Calgary Citizen Newsletter Tuesday August 15

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Good morning, there!

A celebration of Calgary’s multicultural community, GlobalFest is taking over Elliston Park from Aug. 17 to 26. International Fireworks from Austria, Italy, Portugal, and Spain will light the sky. On Aug. 22, the annual Citizenship Ceremony will celebrate new Canadians. Learn about different countries at the Cultural Pavilions and check out the TD Main Stage and Air Canada Stage for multicultural music and entertainment. Grab your tickets!

- Julie Patton, Intern

👀 In today's edition:

• New art exhibit challenges audiences

• Anger and revenge led to brazen murder

• Check out this new mental health park

Today’s read time: Approx. 4 minutes

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WORTH KNOWING

🥵 Today: High 34C, Low 16C. 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 new portrait art exhibit is challenging biases by forcing audiences to face their judgements

A new art exhibit in cSpace is testing its viewers’ judgments. Who Made You The Judge is a collection of portraits that highlight race, gender identity, sexual orientation, addiction, mental health, physical disability, and more. The exhibit tests the audience’s conscious and unconscious biases by presenting large portraits of everyday people. Your perception of the person is challenged upon reading the biography and you are forced to face the judgement you made.

XOX Unknown: XOX Unknown is an anonymous painter in Calgary. Like the people from the portraits, XOX Unknown does not want to be judged for things out of their control.

Where to find it: The exhibit will be set up on level one of cSpace until Sept. 1. If you’re unable to attend in person, XOX Unknown also sells a coffee table book with the portraits and biographies.

Read the full story to learn more about the exhibit from XOX Unknown.

Related Story

Need to know

🐕 A small business found an unexpected team-building exercise after taking in a dog that they didn’t know was days away from delivering 10 puppies. (CTV)

🚓 'Could you pick a busier day?': Criminologist says the brazen Market Mall fatal drive-by shooting was likely a crime of anger that put many people at risk. (Herald)

🔨 A contractor with a celebrity endorsement from the Property Brothers faces more criminal charges as more potential victims come forward. (CBC)

🔥 A Calgary man is headed to his fire-razed hometown of Lahaina to aid his family after the Maui wildfire. (Calgary Herald)

🌊 The city is asking residents to voluntarily conserve water as the Bow and Elbow rivers are flowing at their lowest natural levels since 2002.

💸 A cancer patient is calling for changes to a provincial program after being denied support in July because he received some money from his family. (Global News)

🌞 Calgarians will feel an extreme heat wave as the city is expected to hit daytime highs of more than 30 degrees over the next few days.

🌞 Tickets for Broadway’s Tony-award-winning Hadestown go on sale on Aug. 21 for its upcoming performance at the Jubilee.

🚆 Calgary police are investigating after a pedestrian was struck by CTrain, the third such incident in less than a week. (City News)

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Alberta’s first mental health park is now open right here in Calgary

A new park has opened in the heart of Calgary with the purpose of supporting mental health. Located outside of The Summit: Marian & Jim Sinneave Centre for Youth Resilience, the park will be a place where Calgarians can connect in a safe space. It is Alberta’s first public mental health park and it came to fruition with the help of generous donors.

We caught up with Parks Foundation CEO Shelia Taylor to chat about the park and what it means for Calgarians.

Things to do

🎟️ FOCUSED: Presented by The Camera Store, experience exclusive access to Destination Africa and capture stunning photographs of iconic wildlife at the zoo on Aug. 16.

🎟️ Locked Zoo: Deserts Decoded: In this zoo-wide escape-style adventure, embark on an epic experience through the park after hours at the zoo on Aug. 17.

🎟️ Sashay, Fillet!: The worlds of culinary and drag collide at this exciting event hosted by a RuPaul's Drag Race celeb and featuring four notable chefs paired up with four drag performers at Fairmont Palliser on Aug. 24.

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

Where to eat & drink

🍴 Wing’n It: This new wing spot just opened in Kensington and boasts over 100 flavours and features a hot wing challenge that requires a waiver!

🍴 Ami Tea & Sub: Serving authentic Vietnamese street food and Taiwanese boba milk tea, Ami Tea is a family-owned shop that started in Chinatown and now has seven locations across Canada.

🍴 Happee Peeps: At this restaurant, savour the taste of Filipino-style fried chicken, with options ranging from a box of crispy fried chicken to grilled pork belly or chicken and more.

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

Local specials

💸 Maven: Indulge in Maven’s $9 happy hour menu every day from 3 to 5pm with signature cocktails, wine and beer, french toast, pasta, poutine, and more!

💸 Crowfoot Hyundai: Rev up your savings for Hyundai’s sale event with prizes with every vehicle purchase and free oil changes with every pre-owned purchase, until Aug. 31.

💸 Timber Ridge Firewood: For the rest of August, save on firewood by getting 10% off bulk orders of birch with promo code Birch10!

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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