What really excites me about being in Calgary right now and doing what I’m doing with my street style hunting, is that I truly feel like I’m a part of something significant, important and amazing. It feels like in the last few years Calgary has finally started to make a distinct and interesting mark as a city and has really began to make a name for itself, beyond the obvious anyways.

One of the avenues that is really finally starting to take off in this city is fashion, and I couldn’t be happier about this development. I feel like my facebook and email inboxes are filled weekly with cool invitations to events that we didn’t see so much of even a few short years ago.

Modeling agencies are opening up here. Fashion bloggers are taking over. Cool events are happening, and our street style is being noticed.

One of my new favourite websites and companies are also amping up their game and bringing things to this city that we have yet to experience…Fashion Calgary. The website has a cool blog about various events happening in the city, as well as links to great Calgary boutiques, shopping malls, hair salons and even great restaurants.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ania Basak, the CEO/Founder/Creative Director of Fashion Calgary a few months ago at the CORE’s Tweasthenight event, another exciting moment for Calgary and its fashionable future. Basak herself is fashionable, personable and has a great passion for her work, and alongside her business partner and husband Rafal Wegiel, they are helping to change the face of our city.

Their newest adventure is a model contest with a panel of esteemed judges. With the hope of bringing local models to the runways and giving Calgary the exposure it’s so clearly ready for, the contest is now officially open and calling for applications until February 20th, where the chosen model will receive a professional photo shoot and the title of being Calgary’s chosen model. For more details, visit Fashion Calgary

My only question now is, can I apply?

…Or perhaps I should just stick to what I know best, and that’s street style hunting. This month I was once again lucky to photograph and meet some cool and stylish Calgarians, and here they are…

Sarah: In my opinion, there’s nothing better than adding a punch of colour to the bleak winter months, and I love how Sarah does this with a bright red trench coat. The sunglasses, scarf and gloves are a great way to accessorize winter as well.

Jeff : The stripes are funky and cool, and I like how Jeff pairs it all with great skinny jeans and a brown belt and brown boots to pull the look together.

Aurelie: I love her funky dress with oversized kimono-style sleeves and a cool, yet muted, design. The fedora hat is also a nice touch.

Jacqueline: The black dress is simple, yet sleek, and looks great paired with funky nylons, a skinny belt and a great oversized watch.

Rob: My favourite part of Rob’s outfit are his funky black and white frames. There’s nothing better than an amazing pair of glasses to add personality and spunk to one’s look. I love clean and simple lines when it comes to menswear, and Rob knocks it out of the park with his button-up cardigan and black dress pants.

Marie: I was walking through the CORE on my lunch break when I spotted Marie, and I had to run after her and her great personal look. She’s wearing leopard print pants…enough said!

Shane: It’s nice to see men rock out some beautiful, rich and vibrant colours, and that’s what really drew me to Shane’s outfit. Nicely done.

This week’s Throwback Thursday photograph comes courtesy of the Collection of the Glenbow Museum Archives, and it’s of The Grand Theatre, a fitting theme as The Grand will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first performance in the theatre this week.

Designed by architect L.R. Wardrop and built alongside Lougheed Block in 1911 (which was originally built to accommodate retail stores, offices and living quarters) by Sir James Lougheed, The Grand Theatre was the largest and best theatre in the Pacific Northwest.  In fact, the first theatre, opera, ballet, symphony concerts and movies in Calgary were all seen here.  Such was the theatre’s prestige that it attracted many international acts and stars such as Fred Astaire, Sarah Bernhardt, the Marx Brothers and more to perform at the venue.

The theatre was modern for its time; all 15 changing rooms beneath the stage had hot and cold water, as well as electric lighting.  The original theatre had 1,350 seats with 810 on the main floor and 540 in the gallery.

With the opening of the Jubilee Auditorium in 1957 and its more modern facilities, the 1960s saw the theatre decline as a cultural hotspot in the city and The Grand became primarily a movie house.  After several changes in ownership and several incarnations which included an indoor golf driving range and potentially a parkade, as well as a fire in 2003 that temporarily closed the building, the Theatre Junction Society raised $12 million to purchase The Grand in 2005, and The Grand Theatre relaunched as Theatre Junction GRAND in March 2006.

