When she's not walking around downtown Calgary in the summer as a HOST, Leah is a journalism student at Ryerson University in Toronto. She spends her summers taking in Calgary's festivals and enjoying the proximity to the mountains. With two years of HOSTing under her cowboy hat, she is extremely knowledgeable about downtown attractions and is an expert on navigating through the +15s. Her favourite places to eat downtown are Zen 8, The Unicorn and the Silver Dragon.
From July 22-25 Prince’s Island Park will be transformed to accommodate the 31st Calgary Folk Festival. Over the four-day event there are 68 artists playing on seven different stages. We have some recommendations of who to check out!
Though the music is the main attraction of the Folk Festival, there is plenty of other things to check out in between your favourite acts. Big Rock will have a beer garden and there will be plenty of food vendors set up - I saw a mini-doughnut truck enter the park, in case you didn’t get your fix at Stampede. If you’re interested on doing a little shopping while at the festival, there is both an area to purchase band merchandise, and a craft market. (more…)
Calgary’s Latin American celebration Fiestaval will take over Olympic Plaza this weekend (July 24 and 25). This two-day festival is free and family oriented - with the lovely weather we’re expecting this weekend it’s a good place to bring the kids. (more…)
There’s only a few days until the Calgary Stampede begins, meaning it’s time to start planning your 10 days of fun and excitement! Stampede events are not limited to the grounds, there’s plenty of activities to take in around the city. Here is your guide to what’s happening in the downtown core.
The Parade
The Stampede Parade signals the start of the Stampede each year. This year the two-hour parade happens on July 9. The Parade Prelude starts at 7:30am, and the main parade starts at 8:55am. About 80 per cent of seating along 9th Avenue and 6th Avenue is free, spaces available on a first come first serve basis. You can also purchase tickets for reserved bleacher seats on the Calgary Stampede Parade website, starting at $27/seat. Some sections have already sold out.
The parade follows a 4.5km route, running along 6th Avenue from 3rd Street SE, making it’s turn at 10th Street SW, down to 9th Avenue, and finishes up at 4th Street SE. (more…)
This year, the Calgary Downtown Association summer teams are helping out at the DI serving lunch every other week. Before volunteering for the first time, the Off the Wall and HOST teams were given a tour of the centre.
The Calgary Drop-In & Rehab Centre (DI for short) provides care and shelter while working to prevent homelessness by providing opportunities and support to help people rebuild their lives.
The DI originated in 1961, starting as a joint initiative of the Roman Catholic Diocese and the Calgary Interfaith Community Action Committee. The groups split in 1977, and the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre Society was formed. The current home DI building (423 - 4th Ave SE) opened in 2001. (more…)
With June quickly coming to an end it can only mean one thing, Canada Day is almost here! There’s so much happening downtown, a lot of which is free.
This will be my third year walking around downtown taking in our country’s birthday celebrations. I’ve enjoyed the festivities the last two years and would definitely recommend checking out events downtown. The HOSTs will be out and about from 10:30-7, so feel free to stop us and ask for help if you have any questions! (more…)
Have a desire to eat local, but don’t have the time to stop at a farmer’s market on your way home from work?
Starting today, Thursday, June 24, the Downtown Green Market will be the solution to your dilemma. Located on Stephen Avenue Walk between Centre St and 1st St SE (outside the Telus Convention Centre) the Downtown Green Market will offer up local baking, produce, organic products and handmade goodies.
The market will up and running every Thursday from 10am-2pm, giving you plenty of opportunity to stop by and pick up ingredients for dinner on your way home - or even just grab a bite for lunch! On top of food vendors, there will be people selling clothing, jewellery, artwork and many other treasures.
This traveling exhibition aims to teach about the inner workings of the body and the effects certain life choices have.
Bodies are preserved through a process of plastination, which halts decomposition. The bodies were donated by individuals who provided permission that once they die, their body could be used and displayed for educational purposes. However, names and cause of death are not disclosed in the exhibit.
The bodies are positioned in ways so each illustrates a different anatomical feature. For example, when the body is kicking a soccer ball, certain muscles are used - a plastinate in the exhibit is positioned to demonstrate this. Others show the internal organs, so you can observe their positioning in the body. In display cases throughout the floor there are individual organs.
When the unpredictable Calgary weather takes a turn for the worse, Calgarians in the downtown core head indoors to the Plus 15 system. Created in the 1960s by city planners, the system is presently made up of 57 bridges and 16 kilometers of walkways.
The +15s provide a comfortable, indoor environment to trek around downtown, connecting office buildings, hotels, and even some downtown attractions. Though they are mainly used by people working in downtown offices to move from building to building, there are many mini-attractions around the system, which can easily be turned into a self-guided walking tour. (more…)
There is a team working to combat graffiti in Calgary’s inner city.
The Off the Wall team is a partnership between the City of Calgary’s Clean to the Core initiative, and five BRZs (Business Revitalization Zones) - Calgary Downtown Association, Uptown 17, 4th Street, Victoria Crossing and Kensington.
If you’ve been downtown since the middle of May, you might have spotted some distinctly dressed individuals walking around. Just before the long weekend, Downtown Calgary’s Hospitality Outreach Safety Team hit the streets. They are easy to spot in their red HOST shirts and the symbol of Western hospitality, their white cowboy hats.
