Calgary stag

[Bandwagon In Flames]

I want to emphasize that Banff is a much better idea and is well within that thousand dollar budget.

Pubs - Devils Gap. This place is pretty central and the ideal place to pre-drink. They sell all alcohol as cheap as you can legally sell in Alberta. 5 Jagerbombs for 15 bucks or half a litre of wine for 10 bucks for instance. Music isn't current but will take 30 year olds back down memory lane.

Live Music - Wild Bills. Haven't been here for live music before but they are always advertising local bands for Friday/Saturday nights. Also amazing selection of Caesars for your hangover needs.

Clubs - Dancing Sasquatch. I'm not much of a club guy myself but this club is good times even for your age group. You guys are getting old and will probably get tired and want to go to bed at 11pm. Order a Time Machine as it's probably as close as you can legally get to cocaine. 3 vodka shots in a giant mug of Rockstar energy drink. Don't exceed 1 of these, trust me.

Tubing - Norquay will probably have slush tubing during this time span. It's cheap, fun and good for a laugh.

Accommodations - Hidden Ridge Resort. There are some amazing resorts in Banff that offer accomodations for large groups. I recommend Hidden Ridge Resort so you can book 2 A-frame style condo's to fit everybody. If they know you are there for a stag party, your accomodations will be on the corner of the resort with other party condo's so you can party late without getting noise complaints. Very common to run into other stag and stagette parties too.

Strippers. We've ordered Calgary strippers for a stag party in Invermere before, so I'm sure they'll make the trip out to Banff as well. You can even order online!

[albertGQ]

Having a 3 night long stag in Calgary sounds boring for half the people (the ones that live in Calgary).

[dubc80]

Having an off-site stag (even 1 hr out of town) really changes the dynamic and energy of the group.

If it's in-town, you run the risk of guys who are worried about their wives/kids and other misc commitments which they may or may not have on Sunday. Looking at their watches, bailing out early, etc as home (and safety) is just a quick cab ride away.

Having it out of town eliminates all excuses. Just giv'er with everyone else.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by dubc80

Having an off-site stag (even 1 hr out of town) really changes the dynamic and energy of the group.

If it's in-town, you run the risk of guys who are worried about their wives/kids and other misc commitments which they may or may not have on Sunday. Looking at their watches, bailing out early, etc as home (and safety) is just a quick cab ride away.

Having it out of town eliminates all excuses. Just giv'er with everyone else.

Soooo... Red Deer.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

This group is a mix as usual, but at its core everyone enjoys live music, especially the groom. The live music is priority, the trip will be booked revolving around the best available concert.

I wouldn't say we are old and tired, but we are definitely older, and we get tired easy. 75% are north of 35 and married, just looking to get away from the kids for a few days and get drunk. There will be sluggish mornings and I doubt we make it very late. I also do know that this Groom hates Banff, but I do appreciate the suggestion.

A quick afternoon of research brought up a few ideas, gun range was one that came out of left field I really like. It would not be on his radar at all and would be a really fun idea for a group that big. Kills most of an afternoon, then head over to maybe Shanks after to get some food play some pool before heading out to the concert. I would prefer to have a big sit down supper one night for the boys those are always fun.

I'm going to chime in again here as I have some very strong opinions on stags, but feel free to ignore me.

My group is 35-39 right now and we've been to more than a few stags over the past decade. You guys might think you're older and tire easily, but don't underestimate the power of a good stag. As soon as the guys shed the kids and the wives, their endurance instantly goes through the roof. You're not going to notice this as much with your plan to have a nice little dinner, hit a pub, and maybe catch a band.

If I was going to that stag, I'd be home by 10 so I could watch a movie with my wife. None of that is appealing enough to keep me out late and I'm sure it'll be the same for most people in your group. Guys are going to start disappearing by 10 and the whole thing will be shut down by midnight.

You have to let the band thing go. Seeing live music with a large group doesn't enhance the music and it doesn't enhance the fun of hanging out. I'd say it impedes both, in fact. It doesn't matter that the groom likes live music. There is a time and a place for live music, but this is about getting the guys together for a party. I would be so annoyed if I drove six hours (assuming from Saskatoon) to end up at Dixens watching a too-loud band. I've been to those stags, and yes, they do end early. Because they suck. I don't understand why people do it.