The current theatre can be configured into eight different seating layouts with a maximum capacity of 440 people.  The theatre hosts all sorts of contemporary performances from Calgary and around the world, and can even be booked to host corporate and private events as well.

2012 is the centennial year of many major institutions in Calgary, and this week marks the 100th anniversary of the first performance in The Grand Theatre, which occurred on February 5, 1912.

As such, Theatre Junction GRAND is holding a 12-hour long celebration starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 4 and ending at 2 a.m. on Sunday, February 5 and everyone is invited!

Featuring some of Calgary’s most popular and respected artists including Dan Vacon of the Dudes, DJ Pump, Mandy Stobo (from Bad Portraits) and many more, as well as a sneak peek preview of the upcoming show Attempts on Her Life, everyone’s invited to help celebrate 100 years of culture in Calgary and at The Grand.  To learn more about the centennial festivities, check out the event page at Theatre Junction GRAND.

That’s it for this week’s Throwback Thursday.  Tune in next week and every week in 2012 for more glimpses into the past of Downtown Calgary.

Do you have any photos of downtown Calgary from the past you want to share with us?  If so send us an e-mail info@downtowncalgary.com

A play or two by Shakespeare is included in the high school curricula in Canada. Most students get pushed through it and don’t pick up Shakespeare again, unless they go on to study English literature further in their academic careers.
I was an exception to that. I studied commerce as my academic career, but couldn’t deny my love for English literature. So I took a Shakespeare course, a full year of just the Bard. It was for that reason that One Yellow Rabbit’s Taking Shakespeare was so appealing.

The play tells of young twenty four year old Murph (Denise Clarke) who is doing very badly in his university career, and his mother, the president of the university wants him to be mentored by Prof (John Murrell) so that he can ‘do better’.
Murph is by all description a directionless young man, he shows up at Prof’s house, sporting a Smurfs ‘Who is your Papa’ shirt and saying that the titles of Shakespearean plays are too long. Prof sleeps on the couch, loves his coffee and generally forgets what day it is, all the time.

Together, they begin to explore Othello, trying to carve out the meaning behind character motivations and scenes in the play. Murph illustrates the comedy of struggling through Shakespeare’s blank verse, ‘he had a stroke in his youth?’
As the play goes along, the characters on stage begin to fill out. We learn how Prof got attached to Shakespeare and how he feels about teaching. ‘We’re too old to teach it, by the time we’re able to understand it,’ he asserts.

Taking Shakespeare explores how relationships can be formed through literature, how it can dismantle the division between young and old. It questions how we view teachers and educators within society and whether we value them enough. It is well written, full of quick wit and genuine emotion.

Clarke portrays Murph with accurate style. It is quite amazing to see the range that Clarke can play, from last year’s vixen Helen in The Penelopiad to the egotistical mother in Smash Cut Freeze, to this. Fiona Kennedy decided not to adorn her in elaborate costuming, letting Clarke’s mannerisms and expressions depict a careless young man.

Murrell takes on the role as tortured prof nicely, reading the scenes from Othello with vigor.

The set of Prof’s living room is accurately messy. There are book strewed everywhere and the coffeemaker sits on the back table (So the theatre rightly smells like coffee and old books). When Prof gets angry, he dumps coffee on the open laptop.

Given One Yellow Rabbit’s previous work, such as Kawasaki Exit, and Gilgamesh La-Z-Boy, this entry into the 26th Annual High Performance Rodeo won’t blow you away. It isn’t that kind of play. But it is a charming full story about a relationship built through Shakespeare. And has it’s own appeal.

Taking Shakespeare runs tonight and tomorrow only. For more information on this play and more on the High Performance Rodeo go to www.hprodeo.ca

Photo Credit: Benjamin Laird

This week’s old Throwback Thursday picture, taken in 1978 by Boyd Waddell Photography, looks at the Imperial Bank of Canada Building on 100 8 Avenue SE, at the corner of 8 Avenue and Centre Street.

