More to Calgary than the Stampede
City’s changing scene offers everything from roasted carrots to African masks for sale
CALGARY — You know about the Calgary Stampede (calgarystampede.com) — the world’s greatest outdoor show will be held July 8-17 this year and is one humdinger of a party — yet there’s plenty more to like in this city.
Here are five great things to try in Calgary (visitcalgary.com):
Music memories
The new National Music Centre (nmc.ca), in the Studio Bell building in the hip East Village, is slated to open in July and is a beauty. The exterior surface is designed to resemble Alberta grain waving in the wind. Inside, you’ll find interactive music spots, live music venues, the Rolling Stones’ former mobile studio (apparently discovered in a field in upstate New York) and tributes to everyone from Neil Young to Drake. For live music, check out the Ironwood Stage and Grill (ironwoodstage.ca) in the Inglewood area or Wine-Ohs (wine-ohs.com), which plays host to a number of acts, ranging from jazzy to folk.
Food and drink
Oh, how things have changed. During my recent visit, I found more attention paid to roasted heirloom carrots than to meat and potatoes. Native Tongues Taqueria (nativetongues.ca) served the tastiest of the bunch, not-too-soft carrots topped with Mexican cheese and a dollop of spice. Ten Foot Henry (tenfoothenry.com) is a fun, new spot that also emphasizes veggies and fresh, local food, and Shokunin (shokuninyyc.ca) might be the coolest spot in Calgary, with fabulously inventive cuisine such as scallops roasted on a charcoal fire at your table.
Craft beer fans should try local products from The Dandy Brewing Co. (thedandybrewingcompany. and Toolshed (toolshedbrewing.com), while lovers of spirits should hightail it to nearby Eau Claire Distillers (eauclairedistillery.ca) to try their smooth vodka and just-right gin.
Culture to spare
The Glenbow Museum (glenbow.org/ index.cfm) is a wonderful collection, with displays on everything from aboriginal culture and cowboys to women pioneers. The museum also features samurai swords, lovely Canadian landscape paintings and shining armour. Folks who take a behindthe-scenes tour might get to see a pair of Queen Victoria’s billowing underpants, which she, for reasons unknown, donated to her butler.
The Esker Foundation (eskerfoundation.com) is an airy facility in the Inglewood area and features rising stars on the Canadian and Alberta arts scene.
Neighbourhoods
East Village is a trendy spot with wonderful riverside parks, loft-style condos and cool architecture. The restored Simmons Building features not only Charbar (charbar.ca), which serves up great pizza and a healthy vegetable ceviche, but also Sidewalk Citizen bakery (sidewalkcitizenbakery.com) and Phil & Sebastian, (philsebastian.com) an ultra-trendy coffee spot.
Nearby Inglewood features pedestrianfriendly streets and beautiful shops, such as Knifewear, where you’ll find handmade knives from Japan that can slice even the mushiest tomato. (knifewear.com). Kensington is a great area just northwest of downtown, with shops selling everything from bikes to women’s clothes to African masks.
Hit the heights
The Calgary Tower is downtown and will give you a good sense of the city, with great views of the Bow River, Stampede Grounds and the rising skyscrapers in the city centre.
You also can try the luge or bobsled runs at the Winter Park Institute (winsport.ca), site of some of the events at the 1988 Olympics. They even have summer luge and bobsled, as well as mountain biking and a zip line.