Calgary Citizen Newsletter Tuesday August 1

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Good morning, there!

One of my favourite summer events is back and it’s better than ever because it’s an extra day and it’s gone digital! The Taste of Calgary is now five days and will now be using Digital Taste tickets loaded on a Taste Pass card to help make things run smoother. Running from Aug. 3 to 7, Taste of Calgary will take over Calgary Parking Lot #6 311 8 St. SW. See you there!

- Krista Sylvester, Managing Editor

👀 In today's edition:

• Meet man behind the machine

• Alberta town looking for a grouch

• Check out Calgary Historic Week 

Today’s read time: Approx. 4 minutes

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WORTH KNOWING

☀️ Today: High 28C, Low 12C. See the 7-day forecast.

🚗 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation, and find the city’s traffic report and road closures.

⚠️ Here’s the current smoke forecast / check Calgary wildfire and fire restrictions and the Alberta Wildfire Dashboard.

A Calgary man built a machine to sort trading cards. Now with 150 machines sold, he has sorted 100 million cards.

Hours slip by while Graeme Gordon sorts through his thousands of trading cards. A collector of Magic: The Gathering, he spends hours sorting to determine what duplicates he owns and cut them from his collection. Some collectors love this process. Gordon does not. Instead, he dreamed up a machine that could do the work for him

PhyzBatch-9000: In 2021, after six years of prototyping, Gordon commercially launched his card-sorting machine, the PhyzBatch-9000. Met with a wave of success, Gordon has sold over 150 machines in Canada and the US.

Monumental milestone: By July of this year, Gordon’s fleet of machines had sorted 100 million trading cards. If stacked in a vertical column, the cards would reach the Earth’s stratosphere.

We spoke with Gordon about this new machine and its impact.

Related Story

Need to know

🙁 Like to grumble, complain and frown? An Alberta village is looking for a grouch to pass the torch to. (CBC)

✈️ Three of the six men who died in a plane crash in Kananaskis have been identified as a two young fathers and a soon-to-be father. (Herald)

💸 After seeing a spike in grandparent scams this year, police are warning Calgarians about new tactics being used by scammers.

💸 The government has given a deadline to a Calgary medical clinic to change its plans to charge patients to see a doctor. (City News)

🏠 Glenmore Landing could soon be unrecognizable as the owner makes plans to build apartment towers. (Global)

🛫 A record number of passengers passed through the Calgary International Airport airport on July 16 when more than 27,600 travellers departed. (CTV)

🎶 Every Sunday in August live music will fill East Village’s open-air square as part of National Music Centre’s free Sundays in C-Square concert series.

🔬 Police are asking for the public’s help to find a man who has been missing since June.

🎨 CommunityWise has recently opened up The Place at its centre. Now applications are open for a mural artist representative of queer and Indigenous identities to do a mural in the space.

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Historic Calgary Week celebrates its 33rd year of educating Calgarians about the city’s past

The 33^rd annual Historic Calgary Week kicked off last week at the Central Library featuring many interesting facts about the city such as the story of the first major traffic accident in 1912 or the Calgary author who contributed to many films in early Hollywood, including Phantom of the Opera in 1925. With many events filling the first few days of the 11-day historic festival, Calgarians have learned about historic Calgary figures, the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the truth about Chinese Canadian history, and more. The festival continues until Aug. 7 with numerous events taking place every day in and around the city. See the full event list here.

We caught up with Historic Calgary Week co-chair Walt DeBoni to learn more about the festival and what Calgarians can expect.

Things to do

🎟️ Farmers Market/Roller Skate Night: This mid-summer bash will feature a pop-up roller skate night, farmers market, and more at the Triwood Community Association on Aug. 1.

🎟️ Art & Beat: A free multicultural outdoor art-therapy event, Art & Beat will feature a mask-making workshop, dance workshop, and drumming session at Century Gardens on Aug. 3.

🎟️ Green Calgary Anniversary: Celebrate Green Calgary’s 45th anniversary with food, drinks, poetry readings, and a stellar silent auction at Born Brewing Co. on Aug. 2.

🎟️ Boyz II Men: Aug. 3 will be “One Sweet Day” as the nostalgic R&B band hits the stage at Grey Eagle Event Centre.

Have an event suggestion? Message us and we might share it!

Where to eat & drink

🍴 Karen’s Diner: Don’t you hate when staff are rude and manners non-existent? If you like that kind of thing, you can experience it with Karen’s Diner on Aug. 12 and 13 as part of the world tour!

🍴 The Wednesday Room: In this sophisticated lounge inspired by the 60s, indulge in a variety of cocktails and a refined lunch and dinner menu.

🍴 Aggüdo Coffee Roasters: Serving organic Ethiopian coffee, Aggüdo provides quality products and a pleasurable experience. Plus, you can join Aggüdo’s Monday Chess Night to practice your skills and meet new people!

🍴 Peppino: Calgary’s littlest Italy, Peppino not only offers delicious Italian products but the family-owned eatery also serves fresh Italian sandwiches out of its five Calgary locations!

Have a food or drink suggestion? Message us and we might share it!

Local specials

💸 Rumble Boxing: Jumpstart your fitness journey and get some pent-up stress out with your first free class at Rumble Boxing. Enjoy loud music, fast-paced energy, and a butt-kicking exercise.

💸 Koto Sushi & Izakaya: On Mondays and Tuesdays get a massive lobster seafood platter for $98, plus a second lobster for free!

💸 Buffo: Located in Chinook Mall, this Italian restaurant serves $13 pasta and half-priced wine every Wednesday!

💸 Castella Cheesecake: Spend $35 at Castella Cheesecake located in Chinook Mall and receive a free original ice cream, original slush, or a $10 voucher!

Know of any hot specials or deals? Message us and we might share it!

That’s it! Thanks for reading. If you have a hot story tip you want to share, feel free to reply back anytime.

We’ll see you back here on Thursday, same time, same place 🫡

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