Photo credit: Dawn – Pink Chick

Whether you’re looking for expos, musicals or out-of-the-ordinary runway shows, this edition of Awesome Events is bursting with fun things to do this week!

Improv Hamlet: Making Tragedy Fun… Thursday-Saturday

the Improv Guild is turning the greatest play ever written on its head. An Improv Hamlet: Making Tragedy Fun will be the first semi-scripted production in the history of the Improv Guild. No two performances will be the same as each night audience suggestions will help determine the outcome! This is the people’s Hamlet. You’ll have to see it to believe it. Read more details>>>

Calgary Lifestyle Expo… Friday & Saturday

The Calgary Lifestyle Expo is a consumer-focussed, activity-motivating tradeshow that showcases exhibitors who cater to the lifestyle and leisure activities and attractions sought after by the active, mainstream Calgarian. Read more details>>>

Legally Blonde The Musical… Starts Thursday

Omigod, omigod you guys! FRC is excited to bring everyone’s favourite blonde lawyer back to Calgary! With songs like “Omigod You Guys”, “Gay or European?” and “Bend and Snap”, Legally Blonde is an all-singing, all-dancing, feel-good musical comedy that will be a highlight of your year! Join us as we take you from the social whirl of Malibu to the hallowed halls of Harvard Law. The verdict? This much fun shouldn’t be legal! Read more details>>>

The East Village Vaudeville Spectacular… Friday & Saturday

After a year and a half of dreaming, planning, researching and rehearsing, the East Village Vaudeville Spectacular is coming to the Golden Age Club!
Mark your calendar and plan to attend this ground breaking civic action. Citizens from the East Village are coming together to tell the story of this historic community and ask the question: How can we learn from the past to help us do better in the future? Read more details>>>

BURST: A Runway Show Of Glass Couture… Saturday

Introducing: BURST – an extraordinary experience featuring glass couture under the stunning light of the catwalk. Guests will be delighted as they view breathtaking vestments on a runway intermingled with local artist Leslie Bell’s site specific installation piece, Simulacra. Some 16 artists will present over 20 glass couture pieces from around the world. Read more details>>>

Looking for more Awesome Events? Check out our community events calendar!

Photo credit: thedailyenglishshow

We’ve had our first taste of spring weather in Calgary and appetites are whet for a long, hot summer. While you prep for your well-deserved summer vacation, consider letting your stove take the summer off. Hot weather can make indoor cooking very challenging. It’s the kind of challenge that can resign even the most enthusiastic home cooks to repeat nights of takeaway or bad microwave dinners. While outdoor grilling may be the go-to choice for those with barbecues, it’s always good to have options! Get inspired and stay cool with these fast and easy meal ideas that you’ll want to eat all year round.

1. Couscous: Couscous is North African semolina (small granules of durum wheat) and is a great substitute for other grains such as rice or quinoa. While couscous is traditionally steamed, most of what you’ll find on grocery store shelves is pre-cooked and instant to prepare. Pour boiling water from a kettle (or a microwave) over couscous, pop a lid on it, wait a few minutes, and it’s ready to enjoy! Eat it hot like rice, or toss it with your favorite fresh herbs, veggies, lemon juice, and olive oil for a great cold salad.

2. Canned Beans: Canned baked beans are often a fixture as a barbecue season side dish, but don’t stop there! There are many varieties of these healthy legumes to create vibrant side dishes with, or to eat as the main event. Endless recipes for lively summer salads (think creamy chickpea, or Italian white bean) are only a “Google” away.

3. The Rotisserie Chicken: The humble, grocery store rotisserie chicken is one of summer’s best friends. Sure, it’s not nearly as alluring as a home-roasted or barbecued beer can chicken, but what this bird lacks in style it makes up for in utility. Keep it simple, pairing chicken with some instant couscous, toss it in a salad, or let your imagination run wild! Try bold flavor pairings like creamy curried chicken salad, spicy chicken tacos, or a garlicky chicken Caesar salad wrap.

