Explore Beaumont -  Winter's icy grip has definitely hit Beaumont. Of course with that comes our fair share of snow. Every winter it's always interesting because in November and December when the snow falls, people get out there usually right away to shovel. But as December falls into January, people get a little tired of shoveling snow. This is especially true if there are extreme cold conditions. 

That's where we come in! We are doing a ‘Beaumont Snow Sngels’ program this winter where we will come and do the public sidewalks, or your entire home's sidewalks, for free! All you have to do is contact us and we will try our best to get out as soon as we can. 

Our first two weeks of this program have been very good. When we aren't contacted about entire sidewalks, we have been going out and walking up and down the public sidewalks in a few neighborhoods and just clearing off anything that hadn't already been done. We think this is as much as a service to the community to help create safe walking spaces as it is to help those who might be a little too busy to get it done right away, or who are unable to do it at all due to various circumstances. So far we have done about a 100 neighborhood homes public sidewalks to help making our families walks with our dogs or walks to school with our kids a little safer.

So why are we doing this? 

When I was younger, I learned the importance of having clean and safe public sidewalks. As one of my part time jobs to make ends meet as a college student, for 3 Winters I was hired as a subcontractor to go out and shovel snow at 5 commercial sites or retail businesses. If there was snowfall at all on a certain day, I would get a telephone call at about 8 at night and was told to head out the next morning to shovel. It didn't matter what time I started, all that mattered was that by the end I had to be done all of my sites by no later than 7 a.m. So I often woke up at 2 or 3 in the morning to make sure I got the job done on time, until I figured out how to do the job as quickly as possible. I remember one January in particular where it's snowed 19 out of 21 days! By about the fifth or sixth day, my hands would be completely frozen shut when I woke up, and I would actually have to turn on the hot water tap in the bathroom with my elbows and let my hands soak in the hot water for a few minutes for them to be able to open. Shortly after I would be off to shovel again!

I saw the value in what I was doing on those cold mornings, and it felt good to know that I was prevents accidents, injuries, or worse. So that's why we're doing this!

How can you help?

• If you know of someone who is having a hard time keeping up with the snow removal this year, and you think that they could use a little help, please contact me with the address and we will get out as much as we can to help out!
• If you have a young person in your house who would like to get some work experience and volunteer hours, not to mention an excellent reference letter from US, we would also love you to contact us so that we can make arrangements for them to help make someone's winter a little easier!
• You can help us get the word out about this program by sharing this on social media (using hashtag #beaumontsnowangels and my Facebook or Instagram handle) and letting your neighbours know about it as well.

Thanks for your support!

Kids Draw Beaumont Contest - A Great Success!

Explore Beaumont - One of the first things that we had to figure out once we moved out here to Beaumont was where to go and what to do with our family for together time. Now having the whole city shut down two weeks after you move to a new city is never ideal, so at first we really struggled with where we should head out to and where we should avoid. Luckily, my years of selling real estate in the city gave me pretty good background knowledge base from which to choose from and expand.

Having said that, I was surprised at how many of the places we visited that I thought would be great disappointed, and on the other hand how many of the places I didn't think would be good for us ended up being fantastic. I guess it just goes to show you that you have to try something to figure out if you like it or not.

Here is our list of top five places people new to Beaumont should try to start:

Chartier - It was our favourite French restaurant before we moved to Beaumont, and it's probably our favourite restaurant in Beaumont now that we've moved here. The food is amazing, and is equalled by the quality of service that is provided by the hard-working folks there. It has been amazing to watch this restaurant really evolve into community leaders during the covid-19 pandemic, putting their money where their mouths are and trying to stay viable in a very unviable time. 

Four Seasons Park - This Sport and Recreation Area truly lives up to its name! No matter what season of the year, there are always multiple things to do at Four Seasons Park. In the summer you can play Frisbee golf or hit up the Splash Park. In the fall you can go for long walks along the trails. In the winter you can go skating on there Forest skating path, and in the springtime you can fish in the nearby stocked lake. 

