What is there to do in this city?

[Clever_Iggy]

Originally Posted by SarichFan

Year round hiking? It's definetely possible. But Do I really want to go hiking in sub zero temps? No thanks.

That's just me though.. I get no buzz out of cold weather unless i'm on an outdoor rink.

Try hiking in the summer in Phoenix. Lived there and tried it - it's as uncomfortable and more dangerous than hiking in subzero temperatures.

I found, living in Arizona, that the months from late-April to early-October was almost as debilitating as winters in Calgary. Instead of making your way from your heated house to your heated car to your heated office/bar/etc... youre running from air conditioned place to air conditioned place.

As for Calgary's culture - I've lived in a lot of different places. Calgary is middle of the road - not spectacular but not horrible.

[Claeren]

Originally Posted by SarichFan

Not saying there's no culture in Calgary,

That is exactly what you insinuated with your first post, and why people reacted to it.

If you had simply said Calgary has less culture then Paris no one have argued that. How could they? Paris has a metro population of ~12M people, a CITY GDP of ~628 Billion USD (Canada as a whole is ~1178 Billion CDN), has tourist receipts last year in excess of $200 Billion USD, and has tourists sites that alone atract visitor counts close to the entire population of Canada.

Despite all that I know plenty of people who are happy to give the entire city a pass after the first visit.


The point is not whether Calgary has world class culture or entertainment, the point is whether we have enough to keep a person busy at night - and we most certainly do.


As for Calgary's Central Business District being dead after hours, New York City's Central Business District is dead after hours too - not sure it means anything. Calgary has some of Canada's (and North America's) largest office blocks despite our lower total population, so in essence your metric punishes us for overperforming in business development as opposed to meaningfully measuring culture in the city.




Claeren.

[Superflyer]

Wow interesting to see how there are two total diffrent points of view on this topic. Goes all the way from there is nothing to do to there is tons to do. I guess that you just have to look for things to do and it also depends on what you want to do and what you find interesting.

I can also agree that compaired to other cities is not really a great comparison, comparing the events at the Jack or Jube to the ones on Broadway is like comparising the Oilers and Flames, it is just not fair.

So I guess my next question is where do you people that say there is lots to do find what is going on. It is like I said I am married with two kids so I don't get to have nights out alot so I don't spend a lot of time looking what to do.

[Claeren]

Swerve Magazine is a good start (Friday Calgary Herald supplement), along with their Entertainment Section.

A lot of the Free Daily's in the city are also good sources.


Word of mouth though is where i usually start, which means building networks with people who like to go out as opposed ot those who stay in. Only makes sense that if you are surrounded by people who nest all weekend at home that you will too...


Claeren.

[MelBridgeman]

There are lots of things to do in the city of calgary depending on your interests....

1. Canada Olympic Park - lots of activities to keep you busy for the day
2. Heritage Park
3. Glenbow Museum
4. Calgary Tower
5. Devonian Gardens - indoor tropics
6. Calgary's unique +15 system - go explore it
7. Nose Hill Park
8. Wave Pools and Leisure Centers
9. 100's of KM of bike trails
10. River rafting
11. Calgary Zoo - world class
12. Fort Calgary
13. Telus World of Science
14. Eau Claire Market
15. Fish Creek Park
16. Lots of golf courses
17. Stephen Avenue
18. Chinese Cultural Center
19. Fire Fighters Museum
20. Museum of Regiments
21. Olympic Plaza
22. Calaway Park
23. Olympic Oval
24. Inglewood Bird Sanctary
25. Lindsay Park
26. Aero Space Museum
27. The Red MIle
28. Stampede Grounds
29. Lots of theatre houses
30. Lots of art galleries
31. Naval Museum of Alberta
32. Kart World
33. Spruce Meadows
34. Rothney Astrophysical Observatory
35. Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park
36. Buzzards Cowboy Cuisine
37. Good night life, especially compared to Vancouver
39. Rocky Mountaineer
40. Downtown skyline - one of the best in North America
41. Calgary Flames
42. Calgary Stampeders
43. Lougheed House
44. Bow River Fishing
45. Weaslehead
46. Beaver Damn Flats
47. Casinos
48. Northern Lights

