Linda Kraan-Benson
Volunteer and Guest Blogger

Today, I will discuss the Hamilton General Hospital, one of the cornerstones of the Barton Village neighbourhood.  Part of the larger Hamilton Health Sciences Network, the General, as it is loving referred to, is not just about medical care, though it certainly shines in that department. Long known for its burns unit, the General is also now renowned for its stellar cardiology department. 

As a pensioner, I am encouraged to have such a hospital in my own backyard.  If I need to go to the ER, it is a mere five- minute walk for me. Of course, I am not suggesting you put a visit to the Hamilton General as a patient on your to-do list, but I encourage you to take  a walk around the grounds of the hospital, whenever you have the chance.

I encourage you to begin with a walk around the outside of the building.  I was extremely impressed with the alleys and walkways, the “hidden” courtyard, and the lovely manicured gardens. When I first moved to the neighbourhood, I would often take a walk to the hospital, grab a coffee from their café, and go sit in their gardens. There are many chairs and benches, surrounded by the solitude and the whispering of their many bushes and trees. Once you are inside the courtyard, the silence is overwhelming; gone is the noise of the emergency vehicles and the hustle and bustle of foot traffic to the hospital.  

Beyond the main doors of the hospital, there is a fabulous little gift store. If you have never visited there, I hope you do. They sell everything from books to clothing, and they have some of the most beautiful shawls, pants, and skirts — very trendy, I must say. There have been times when I needed a small gift, in a hurry — you know those moments when you are invited out for dinner, or when you have forgotten someone’s birthday?  Well, I have often gone into that little store and found that perfect gift, from kitchen plaques to candles, from dolls to jewelry, faux plants to real living foliage, from watches to earrings. You need baby gifts?  They have them in spades, as well as cards, magazines, and so much more.

Of course, you will find a coffee shop on the main floor of the hospital, where you can buy breakfast sandwiches, muffins, soup, and the normal cafe fare.  As writing of this blog, the larger cafeteria on the lower level is in the midst of renovations. [Editor's note: renovations have since been completed, and the new downstairs cafeteria features a slew of great lunch options, Starbucks coffee in addition to the house cafe, and a beautiful, well-appointed seating area]

On one of my walkabouts, I spotted a sign that said “Go Tango.”  Curiosity got the better of me, as it always does.  Upon locating the entrance, on Wellington Street, I found a perfectly sized restaurant. Here, you can find the flavours of the Mediterranean,  from snacks with humus, to pita wraps and so much more.  A perfect little hidden gem. 

One thing the General is known for is its rooftop helicopter pad -- it's the only hospital in Hamilton to have one. Although of course you can only view it from street level, the helipad is a great place to take the kids to; it's really exciting for the little ones to get to see the helicopters landing and taking off.  Of course, many living close to the hospital may not agree with me -- after all, hearing the hum and whir of the copter at three o'clock in the morning may not appeal to many -- but isn't it wonderful to know that we have this facility here in our own backyards, saving countless lives over the course of the year? What a wonderful service we have, so close to home!

At the time I moved to the area, this piece of Barton street seemed to be in some sort of inertia.  I noticed that some once-beautiful  buildings had declined into a fragment of their former glory.  Yet the essence of these buildings, and the general atmosphere of the street, brought distant memories of a long-ago vibrancy.

I was not born in Canada, having moved from across the pond in 1982. I raised my two boys in the serenity of Waterdown, once a part of the Halton region, now part of Hamilton.  Once the boys flew the coop, I had an urge to move to Hamilton, though I can honestly say: I have no idea where that urge came from! Specifically, I had no idea of what Hamilton had to offer, nor had I even visited the city on more than a handful of occasions, yet the urge was there, and so I moved, first to the mountain. (I honestly have to say, being a Brit, I did not understand why it was so called...to me it felt like a mere incline, "up the road', as we would say, but after a while, I too referred to this incline as "the mountain"! Amazing how titles and words take hold and leave an indelible impression in ones mind...)

