SASKATOON – It might be something you already knew. But a recent article from the Globe and Mail – Flat-out fun: Saskatoon ascends as it grows – is not only creating a big splash online, it’s spelling out all the reasons why the city is “totally happening.”
And local social media users are happy to spread the news.
“A lot of times people looked at Saskatoon, it was a city people drove through or flew over. And now people are stopping. It’s a destination that’s on people’s radar,” said Aviva Zack, a spokesperson for Tourism Saskatoon.
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Zack worked closely with the Toronto-based writer on behalf of Tourism Saskatoon. She says the reaction wasn’t a surprise: Amy Rosen was excited about Saskatoon.
“It was really exciting to see her trying these new places. Us touring around and seeing her face light up as she’s discovering places. She was quite shocked,” said Zack.
“She wasn’t expecting what she saw when she got here.”
Christopher Cho, part-owner of Ayden’s Kitchen & Bar, says thanks to the city’s exploding food scene, he’s happy to have ditched Toronto and Vancouver to live here.
“I loved it. It was such a welcoming city. The friendliest people I’ve ever met are from Saskatoon,” he added when reminiscing about when he made the move.
“The culture alone … everyone’s about their home town. And it’s something I strive for too.”
Despite the city’s recent highs, professor of community health at the University of Saskatchewan Rachel Engler-Stringer suggests that showing a writer the fanciest spots in town isn’t actually painting a realistic picture.
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She says the picture being painted doesn’t include Saskatoon’s housing and poverty problems.
“There’s a lot more in Saskatoon than this story tells,” said Engler-Stringer.
“What I hear in my research is stories of families of eight to ten people living in two bedroom apartments.”
She adds that the city’s success with local restaurants and businesses is worth celebrating, but there is more work to be done.
“We’ve got to juxtapose this. Two situations, one of growth and quality restaurants and at the same time, significant problems with access to food.”
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