• Price Free

With a very busy week ahead, grab your calendar and fill it up with these free and fantastic events. From Aboriginal Awareness Week and National Indigenous Peoples Day to Sled Island and Parksale, there’s no reason to be bored. Here’s what we’re checking out this week:

ProArts@Noon Presents Irish Cultural Choir

June 20, 2018, 12:10 – 12:50pm
Cathedral Church of the Redeemer (604 1st St. SE)
Free

In November 1994, clear, strong voices rang out as the Irish Cultural Society of Calgary Choir formed from a core group of Irish immigrants and their Canadian friends. Now, this welcoming group has over 40 singers regularly regaling as they continue to entertain people from around the world. Hear them at this free lunch hour concert.
proartssociety.ca

Sunnyside Salsa Wednesdays

June 20, 2018, 7:00 – 9:00pm
containR Art Park (1020 2nd Ave. NW)
Free

Starting this Wednesday and running throughout the summer, join Free Spirit Dance and Studio Creole as they bring a tropical mix of salsa, timba, samba, and more to your midweek.
facebook.com

Campfire Chats

June 21, 2018
Sweetgrass Lodge, ENMAX Park (Elbow River Pathway & MacDonald Ave. SE)
Free, registration required for the evening

On National Indigenous Peoples Day, join the University of Calgary for a full day of cultural events featuring tipi painting, dancers, drumming, and storytelling from community leaders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers. Pull up a blanket and celebrate the longest day of the year with diverse stories about the cultural significance of tipis in the Treaty 7 region of southern Alberta.
go.ucalgary.ca

National Indigenous Peoples Day

June 21, 2018, 11:00am – 7:00pm
Arts Commons (205 8th Ave. SE)
Free

Presented in partnership with Sled Island, Treaty 7 Film Collective, IRIM (Indigenous Resilience in Music), ImagineNATIVE, Drum Beat, Arts Commons, and CBC Calgary, celebrate National Indigenous Peoples day with a number of free events. There’s a Mini Pow Wow, a meet and greet, workshop, and mini-performance with Snotty Nose Rez Kids and Mob Bounce, and a selection of films from imagineNATIVE.
facebook.com

Single Onion #151

June 21, 2018, 7:00pm
Shelf Life Books (1302 4th St. SW)
Free

The Single Onion winds up its season with five great poets—Scott Alderson, Thea Bowering, Aaron Giovannone, Vivian Hansen, and Alan Leangvan. Food and wine by donation.
facebook.com

The People’s Gathering

June 22, 2018, 11:00am – 1:00pm
Olympic Plaza (228 8th Ave. SE)
Free

A celebration of community and neighbourhood spirit, The People’s Gathering honours the many diverse Indigenous cultures in Canada and offers rich cultural experiences including traditional drumming and dancing.
facebook.com

Call Me by Your Name

June 22, 2018, 6:30 – 9:30pm
La Cite Des Rocheuses Theatre (4800 Richard Rd. SW)
Free, registration recommended

Set in northern Italy in 1983, Call Me by Your Name chronicles a romantic relationship between 17-year-old Elio Perlman and his father’s 24-year-old graduate-student assistant, Oliver. Presented by the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, La Cite Des Rocheuses, and the Calgary Sexual Health Centre, the screening is meant to encourage learning, reflection, and empathy with the LGBTQ+ community.
eventbrite.com

Oyster Shells: Artist Talk and Tour

June 22, 2018, 7:00 – 8:00pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration recommended

Join Vanessa Brown for this talk and tour of her exhibition, The Witching Hour. Brown traces threads from her past work to this present exhibition, while touching on the joys and pains of working with steel, the politics of scale, and the importance of fantasy in her work.
eventbrite.ca

Family Day Festival & Powwow

June 23, 2018, 9:00am – 9:00pm
Former Indian Village, Stampede Grounds (1410 Olympic Way SE)
Free

Keeping the circle strong and sharing cultures during Aboriginal Awareness Week, people of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to attend.
facebook.com

PLACEHOLDER: It’s your turn to talk!

June 23, 2018, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration required

An unconventional book club, d.talks presents the theme—thresholds—and you bring your own book, poem, or object that you feel best articulates it.
eventbrite.ca

Sled Island Block Party

June 23, 2018, 2:00 – 10:00pm
Inglewood (10th Ave. & 10th St. SE)
Free, all-ages

Get ready for this annual, free, outdoor, all-ages dance party. Featuring Will Clarke, Harrison Brome, josh pan, Carissa Gem, Dillon Nathaniel, Magic & Johnson, Selci, BB Mars, B*les & The Suede, Strangerfamiliar, and SymfanIt, it goes rain or shine so come prepared and get ready to groove with Sled Island.
facebook.com

Parksale 2018

June 23 & 24, 2018, 10:00am – 6:00pm
East Village, Riverwalk (618 Confluence Way SE)
Free

Celebrating its 10-year anniversary, swing by this free, outdoor market featuring 60 Canadian artists, clothing designers, makers, and food trucks.
facebook.com

Sultry & Sweet Summer Reads YYC

June 24, 2018, 12:00 – 4:00pm
Eau Claire Market (200 Barclay Parade SW)
Free

Start your summer by diving into sultry and sweet love stories with Calgary’s first romance reader festival. Celebrate the romance novel and get up close and personal with some of the steamiest and sweetest local authors.
mjanecolette.com

Music in the Park

June 24, 2018, 1:00 – 4:00pm
Riley Park (800 12th St. NW)
Free

Celebrate the new entertainment shell in Riley Park with The City of Calgary. Pack a picnic lunch, bring a blanket, and settle in for some great entertainment from the Calgary Concert Band with Calgary Wind Symphony, Foothills Concert Band, and the Rocky Mountain Concert Band.
facebook.com

Enormous Alberta

June 24, 2018, 2:00 – 4:00pm
Shelf Life Books (1302 4th St. SW)
Free

If you love dinosaurs and geology, you need to visit Shelf Life Books on June 24. This special event includes an illustrated talk by paleontologist Dr. W. Scott Persons IV, author of Dinosaurs of the Alberta Badlands, and geologist Dale Leckie, author of Rocks, Rivers and Ridges.
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