• Price Free

Another busy one full of free concerts, receptions, workshops, and more, this week offers a great chance to hit up Calgary’s arts community. Start your month off right and check out these sweet events:

ProArts@Noon Presents Lorna MacLachlan Jazz Trio

May 2, 2018, 12:10 – 12:50pm
Cathedral Church of the Redeemer (604 1st St. SE)
Free

ProArts@Noon’s next concert features a dynamic trio of musicians—Jeremy Coates on bass, Andre Wickenheiser on trumpet, and Lorna MacLachlan on piano and vocals. Hear music from MacLachlan’s last two albums alongside new music from her upcoming release, Child’s Play.
proartssociety.ca

Mini Masters

May 3, 2018, 11:00 – 11:45am
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration essential

Calling Calgary’s newest contemporaries! Join the Esker Foundation on the first Thursday of every month for a hands-on art class. Parents and guardians are invited to bring their little ones, ages two to five, to explore art making in this fun and social program. All are welcome to participate, just dress for mess.
eventbrite.ca

Free First Thursday Night

May 3, 2018, 5:00 – 9:00pm
Glenbow (130 9th Ave. SE)
Free

Marking the final Free First Thursday with the immensely popular exhibition Frida Kahlo: Her Photos, start your month off with a bang and head to Glenbow. The museum is committed to expanding the reach and impact of art and culture in our community, and this monthly offering is a great way to do that! So, swing by and explore.
facebook.com

Matronalia Book Launch

May 3, 2018, 7:00 – 9:00pm
Shelf Life Books (1302 4th St. SW)
Free

Join Shelf Life Books for the launch of Angela Dillon’s Matronalia with an introduction by Eugene Stickland. Part ode, part prayer, and part manifesto, Matronalia interlaces ancestral legacies and personal tribulations to reveal what often remains unsaid from mother to daughter.
facebook.com

Bring the Baby Art Tour

May 4, 2018, 12:00pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free, registration recommended

A relaxed, social tour, bring your baby to the Esker Foundation and have tot-friendly fun while discussing the exhibitions.
eventbrite.ca

Community Evening at Esker

May 4, 2018, 6:00 – 8:00pm
Esker Foundation (1011 9th Ave. SE)
Free

Celebrate art and community and check out this event as part of Esker Fridays. Tour the exhibitions with Esker director/curator Naomi Potter at 7:00pm, and sample some delicious treats from Bite Grocer and Eatery.
facebook.com

Jane’s Walk Calgary

May 4 – 6, 2018
Multiple locations
Free

Be part of this global festival of free neighbourhood walking tours. No registration is required, simply find a walk (or 10) that interests you and show up. With citizen-led tours inspired by urbanist and activist Jane Jacobs, the weekend offers participants a chance to explore and connect. Local art takes centre stage in a number of events including the Calgary Stampede Art Walk, a poetry walk with Juleta Severson-Baker, and the return of 10-Minute Plays.
janeswalk.calgaryfoundation.org

Art Show & Sale by Loretta

May 5, 2018, 10:00am – 3:00pm
Bow Cliff Seniors and Spruce Cliff Community Centre (3375 Spruce Dr. SW)
Free admission

Loretta Secord began her study of drawing and painting at a young age, later advancing to studies at the University of Lethbridge and the Alberta College of Art + Design. Now an instructor at Swintons Art Studio and the Bow Cliff Seniors Centre, swing by to see this one-day-only show and sale.
lorettasecord.net

ADAC Calgary Gallery Hop

May 5, 2018, 11:00am – 5:00pm
Multiple locations
Free

Hop through Calgary’s top galleries and hear prominent artists, critics, and curators speak, including a 1:15pm talk by hear local curator, writer, and educator, Katherine Ylitalo at Herringer Kiss Gallery.
facebook.com

Public Art at the University of Calgary

May 5, 2018, 1:30 – 3:30pm
Meet in the Lobby of the Taylor Family Digital Library (410 University Ct. NW)
Free

A Jane’s Walk lead by Marina Fischer, here’s your chance to explore public art at the University of Calgary. Each piece makes the campus unique and extends the intellectual life of the university beyond classrooms, labs, and libraries.
nickle.ucalgary.ca

Family Bazaar

May 5, 2018, 12:00 – 3:00pm
Falconridge Castleridge Community Association (95 Falshire Dr. NE)
Free

A free afternoon of community spirit, bargains, and fun, join Calgary Dollars and shop at over 25 tables of goods and services from a huge array of cultural vendors.
facebook.com

Contemporary Kids: Kinetic Art with Caitlind Brown

May 5, 2018, 2:00 – 4:00pm
RGO Treehouse, cSPACE King Edward (4th Floor, 1721 29th Ave. SW)
Free, registration required

Contemporary Calgary’s Contemporary Kids program returns and invites families to learn about modern and contemporary art through a unique and engaging art activity. This program begins with a fun art-filled introduction by local artist Caitlind Brown whose artwork Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow is the inspiration for this art activity.
eventbrite.ca

NBS Sharing Dance Day Rehearsals at Wildflower Arts Centre

May 5, 2018, 3:30 – 4:30pm
Wildflower Arts Centre (3363 Spruce Dr. SW)
Free

Each week until June 9, head to the Wildflower Arts Centre and get ready to shine in a community dance performance on NBS Sharing Dance Day 2018. Take part in these dance rehearsals for dancers of all ages and abilities and have fun ahead of the big event.
nbs-enb.ca

Bee Kingdom Glass Open Studio

May 5 & 6, 2018, 12:00 – 5:00pm
Bee Kingdom Glass (427 22nd Ave. NW)
Free admission

Just in time for Mother’s Day, stop by Bee Kingdom’s studio and find colourful drinking glasses, sculpted blue birds, hearts, and a lot more. You can even experience the studio and see the creation of glass work while you’re there.
facebook.com

Mount Pleasant Potters’ Guild Spring Pottery Market

May 6, 2018, 10:00am – 4:00pm
Triwood Community Hall (2244 Chicoutimi Dr. NW)
Free admission

Featuring work from more than 30 local artists, this unique salon style event sees established and beginning potters showing work side-by-side. Their markets always feature a huge selection of unique, hand-made functional, and decorative pottery at excellent prices, and is arguably the largest pottery-only event in Western Canada.
calgarypottery.com

11th Annual Parkland Painting Collective Art Show & Sale

May 6, 2018, 12:00 – 4:00pm
Parkland Community Centre (14660 Parkland Blvd. SE)
Free admission

Here’s your chance to meet the Parkland Painting Collective artists—15 local women who are filling two floors with fresh framed and unframed original works in acrylic, mixed media, and watercolour media covering a wide range of styles and genres. This unique group of Calgary women painters spans generations, neighbourhoods, painting styles, and preferred media, and meets weekly for painting instruction with Melanie Morstad.
facebook.com

Music Monday

May 7, 2018, 9:30am
VENUE CHANGE Springbank Middle School (244235 Range Rd. 33)
Free

Join Youth Musicians of Music Mile Alliance and the Coalition for Music Education to celebrate music education across Canada. Launched in 2005 by the Coalition for Music Education, Music Monday is the world’s largest single event dedicated to raising awareness for music education. Each year, hundreds of thousands of students, educators, and music makers participate in a simultaneous nationwide concert performance of an original song written by a Canadian artist. The Calgary event is hosted by Kate Stevens and Scott Morin. Everyone is welcome.
facebook.com