4. Rice Vermicelli: Calgarians are well known for their love of Vietnamese food. While you might not be able to top your favorite local restaurant, you can easily make vermicelli at home. Cook the noodles in a bowl by pouring boiling water over to cover. Let the noodles soften and then rinse thoroughly under cold water. You can dress these noodles up by tossing them in your favorite store-bought or homemade Asian inspired vinaigrette, fresh crunchy vegetables, a few peanuts, and a no-fuss protein like smoked tofu, thawed pre-cooked frozen shrimp, or sliced deli roast beef.

5. DIY Mezze Platter: When the heat is on, committing to a heavy meal (or any time spent in the kitchen) can be difficult. Why sweat it out prepping elaborate meals that you’ll be too uncomfortable to enjoy when there are so many good (and prep-free) options available? Mezze is the Mediterranean or Middle Eastern equivalent of an appetizer buffet. Treat yourself to a gorgeous spread of easy and delicious finger foods! Ideas include: Pita chips or sliced pita bread, olives, hummus (store bought or make your own), baba ghanoush (a creamy eggplant dip), Greek yogurt spiced with paprika, dolmades (canned grape leaves stuffed with seasoned rice), quartered tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, canned artichokes, feta cheese, sliced cucumber, raw nuts (cashews, almonds), grapes, feta cheese. The best part is: all of these exotic items are readily available at most major grocery stores.

I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend doing what you love. Did you get a chance to take in any awesome art? Well, there’s plenty more where that came from. Here’s your Arts Round Up this week, Calgary.

GO SEE THIS PLAY: Perhaps one of the most intriguing shows of the season, Ganesh Versus The Third Reich runs this week only at Theatre Junction GRAND. Performed by a mixed-abilities cast, the show is a play-with-in-a-play featuring two distinct stories – one about Ganesh returning to reclaim the Swastika from Nazi Germany and one about a young man inspired to create this play about Ganesh while over coming personal obstacles to do so.
Photos by Jeff Busby courtesy of Theatre Junction GRAND

God of Overcoming Obstacles VS Nazi Germany
It’s a play-with-in-a-play. Two distinct stories both woven together by a mixed-abilities cast. One is the tale of the elephant-headed god Ganesh who returns to earth in 1943 with a quest to reclaim the Swastika – an ancient Hindu symbol – from Nazi Germany. The other is the story of a young man inspired to create this play, that happens to feature Ganesh, the god of overcoming obstacles – and the group as they struggle with its creation.
Ganesh Versus The Third Reich runs this week at Theatre Junction GRAND and is the Canadian premiere for the piece from Australia’s Back To Back Theatre. The actors perform both as themselves and as the characters and as the Ganesh play is rehearsed, things become increasingly more uncomfortable and it becomes unclear whose play this is.
Winner of the 2009 Kit Denton Fellowship, the 2011 Melbourne Festival Age Critics Award, the 2012 Helpmann Award for Best Play and three 2012 Green Room Awards, you might not want to miss out on its short Calgary run.
Ganesh Versus The Third Reich runs May 22 to 25 at Theatre Junction GRAND and check out their awesome preview video below.

Video by Back to Back Theatre via Vimeo

Seussical Spectacular
Bright colours, wild creations and infectious rhymes are bound to come out when Seussical comes to town.
The University of Calgary Operetta Company opens their May 2013 production featuring Dr. Seuss’s classic characters – Horton the Elephant, The Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, Mayzie La Bird and more.
“Written with lovable and classic children’s characters, Seussical is really a musical that can entertain the entire family,” says Colleen Whidden, artistic director for The University of Calgary Operetta Company, in a statement. “Many of these characters from different books have never met each other before – the dynamics that arise when they do are more than exciting.”
Written by Tony award-winners, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Seussical has become one of the most performed shows in America and amalgamates many of the famous Dr. Seuss tales we know and love.
Performances run May 23 to June 1 at the Boris Roubakine Theatre on the University of Calgary main campus and tickets are $15.

