Visit the 'little downtown bake shop' that everyone is talking about ... Edible Elegance

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Mother and daughter entrepreneurs and master bakers (Jackie and Virginia) have quickly established Edible Elegance as 'the place to go' for custom cakes for all occasions. Not only can they bring your ideas to life, they can also customize your one-of-a-kind cake by utilizing a wide-variety of icings and fillings. Their amazing custom cakes are almost too lovely to cut into, however it doesn't take long to discover the moist and delicious flavors that lie just below the decorative surfaces.

The talented duo fine-tuned their baking skills at home, however the demand for their fabulous cakes, cupcakes and cookies became so strong that it prompted them to open Edible Elegance in downtown Lethbridge in 2007. Since then, the business has flourished, primarily by word-of-mouth from hundreds of satisfied customers.

Although their cupcakes, sugar cookies and custom designed cakes are not quite 'world famous' yet, the word about their seriously scrumptious treats has spread quickly throughout Lethbridge and southern Alberta.

It doesn't take long for your senses to erupt once you've entered their bright and colorful bake shop on 4th Avenue South. The window and interior displays showcase a wide variety of baked goods and accessories - all designed to make special occasions even more special. The aroma of fresh-baked goods wafts through the air and you are immediately drawn to the displays where it's difficult to leave the store without at least one sugar cookie or cupcake.

If you haven't already discovered Edible Elegance, we urge you to check it out and find out why their 'little bake shop' is quickly becoming a favorite downtown destination location.

Edible Elegance is located at 513 - 4th Avenue South (just around the corner from the Penny Coffee House and down the street from the Red Dog Diner).

For more information, call 403 - 394-2553.

Classique ... Dancewear and a whole lot more!

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Searching for the best dancewear around? From dance shoes, to jazz runners, to tights, to giftwear ... Classique Dancewear has what you're looking for!

Judy takes us on a tour of her bright and colorful boutique on 7th Street in downtown Lethbridge. For over 30 years, Classique Dancewear has been 'the place' for dance fashionista's in southern Alberta and beyond. Her full-service store has grown to include the finest quality bodywear, tights, dance shoes and related giftware that caters to figure skaters, gymnasts theatre, yoga/exercise, ballroom, tap and ethnic dancing.

Selling quality body and dancewear is only part of what Judy and her staff pride themselves on. At Classique Dancewear they take the time to ensure an expert fit for each product they sell and pride themselves on providing exceptional customer service and product knowledge.

Whether you know someone that is heading to the Royal Academy of Dance or their first dance class, Classique has everything that they will need.

Classique Dancewear is located at 322 - 7th Street South. For more information, call 403 329-8778 or email Judy at dancers@telus.net.

A Visit with John and Wilma from Dove Christian Supplies & Cafe - a popular downtown destination

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Dove Christian Supplies has been an important part of the downtown Lethbridge retail landscape for over 25 years.

This family-owned and operated business went through a major expansion in 2004 when John and Wilma purchased the adjacent Acadia Block building. The expansion provided them with the opportunity to add a variety of new features and services to their business.

Today, Dove Christian Supplies features over 6,500 sq. ft. of space that includes a music department, community meeting room, cafe, home decor/giftware area (Willow Tree Collectable figurines), books, jewellry and the unique and colorful Humphrey's Hideout (children's play area).

The popular Dove Cafe was a response to customers who wanted a place to sit and meet over a cup of coffee or a pot of tea (supplied by Cupper's Coffee & Tea). Today, this warm and friendly meeting and lunch destination cafe has been expanded to include soups, sandwiches, grilled panini's, wraps, home-baked treats and refreshing and nutritious smoothies.

John and Wilma invite visitors to take their time and look at all they have to offer - from books to to videos and everything in between. All of their products are carefully chosen to provide you with a meaningful and comprehensive selection of inspirational and spiritual resources.

For more information about their beautiful store, visit them at www.finditdowntown.ca. or contact them at 403 328-4309.

Dove Christian Supplies is located at 616 - 3rd Avenue South (directly across from the Rotary Centennial Plaza in Galt Gardens Park).

Rotary Centennial Plaza set to open on May 15th

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After a long winter, the opening of the Rotary Centennial Plaza in beautiful Galt Gardens park is welcomed news.

The plaza opened last year and was an immediate hit with the public. It brought vibrancy and life back to our underutilized downtown landmark park.

The project was conceived by the Rotary Clubs of Lethbridge as a way to celebrate the centennials of the Province of Alberta, the City of Lethbridge and Rotary International.

The water feature will operate from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily with one musical show playing every 15 minutes.

So, if you're in downtown Lethbridge, make sure to check-out the Rotary Centennial Plaza. It's located on the southeast corner (3rd Avenue and 7th Street South) of Galt Gardens Park. It's a great place to enjoy lunch on a hot spring or summer day.