​A few years on, another gut feeling hit me: this time, it was the urge to move down into the lower city. You have to understand, at this point I had never visited the lower city; after all, I was warned never to venture down there. I had visions of all sorts of misdoings, from street crime to the more serious.  People would ask me why I thought there was a jail on Barton street, and I had no answer. But, to the chagrin of my mountain-raised neighbours and friends, I decided to take the plunge and move downtown. I probably could not have chosen a "worse" area to move to.  At the time, I really didn't know the difference; I was looking only at the value of real estate. I mean, where else could I have bought a beautiful, all-brick house, with a spectacularly sized backyard and double parking space, for the low cost of $99,000?  This was 2009, and prices were rising rapidly elsewhere.

Ok, so I bought a house next door to the "infamous" Emerald Street -- hey, what did I know?  I was in awe of the beautiful old houses, the wonderful, family-operated stores, and the vibrancy of my neighbours, from all walks of life: Italians, French, Portuguese, and a lovely couple from Jamaica. Just a couple days after moving into this neighbourhood, I decided to take a tour of Barton street, on foot. Each day I would walk, from Wentworth as far as Kenilworth and back -- mind you, i was much younger and much fitter in those days, and wore out many pairs of running shoes. I can no longer walk so far, so these days I typically walk two or three blocks at a time.

I came to know of the many "drug houses" in my new neighbourhood, and other "seedy" operations around me. Slowly, I got to know many of the "street ladies".  And I came to know where I should walk during the darker hours, and where not to. As the years passed, I witnessed a "cleansing" of the neighbourhood, as I personally called it.  Slowly, some of the "sweat shops" and the drug houses  shut down.  Houses went up for sale, and outsiders would trickle in. To say I have seen an enormous change, an emergence in the this neighbourhood, does not do justice to it.  This has become a vibrant and exciting place to live.

For the sake of this blog, I will break down Barton Street, into two sections: going east from Wentworth to Sherman and going west from Wentworth to Ferguson. As the months go by, I hope you will take this journey with me, along the two sides of Barton.

Wow, what a weekend! We want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who attended our Books for Barton book sale in September and October and contributed to raising funds for more free community programming in Barton Village. And of course to everyone who donated books, to the wonderful volunteers who gave up their time to help out, to all the businesses who helped make it happen, and to everyone who spread the word. Our hearts are warmed by all the love and support we received from the community from the moment we first had the idea to do a big fundraising book sale. We didn't quite anticipate how much hard work it was going to be -- this former bookseller should have known better! -- but it was so worth it to see the community come together in support.

This past weekend Hamilton played host to Concrete Canvas Festival, an amazing grassroots street art festival that celebrates the role of art and collaboration in creating vibrant communities for all citizens. All over the downtown area and beyond, artists created massive street murals on walls in need of some love. As soon as we heard about the festival, we started a making a mental list of all the blank walls in Barton Village where we'd love to see brand new art pieces, and we're so glad that the organizers reached out so that we could connect them with some of these great locations.

Started in 1995, Concrete Canvas is a multi-day visual arts festival with full support from the City of Hamilton where local and internationally acclaimed artists alike gather in Hamilton over one weekend to paint murals live across the city. Not only is it an opportunity for artists to come together, connect, and collaborate, but it's also an effort elevate the visual landscape of the city while simultaneously inspiring a new generation of artists. Concrete Canvas is a one-of-a-kind self-guided event series that brings the Hamilton community together to celebrate art, music, culture, and diversity, not just over one weekend but also beyond, as all the new art pieces become part of the communities they exist in.

We talked to Leon Robinson, the founder of Concrete Canvas, about what the festival has brought to the city. He and lead curator Scott McDonald both grew up in Hamilton and have seen firsthand the value that art can bring to every community. We spoke about the stigma attached to certain areas of Hamilton, something that Concrete Canvas Festival tries to push back against, elevating street art to show the beauty and vibrancy it can bring to communities of all kinds. "Every community is deserving of art, happiness, and a peaceful place to exist," says Robinson, and this is the message that Concrete Canvas strives to bring to the city at large.