MOCA Reaches Olympian Heights
What started off as a fundraising project for Calgary’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has now morphed into a chance to share an extraordinary collaboration of Alberta’s artists and Canada’s athletes.
Opening this Saturday, May 25 and running until Monday July 1, the show features portraits of Canadian Athletes by prominent Alberta Artists including portraits of Beckie Scott, Rick Hansen, Kyle Shewfelt created by artists including Janine Hall, Viviane Mehr and John Hall.
“I was honoured to serve on the organizing committee as Calgary’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) brought Andy Warhol’s Athlete Series to the city,” says Kyle Shewfelt in a statement. “Having these ten beautiful paintings of ten iconic athletes at MOCA inspired us to create an Athlete Series of our own. We invited ten local artists to paint portraits of ten Canadian athletes and the finished collection is both unique and magical. It is with great excitement that we announce the planned exhibition and sale of this wonderful series of portraits.”
Kyle’s personally put out a challenge to everyone to help MOCA’s 300 by 100 campaign reach its goal of raising $30,000. They’ve already raised $25,720 and any amount will help them reach their goal. The campaign closes May 20 but it’s not your last chance to help out.
Olympian Heights wraps with a live auction and reception on Friday June 7 and all pieces available will be available for pre-sale at a set price.
All proceeds raised will go to the continued operation of the free to view gallery space.

Opening, Continuing and Learning at UAS
The Untitled Art Society seems to be a very busy place these days. After all in the next week alone they have an opening, a reception and a weekend workshop.
First up is Sarah Van Sloten’s Porcupin 2uill running May 24 to June 29 with an opening Reception of May 24 at 8pm.
In the UAS Satellite Gallery (343 11th Ave SW) Sarah creates the illusion of space on the surface of the gallery’s walls with images that oscillate between flatness and infinite space.
Then it’s off to the reception of Brandon A. Dalmer’s Crisium where the second part of this 3-month exhibition – the completed project of Brandon’s five-week residency at the White Dwarf Gallery (343 11th Ave SW) – will be on display for public view and interaction. He’s created an escape-pod installation that acted as a home, studio, laboratory, outpost and observatory for its sole occupant and will be on display until June 22 with the reception also on May 24 at 8pm, so you get two good things at one time.
Then last but not least is their weekend workshop for all ages and levels – Plastic Lenses! Lomography for the People!
Running May 25 and 26, Tekoa Predika will cover the basics of lomography, how to use these cameras, developing your film and making prints in the darkroom. Cameras can be provided, but bring one if you got one. The cost is $62 for members, $69 for non-members and they want you to register by May 21 to reserve your spot.
Registration can be completed at the gallery at 343 11th Ave SW, by email to info @ uascalgary.org or online here.

YYC Hosts National Jazz Summit
For the second year in a row, Calgary will be playing host to the best jazz Canada has to offer.
The National Jazz Summit will be held this week at the National Music Centre (134 11 Ave SE) and bring together musicians, educators and fans for a series of concerts and workshops.
On May 23 it all starts with Canadian Covers – a showcase of emerging and resident artists from The Banff Centre’s International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music followed by AJ Benoit and some Calgary’s best jazz musicians covering Canada’s greatest songwriters.
Friday, May 24 it’s The Big Show a concert with one of Canada’s most popular jazz vocalists, Denzal Sinclaire featuring a local rhythm section.
The Summit wraps on May 25 with daytime workshops, education sessions, interactive panels and mentoring opportunities.
“Providing mentorship and collaborative opportunities for emerging and established musicians is an important mandate of the National Jazz Summit,” says NMC Senior Manager of Programs, Candace Elder, in a statement. “We are proud to present and support professional development and performance opportunities which help Canadian talent grow personally and professionally as they develop their careers.”
For more information, workshop registration and tickets, visit NMC’s website here.