If you're in charge of planning a stag, do a good job at least. You're off to a great start that the groom is liked enough that he can draw in people from all over and you have a big group of guys. I mean, I suppose it's possible that some guys just want to be lame, but I look at it as the responsibility of the cooler members of the group to drag the duds into the fun; don't let the duds dictate the fun.

For the last stag we were at in Banff we dressed the groom up in cut-off jeans, cowboy boots, and T-shirts we made with stupid sayings on the front in puffy glitter letters. We had weakened the threads on all the T-shirts so every so often we'd just rip his shirt off Hulk Hogan style and throw him a new one to put on. We also dyed his hair red and glued our pubic hair to his face to give him a foo-man-chu mustache. We also handed out business cards with a picture of him fellating himself (photoshopped). It just got worse from there, by the way.

We still talk about it to this day and that was a few years ago. And we laugh our heads off. The quantity of quality stories you can get out of a night like that are staggering.

That other stag where we went for steak at a restaurant I can't remember then to a generic pub I don't remember was the exact opposite of memorable. I wouldn't trade the good stories you can get out of a big night for anything. A stag is the one opportunity a married guy has to go completely off the rails. Don't neuter that fun; stoke the flames.

[East Coast Flame]

I am in the middle of organizing a Calgary stag for a buddy of mine at the moment. The majority of guys aren't from Calgary. Just 8 guys and they are crashing at my place in Sunalta. Our plan so far:

Friday Night
People are getting in at all different times so we are hunkering down at the Cowboys Casino and then eventually rolling into Cowboys.

Saturday
Renting a party bus to pick us up around 11
-Big Rock Brewery for a tour and lunch
-Doing an escape room
-The Zipline/Bobsled thing at COP
-Dinner at Charcut
-Bar hopping around downtown - ending at Broken City for 90's Hip Hop night

Sunday
Heading out to Cochrance for some paintball before everyone heads home.

Should be sweet!

You guys mentioned you are staying at Hotel Arts - I heard the pool parties there can be pretty fun. Look at getting at hunkering down there one afternoon.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by East Coast Flame

I am in the middle of organizing a Calgary stag for a buddy of mine at the moment. The majority of guys aren't from Calgary. Just 8 guys and they are crashing at my place in Sunalta. Our plan so far:

Friday Night
People are getting in at all different times so we are hunkering down at the Cowboys Casino and then eventually rolling into Cowboys.

Saturday
Renting a party bus to pick us up around 11
-Big Rock Brewery for a tour and lunch
-Doing an escape room
-The Zipline/Bobsled thing at COP
-Dinner at Charcut
-Bar hopping around downtown - ending at Broken City for 90's Hip Hop night

Sunday
Heading out to Cochrance for some paintball before everyone heads home.

Should be sweet!

You guys mentioned you are staying at Hotel Arts - I heard the pool parties there can be pretty fun. Look at getting at hunkering down there one afternoon.

I guess different strokes for different folks, but the bolded one is a head scratcher for me. I did that with my team at a corporate office one time. Nice, safe and boring - the perfect team building exercise when there are a bunch of middle-aged ladies in your group. For a stag, though? WTF.

Paintball in Cochrane will be awesome, but you're doing it in the wrong order. Paintball after a party night? Sounds like hell. You need to do that on the first day before the bars. The only thing (if anything) that should be planned for the day after the big party night is brunch. Full stop.

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Originally Posted by East Coast Flame

I am in the middle of organizing a Calgary stag for a buddy of mine at the moment. The majority of guys aren't from Calgary. Just 8 guys and they are crashing at my place in Sunalta. Our plan so far:

Friday Night
People are getting in at all different times so we are hunkering down at the Cowboys Casino and then eventually rolling into Cowboys.

Saturday
Renting a party bus to pick us up around 11
-Big Rock Brewery for a tour and lunch
-Doing an escape room
-The Zipline/Bobsled thing at COP
-Dinner at Charcut
-Bar hopping around downtown - ending at Broken City for 90's Hip Hop night

Sunday
Heading out to Cochrance for some paintball before everyone heads home.

Should be sweet!

You guys mentioned you are staying at Hotel Arts - I heard the pool parties there can be pretty fun. Look at getting at hunkering down there one afternoon.

