Our Story: Part 9 - LOT42

We are reaching the end of this very brief overview of the highlights of our story and what has brought us to where we are today. We hope that we’ve been able to share some of the lessons we’ve learned, while showing that dreams, communities, and companies are not build overnight.

With only a few parts left to go, we’re looking back on our time at LOT42, a Global Flex Campus created by the late Ron Doyle (who was known as a “community builder”) and run by his son, Patrick Doyle. Great supporters of the arts, Ron and Patrick gave Articus Productions (before we created the branch of our company called TriCity Circus) a home base from which to grow and create here in Waterloo Region.

From September 2018 to December 2019, we hung our equipment from a 25’ tall gantry crane near the back of the main room. The rest of the room was used as an event space for major conferenced like True North, events like Oktoberfest, and large concerts. We had access to our makeshift training space between and around these events, which created some logistical challenges, but also many fantastic learning opportunities.

LOT42 being an event space, we had to pull our mats out and let our equipment down before training every day. It was a time-consuming daily process, but we found a system that made it work. At the end of the night, when classes were done, we sometimes wondered how we would get everything put away on our own. Then one night, every student stuck around to help tear the mats apart and put them away. Although we wished at the time that we could provide a more stable environment for everyone, we watched as people gained a sense of belonging by being given the room to lend a hand.

You just care more about the things that you nurture and invest your time and heart into.

By having an imperfect space (as cool as it was!), we were unknowingly fostering a stronger community.

We’ll share more about this time, and the tools we picked up along the way, next week. So keep following!

Lindsay