Outside the City
Vulcan!
Red Rock Coulee
Museum of Miniatures
Hoodoos
Funland Amusement Park
HorseThief Canyon
Yorkshire Pot - deepest cave in Canada!
Royal Tyrrell Musuem
Banff National Park
Waterton
Frank Slide
Enchanted Forest
Columbia Icefields
Kananaskis Park
Dinoursaur Provincial Park (Badlands)
Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump
West Edmonton Mall
Sylvan Lake
Shuswap
The Wet Coast Drive


Lots of things to do depending on your tastes. Lakes, Rivers, Camping, Adventures, Historical sites etc..

[Superflyer]

Mel, that is a hell of a list but how many of those would you do more then once. Sure there are places like the Zoo and science center where I have family passes but most of them I would go to or have gone to them and then go that was neat and then forget it.
But yea hell of a list and some that I have never thought of.

[moon]

Originally Posted by SarichFan

Now Calgary to Paris? It makes Calgary look like Kamsack Saskatchewan

Culture or no culture I would rather spend 100 years in a Kamsack Saskatchewan, or any other made up small town, than spend 5 minutes in crap hole like Paris.

Its been covered before but I will say it again, having traveled all over the world there is nothing more overrated than culture and certainly nothing more overrated than BS culture that places like Vancouver are supposed to have.

This culture thread seems to pop up like driving, global warming and Tanguay-Juice threads lately.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by moon

Culture or no culture I would rather spend 100 years in a Kamsack Saskatchewan, or any other made up small town, than spend 5 minutes in crap hole like Paris.

Its been covered before but I will say it again, having traveled all over the world there is nothing more overrated than culture and certainly nothing more overrated than BS culture that places like Vancouver are supposed to have.

This culture thread seems to pop up like driving, global warming and Tanguay-Juice threads lately.

I agree, i split most of my time between Vancouver/Calgary thanks to work and i am still trying to figure what to do in Vancouver as much as in Calgary....weather plays a huge factor in both cities...

This no culture stuff..is strange...also who brings up a city like Paris that is was around a few hundred years before any city in North America

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by Superflyer

Mel, that is a hell of a list but how many of those would you do more then once. Sure there are places like the Zoo and science center where I have family passes but most of them I would go to or have gone to them and then go that was neat and then forget it.
But yea hell of a list and some that I have never thought of.

it would take most people years to get through that list and once they do, other things will pop up or you do some again, since it has been so long

also that can be said about just about every other city...how many times are going to the viewing deck of the empire state building, or how many times are you going to the science center in vancouver or the space needle in Seattle

[peter12]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

I agree, i split most of my time between Vancouver/Calgary thanks to work and i am still trying to figure what to do in Vancouver as much as in Calgary....weather plays a huge factor in both cities...

This no culture stuff..is strange...also who brings up a city like Paris that is was around a few hundred years before any city in North America

Like a 1000 years before most North American cities.

Yeah, I'm not really sure what Vancouver has that this city doesn't have. There are ALOT of hidden gems scattered around Calgary that most people are just too lazy to find.

Go to International Ave., dodge drug dealers and try to find some of the great ethnic restaurants of this city. There's a great El Salvadoran restaurant around that area.

[Muta]

I'm on the side that there's not much to do in this city, and I was born and bred here. That's why I've made every attempt after graduating from uni to get out and experience the rest of the world. I'm planning next on moving to either Tokyo or Sydney for a while and see what happens.

Calgary is an EXCELLENT place to raise a family, and is a good place to be living out of as kind of a 'home base' for travellers.

However, this city is getting bigger, and it'll become a cultural icon in time.

Watch for the Canadian National Art Gallery that could be built here in the near future. Calgary is one of the frontrunners for that project. I can't say much more about it at this point.

[KTown]

There is lots to do in this ciy but when you live somewhere for 3 - 5 years you'll usually get bored easier. I've been in Calgary for 7+ years, I love the city but there is less and less to do for me. That being said there is still lots to do.

