Archive for November, 2011

I can admit it: I’m a keener. I love to get involved and I’m passionate about things that help make Calgary and the community better. This is where BeCause comes in. An initiative of the United Way of Calgary, BeCause aims to engage the next generation of Calgarians (ahem, me and you) to better understand social issues and create positive change in our community through giving, volunteering and participating.

BeCause’s next project in the new year is “I Volunteer BeCause”.  The project is looking for 100+ awesome individuals 20-40 years of age who are interested in making a positive impact in the lives of disconnected youth in our city. Youth and volunteers will participate in facilitated group sessions, which will offer a fun and relaxed way for all participants to get to know one another. Sessions will consist of workshops and activities in some of the youths’ favourite areas. Participation in this project can consist of as little as a one evening commitment, but can develop further based on your level of interest.

An information session will be held in January 2012 to learn more about the I Volunteer BeCause project. To express your interest, contact BeCause@calgaryunitedway.org.

So why get involved? BeCause Calgary is yours to change.

Here’s the next installment of the CIA Weekly Playlist featuring local Calgary groups and some of the artists who will travel through our city this week:

PLAYLIST

Let’s face it, Sundays are a pretty relaxing day for most of us. Sleep in until 11am or so, kick back with some laundry and an advert-filled rom-com or Storage wars marathon, then move into some Facebook lurking/liking, and top it off with an easy-to-prep dinner and a 9:30pm bedtime. But here’s where you can change all that.

Tomorrow Uptown 17th is hosting their final Fashion and Food event of the year, collaborating with Leo Boutique , Gravity Pope , Chrome Hair Design , and Mode Models .

The recently opened (if August is recent) Ox & Angela (528 17th Ave SW) will host tomorrows event featuring drink specials like their signature Spanish mulled wine to warm you up on a cool November evening, and food specials that you won’t be able to resist. Ox and Angela is a restaurant & bar inspired by the sights, sounds & flavors of Latin America.

Uptown 17th has now featured 3 Fashion and Food events prior to this in November, bringing together collaborations with the likes of The Gallery , Tubby Dog , Dick and Janes , The Ship and Anchor , Borgo , and Primitive. It’s an exciting way to combine the great independent fashion retailers in the Uptown 17th district and the many unique restaurants and food selections this area has to offer.

Fashion and Food – November 27th, 2011

Ox and Angela

Fashion Show at 7:30pm (No tickets necessary)

If you’re interested in dining, you’ll need to reserve a table.

So why not support your local fashion and food industries and turn your Sunday evening into something fresh, all the while experiencing a unique blend of independent fashion and local fare that will transform even the most die-hard relax-addict, into a Kelly Cutrone/Gordon Ramsay lovechild. Try not to visualize.

Photo: Photomawf, Stephen Harper
Website

Submit to our flickr pool for your chance to be featured on POTW!

Tuesday, December 6 @ John Dutton Theatre, Calgary Public Library

7pm, Tickets are $10

Patrick deWitt, featuring Chad Oakes

 WordFest presents Patrick deWitt reading from his book The Sisters Brothers, one of the most highly acclaimed and awarded books of 2011. This event will also feature an in-conversation segment with Chad Oakes, the producer for Hell on Wheels, the much buzzed about Alberta-produced Western series currently airing on AMC.

In The Sisters Brothers, deWitt pays homage to the classic Western, transforming it into an unforgettable tour de force that captures the humour, melancholy and grit of the Old West. Filled with a remarkable cast of characters—losers, cheaters and ne’er-do-wells—the novel centres on two brothers bound by blood, violence and love. The Sisters Brothers was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Scotiabank Giller Prize and received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. Film rights for the novel have been sold to actor John C. Reilly’s production company, with Reilly to play one of the brothers. Reilly recently starred in Terri, a film written by deWitt.

Hell on Wheels has several parallels to deWitt’s odyssey through the underworld of the 1850s frontier. The series portrays a post-Civil War America as an open wound. Men and women desperate for a new life head West to find work on the most significant engineering achievement of 19^th century America: the Transcontinental Railroad.

Patrick deWitt and Chad Oakes will discuss adaptation and the challenges faced when portraying the Old West. The event will be hosted by blogger and frequent CBC Radio guest Bryan Wright.

Tickets: Call the EPCOR CENTRE’s Box Office at 403.294.9494 or click here to buy tickets.

It’s a jumble out there – a vintage Jumble Boogie that is. If you didn’t get a chance to visit your favorite vintage purveyors, boutiques and designers at the last Boogie, don’t fret. You’ll get another chance this weekend at Broken City on Saturday, November 26 from 12-6 PM.

Who will be there? Only some of the hottest fashion finders in town including:

Anne B Accessories: www.annebaccessories.com
Pout Clothing: www.poutclothing.ca
Vintage Pop-Up Shop: www.vintagepopupshop.com
Amy Nelson: www.amyflyingakite.com
Cat’s Eye Vintage: www.catseyevintage.com
Bano & eeMee: www.banoeemee.com
Boopy Doodle: www.boopydoodle.ca

So grab a bud and a Bud and enjoy the Jungle Boogie this weekend.

T’was the night before Christmas, and all through the CORE, was a festive celebration like never before!