To Be or Not To Be: Hamlet Goes Improv
A tale of revenge, murder, deception and madness, we all know how the story of Hamlet goes. Or do we?
Join The Improv Guild this week for their limited run of Improv Hamlet: Making Tragedy Fun.
Yes. You read that right. It’s the first semi-scripted production in the history of the Improv Guild and they’ll be using the styles and techniques of improvisation as well as the words and themes of Shakespeare.
They’re calling it a part scripted, part improvised, part musical romp that is totally understandable to modern audiences.
And because it’s improv, no two performances will be alike.
Improv Hamlet: Making Tragedy Fun runs May 23 to 25 at 8pm and tickets are $10 or $5 for students.

UofC’s CONTRASTS Kicks Off
It’s a chamber music staple here in Calgary and has been so for the past nine years.
The University of Calgary’s annual CONTRASTS festival starts this week and the 2013 event will feature the Land’s End Chamber Ensemble, a Allan Gordon Bell CD release, Kiwanis Rose Bowl winners and more.
Running May 24, 29, 31 and June 7 at the Eckhardt-Gramatté Concert Hall in the Rozsa Centre, each concert will feature a diverse musical style – classical, folk, and new music – with a centerpiece performance dedicated to one of Canada’s most noted composers and UofC prof, Allan Gordon Bell. Gravity and Grace runs on Friday, May 24 and will also commemorate Bell’s 60th birthday.
All performances start at 8pm in the Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall, Rozsa Centre. Tickets for May 29, 31 and June 7 are $12 and tickets for May 24 are $20. Festival passes can also be purchased at the door and are $30. All the details and dates can be found here.

Central Memorial Presents Thoroughly Modern Millie
Looking for a great production that won’t break the bank?
Well, head down to Central Memorial High School (5111 21 Street SW) this week for their spring production Thoroughly Modern Millie running May 21 to 25.
Presented by the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts at Central Memorial High School, the play is an adaptation of the 1967 film that focuses on a naive young woman who tries to reinvent herself to marry her wealthy boss.
All the details can be found here.

Titus Andronicus, Winter’s Tale Announced from The Shakespeare Company
Titus Andronicus – it’s Shakespeare’s darkest, bloodiest, nastiest play. It also happens to be my fave and it’s coming to a Calgary stage in the near future.
The Shakespeare Company announced their 2013/14 season last week with Titus leading the pack, running September 20 to October 6.
A co-production between Hit and Myth and Ground Zero Theatre, the story follows Titus Andronicus as he returns victorious from a horrific war with the Goths. Along with him come his captives, Queen Tamora, her lover Aaron, and three sons, the eldest of whom is sacrificed. What follows is dark and disturbing as murder, mutilation and cannibalism run amok.
Then, on a slightly lighter note, The Winter’s Tale runs February 5 to 15 in conjunction with the Mount Royal University Theatre Department.
King Leontes suspects his wife Hermione has been unfaithful. So he puts her on trial for her life. But she’s pregnant and he comes to his senses when he loses his wife and children. True love works wonders in this drama and ends in “one of the most moving reunions in all of Shakespeare.”
The season then ends with a laugh as Twelfth Night runs May 15 to 25, 2014.
Shipwrecked, Viola disguises herself as a man, enters the service of Duke Orsino and hilarious love triangle of unrequited love forms.
Want to find out more? Check out their awesome announcement video below and get ready for a powerhouse year of Shakespeare.

Video by The Shakespeare Company via YouTube

Secret Cinema Hits An Outdoor Screen Near You
Do you miss the days of celluloid? Then head out this summer to a free Secret Cinema screening near you.
All the films shown are from their 16mm library and include classics, auteur films, animations and documentaries. The catch – you won’t know what you’re seeing until you see it. The night’s guest curator chooses all films and it’s kept a closely guarded secret.
And the first is this Tuesday, May 21 and is curated by Kyle Whitehead. The series runs all summer in the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers’ back courtyard (223 12th Ave SW) and shows start at sundown. Showings are free as is the popcorn and Village Brewery will be on hand selling tasty beers. Sounds like a great date night to me.

