“Hot off the press!”

Or should I say... hot on the press?

However you want to say it, we got a new plate this week for The Sprawl’s Pop-Up Press. This one is a print by Sam Hester, the creator of our Curious Calgary comics.

This print features George Stanley’s original 1964 sketch of the Canadian flag. Earlier this year we wrote about how Stanley, who grew up in Calgary, designed the flag at a time when the nation’s future seemed more uncertain than ever.

He sketched out his ideas for a flag. “I confess that I never thought of this memorandum as a historic document,” Stanley wrote later.

But it was.

And now you can print, by hand, this piece of Canadian history.

This is our first two-colour print! That might sound easy but it’s not, as our little press can only print one colour at a time.

I was up late the other night doing the first print run in black ink (sorry to my neighbours for the racket!) so that you can print the flag in red this weekend.

Join us for a printing pop-up this Saturday and meet Sam Hester in person! We’re also celebrating The Sprawl's 9th anniversary along with our recent wins at the Alberta Magazine Awards.

Here are the details:

Sprawl 9th Anniversary Meetup
Two Pillars Brewery
910 Centre St NE
Saturday, September 26
2 - 4 p.m.

Drop by anytime. Two Pillars will have its new Oktoberfest brews on tap, and Sought x Found is right next door—so you can grab either beer or coffee, as you prefer.

Kids, of course, are welcome. I even have a stool so they can print too! Pull a print, meet Sam Hester (and other Sprawlers) and raise a glass to another year of The Sprawl.

I took Sam’s print on a “test drive” around town this week—and it was a hit!

Keep an eye out for the Pop-Up Press around town and check this page for upcoming pop-ups.

And don’t forget to support our work if you value it!

Jeremy Klaszus is founder and editor of The Sprawl.