A New (to You) Cultural Scene in Calgary, Canada
Winter in the city. Photo courtesy of Tourism Calgary.
Calgary, Canada’s “Blue Sky City,” may come to mind as a quick stopover on your way to Banff or as a place to experience Calgary’s infamous Stampede, a ten-day hubbub in July featuring rodeos, a music festival, and other exhibitions. But situated between the Rocky Mountain Foothills and the Canadian Prairies is a burgeoning maker and craft culture scene that includes visual arts, apparel, dining, and drinking. Over the course of a long weekend (a perfect amount of time for a first go-around), I visited the places and met some of the people fueling Calgary’s creative ingenuity.
Seek Art in the Environment
Kick off your visit on one of the city’s 300-plus sunny days just beyond the city center at the Kiyooka Ohe Arts Centre, a 20-acre botanic and sculpture park. Local artists and couple Harry Kiyooka and Katie Ohe rehabilitated wetlands and woodlands to make a year-round space for exploring large-scale, colorful, kinetic installations that offer contemplation against the landscape (and fodder for the requisite social media post, if you must).
Get in on Tradition
In the hip Inglewood neighborhood, family-run Moonstone Creations hosts on-site beadwork classes where guests can make moccasins, bookmarks, or brooches. After testing your dexterity, shop for authentic artwork and crafts from over 60 Canadian Indigenous artists in the store’s curated shop.
Around the corner from Moonstone is Smithbilt Hats, one of the oldest millinery factories in Canada. White hats — a particular western-style cowboy hat and a longstanding Calgary Stampede must-have — are made by hand here. You can see them designed from start to finish and get a real sense of the handiwork through scents of machinery oils and animal hides like beaver.
Be sure to allow extra time to experience the neighborhood’s young, vibey scene: the vintage apparel and vinyl shops, the contemporary art gallery at the Esker Foundation, and a classic smashburger and shake from Inglewood Drive-In, where a car isn’t necessary and window ordering is the norm.
Embrace your western flair with a stop at the Alberta Boot Company, where for almost 50 years they’ve produced durable, time-tested boots. And talk about a stamp of approval: They are the exclusive footwear suppliers for the Canadian Mounties. Take the guided tour to dive into the 240-step process that may inspire you to craft your own true-to-you pair.
Taste Sensations
Near ABC’s flagship East Village store in a historic pre-war building that once housed a billiards hall is more award-winning design to try and taste: Cochu Chocolatier. The cacao scent hits hard upon entering this bonbon shop, which owner and chocolatier Anne Sellmer originally started in her basement. With an industrial design background, she’s since racked up global awards for her kaleidoscopic chocolate creations, and I made sure to snag her trademark candy bar, a literal mash-up of sweet and sour gummy candies in milk and dark chocolate.
If you’re still salivating after the bonbons, make your way to Burwood Distillery, located in a rehabbed 20th-century Canadian armed horse regiment barracks, and whet your whistle by concocting a custom gin with myriad ingredients (anais, chamomile flower, rosemary, local honey). At their fantastic onsite eatery Veranda at The Stables, I happily indulged in a caloric intake of pretzel bread and obatzda, a “John Dough” pizza of the day, and a spicy classic Caesar cocktail the city claims to have invented (think Bloody Mary, but with Clamato).
Have Some Wholesome Fun
To wind down the evening, sign up for a workshop at do-good candle company Milk Jar, where you can sip prosecco or kombucha as you play novice scientist with scents, learn about notes (a floral, fruity, or woodsy tinge? I’m more of a floral gal), and take home a plant-based wax candle and diffuser.
You don’t have to read by candlelight, but I recommend stopping by the Central Public Library. The marvelous softwood interior design and striking geometric façade (inspired by natural formations of snow drifts and chinook cloud clearings) are jaw-dropping.
Find a Unique Souvenir
If you’re looking for a local memento to take home, consider a tabletop ceramic piece from Starfishly Clay Works, a sculptural modern wooden furnishing from Möbius (these won’t fit in a carry-on), or Native Diva Creations’ fashionable accessories like beaver quill earrings or beaded earmuffs.
Savor the Flavors
If you're feeling famished from the tours, the sights, and your own crafting, head to NUPO, a sushi and omakase dining experience with mouthwatering tuna belly nigiri that pairs well with the Nitro Princess Mononoke cocktail.
River Cafe, another solid dinner or brunch option tucked behind its own garden on the banks of the Bow River, features rustic willow wood furniture evocative of a Rocky Mountain fishing lodge, where you can slurp fresh BC oysters and other hyper-localized delights (like a lip-puckering haskap berry sorbet).
In the Simmons Building, an industrial old mattress factory on the Bow River trail, nosh on a sourdough sandwich at Sidewalk Citizen Bakery, or stop at Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters for a local cup of joe.
Markets abound cross the calendar year, so round out your visit and see if your travel dates happen to coincide on the Festival of Crafts, The Barn Artisan Market, or Authentically Indigenous — I’ll bet all will fall on a blue sky day.