It’s October, and you know what that means. Halloween. And Thanksgiving. But Halloween most importantly. And if you’re at all like me; you love to celebrate Halloween and you’re looking for things to do.

Thrill the World Calgary

Do you wanna be a part of the Guinness Book of World Records and do something in the spirit of Halloween as well? Well, you’re in luck, on October 23^rd there will be a zombie flash mob at 5pm. It’s a coordinated worldwide zombie flash mob. Dressing up as a zombie is always fun, and doing that while trying to get in the Guinness Book of World Records sounds even more fun. Registration will be open at around 3pm. So learn the dance, dress up and zombie the Downtown. Details are available at thrillcalgary.com.

Costume Parties

Friday night, is the 6^th Annual Monster Ball. It’s going on on Friday October 29^th from 8pm to 1am at Art Central. That’s 3 floors of entertainment and music. Tickets are $75 and there’s two drink tickets included.

Or maybe music is more your thing. The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra presents Mozart & Salieri on October 30. While that may not sound very Halloween themed, it’s the after-party where things really get interesting. Teatro will be host to a Mozart Murder Mystery and Masquerade. Dress up and have fun all night.

If you want to dress up in masquerade, but you don’t want to have a murder mystery theme, the Masquerade Ball at Rush is for you. Tickets are $50 and they include 2 complimentary Bacardi cocktails. There’s also a Door Prize for an all inclusive trip to Napa Valley with wine tours for 2, and a prize for the best dressed for dinner for 4 at Rush, plus the Ball is a charity for the Gerry Forbes Kids Fund.

Family Fun

Are you looking for something fun for the kids, maybe even something that could be educational and fun? The Central Library has readings for kids every Sunday. And since Halloween is on a Sunday this year, you better believe they will be making it Halloween themed.

But maybe you want something a bit different this Halloween? Symphonic Sorcery – The Music of Harry Potter, which is being put on by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra will be for you. It’s Halloween afternoon with an Instrument Petting Zoo at 1:30pm (I didn’t even realize something like that existed!) and the show starts at 2:30pm. That gives you enough time to still go out Trick or Treating! With Jack O’ Lanterns, candy and a costume contest, this sounds like a lot of fun for the whole family.

And with all of these awesome Halloween things to check out in downtown you’re going to need a costume. So if you’re still looking for that perfect costume make sure you check out Holidays on the Hill (212 7 Ave SW).

Anything else for Halloween going on downtown that needs to be added? Leave a comment and I’ll update the post.

Since the end of May 2009 the beat cops have become a fixture in downtown Calgary. And a very welcome fixture at that. Recently Torie and I got the chance to sit down with Constable Sinclair and Constable Karimwabo to talk to them about some of their experiences as beat cops in the downtown core.

We decided to start things off on a light note and asked them for the funniest story they could think of. They laughed and told us that what they find funny is sometimes pretty different from what everybody else finds humorous. But they wracked their brains and came up with a good one. Allow me to set the scene: three weeks into the job, morning, they approach a man in an alleyway. This man was known to them, and they had talked to him on other occasions. Well, apparently this morning he didn’t feel like talking and instead flung something that was in his hand at them. Thankfully the man did not have great aim and the object sailed past them. But they did get a good look at the object. “Did he just throw poo at us?”

It’s not all fun and games for the beat cops, but the difference that they are seeing downtown makes it all worth it, they tell us. They talked about when they started on the job they couldn’t go two blocks without running into somebody that they needed to deal with. Now though? Sometimes they will go an entire day without seeing anybody. And the benefit of the beat cops is echoed by many of the people the beat cops talk to on a day-to-day basis. They will usually get 4-5 compliments per day, with people saying things like “downtown has never looked better” and “things have improved so much since you started working here.” It’s pretty obvious that downtown loves its beat cops.

But the beat cops say that what they’re doing isn’t just a one-way street. They’re learning a lot by working downtown as well. Working with the public like they do gives them the chance to hone their best weapon, their communication skills. They think that every police officer should have to do this job, because of what it teaches them about dealing with people.