St Vital Church - The one true landmark in this fine City, and one of the enduring landmarks in all of Alberta, this church has been around for decades located at the very top of the hill in downtown Beaumont. Not only is the church there to serve spiritual needs, but the land around it is great for activities all year long. during the winter it is the number one place to go sledding or tobogganing, as long as you have a set of brakes to avoid hitting the hay bales down at the bottom of the hill. Easily the most photographed thing in our city, and for good reason!

Maina’s Donair - Another true Beaumont original,  this unassuming Donair shop recently won an online contest for the best Donair spot in all of the Edmonton and surrounding areas. They take care of you like your family. And it doesn't hurt that their donairs are unbelievable!

Painted Door on Main Gift & Gallery - This small local Gallery packs a big punch of local artisans, whimsical crafts, and gift shop favourites!You can find everything from handmade cards two stained glass art, to paintings and photography, to local history and treats. A great place to pick up a gift or 4!

More Stories

Our Move to Beaumont - 3 Years in the Making                

'Kids Draw Beaumont' Contest Makes News

Real Estate Info

Beaumont Home Mortgage Calculator

Explore Beaumont - Over the extended Holiday break, school aged kids can become bored. If you a parent, you already know that, right?

After the gifts have been opened, the treats and festive meals consumed, and some of the toys and video games have been played, there's usually the dreaded chorus of 'We're Bored' coming from kids' mouths.

We here at Explore Beaumont thought it would be a fun idea to help get rid of those doldrums while at the same time allowing our kids to show pride in their community.

The result?

Our 'Kids Draw Beaumont' contest!

We were very happy to see the connection this made to a lot of the kids in the community, and some of the artwork was truly great!

We gave out prizes to our 'winner' (done through a random draw) and also nice participation gifts to everyone who took the time and energy to participate.

But we were more than pleased when we were approcahed by Emily at Postmedia to do an interview about the contest, Explore Beaumont, and the great young artists we have in our city.

It gave us all the warm fuzzies - and made our winners into local celebrities with their pictures in the paper!

You can find the article here:

Explore Beaumont connects with kids through colouring contest

Can't wait to have more contests and fun events soon!

Forest Heights Beaumont Homes For Sale

Explore Beaumont - About three years ago my wife and I knew that we needed to make a change in life. We had two daughters at home, changing responsibilities and roles within our household, and it became clear that we could no longer stay where we were staying at the time and be able to enjoy our children, our lifestyle, and our business as much as we wanted. My wife, being from St. Albert, automatically asked but that be a consideration,. I was not interested in that as I hade always lived in Edmonton and really didn't want to move to a smaller centre. I had, however, sold quite a few homes out in Beaumont over the years, and I would always say to myself as I was leaving that if I were ever going to move to a smaller populated place, that Beaumont would be it. I don't know what it was, but I do know that it was something very obvious to me. 

As we became more dedicated in our decision to move, we started to do research. I mean, a lot of research. Having a realtor in the household helps a lot when it comes to showing places, and we did take advantage of that. We were unsure if we wanted to make the big jump out to Beaumont or if we still wanted to maybe stay and some of the newer areas of South Edmonton. After a little time researching and considering, it became very obvious that Beaumont was the place to move to.

Fast forward a couple of years, and we were still living in our home in Edmonton, with a 3rd daughter now in tow, and we were still trying to move to Beaumont. At this point we were just looking for the right fit for a home, and we had tried and failed on six or seven occasions to write offers successfully on a property. Yes, this happens even to real estate agents sometimes! But we were patient, and in late 2019 we came across a property that fit quite a few of our criteria. Now as with all home buyers, we didn't get absolutely everything that we wanted. But it was more than enough to be able to make the decision .

Late this past February, we moved into our home not knowing any of our neighbours or much of anyone in the city outside of clients and friends who I have worked with in the past. My children got all of 10 days of schooling before the pandemic closed down the schools and so it was very interesting in 2020, trying to adjust to living in a new city while also going through these crazy times.

The stories that will come is based from this experience, from a place of curiosity, adventure, a little anxiety, and all of the other good things that come  when you move to a new place. And not any new place. But a place that as quickly accepted us and made us feel as though this is home.

So let's explore Beaumont together! 

Jerad