Do you have something awesome coming up and want to be part of the Calgary Arts Round Up? Drop me a line at amy @ calgaryisawesome.com!

The first thing I noticed upon arriving at my table for Stage West’s current production of Chicago wasn’t the aroma of the mouthwatering buffet or the interesting people around me.

No. It was the stage.

An arch of metal, bars and dramatic lights. It was so captivating even my husband took notice.

“Isn’t that cool,” he commented. “I wonder how they built it.”

After attending countless plays as my “plus one” this was the first time he ever commented on the set design. And he was fascinated. All through dinner he kept looking at it, making remarks about the design, the colour and the like.

Even at intermission, after the show stopping numbers of All That Jazz, Cell Block Tango and We Both Reached for the Gun he was still in awe.

DYNAMIC FRAME: The intriguing set design adds and frames the action in Stage West’s production of Chicago, especially in the Cell Block Tango where the performers dance with moving prison bars – a mesmerizing feat.
Photo courtesy of Stage West Calgary

Chicago itself is of course a famous piece – Tony winning, Oliver Award winning, Oscar winning – and was the show I was most looking forward to for the season. Loosely based on two murder cases that captured media attention in the 1920s, we meet Velma Kelly (Andrea Wingelaar) and Roxie Hart (Marisa McIntyre), two murderesses who hire fast talking PR machine Billy Flynn (played by Matt Cassidy) to get them acquitted.

The performances, for the most part, were spot on. Especially Marisa McIntyre’s Roxie who was spookily realistic as a marionette in We Both Reached for the Gun and Ed Sahely’s Amos who collectively stole the audience’s heart in Mister Cellophane (I seriously wanted to hug him and tell him it would be alright).

Even as I sit here writing I can’t help but hum along to the songs I mentioned – a good sign of a great musical. But amazing still, I keep thinking about the awesome set weeks later.

RAZZLE DAZZLE EM: Marisa McIntyre plays Roxie to Matt Cassidy’s Billy Flynn in the awe-inspiring press conference number, We Both Reached for the Gun (Top) and Andrea Wingelaar wows as Velma Kelly in All That Jazz (Bottom).
Photos courtesy of Stage West Calgary

Given that there have been rumblings that the razzle dazzle set design is a contender for a Betty Mitchel Award, I decided to find out more.

Enter Set Designer Terry Gunvordahl.

“I’m flattered by the reaction to the design and am proud of the way it looks and works for the show,” he said. “If it gets an award, great but I don’t need one to be happy with it.”

Comprised of what look like three arched steel girders and moving sets of prison bars, the set is dynamic, interesting and very well suited to the subject of a prison musical. Constructed by Darryl Blinn and Sean Ellis, it feels gritty, and the epic paint job by Shane Ellis makes it look realistic, like you’re in a prison, under an overpass.

“Every show relies on so many people to bring it to the stage and this one is no exception,” said Terry. “When I showed the design to Sean Ellis, he showed it to the painter Shane who said, ‘it’s nice that it’s all grey but what if…‘

He took the truss work, covered it with newspaper and made a texture like no other.

“It took a lot of work but it added a wonderful layer of texture to the design and most importantly a layer that reflected the story which is what every good design does,” explained Terry. “And of course I had to trust in Ian Martens to light the design dramatically and still light a vaudeville musical. But I gave him lit up rivets on the truss which he’d never used before.”

With the large cast – 18 strong – and the small size of the stage – made even smaller with a live four-piece band tucked away in the back, the flexibility of the set is a feat to behold.