And for those of you wondering, they get people asking all the time to wear the hat. And unfortunately the answer is almost guaranteed to be “no.” Sorry to kill your dream.

Photo Credit: Torie Peterson

If you’re anything like me, you’ve gotten swept up in the World Cup fever that is making its way around the world. As far as I can tell, the only way to alleviate the symptoms is to watch more soccer. And unlike other diseases having other people around is the best course of action. If my time as a Canadian (whole life) has taught me anything it is that the best place to go watch sports with other people is at a pub. Big TVs, drinks, good food and lots of intense fans. The perfect environment for sports watching. One kink in trying to go out and watch the World Cup is that many of the good matches are happening at 8:00am. So if you want to catch them live then you need to find a place that is open early enough (and coffee shops usually frown on excessive fist pumping and loud cheering, so they’re out). Thankfully, a couple downtown pubs have you covered.

The Garage (located in Eau Claire) will be open early for all of your World Cup needs, and they will be serving a breakfast menu as well.

My vote for great place is The Unicorn. It’s open early, has one thing on the menu (which is fine because it tastes great) and serves beer (if you can drink it at 8am, which I cannot). Thankfully their coffee is great and endless so that will help you wake up. Not only is the food good, but the servers are nice and the other patrons are great, they’re loud but definitely not obnoxious (which is really key to enjoying the pub experience). There are lots of TVs so no matter where you’re sitting you’ll get a good view of the action.

Morning games not your thing? None of those matches interest you? Well don’t worry there are places to go to watch the 12:30pm matches as well. In addition to The Garage and The Unicorn, there is also Ceili’s, Firewater and Flames Central.  Here’s the CBC broadcast schedule.

So now that the Group round is at the end and the Second Stage has started you’ll know where to go take in the World Cup action in downtown Calgary.  If I missed any of your favourites add it in the comments and maybe we’ll try it for our next post.

Stephen Avenue is always fun to walk down once the different stalls start setting up. My favourite stalls are all of the amazing art stalls that are out there. Whether it’s the sculptors, painters or craftspeople they’re all incredibly talented. And this summer there will be a new art stall joining the fray on Stephen Ave. As a co-operative The Mustard Seed, CUPS, Inn From the Cold, and the Aboriginal Friendship Centre will be opening up a stall on Stephen Avenue Walk where they will be selling some of the art that the people who use their services have created.

What are they selling you ask? Well the Mustard Seed will be selling all types of different art, from drawings and paintings to possibly even sculptures. Inn From the Cold and The Aboriginal Friendship Society will be working together to bring you some authentic aboriginal crafts that they will be doing, like dreamcatchers and the like. And finally CUPS will be bringing you many other types of crafts – toys, dolls and purses, all of which are eco-friendly.

This is definitely a stall that I think you should come down to Stephen Avenue and check out. The stall is on the 200W Block outside of The Bay. And while you’re down there go get a sausage or a hot dog, because they are awesome.

Dine Out Calgary starts this Friday, March 5th and runs until Sunday, March 14th. There’s over 90 restaurants participating this year and that means a lot of great dining choices. To help you with your decision our blog writers have chosen their top picks for the 10 days. First up Derrick Plotsky

Decisions, decisions, decisions. Life is full of decisions. And the most recent life-changing decision that I have to deal with? Where to go for Dine Out Calgary. I know, my life is so difficult. But there are just so many amazing places to choose from with so many different types of food; no matter what you like you’ll be able to find someplace to go.

For my first anniversary my wife and I decided to go to Murrietas for supper. That was a great decision on our part as it was a spectacular supper. The music was really nice and wasn’t too loud. The servers that we had treated us great and were extremely helpful. And the food, oh the food. The steak I had was cooked perfectly to my liking and even the potatoes and vegetables were great (usually I am not a big fan). So when I saw that they had something for Dine Out Calgary I knew it would probably be really good. And the menu definitely sounds great. I think the roasted half chicken with risotto sounds amazing, especially when coupled with the chocolate banana bread pudding for dessert. So, if you want a nice night out that won’t break the bank then definitely check Murrieta’s out.

