As a group, Calgarians are as diverse as they come. But at this moment in time, we are of one mind. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Alberta
The situation in Calgary just keeps getting worse…
I’ve been glued to the television and Twitter for the last 18 hours because my beloved city (and a large portion of Alberta) is in the middle of a major natural disaster. The flooding we’re experiencing is unprecedented, and close to 75,000 people have been displaced in Calgary alone.
You know the situation is dire when the fire department is using motorboats on city streets to rescue evacuees:
Roxboro in Calgary, Alberta – June 21, 2013
All Hat and No Cowboy
If you are anywhere near Calgary, Alberta right now you can’t help but be keenly aware that the Stampede is officially underway. Bales of hay dot nearly every doorway, red and white flags hang from most lampposts, fireworks dance in the sky each night, and C-Trains are being sullied by overindulgent partiers who can’t hold their booze.
If all those signs weren’t enough, the endless sea of cowboy-hatted heads should have given it away.
As someone who grew up in rural Alberta and has only missed attending the Stampede once (I was living in Australia! Get over it!), I can spot a wannabe cowboy from a country mile away. But advances in cowboy hat technology and denim fading techniques have made this much more difficult to do in recent years. Sigh.
Rather than forcing a potential cowboy to display their calf roping skills as evidence, here’s a short checklist that will help you spot those wannabes who are all hat and no cowboy: Continue reading
Free Flapjacks for Days
They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Since I’m not one to argue with people I don’t know (road rage doesn’t count in this instance), I’ll let them have that one. You can, however, get any number of free breakfasts if you follow a few simple rules. Here’s how it’s done: Continue reading
A Town by Any Other Name…
Have you ever said a word one too many times in a row, and it totally lost all meaning? Meaning. Meeening. MeNING. Miiiinuuunggg. Ugh.
It’s jarring when that happens because you sort of lose the run of yourself for a second. The familiar word becomes foreign, your tongue seems to have a mind of its own, and your brain suddenly switches to a language you don’t know. You know what I mean?
It’s also unnerving when you really think about a word you’ve mindlessly repeated for years. For instance, have you every really thought about the name of the place you grew up? I mean really thought about it? On the one hand, the name means so much more than the actual word. But on the other hand the word is really quite meaningless, right? Weird.
I’m pondering this random topic because of a great post I recently stumbled on that takes Saskatchewan town names and turns them into a story. That doesn’t really make much sense without some context, so you should probably take a few minutes to read Shanomi’s “A Prairie Thing” post for yourself before I continue…
Okay, now that you’ve done the assigned homework, I must say that Shanomi’s post has me thinking about my home province of Alberta in a totally different way. While some of the town names I grew up around have always sounded ridiculous (Lacombe, for example, never fails to bring to mind a French hairdresser’s tools), her post really made me think about all the towns I’m most familiar with. So, in the spirit of Shanomi’s post, allow me to introduce a few of Alberta’s unique places.
Stormtroopers Gone Wild
It’s hard to tell what will or won’t go viral, isn’t it? While one “cute kitten unravelling toilet paper” video gets millions of hits on YouTube, others that are nearly identical fail to attract a viewer count in the double digits.
I think any video that has a Stormtrooper doing the limbo with a lightsaber can’t help but go viral. The University of Lethbridge students who created it deserve every minute of Internet fame they get…plus an A+ from their professor! Check it out for yourself and see if you agree:
100 Facts About The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth
Generally speaking, Calgary is regarded as being a conservative city -both politically and socially. But all of that changes come July when we roll out the hay bales, dust off our cowboy hats, and get down to the serious business of partying Stampede-style.
The Calgary Stampede, also known as the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, is a 10 day annual event that celebrates Alberta’s western heritage and pioneer spirit. In the past 99 years, millions of people from around the globe have converged on the Stampede Grounds to take part in this world-class festival. From mini donuts and calf roping, to fireworks and line dancing, there’s something to suit everyone’s taste at the Stampede.
The 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede will be taking place less than 100 days from now, and this year’s celebration promises to be the best one yet. As a Calgarian who looks forward to the event all year long, I thought I’d help get you into the Stampede spirit by posting 100 things you might not know about Calgary’s most beloved cultural institution. By the end of the list you should be craving mini donuts (see #86) and planning where your new five foot tall pink teddy bear will live (see #66). Yahoo!
Cultural Quirks 