Calgary Citizen Newsletter Tuesday May 7

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Good morning !

Are you ready for community street festivals and night market season? Because I am! There’s something special about music and entertainment, local artisans, vendors and small businesses coming together in the community. On Friday, kick start summer with the Inglewood Night Market and its 150 unique curated vendors and two stages of entertainment. Then we are less than a month away from the 33^rd annual Lilac Festival on Sunday, June 2. That’s when you know summer has officially arrived.

Krista Sylvester, Managing Editor

👀 In today's edition:

• Dog owner punished for attack

• Cat hitches ride under hood

• Don’t stop believing at Jubilations

Today’s read time: Approx. 4 minutes

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WORTH KNOWING

🌧️ Today: High 8C, Low 4C. 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.

Dog owner whose three dogs killed 86-year-old banned from owning animals, faces 18K fine

A Calgary man whose three pit bulls killed an 86-year-old woman two years ago was fined $18,000 and banned from owning animals for 15 years. On June 5, 2022, Betty Ann Williams was gardening in her Capital Hill back alley. That afternoon, Denis Bagaric's three American Staffordshire dogs — Bossii, Cinnamon and Smoki — escaped from his yard and attacked Williams, who tragically died from her injuries. All three dogs were seized after the incident and one has been euthanized. The fate of the other two dogs has not yet been determined.

As CBC reports, Justice Gordon Wong said this as he made his sentencing decision: "What happened is as serious as it gets in dogs attacking a person.”

According to CityNews, Bagaric declined an interview following the sentencing, but told them he felt the system is “gross.”

CTV reports that the victim’s niece says the events of that day are "terrible" and "never should have happened."

Related Story

Need to know

😺 A YYC cat is home safe after escaping a Calgary vet and hitching a 30-km highway ride under a car hood.

🐻 Some recent sightings of a black bear in the city could be the result of some residents not following the city’s garbage and waste bylaws.

👮 Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl.

📺️ Residents in the northeast have been without TV, internet and phone service since Sunday due to copper wire theft.

🏒 We are getting closer to learning more details about the city’s new event centre, including the design renditions.

🌧️ Finally: Rainfall warnings were issued for southern Alberta ahead of a multi-day event.

🏠️ The price of townhomes is growing fastest in Calgary. This is why.

⛸️ Olympic figure skater Patrick Chan will skate at the Saddledome for the last time as part of his final Stars On Ice Tour. 

Take a magical Journey to the ’80s with Jubilations Dinner Theatre’s latest production

Every decade has certain trends that develop but no other decade had the sheer explosion of pop culture quite like the ’80s. The men had long hair, the women had short hair and the wild styles and crazy quirks of rock and roll stars were a direct reflection of the music of the time. The Billboard charts of the 1980s featured the biggest variety of music styles and genres since the birth of rock and roll. Madonna, Tina Turner, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and Journey — the gang is all here for Jubilations’ latest production, Journey to the ’80s. We spoke with actor Brad Wiebe about his career progression and how fronting a band prepared him for his latest starring role. Make sure to catch this one before it ends!

Tell us a bit about your background and career progression.

Like many kids, I grew up doing the school plays and when the time came to decide on a career path, I chose the one where I got paid more and had more stage time. That may sound greedy but when you're on stage you are always learning so I chose the opportunity which let me learn more at a young age by being on stage all show with more experienced actors five nights a week for six months of the year instead of being "first tree on the left" for two minutes a night for two to four weeks.

As for the rest of my career progression up to this point, being on stage with one theatre company led me to join another one and from there I joined an internationally touring cover band… until I decided it was time to stop living out of a suitcase overseas and well, continue to live out of one rejoining the musical theatre scene all across Canada. Difference? I now had a home and wasn't doing the stereotypical "musician thing" and crashing on friends’ and families’ couches between gigs since we would be away 11 months of the year usually and if any sort of emergency came up where I had to be home I was a two-hour flight away instead of a potential 24-hour flight away.

How did your previous band experience help prepare you for the role?

The band experience itself just gave me more and more on-the-job vocal training. Six nights a week and three to four sets a night you get in pretty good vocal shape. It has been a while since doing that kind of thing but as I sing quite a bit in this show and your voice is a muscle, doing the band thing in the past has helped me stay in relatively good shape since returning to theatre.

What is your favourite song to sing from the show?

I love '80s music so I'm happy to sing all of them, I am lucky enough to sing three Journey tunes and one of the three I haven't sung before in other productions or in a band setting so that one is fun to do. But I won't tell you which one, you'll just have to guess and come to the show!

What can audiences expect?

If you haven't been to Jubilations before, the show starts when you enter the doors and are seated as you are greeted by the cast and the additional cast members who serve you your dinner and drinks throughout the night. As for the shows, well not to take anything away from any of the shows but it doesn't matter what the show is about because it is always light-hearted fun for you to come and enjoy and forget about the trouble of the day with some great food, great tunes and great laughs, plus it is live entertainment. Come on down to the show, you will have a great time!

Where to eat and drink

🍴 Belmont Diner has been serving Calgarians all-day breakfast classics and bottomless coffee since the year 2000 and now has three locations with the newest one opening in Willow Park.

🍴 Please N Thanks is known for not only its delicious street food but also its underground secret bar. Check it out!

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

Local specials

💸 The Bentley Store at Southcentre: Get 40% off select colours of the Verona luggage collection from Tracker until May 12.

💸 Fencing: Try something new at Fencing Calgary and enjoy a free one-hour trial where you can strap on the gear and work with a coach to see if the sport is for you.

Have a promo suggestion? Message us and we might share it!

Things to do

🎟️ Violins of Hope: Socalled with Strings: This Studio Bell exhibition at the National Music Centre is on until June 16, showcasing a collection of historic string instruments from before and during the Holocaust.

🎟️ Food & Nutrition for Cancer Treatment & Recovery: May 30 and June 6. Are you faced with eating challenges due to swallowing difficulty, taste changes, or dry mouth caused by your cancer treatment? Learn tips for regaining health through good nutrition with survivors like you in these free classes hosted by AHS Dietitians. Plan to attend both sessions. Questions? Call 587-747-0260.*

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

*Sponsored Listing

That’s it!

Thanks for reading today. If you found something interesting, please forward this email to another Calgarian and tell them to sign up!

And before you go, we’d love to know…

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