“Designing anything on the Stage West stage is a challenge – sometimes a good one, sometimes not so good,” said Terry. “Usually you have to make the limitations work for you not against you.   Chicago often has the orchestra on an elevated platform above the playing space but that obviously is not possible in Calgary. It was important for me to have the band onstage but to control how much we see of them, like I did with Summer in the City.”

Being a fast-paced musical, with lots of high kicks, some aerobatics and a bit of circus thrown in for good measure, the design had to work around the performers without hindering them.

“The other thing about this production of Chicago was that it was about dance and Philip’s choreography needed a dramatic space to play itself out,” he said. “I wanted to create a space that could go from being pretty down and dirty (trusses based on the Chicago ‘El’ – the elevated train system) to being a sparkling vaudeville performance space.  I wanted it to reach into the audience but also to frame the action.”

In the end, even after the days of humming and bursting out into song had past, the beautiful and dynamic set remains foremost in my mind. And given how good the show was, that’s saying something.

Chicago runs until June 23 at Stage West Calgary.

Video courtesy of Stage West Calgary via YouTube

 
Jody MacPherson loves living in Marda Loop, working for the City of Calgary and taking photos

     Have an interesting or unique photo of Calgary? Share your photos on our Facebook page or Flickr account and you may see your photo In Focus.

Blip. Bloop. Bleep. These are the sounds that greet you as you enter Dick & Janes. A Tetris arcade machine isn’t what you would normally expect inside a clothing store, but in D&J’s, it works. This charming boutique on 17^th Avenue is the lesser known sister of rockabilly fave Blame Betty, but has just as much spunk and moxie. Offering fresh and modern clothing and accessory alternatives, you can find anything from colored jeggings to lomography cameras to rabbit ear picture frames. “The Dashboard Jesus figure is really popular,” says Megan Erickson, social media and store manager for Dick & Janes. “People like to buy them to put in the car2gos to share with others.” Now that’s just awesome.

In general, the whole store is an awesome utopia. In every nook and cranny are colourful dresses, tops and other fashion finds (and stuff for the guys too). There are also endless knick knacks to choose from too. “We like to sell things we enjoy and that we also think our customers will enjoy such as quirky items like Mac-n-Cheese band-aids. We like things that make people laugh and are functional too so you’re getting your money’s worth,” says Megan.

Offering unique clothing items is also a priority for the retailer. The store deals in reworked vintage with an amazing collection of Mad Men-esque dresses available in a variety of patterns and styles. If you’re looking for something premade, flattering on all shapes and one-of-a-kind, then these reworked dresses are for you. It also means reusing and recycling materials which is a bonus too.

Being on 17^th Avenue is both a blessing and burden for the small business. “Being on 17^th is awesome. You get to know all the other business owners and you get to know the people who live around here. It’s really just a great place to shop and people-watch,” says Megan. But the store still has it tough trying to beat out larger chains and luring people from the malls. “We do sell similar things like an Urban Outfitters, so that makes it tough. We like to keep our prices low for our customers so hopefully they can appreciate shopping local instead.”

Part of D&J’s rising success lies in their social media strategy. Every day they post a new product on their Facebook page and give their fans a chance to win a gift certificate to the store. That’s 365 prizes handed out with hundreds of entries on a daily basis. Megan will actually count all the entries that come in to randomly pick a winner each day – talk about tedious! But it’s all about keeping the customer happy. “We just really love our customers. Corie [the owner] makes it really known to all staff that they are the number one priority. She just wants to give and that’s how the Facebook contests got started. We like to have fun with our customers,” says Megan.

If you want to get in on the fun too, hop down to Dick & Janes at 831 17 Avenue SW or visit them on their Facebook page to shop and place your orders with them.

