Temperatures may have dipped down to -30 this past week, but that is no reason for YPs not to get out and take advantage of all the great things happening this weekend.
With High Performance Rodeo in full swing, the second installment of Friday Night at the Rodeo will be taking place throughout the city’s downtown featuring four shows. Ff you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you can add a fifth by spending the afternoon at Glenbow Museum for The Gray Rabbit.
Here’s the itinerary:
4pm – Year of the Dragon +15 Art Parade – A multicultural celebration of the Chinese New Year.
6:10pm – The Ugly One – A scalpel-sharp dark comedy about society’s obsession with beauty.
8pm – Here to Stay – A wildly theatrical contemporary dance inspired by the planet’s bodies of water.
9:30pm – Shadow of the Tower – A whole different series of wild performances in the Calgary Tower.
10:30pm – Hit the Laycraft Lounge for a nightcap!
Looking for something that will leave you in awe and speechless? Check out the Epcor Centre’s Engineered Air Theatre (Doors 6:30 pm, performances at 7:30 pm) for the Soundasaurus Festival of Multimedia Sound Arts Friday event. Sometimes the boldest artistic gestures utilize mediums we thought we knew and reinvent them in an entirely new light. That’s exactly what British visual-arts duo Sculpture has done with their home-made zoetropic discs, slabs of vinyl illustrated with otherworldly patterns that they play at various speeds, which they film to simultaneously create cycles of analogue sound and looping imagery.
Animator Reuben Sutherland DJ’s the records, which he records via a combination of digital-video and 19th-century imaging technology. Meanwhile, electronic music producer Dan Hayhurst works a mass of archaic and cutting-edge sound machines, including found tapes, lo-fi electronics, computer sequencing, and analogue noise, through an array of tape loops, a digital sampler, cassette walkman and a CDJ deck.
Saturday, we suggest doing brunch a little different. Head to Ironwood Stage and Grill for Big Band Brunch. Dig into your favourite dish as you enjoy the renowned 20-piece Prime Time Big Band. On from noon to 3pm; reservations are recommended.
We also think you should visit the Glenbow Museum Saturday for a special screening of Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives of the Alberta Tar Sands. The documentary film made its North American debut at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival and has since gone on to screen at the Museum of Modern Art, the Vancouver International Film Festival, Festival du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal and other film festivals around the world.
This documentary film is showing in conjunction with Edward Burtynsky’s newest exhibition, Encounters. It features photographic subjects that are rich in detail and scale, yet open in their meaning. He has referred to his images as reflecting pools of our times, creating opportunities for viewers to create their own dialogue about humanity’s impact on the landscapes he photographs. In Encounters, work by Burtynsky has been selected by over 20 Canadians, representing diverse views and life perspectives each bringing their own meaning to the artist’s work.
After the screening, stay and partake in Glenbow’s winter season Launch Party at 6pm. Join other young professionals in celebrating the openings The Gray Rabbit, Encoutners and 1n40rmat10n by IAIN BAXTER&. This launch party includes some of the best in Canadian art by national and international artists and stunning performances by some of Canada’s most celebrated musicians and performers including, Dan Vacon, Jennie Vallis and DJ Matt Bayliff.
Another great option is the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, which will be featuring the works of Tchaikovsky this weekend. Tchaikovsky’s influence on the musical world was revolutionary, shaping the music of his time like no other. This concert celebrates some of his greatest works alongside works by the contemporaries he inspired.
Sunday is another brunch that will have you breaking away from your favourite breakfast spots. With the kind of temperatures we are experiencing, we suggest heading to Los Chilitos (1309 17th Ave SW). They now offer Mexican brunch Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-3pm. We suggest the Beef Fajita Omelette or Breakfast Enchilada. We guarantee you’ll be dreaming of sandy beaches and mariachi bands.
As true Canadians, we love our outdoor pursuits so we suggest catching up on some of the best and most exciting films from the 2011 Banff Mountain Film Festival during the The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Calgary. The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival has been showcasing a selection of films from around the world during a nine-day festival that has taken place annually in Banff for over 30 years.