When I was doing my Bachelor’s degree in Victoria there was this one Irish pub called The Irish Times that me and my friends frequented quite often. And ever since moving to Calgary (when I have the money) I’ve been trying to find someplace that is as good. Dine Out Calgary provides me with the perfect excuse to go out and try one more Irish Pub in Calgary. This time I decided to go to Ceili’s. Why that one? What can I say, I’m a sucker for fish and chips. And the chocolate Guiness pudding doesn’t sound too bad either. Be sure to get a good beer when you’re there.

I admit, I know absolutely nothing about the Jupiter Restaurant and Lounge in Kensington. But their menu for Dine Out Calgary sounds good to me. And the lunch is only $15! This menu had me at the calamari for an appetizer as that is one of my favourite appetizers. And the chicken souvlaki wrap with a chocolate mousse dessert sounds good too. Did I mention it’s only $15?

Please leave a comment if you have a recommendation to add or you want to share your Dine Out experience. You can also fill out the Dine Out Calgary survey for a chance to win a gift certificate to one of the amazing Dine Out Calgary restaurants.

Location-based games are becoming more and more popular as smartphones with GPS get in more and more people’s pockets. Foursquare (written about by Wil Knoll very recently) is one of these location based games. Another is geocaching.

Geocaching started in May of 2000 around the time the locks came off of handheld GPS units and their accuracy became increased. Today the accuracy (and relatively low cost) of a handheld GPS unit makes it so this game can be played by almost anyone. You don’t even need to have a smartphone to play this game, it can be played with any handheld GPS device.

Geocaching is a combination of hide and seek and treasure hunting. To get started you go to the website geocaching.com (or download the iPhone app if you have one) and create an account (it’s free!). Then choose the location where you’d like to find a geocache and you’re off! You will get a list of all of the caches close by, as well as how far away they are. Alternatively, you can check out the Google map that has them listed on it. Find the caches you want, write down the coordinates and clues, then go on your treasure hunt.

So, you want to go for a nice walk? Want to learn some cool history and find some new places to visit? Then come downtown and check out the caches. There’s some traditional caches which are physical objects to find, as well as a couple history caches which just involve taking a picture of the right location. There are both easy and challenging caches downtown, so whatever your skill level there will be something there for you. Hopefully everybody will give it a shot and join in the fun game of geocaching.

And if you do, let me know how it went, whether you’re a seasoned veteran or if it was your first time out.

This was my first time in the Theatre Junction Grand.  The theatre, as well as the upstairs lounge, made enough of an impression on me that I am anticipating any chance I get to go there again.  The seats are comfortable, the acoustics are good and it’s not too big and not too small.  It’s a great little theatre that’s really easy to get to.

The High Performance Rodeo is now 24 years old.  That means it has almost been around as long as I have.  This unfortunately was my first year attending.  I really wish I had gone other years because it was a great night.  I’m not going to go in-depth into what the High Performance Rodeo is, because there are lots of other places to find that info (on their new website for instance hprodeo.ca).  But suffice it to say that it is a bringing together of many different art forms into one city for one glorious month of celebrating creativity and imagination.  Well, now that that is over with let’s get on to the Tubular Bells.

The show was split into two acts.  The first act was four pianists playing Canto Ostinato composed by Simeon ten Holt.  It was a great piece that alternated from a lullaby low to a heart-soaring high.  My heart-strings were plucked and my mind was thrown into other worlds.  It was a great start to the show.  The second act was the Tubular Bells from the title.  Four pianos with four ballet dancers.  The music was great but it was the dancers that really had my attention.  Their movements as they went from slow to frantic and back to slow brought you on a journey.  And while I didn’t always understand the specifics of the journey, what I did understand were the emotions, and the emotions were amazing.  You know a show is good when the words that come to mind right after are spectacular and up-lifting.  If this is what the High Performance Rodeo has to offer, then sign me up for the rest of the month and every year to come.