You remember, right? Back in the day, before Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. We’d all go to a place and there’d be all this entertainment and it was all for a good cause? Well my friends, lets all go back to the halcyon days of 2011. This Sunday local artist Rik van Dyke is throwing a ‘Rockstarter’ with the hopes of raising money to fund his film making. There will be food, 8 bands in both theatres and an art auction. I spoke to Rik earlier this week to tell me what he has planned for the proceeds.

Tell me a bit about the movie you’re hoping to help fund with this event.

I am trying to raise the funds to shoot a pair of pro-level movie shorts each being approximately 2.5 minutes long. a double-feature if you will, one historical, the other urban, both combined to be five minutes of screen time. The first movie is called “Black Mantis”, a Kung Fu period piece highlighting the art of Praying Mantis Kung Fu. The second film is called “Bad Blood” and it’s a contemporary Rock and Roll Revenge film.

You’re putting on an old fashion fundraiser. Will you think about starting an online campaign in the future with IndieGoGo or a similar site?

Depending on how the fundraiser goes, I may very well continue onto IndieGoGo to complete my financial goal of $5000.

What about Calgary will benefit you in filming?

The local talent and locations in the Calgary area will be highlighted in both films which have been written with both in mind.

Rik is hoping to make these films as a way to take himself to the next level as a film maker. The evening kicks off at 7 p.m. on Sunday (May 19th) at the Globe Theatre downtown. The line-up is impressive with local favourites like the Cripple Creek Fairies, epic video game rock from THWOMP and the Outlaws of Ravenhurst to name a few. Tickets for the Rockstarter are $15 and you can get them online or at the door. Click here for more details.

I hear it a lot. “Calgary has no history,” they say. And they say it with conviction. Locals and visitors and transplants and émigrés.

How does a proud Calgarian respond? “Sure we do.” I’ll say, “You just need to look around.”

Calgary’s got a pretty awesome backstory. One-of-a-kind. It seems almost like an underdog story. Like we had to beat the odds just to be here.

Imagine coming here in the 1870s. Long before Alberta became a province. A century before +15s. Before health care and hospitals. It would take a cowboy kind of attitude to stick it out.

The first Calgarians were hard-ass people. They were innovators and entrepreneurs. Adventurers like Sam Livingston, the plucky Irish gold prospector who settled on the banks of the Elbow in 1876. He introduced new farming technologies to tame the frontier, and fought for his rights as a settler. Soldiers like Colonel MacLeod, who brought law and order to the West and gave Fort Calgary its name. And whisky traders like D.W. Davis, who gave up his illicit sales to become a respected cattle rancher and part-owner of the Calgary Herald. They all left their mark.

And there’s so many more. They struggled, survived and thrived here. They built a city from nothing. When it burned in 1886, they built it again. Names like Weadick, Deerfoot and Lougheed. Bad Black White Man, the Sundance Kid and the Hitman. The Big Four and the Famous Five. The CPR and the HBC built the 403. The YYC.

Calgary’s got plenty of history. It’s in the buildings, the streets, the parks and landmarks. Everywhere you go, someone went there before and left a story. You just need to look around.

Every Second Thursday of every month, there’s a crowd that gathers on the second floor of Pages Books on Kensington. If you walked in from the street you almost wouldn’t notice the crowd gathered upstairs and assume it’s a community meeting over some subject matter you couldn’t be concerned about.

That is until you decide to satisfy the inexplicable curiosity that overcomes you and you decide to walk upstairs to join the seated crowd, plugged in, listening to a reader reciting from their pages.

Welcome to a Flywheel reading. It’s a free event hosted by filling Station magazine. This reading series has been going on for almost 10 years since November 2003. It’s brought writers from various backgrounds and disciplines to Calgary’s cultural scene. For me, discovering the Flywheel more than two years ago made me grow as writer and connect with Calgary’s writing community. It also allowed me a way to discover local talent.

When I caught up with Flywheel’s organizer Natalie Simpson, I asked her what attending the flywheel meant for her as a host, organizer, and writer.