Built in 1886, the building embodies the Neoclassical architectural style.  The original owner of the site was the I.G. Baker Co. which had arrived in 1875 to provision the North-West Mounted Police.  By 1892, the Imperial Bank of Canada purchased the site and renovated it.

From 1903-1906, the upper floor held the offices of Sifton, Short and Stuart, Barristers, Notaries, etc.  Arthur L. Sifton was the elder brother of Clifford Sifton who was Minister of the Interior from 1896-1905, and was Premier of Alberta from 1910-1917 and one of Canada’s four representatives at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.

Today, the building has been completely renovated and currently houses Catch & The Oyster Bar, a fresh seafood restaurant which has occupied the space since 2002.

Many changes have been made to the site since.  For example, the Hyatt Regency Calgary hotel now looms in the background incorporating many historical buildings in the area into its design, and The York Hotel, which you can see in the background of the first photograph and built some time in 1929-1930, no longer stands as originally built, as it had to be demolished in order to make way for The Bow.  But, before being demolished, 70-80% of the bricks used in its construction have been saved and numbered and will be reconstructed and incorporated into the outer facade of The Bow building.

That’s it for this week’s Throwback Thursday.  Tune in next week and every week in 2012 for more glimpses into the past of Downtown Calgary.

Do you have any photos of downtown Calgary from the past you want to share with us?  If so send us an e-mail info@downtowncalgary.com

What does Jian Ghomeshi, a dance party in the Glenbow Museum, and fabulous food and drinks all have in common? Schmancy, of course! An evening full of culture, cocktails, and art will launch February 11th in Downtown Calgary. The Glenbow Museum has outdone itself this time with the incredible fundraiser revolving around all things fancy schmancy.

The night starts off with the feature presentation “Why Pop Culture Matters” at the Telus Convention Centre with radio and television host Jian Ghomeshi. Seeing Jian speak is an absolutely fantastic – his last appearance in Calgary sold out in 15 minutes online!

After you’ve listened to Jian wax on about pop culture for an hour, the party continues over at the Glenbow Museum with some fabulous new exhibits and delicious food catered by Hotel Arts, which you know will absolutely be delightful.

And when you just thought you’ve had too much fun in one night – head to the fourth floor of the Glenbow where it will have been transformed into the Club Pivot Lounge with a DJ and dancing for the rest of the evening. All this for the great cause of supporting your local arts museum.

While the majority of tickets have sold out, the Glenbow still has a limited number of tickets available for Glenbow museums and Under 30 guests. There is also a few patron opportunities available. To purchase your tickets you can call Kristine Nolte at 403.268.4188.

Now go get schmancy!

What are we going to do now that Laurie has left town?  When the multi-media artist took over the artist-in-residence reins of High Performance Rodeo, she brought a dreamy thoughtfulness to the high spirited mid-winter arts festival.

One of the highlights of Laurie Anderson’s residency was her four-night stint at Theatre Junction Grand, performing a different version of her work in progress, Another Day in America, each night.

On the evening I attended, Anderson led us through ninety minutes of anecdotes that were simultaneously quirky, profound, and humourous.  On a darkened stage that was a veritable minefield of lighted candles, she spoke with words measured and chosen with the care of a poet, words at once personal and profound. She has a voice that commands – commands attention, commands belief, commands imagination, commands compassion.

In her bemused, measured voice, she told stories of visits to tent cities, where the inhabitants maintain a tenuous thread to their former lives through the last vestiges of politeness. She related Darwin’s thorny problem with peacocks, how to explain the existence of their tail display in the context of survival of the fittest. In a dreamlike monologue, she reflected on the recent signing of the American National Defense Authorization Act, which transforms American soil into a de facto battleground. These big questions were punctuated with haunting violin solos, allowing time for absorption and reflection.  The reflection itself eventually gave way to personal stories of home life, during which Anderson shed her poet-seer persona, lowered herself into an easy chair, and began to share tales (and video clips) of the life and death of her blind piano-playing rat terrier, Lolabelle.

