our lives thoughtlessly.

Millions die each day, in a war,
Suicide bombings, bombings of cars,
All done to love and protect,
So why do we create sects?

If someone invaded your country,
Would you fight back? Mutiny?
So, why do we still battle?
Let us live in peace and settle.

Hey All!

Youth week is in full swing! The agenda for April 28th starts of with the exciting Media release of the Youth Vital Signs survey! For those of you who’ve been following cyfc for a while, you’d know that a few months back we, in partnership with the Calgary Foundation, hosted a Youth Vital signs survey which allows youth like you to grade the city of Calgary in 12 areas. This gave youth the opportunity to voice their concerns about waiting for hours in the cold blizzarding snow for the bus to come during those dark winter months, the recreation and art facilities that the city offered and it even allowed youth comment on the cultural identities and communities in Calgary. And now that we have all the stats in, its time to release the results to the public! So come join us at 10:00 am today at Crescent Heights High School (1019 1st S.W.) for some fun and chill out with the media!

But if a survey is not enough for you to voice your ideas and express your creative mind, then come on down to the Youth Slam open mic! It’s happening as part of the Calgary International Spoken Word Competition and youth are welcomed to compete for a spot on the main stage on at LiveStyle . The event starts at 7:00 pm at EPCOR center and tickets are $5.00 each. So come on down and unleash those words!

CALGARY INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENʼS FESTIVAL PRESENTS – BLACK VIOLIN

Every so often Calgary is visited by amazing musical acts.  I’d like to take the time to tell you about Black Violin.  Check out the press release from the organizers of the Calgary International Children’s Festival:

Young men who mix the brashness and beats of urban hip-hop with the soaring lines and fleet finger work of orchestral virtuosos. — New York Times

Calgary, AB – P. Diddy, Alicia Keys, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Aretha Franklin and the Eagles  are just a few of the artists that Black Violin (USA) have shared the bill with and now the duo is  coming to Calgary. On May 28 & 29 the ingenious duo of Black Violin will present their inspired fusion of classical and hip-hop as part of the line-up of the 2010 Calgary International Childrenʼs Festival, presented by Qualico Communities.

With their neo-classical and urban style of violin mixtures, vocals and funk, Black Violin presents music that crosses age, cultural and musical boundaries – and with it an incredible opportunity to inspire young people. Kev Marcus, and Wil B, both classically trained musicians and graduates of Dillard Performing Arts High School, used their musical talents to earn full scholarships to college.  Now, they want to make sure that young people get the same exposure to the arts, and therefore the same opportunity that they did. They have been given an Award by the Brooklyn Center for Performing Arts for their Outstanding Contributions to Middle & High School Performing Arts Students.

Black Violin began gaining notoriety when they were awarded “Showtime at the Apollo Legends” in 2004. They have performed at the 2004 Billboards Awards with Alicia Keys, toured internationally with Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, performed at the NFL Kick off party with Sean “Diddy” Combs, and has shared stages with hit artists who include: Stevie Nicks, The Eagles, Nas, Kayne West, Fat Joe, Lil Wayne, Linkin Park, Aerosmith, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Fabolous, Ciara, Tony Touch, Iconz, Wreckonize and Ludacris. Also they have performed on various albums for artist such as Brooke Hogan, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Lil Kim, Bone Crusher, Bad New Brown, and Jean a Latin musician on the Sony International Label.

Black Violin will perform at the Calgary International Childrenʼs Festival, presented by Qualico Communities, Friday, May 28 @ 10am and Saturday, May 29 @ 7:30pm in the Jack Singer Concert Hall of the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $12.50 for the Friday performance and $15 for the Saturday performance. For tickets and information visit calgarychildfest.org or call 403-294-9494.

Here is another great Robert Frost poem for you to enjoy. Read the poem below:

The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

What do you think of this poem? Do you like it?

By now, hopefully you’ve heard about Youth Week – this awesome week (happening right now!) made just for young people in Calgary!

We’ll be keeping you posted about what to look forward to each day of Youth Week here on YAA…

On Tuesday, April 27th…here’s what’s coming up:

Finding it hard to keep up with school, work and your social life??  Well then,  stop by Up in the Air!, Starting at 5pm, this awesome workshop will help you learn to juggle (literally and figuratively), so that you can balance all the areas of your life. 

Are you a basketball pro?  Got skills that could rival the Harlem Globetrotters?  Hit up the Basketball Skills Competition happening at Westside Rec and show off your b-ball talents!  It’s starting at 6:30pm…

Ready for more?  Check out the full list of EVENTS on our Youth Week page!