I spent most of the first weekend in June at Heart of the City. Not only were there lots of area residents in attendance, but people from all over the city – including some friends of mine who came in from out of town to attend. They said it was my postings about HOTC on Facebook that tipped them off, so they decided to take a road trip.

This is not the first time that discussing a Boyle Street or McCauley area event online – apart from my “official” postings on our Facebook, Twitter, and website – has led to someone in my social circle attending. Last summer, a friend heard about East meets West from my mentioning it on my personal Twitter account, and decided to come to Viva Italia Viva Edmonton.

Major media often ignores the excellent events that go on in the area. During the time that I was at HOTC, I did not see any television cameras, newspaper reporters, or photographers associated with larger media outlets. However, the festival was still well-attended by a variety of people from all over.

Word of mouth is an effective way to let it be known what great events Boyle Street and McCauley have to offer this summer. Tell your friends and colleagues when you speak with them, especially if they ask you if you know of anything interesting happening this summer.

Those of you who are online can Tweet, post on Facebook, or even write blog posts, if you have a blog. Social media can have quite a far reach.

Stereotyped perceptions of the inner city will never change unless we all step up and become ambassadors.