It was another day in America.

For one splendid week, Laurie Anderson was the toast of the town – performing on stage, leading an interactive tour through the Cantos collection, cooking dinner with a select few at Cookbook Company Cooks, and opening her video installation, The Gray Rabbit at the Glenbow Museum, with an evening of conversation.

Luckily for us, The Gray Rabbit will be at the Glenbow Museum until April 9, to remind us of those few heady days when Laurie Anderson was a Calgarian.

After reading a great article about reducing food waste by Julie Van Rosendaal, I made it one of my top New Year’s resolutions to do just that.  Combined with other typical resolves like being more frugal and trying new things, it had me thinking about how one can use all of the parts of an animal when cooking.

In many countries it’s commonplace to eat the organs, brains and even eyeballs of animals and fish. I don’t think brains will be on my plate any time soon (if you’ve ever seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom you will understand), but I noticed bone marrow on a menu recently on my walk to work.

Bone marrow is not your standard fare, so I was rather intrigued by this option and began to hunt for more places serving it up.  Pretty sure Old Mother Hubbard would be proud.

My first stop was The Libertine Public House where I ordered the Roasted Marrow Bones.  They were served with arugula salad, in-house pickled radish, Himalayan pink salt, and crostini and actually arrived with their own special instruction sheet which I thought was a nice touch.

Basically you spread the marrow, which was very rich, oily,  and kind of gelatinous on the crostini, top with arugala salad, pickled radish and a sprinkle of salt.  I tried all elements combined and on their own and I really enjoyed the flavours.

Not sure how many other freaks are out there, but as a kid, when my mom would cook a nice standing rib roast, my brothers and I would fight over who got to chew on the string that held the roast together after it was done cooking.  That is what the bone marrow tasted like to me.  Meaty, fatty and delicious.  It’s definitely an appetizer that should be shared, due to its richness.

Next stop was CHARCUT Roast House, which served up a Bone Marrow and Escargot au Gratin with Garlic Brioche Toast.  This was served in a similar fashion, but with a parsley salad with fried capers.

The CHARCUT marrow had a thicker consistancy and the escargot added a bit more substance to it.  A very unique indulgence.

And last, but not least, the item that got it all started, the Bone Marrow Mashed Potatoes at HOME Tasting Room.

Normally they are served as part of a meal, but they were kind enough to allow me to order them as a side dish, along with some other fantastic sharing plates.  I am a self-proclaimed mashed potato whore, so the fact that these were absolute perfection was not much of a surprise to me. The bone marrow really enhanced the flavour and made these a decadent treat.

It’s no wonder dogs spend hours gnawing on bones, eagerly anticipating the moment when they get to the high-cal, nutrient dense centre. While dogs might not be a man’s best friend when it comes to choosing meals…um, they eat their own poop and drink out of the toilet, I think they’re they’re on to something here.

Ingredients like this make you really think twice about how disassociated we’ve become from what we consume. We often toss out perfectly good food without a second thought and, more disturbingly, without even considering it as food.

Upon further investigation, I have learned that you can purchase bones (without having to buy a roast or other cut of meat) quite cheaply at most grocery stores.

Can’t wait to serve up this tasty Cro-Magnon snack one night and see what the boyfriend says. Pretty sure his inner caveman will be all over it!

Love food?  Check out The Big Taste, Calgary’s Dining Festival coming up soon from March 2-12, 2012.

Today’s Throwback Thursday looks at two more historic buildings in Downtown Calgary’s Stephen Avenue Walk, located right next to each other: Clarence Block and Tribune Block.

Clarence Block, located at 120 – 8 Avenue SW, was originally built in 1890 and named after building owner Senator James Lougheed’s son Clarence, but a fire on Christmas Day in 1899 razed the building.  The current incarnation of Clarence Block was rebuilt and opened in February 1901, and was designed by William Dodd, designer of Calgary’s City Hall.