Unless you’re relying on Santa to get all your presents this year, there is only a month to go until the big day. What better way to get your holiday shopping done than at one of the biggest shopping events that Calgary has ever seen. Shoppers can look forward to tons of great surprises including:

Treats and Entertainment:

• A special holiday performance by Chantal Kreviazuk
• The lighting of the CORE’s spectacular new 45-foot Christmas Tree: the tallest of its kind in Western Canada.
• A red carpet entrance and photo wall hosted by international blogger, Lainey Lui from LaineyGossip.com.
• Culinary sampling turkey roulade stuffed with cornbread stuffing on a mini Yorkshire, accompanied by warm apple cider, chocolate candy cane profiteroles, eggnog mousse chocolate tulips …and more!

The Shopping:

All CORE retailers will be providing one-night only exclusive offers such as:

Harry Rosen: A surprise gift with purchase will be given to shoppers only on this special evening.

Holt Renfrew: Will be giving away an unprecedented $6,500 in door prizes with no purchase necessary including a $1,000 shopping spree.

Brooks Brothers: 15% off storewide plus special in-store swag bags.

Papyrus:  A pink carpet fashion show featuring couture dresses made from PAPYRUS papers and materials as well as offer exclusive limited-edition gift bags and live music by DJ Jody Crowe.

Calgary is Awesome wants you to get in on the festivities and has 2 tickets to give away for the November 30th shopping night.Let us know why you deserve to go and send your answers to irene@calgaryisawesome.com. All responses are due by November 28th.

You can also get your tickets online at coreshopping.ca or at the CORE customer service. Tickets are $15 and will benefit the National Music Centre and the United Way’s ‘BeCause’ initiative.

Music.

Calgary is famous for it, and the idea of a weekly playlist featuring our favorites from Calgary, and other regions of Canada is something we’ve been hoping to have happen for a while.

Calgary artists have a special sound, and a special place in our hearts.

Our first week is pretty Calgary-centric, but in the coming weeks we’re going to try and feature as many different groups as we can.

Without further ado, our first of many Weekly Playlists hosted by our friends at CBC Radio 3:

Playlist

Winter has officially arrived! This weekend’s brisk temperatures have many Calgarians scrambling to acclimate while continually hoping for another chinook to roll in. There are even some of us who will take the black-capped Chickadee approach, and eat steadily throughout the day. Then, when it’s too cold to move around, these individuals will enter into a state of mini-hibernation that may last hours or even a few days.

But if the Chickadee approach doesn’t seem like the right fit for you, perhaps embracing the next few months is the best remedy? Snow sports is just one of the many options we have for coping with winter, and for all the snow sports and outdoor enthusiasts in the city, what could be better than a full day of product demos, clinics, instruction and safety services?

How about all of that…for FREE!?!!

Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) Calgary’s Snowfest is a celebration of all things winter, minus the warming up your car and sidewalk shoveling, part. Head down to MEC today for a family-friendly festival that has something for everyone, including a place to swap your old snowsports equipment and find that perfect pre-loved-by-another item to add to your backpack. Learn to wax your Cross Country skis, or how to use Avalanche safety equipment in an emergency. Listen to CBC Extreme Canada host, Paul Karchut, provide advice on the art of winter packing or get a chance to check out the latest products from K2, BCA, Kastle, Atlas Snowshoes, Black Diamond and SPOT.

Of course, Snowfest is also a great place to connect with the Calgary snowsports community and find snow-passionate, like-minded individuals to trek and travel with. A cornucopia of exhibitors will be on hand throughout the day to talk gear, help you connect with trip partners, spice up your backcountry safety knowledge, and make sure you get the most out of winter this year.

Canadians, and particularly Calgarians, have always embraced winter and the many activities and events that make the colder months of the year that much more enjoyable. Yes, it’s cold, but not that cold…

Snowfest is today, November 20th, 2011 beginning at 11am:  830 – 10th Ave SW.

A brief schedule of the days events:

11:30am – 12:30pm

Alpine Touring and Cross Country ski comparison by K2

Atlas Snowshoes  demo

Winter Cycling by MEC

Packing for Winter by CBC Outside’s Paul Karchut (Calgary-based, CBC ski and outdoor journalist)

Avalanche Forecasting by the Canadian Avalanche Centre

12:30pm – 1:30pm

Cross Country ski waxing by the Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors

Choosing your Ice Climbing gear by Yamnuska Mountain Adventures

Mountain Rescue by Kananaskis Country Public Safety

Hands on Avalanche Rescue Tools by Back Country Access

2:30pm – 3:30pm

All About Alpine Touring Skis – materials, construction and choice by Kastle

All about Snowshoes by MEC

Winter Running by MEC

Intro to Winter Camping by Rob Owens

Avalanche Forecasting by the Canadian Avalanche Centre

3:30pm – 4:30pm

Cross Country ski waxing my MEC

Ice Climbing Technique and Gear by Black Diamond

SPOT Satellite Messenger by SPOT

Introduction to Avalanche Safety by Yamnuska Mountain Adventures

No pre-registration is required, and the events also include an all-day kids craft table and snowshoe track, lunch with prizes and giveaways, and a gear swap (Call MEC @ 430-269-2420 to reserve a table).

Get this winter started on the right foot with MEC Snowfest!

With the holidays just around the corner, Green Calgary has shared some great ideas for environmentally friendly gift wrapping. Part one of a four part series, they will be highlighting alternative and green gift giving with a focus on gifts that are simple, cost effective and unique. Check back in the coming weeks for tons of meaningful ideas and recipes including homemade, natural deoderant and lip balm, cleaning products, and bath salts.

You can view the entire post HERE…