Calgary Weekender: January 25 through 27, 2013

Friday night is Billy Poppins – The 15 Annual Bill Brooks Prostate Cancer Benefit. The city’s most delightful host is back with his annual event, which is famous for being one of the best parties of the year. Join the city’s who’s who at Hotel Arts for a magical evening of sugar, song and spectacle. Enjoy a night of fantastic food, delectable drinks and electric entertainment as you support a great cause.

If you are interested in catching a show, check out This is What Happens Next (it’s playing from Jan 23 – Feb 3). Catch award-winning Canadian actor and playwright Daniel Maclvor’s newest work at the Epcor Centre?(215 – 8 Ave SE). This autobiographical fairytale fantasy is Maclvor’s one-man show, which explores addiction, divorce, Arthur Schopenhauer, “The Little Mermaid” and the life of John Denver. 

Or catch a showing of Schlachter – Tango, which is playing at Big Secret Theatre (225 8 Ave SE) from Jan 25 – Feb 1. Presented by One Yellow Rabbit, this is an epic story of human dignity in an era of brutal repression. In 1936 Ludwig M., a Jew, is arrested by the Gestapo for homosexuality and is sent to Buchenwald and Auschwitz. After the war, he struggles to acknowledge his persecution as a Jew, And in the 1950s, he pushes the expression of his homosexuality by opening the first gay bar in Hanover. Germany’s Theaterlabor brings us this compelling story about identity and human dignity, told through nightmarish and grotesque images, with documentary texts and stories that reflect the Zeitgeist of those years. 

For the food lovers, Saturday brings you CHARpopLuck. Taking place at the Calgary Farmers’ Market (510 77 Ave SE) at 7pm; watch regional and national chefs converge for a winter-time feast unlike any. Billed as the ultimate chefs’ collaboration, CHARpopLuck is equal measures potluck and pop-up restaurant fuelled by the CHARCUT crew and comrades who are devoted to bringing Calgarians together to celebrate creativity in the kitchen for the benefit of the Calgary Food Bank.

If you are interested in enjoying the great outdoors, then head to Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise for Heart & Stroke Ski for the Heart. Spend the weekend enjoying the luxurious Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, and cross-country ski around magical Lake Louise in Support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.