Calgary Citizen Saturday Newsletter March 30

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Hey Insiders, it’s Krista 👋 

The Easter long weekend is upon us and in Alberta, Friday was a statutory holiday and Easter Monday is a day off for federally regulated workplaces. Easter Monday also happens to coincide with April Fool’s Day this year.

Here’s what’s open and closed over the long weekend:

Banks and Canada Post will be closed over the weekend.

Attractions such as the Calgary Zoo/Wilder Institute, the Gasoline Alley Museum at Heritage Park, Calgary Public Library, and TELUS Spark will be open this weekend. Check hours before attending.

Grocery stores, liquor stores, and shopping centres will be open through the weekend though some might have reduced hours.

YYC TRIVIA

Here’s what happened in the news this week

📰 Calgary’s theatre scene welcomes audiences back after tough few years

It’s been a tough few years for the arts and culture scene, but Calgary’s theatre community is welcoming back audiences in droves. The arts scene has been struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. But bustling lobbies, and increasing ticket sales, are positive signs for theatre groups. This is why Calgary is bucking the trend.

📰 'You’re certainly not buying a tear-down' for $659,395 in Calgary

Calgary is not your average resale real estate market, providing exceptional value for buyers’ dollars relative to the national average price in Canada, a recent study shows. A recent report comparing Canadian cities’ average prices for single-family homes versus the national average price for all housing types shows that Calgary’s average price for a single-family detached home still remains below the national average. Here are the hard numbers.

📰 Mental health crisis ‘safely resolved’ after impacting access to downtown Calgary: police

Calgary’s Fourth Avenue flyover and Reconciliation Bridge were closed in both directions Wednesday night and much of Thursday because of what police described on social media as a “mental health crisis.” After more than 20 hours of negotiation, the incident in East Village impacting access in and around the downtown area has been safely resolved. This is what happened.

📰 Calgary police officer charged with assaulting handcuffed man

A police officer accused of beating a handcuffed man has been charged with assault, two years after injuring the arrestee to the point that he required hospitalization. Charges were announced charges against 10-year member Const. David Wilhelm following a two-year investigation. This is what led to the charges.

Here’s what’s happening this weekend

🗓 Butterfield Acres Barnyard Baby Days: Spring is in the air as Baby Days starts today and every weekend until April 14. Snuggle with baby goats, woolly little lambs, and peep at freshly hatched chicks and adorable piglets with their mama.

🗓 Magic Micro Tour XXL: Forget Magic Mike; On Sunday night join Modern Love for the Magic Micro Tour XXL where talented entertainers recreate an iconic atmosphere in this adults-only show.

And here’s some places to eat and drink

🍴TOUS les JOURS: Have you checked out this French-Asian bakery café chain yet? The first to open in Canada, this shop offers more than 300 artisan pastries, gourmet cakes and desserts baked in-store daily.

🍴 Eau Claire Distillery: There are all sorts of nods to all things local at this Turner Valley-based distillery worth the shirt drive south of Calgary. Check it out!

And here’s what we’ve got our eyes on

👀 We speak to a group of entrepreneurs looking to give someone a gift of purpose and confidence in the form of a $15K makeover

👀 How a local bike event is helping crack down on bike thefts

And catch up on last week’s newsletters

📰 Tuesday: Step back in time to the late 19th century and enter the haunted grand Alberta Hotel

📰 Thursday: Former CPS HR director is being sued by police chief after allegations of harassment, bullying

And before you go…

📢 Tuesday is when the spring weather could finally be here to stay. This is what Environment Canada is calling for - and yes, it’s high double digits by Tuesday.

📢 Don’t forget: Monday is April Fool’s Day so question anything and everything you hear: even from your loved ones!

Photo of the Week

The National Music Centre named country singer-songwriter Chelsie Young and powwow and round dance group Warscout as the recipients of the 2024 OHSOTO’KINO Recording Bursary. Originally from the Bigstone Cree Nation in Northern Alberta and now based in Edmonton, Chelsie Young has been honing her skills from an early age. She likes to call her music, “Tomboy Country,” because she doesn’t fall into the same mould as other female artists and is blazing her own path in her own rough and tumble way. Her powerful voice, relatable storytelling, and innate ability to convey emotion through her music has made her one to watch. Established in 2006 and respected across the Powwow Trail, Warscout consists of singers from Sweetgrass First Nation in Saskatchewan, Maskwacis and Saddle Lake First Nation in Alberta, and the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. The group combines tradition and fresh style with contemporary singing rooted deeply in the spirit of the drum. The OHSOTO’KINO Indigenous programming initiative, supported by TD Bank Group and launched in 2022, is a multifaceted effort aimed at providing more opportunities to Indigenous artists and empowering Indigenous voices in the music industry. There’s also a new call out for applications for the next OHSOTO’KINO Music Incubator program open to emerging First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists. Interested applicants can apply by May 31.

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