At one time, it housed the law office of Lougheed and his partner R.B. Bennett, who eventually became Prime Minister of Canada, as well as Max Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook) and John E. Brownlee, premier of Alberta from 1925-1935.  It has also housed a McNally Robinson Booksellers location, and most recently is the downtown location of Sport Chek.

Tribune Block, located at 118 – 8 Avenue SW, was built in 1892 and is named after having briefly served as the home of one of Alberta’s first newspapers, the Calgary Tribune (a forerunner of The Albertan and the Calgary Sun).

From 1907-1919, Charles Traunweiser owned the building and ran it as the Hub Cigar Store, Billiards Room and Traunweiser’s Bowling Alley.  In recent days, it has housed restaurants such as Ben Venuto, the Tribune Restaurant & Bar, and most recently, the TRIB Steakhouse.

That’s it for this week’s Throwback Thursday.  Tune in next week and every week in 2012 for more glimpses into the past of Downtown Calgary.

Do you have any photos of downtown Calgary from the past you want to share with us?  If so send us an e-mail info@downtowncalgary.com

Last year was my first time attending the High Performance Rodeo. I took in BASH’d: A Gay Rap Opera and it was an unexpected highlight in a long hard winter.

This year I am getting excited to see The Ugly One, Lucha Vavoom and the Year of the Dragon +15 Art Parade.

One of my favourite things about the High Performance Rodeo is that it breathes life into places and things that are often unthought-of or over-looked, like the noon-time bells in the Calgary Tower and the Plus 15 walkways. It takes something we take for granted every day and turns it into something special.

According to calgaryplus15.com, Calgary has the world’s most extensive pedestrian walkway system with over 59 Plus 15’s tallying 16 kilometres. Coming from a place where it rains ¾ of the year, these puppies would have made my life so much easier if they had them back home, and most definitely do here.

Why people don’t write songs and name their first born children after them is beyond me. I feel a bumper sticker coming on, “Moved to Calgary for love, stayed for the Plus 15’s.” Okay, clearly I’m a fan…and a major nerd.

I really appreciate the fact that HPR will be jazzing them up yet again with their 2nd Annual +15 Art Parade on January 20th, which is in celebration of the Year of Dragon. You’ve got to love the ability to host a warm (and dry) parade in the thick of winter.

What to expect?

The Plus 15’s will host a colourful surprise for commuters as dozens of costumed performers parade through its hallways. It will be a multicultural celebration of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Dragon) featuring musicians, dragon dancers, traditional Chinese costumes and more.

Mark your calendar for Friday, January 20th at 4:00 pm, and catch this one-of-a-kind event as it starts winding its way from Bankers Hall over to Sun Life Plaza.

Today’s Throwback Thursday looks at Stephen Avenue Walk and First Street SW.  This historic street corner is one of Calgary’s oldest intersections and has been known in days past as “The Alberta Corner” due to having an “Alberta” building on each corner.

In the first picture, you can see a Second Cup location to the left while in the second picture below (shot this month), that location is currently occupied by an Out There Adventure Centre, as well as Murrieta’s Bar & Grill upstairs.  That building, located at 804 – 1 Street SW, is known as the Alberta Hotel, and was one of the first buildings to use sandstone after the fire of 1886.  It originally cost $36,000 to build plus $9,000 for furnishings.  The bar was reputed to be the largest between Winnipeg and China, and the building was so popular that it was necessary to expand the premises in 1891 and again in 1906.

Across the street is Alberta Block, which housed a Music World location in the first picture, and is currently one of the buildings that houses Fashion Central today.  Located at 804 – 1 Street SW, and the long time home of Condon’s Palace of Eats, portions of this building were owned by a group of eastern investors:  R.B. Angus, Donald A. Smith (Lord Strathcona), E. Osler and Wm. Scarth.  Smith was a major personality in Western Canadian history, negotiating a settlement to the Red River Uprising (1st Riel Rebellion) with Louis Riel and was the person who drove the last spike in the C.P.R. railway at Craigellachie in 1885.

That’s it for this week’s Throwback Thursday.  Tune in next week and every week in 2012 for more glimpses into the past of Downtown Calgary.