[4X4]

What is "culture", anyway? This topic has been debated here before and it seems that people call "things to do" "culture".
BS. There are plenty of things to do around here. Somebody just listed a few dozen examples. So what is it that Calgary so sorely lacks? There are bars and pubs with indie type bands playing, there are historical sites, there is more nature surrounding Calgary than most cities in the world could ever dream for. There used to be an orchestra, but apparently not enough fans to support them. There is pro sports...

My main beef here is this misuse of the word 'culture'. I see people of every colour and race every day of the week. I hear languages spoken when standing in lines and I eat all kinds of foods.

Would you naysayers consider Rome as a city with 'culture'? I've got news for you... It's not much different from Calgary except that there are ruins and the buildings are way older.
There were festivals (Calgray has many festivals). There were concerts. There were pubs and bars...

I personally think that the usual suspects that complain that Calgary has no culture are just too blind to see taht we indeed do, you just don't appreciate it because you're used to it. You've 'been there, done that' and it's not fun for you anymore.
I got just as complacent after living in Rome for a year. I couldn't care less about some stupid 'festiva'.
I bet the people there look at Paris and say 'we need culture like that'.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by peter12

Go to International Ave., dodge drug dealers and try to find some of the great ethnic restaurants of this city. There's a great El Salvadoran restaurant around that area.

You can get great Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup) there too... Pho Dau Bo... soooooo goood.

[MacDougalbry]

http://www.calgarydowntown.com/events/index.php

http://www.calgaryarea.com/community...yeventspsa.asp


http://www.ticketmaster.ca/browse?ar...&type=selected


http://www.ticketmaster.ca/browse?ar...&type=selected

[Incinerator]

Originally Posted by SarichFan

Those that say Calgary has culture need to travel more...

Calgary does have culture, it's our western culture to drink drink and drink somemore, take a look around you and see all sorts of pubs and liquor store on every corner of every street in this town, and I'm sure I don't even have to mention the words "July" and "Stampede" to further reinforce my point. I've been to 6 out of 7 continents on this planet and I have yet to see more alcohol available per capita than Calgary, yes I'm counting the Brits & the Irish in there too.

[Incinerator]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

There are lots of things to do in the city of calgary depending on your interests....

Ladies and Gents, meet your CP resident Tourism Calgary rep, Mr. Mel Bridgeman

[CrispyGriz]

its been mentioned once already, but pick a FFWD newspaper. The are free and have so many ideas of what to do in terms of bands playing, unique shows being put on, what is happening at the theaters, and more. Worth their weight in gold.

[MacDougalbry]

Originally Posted by Incinerator

Calgary does have culture, it's our western culture to drink drink and drink somemore, take a look around you and see all sorts of pubs and liquor store on every corner of every street in this town, and I'm sure I don't even have to mention the words "July" and "Stampede" to further reinforce my point. I've been to 6 out of 7 continents on this planet and I have yet to see more alcohol available per capita than Calgary, yes I'm counting the Brits & the Irish in there too.

8.7 litres per person in Alberta, puts Alberta well behind most places. Perhaps your perspective is skewed by the fact that you live 7 minutes from the red mile. Also, I wouldn't say access is higher here... in most places in the world you can buy beer and/or wine in food stores.

Consumption globally:
http://www.finfacts.ie/Private/bestp...iceseurope.htm

Alberta cited here:
http://www.camh.net/Public_policy/Pu...rivadereg.html

[Dan02]

how about this

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayof...ons/index.html

University of Calgary
While light saber wars between students are routine at universities like Cal Tech and MIT, the University of Calgary lays claim to one of the largest collections of sci-fi material in the galaxy. When devoted sci-fi collector Bob Gibson died in 2001, his family had no idea what to do with his 30,000 piece collection - the boxes of books and magazines took up most of the house. His son, an alumnus of the University of Calgary, decided that the collection would be best preserved and shared by donating it to his alma mater. Thus, with the establishment of the Bob Gibson Collection of Speculative Fiction, the University of Calgary instantly became the home of one of the world's leading collections of science fiction.

If that doesn't scream culture i don't know what does