I strongly advise against this unless you are 21 or under. Cowboys is 90% 18 year olds these days. Scratch that, 90% 16 year olds with fake IDs.

Also I'd do the brewery tour after the escape room. Not a good idea to drink a few beers and then be locked in a room with no toilet.

[polak]

Buy everyone Red Bulls, put MDMA in them and let the night take care of you.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by dubc80

Having an off-site stag (even 1 hr out of town) really changes the dynamic and energy of the group.

If it's in-town, you run the risk of guys who are worried about their wives/kids and other misc commitments which they may or may not have on Sunday. Looking at their watches, bailing out early, etc as home (and safety) is just a quick cab ride away.

Having it out of town eliminates all excuses. Just giv'er with everyone else.

This is all true, and there's one more thing it does. To the wives, they've wrapped their heads around the fact that you're not coming home that night and you're too far away to help, so they tend to leave all the guys the fata alone, too. Boom, party just got even better.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by Sliver

This is all true, and there's one more thing it does. To the wives, they've wrapped their heads around the fact that you're not coming home that night and you're too far away to help, so they tend to leave all the guys the fata alone, too. Boom, party just got even better.

This is valid. If you are in town, you are available.

[troutman]

We dressed the groom up in cut-off jeans, cowboy boots, and T-shirts we made with stupid sayings on the front in puffy glitter letters

I guess different strokes for different folks

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by troutman

We dressed the groom up in cut-off jeans, cowboy boots, and T-shirts we made with stupid sayings on the front in puffy glitter letters

I guess different strokes for different folks

I don't get a song-lyric reply? You're slipping dude.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by Bandwagon In Flames

Also I'd do the brewery tour after the escape room. Not a good idea to drink a few beers and then be locked in a room with no toilet.

I was just going to post this. Seriously, don't do it.

[rd_aaron]

For gambling, you could always consider doing the horse races out by CrossIron. You can bet on the horses, drink, gamble in the casino. It'll be a bit of a PITA to get to unless you do the party bus or something similar, though.

I sort of agree on the live music thing. 15 guys aren't going to have the same taste in music so a certain number of them are going to bored waiting for it to be over since it's usually too loud to talk to each other. MAYBE if you did it the first night before everyone rolled into town or something.

I think the escape room thing is a good idea for early in the day before everyone is too far into the sauce. It's a lot of fun, pretty cheap, a good ice breaker for the people who don't know each other, and is pretty flexible for amount of people you have (you'd have to probably book 2 or 3 different rooms but its totally doable).

[polak]

Since the Banff option is being pushed hard here, you could also golf either in Canmore or Banff.

Heads up on Dancing Sasquatch, bottle service is not worth it at all. The service is just as slow as the bar and the bottle service area is just as packed as every where else.

[albertGQ]

If I was OP, I would let Sliver plan this stag. He's got it right.

[GreenLantern]

A lot for me to go through here so I have to process it all but just wanted to say thanks for the replys, keep them coming.

It is hard for me to say No to the groom for this reason. Two years ago he co organized my stag to Boston for St. Paddys day, the one thing I really wanted to do was go watch Johnny Hockey play a playoff game for Boston College. Nobody else wanted to do this, it was a selfish move by me for sure but it was Johnny and the hype was real so I made up a jersey that he eventually signed, it was hands down the best memory I have of the stag (seems lame but it gave me one hell of a keep sake that brings back a flood of memories every time I look at it on my wall). Anyway, he was the guy who insisted I do it because I wanted to do it and this day was about me and this was the one time I can tell people F you, we're doing what I want to do.

I just want to repay that favor, and he loves live music, I love live music... he loooooovs live music. And the thing he loves more than live music? Seeing live music with his friends, standing in the back, drinking copious amounts of pints, doing shots and laughing at random sketch faces we talk to. So I know for a fact that one night will be his think about it and smile moment from the stag and IMO everyone else can buck up and deal with it for 2-3 hours, or stay home!

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

he is into the smaller Indie troutman like groups

Lol. I hope this becomes a thing. Indie Troutman like groups.

[GGG]

If your spending $1000-$1500 I think you can do better than a band in Calgary. If people are already here. Vegas is in play at $1500.