To download a map of the festival and check out all the featured murals, head over to Concrete Canvas's website, or check out the slideshow below to see some of the incredible murals up around Barton Village and elsewhere in the city!

Emily O'Brien is a woman on a mission, and the delicious popcorn recipes she dreams up as owner of Cons & Kernels are just a small part of that mission. When Emily was arrested on a drug-trafficking charge after becoming involved in an unhealthy and predatory relationship, her life took a huge turn. Imprisoned as a first-time offender in a federal facility, she knew that she could choose to make the best of the situation, and so she set out to turn her life around. Having always been interested in health and fitness, Emily was nervous about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet in prison. She soon noticed that women would use the ingredients available to purchase with their allotted food budgets to create popcorn recipes, and an idea was born. When she was released, she would start a popcorn company. Not only would she create delicious, healthy recipes inspired by her time behind bars, but she would also use her business as a platform to educate others about her experience, and about how easily life can take a wrong turn.

Well aware of the stigma that having a criminal record brings, Emily decided that rather than moving forward by trying to forget the past, she would embrace her experience and use her energy to fight stereotypes. With flavours like Jailhouse Cheese, and a fingerprint sticker sealing every bag, Emily isn't afraid to poke fun at herself, and this lighthearted, humorous approach pushes back against the stigma attached to being an ex-con. Her goal as she grows the company is to provide reintegration opportunities for others who've been through the system, and to spark meaningful conversations about the justice system and life after imprisonment. You can read more about Emily's experiences as an inmate and an entrepreneur on her blog, and you can pick up a bag of her so-good-it's-criminal popcorn at Business Out of the Box (414 Barton Street E), Stir it Up Cafe (312 Barton Street E), The Hop Urban Market (24 King Street W, Dundas), or order online. We're so excited to see Cons & Kernels thriving, and we can't wait to see what Emily does next!

We've been so delighted to see all the news coverage the Business Out of the Box pop-up has been getting recently. CHCH News covered the project's launch, the Spectator recently ran an article about the shop and two of its vendors, and this month's Herald (the Gibson-Landsdale neighbourhood community paper) features a piece on Business Out of the Box and other woman entrepreneurs who've recently set up shop in Barton Village. Here at The Barton Villager, we're continuing our series of vendor spotlights, helping you get to know the people behind this great project.​

​We recently sat down for a chat with Tanya, the creative force behind Lit Candle Co. You've probably come across Lit's amazing scented candles in your local shopping adventures: Tanya has more than 20 stores across Canada carrying her products, including The Barton General, at Barton and James, and The Handmade House in Dundas.

​As a Barton Village resident, Tanya says she's so excited that this pilot project is happening here in her own neighbourhood. She's called Barton Village home for about a year now, and like so many of our residents, she points to the strong sense of community she feels here in Barton Village, and the sense of transformation occurring as more locals open businesses and work on creative endeavours here.

Lit Candle Co. began as a personal project for Tanya in September 2017. Dealing with illness, she found herself unable to work a regular job and started brainstorming creative ways to bring in income. She began making candles with organic soy wax, hand-poured and with locally sourced ingredients. She initially thought it would be a hobby, but within a week, she'd made her first sale. Spurred on by this early success, she devoted her energy to the business, and by Christmas of that year, Lit Candle Co. was fully operational.

Like every year, we loved following along on social media and seeing everyone's photos of all the fun they had at Barton Village Festival. This year we were particularly blown away by the incredible pictures that local photographer Dee Kassa posted on Instagram. They so beautifully capture the spirit of Barton Village Festival, so we reached out to ask if we could repost them, and he generously emailed us his original image files. We love how Dee's images focus on the small moments of community that are the building blocks of Barton Villages Festival -- and of a safe, fun, and livable neighbourhood! Check out the pics below, and see more of Dee's photography on Instagram or Shutterstock.