Kostas builds us a healthy and tasty 'Chicken Caesar' pita

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The Pita Pit, located at the corner of 6th Street and 3rd Avenue, has been a popular 'quick-service' downtown restaurant since 2000.

It offers quality, healthy, fresh food ... fast! It is well-known for its friendly, colourful atmosphere and a varied and tasty menu selection.

We took the opportunity to visit the restaurant and find out why it has become such a popular destination in downtown Lethbridge. In the video, Kostas builds us one of his most popular pita's - the Chicken Caesar.

If you haven't visited The Pita Pit, make sure to check it out! Phone 403 317-7788 for more information.

To learn more about The Pita Pit and to preview their extensive menu, visit www.pitapit.com or http://tiny.cc/vkQqg.

Teeing it up at Bright Golf

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Glenn Bright recently made the move from his Lethbridge Centre location to the Corporate Express building (formerly Southern Stationers) on 7th Street in downtown Lethbridge.

Originally, Bright Golf focused on vintage golf memorabilia, however the new store has been expanded to include a state-of-the-art golf simulator and a wide selection of autographed sports photographs, Cleveland golf equipment, apparel and accessories.

The two golf simulator and swing analysis machines have proven to be quite popular with southern Alberta golfers who like to keep their swings in shape during the winter months.

So, if you're an avid golfer or just looking to start golfing, make sure to stop in at Bright Golf and check out their store and practice facility.

Bright Golf is located at 314 - 7 Street South - Phone 403 328-4654 for more information.

Ken talks with us about green tea, sushi & what makes his store so unique and special

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Owned and operated by Ken Nakagama, Nakagama's Foods & Giftware is a popular downtown Lethbridge destination location. Started by his father in 1947, the store has evolved to serve it's growing and diverse customer base. Although this family-run business originally served a predominantly Japanese population, today between 60-70% of his customers are non-Japanese.

Nakagama's offers a wide array of Japanese foods and giftware, including a varied selection of sushi products, green tea, rice, rice cookers, seafood and much, much more.

Ken and his staff are always available to answer any questions that their customers may have about the products they carry in their warm, friendly and interesting store.

So, if you enjoy Japanese cooking and food, Nakagama's is a 'must visit' downtown business.

Nakagama's is located at 322 - 2nd Avenue South in Chinatown.

Visit their store online at http://tiny.cc/3U1L7.

Jerry talks to us about his gallery and art

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Jerry Arnold has been an artist for most of his adult life. He has operated his downtown Lethbridge gallery and custom framing business for 18 years. His gallery is best known for its extensive collection of Canadian art. The majority of the pieces are 2-D, however he also has an impressive selection of Inuit sculpture. The Jerry Arnold Gallery is located at 604 - 3rd Avenue South (right across from the Southern Alberta Art Gallery and beautiful Galt Gardens Park).

Downtown Graffiti Busters

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The war against unwanted graffiti and tags on our downtown Lethbridge buildings and infrastructure is probably never going to be won, however we are successfully winning the battles. The most effective deterent is to remove tags as quickly as they appear. If they are left up too long, other vandals add their tags ... and so on, and so on. Downtown Montreal is an excellent example of a tagging problem that was left unchecked and is now so far out-of-control that it would take millions of dollars to remove it. Almost every square inch of public infrastructure has been hit with random tags and graffiti.

The City of Lethbridge is fully aware of the consequences of unchecked vandalism and have stepped up their commitment to removing tags from vandalized public property. They have also expanded the initiative to clean up buildings in the downtown core as part of the 'Heart of Our City' Master Plan implementation.

The process to remove unwanted graffiti and tags from our downtown buildings is quite simple. The area that has been hit is treated with a biodegradable 'Graffiti Remover' solution - www.graffitisolutions.com. The solution is left on for approximately 10-20 minutes and then is washed off using a pressure washer. On the other hand, the cost of removal can be significant. Regardless of the cost, it's an important program that needs to built into the budget of the municipality and business revitalization zone (BRZ).

This removal process is used on a variety of surfaces (stucco, brick, metal, etc.). We consult with our Main Street Project architect, Robert Hirano, when dealing with certain types of historic, low-fired, brick surfaces. In those cases, hand-scrubbing techniques are employed in order to minimize any damage to the surface of the bricks.

For the past three years, the Downtown Lethbridge BRZ has partnered with Streets Alive to identify and remove graffiti and tags from vandalized downtown buildings. The BRZ supplies Streets Alive with funding for paint, solvent, brushes, etc. Streets Alive volunteers take regular tours of the downtown core and remove tags and graffiti throughout the year.

Together with the help of Streets Alive, City of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge Regional Police Downtown Lethbridge Beat Patrol, we have been able to keep a tight lid on the issue.

We've sent a strong message to vandals that we care about our downtown and community and we're not going to tolerate unwanted graffiti and tags.