NS: “I think it’s always good for any writer to listen to other writers read their work. You can learn so much about phrasing, style, and performance. Attending flywheel readings has definitely improved my writing. And I love organizing and hosting flywheel readings, because I get to meet so many different writers. After each flywheel, the readers and many of the audience members will go out for a drink and talk about writing and reading. It’s great for writers to build that kind of community.”

The Flywheel is also a great way to expand the home library and discover great work from local YYC writers. According to Natalie, the Flywheel has featured writers from all backgrounds and disciplines: creative writing students, professors, writers-in-residence, artists, and musicians. I asked her if she could note some of the Flywheel’s previous famous readers.

NS: “Just looking back over the past year or so: we have featured many Calgary writers such as Naomi K. Lewis, Rachel Zolf, Weyman Chan, Theanna Bischoff, Diane Guichon, and Jason Christie.”

But the Flywheel isn’t limited to one specific community. It benefits other communities as well.

NS. “Anyone who is interested in learning more about Calgary writers and about the Canadian literary scene should attend. Anyone who wants to find out about good books and hear authors read their own work. Anyone who thinks they might like to spend part of their evening in a bookstore and then head to the bar for engaging conversations with other literary enthusiasts should definitely attend!”

She’s right, Flywheel doesn’t end when Pages Books closes its store, it continues at the neighboring Kensington pubs where everyone meets up for a pint or two where feature readers get a chance to connect with anyone who attended. Natalie is hopeful and sees the Flywheel remaining strong in the future.

“Recently we’ve started bringing in writers from other cities for our readings, with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. We want flywheel readings to be great opportunities for Calgary audiences to be exposed to writers from other communities, and to show off our talented Calgary writers to visiting readers. We’re hoping to continue to provide diverse, engaging readings featuring published authors from other cities, successful Calgary writers, and emerging local writers.”

To find out more about the Flywheel join their group page , or email flywheel@fillingstation.ca to join the mailing list. The next Flywheel is on June 13.

Photo credit: Mike B on Yelp.ca

There’s a long weekend on the horizon and your mind is floating to all of the things you could be doing with that extra time off… well hang on just a minute and read over a few of our Awesome Events before you go finalizing your plans!

Calgary Street Food Festival… Friday

Featuring 12 food trucks and Kingsland food vendors serving up the latest and greatest in street food from all over the world, this is an event you won’t want to miss. The food trucks will be serving special under-$5 foods as well as their traditional menu items. The event will feature music, entertainment, prizes and celebrity judges who will pick Calgary’s best street food. Read more details>>>

The Fifth Reel: Back To The Future – 50s Prom Party Feat 36?… Friday

Do you miss the days of high school dances where you swayed with your hunny under bright lights with lust and spiked punch in your stomach? how about the warm sensibilities of 1950′s Americana? well we’re doing both of those things with a screening of the legendary BACK TO THE FUTURE along with a 50′s PROM PARTY!! Read more details>>>

Diabetes Clothesline Fill A Truck Event… Saturday

Happening at three different Calgary locations, it’s a Great chance to do your spring cleaning and help a worthy cause by dropping off donations of clothing and small household items. Be entered for your chance to win many prizes including a trip for 2 to London, England! Read more details>>>

Serbian Festival 2013… Saturday & Sunday

This spectacular event will feature a broad entertainment program showcasing some of the best cultural displays that the Serbian community has to offer. Don’t know what Serbian culture is? Come out and join us for some fabulous homemade Serbian food, cultural exhibits, sports competitions, and much more. Read more details>>>

Otafest 2013… Friday-Sunday

Otafest is a Calgary based nonprofit organization promoting of Japanese art, culture, and media in the Canadian community, and our organization rests firmly on the spirit of community collaboration and volunteerism. Celebrate the 15th annual Otafest at the University of Calgary with gaming events, pin trading, Cosplay battles and even Otafest Idol! Read more details>>>

Looking for more awesome events? Check out our community events calendar!