Things to Do in Calgary

Stage West Theatre Restaurant has been a beacon of dining and dramatics in Calgary for 30 years. General Manager Gary Tse and culinary wizard Chef Tsoi collaborate to create a night to remember six days a week, and the stage has been staffed with such stage-and-screen stars as Mickey Rooney, Abe Vigoda, Loretta Swit, and Sherman Hemsley. The company’s history has seen more than 10,000 season subscribers each year, of whom more than 100 have continued to subscribe each year since the first production. They take in the wide-ranging cuisine and entertainment from an intimate 400-seat, ramped, tiered theatre designed for uniformly clear sightlines and maximal accessibility to patrons who prefer to somersault to their seats.

In 1988, the top of the Calgary Tower was on fire. Nobody panicked, though, and no one tried to put out the flames. If they had, and succeeded, it would have been to the disappointment of athletes and spectators the world over, because that flame burned in honour of Canada’s first Winter Olympic Games. At 191 metres above the city, the light that fire produced—flickering from a gas-fired cauldron—served to unite the city around the games, to honour the spirit of sportsmanship, and to safeguard the event from Mothra attacks.

Today, visitors can see the city from just below where that torch burned. After a 63-second elevator ride to the top, guests can explore the observation deck, take a complimentary tour, and peer from high-powered binoculars at the Rocky Mountains, foothills, and prairies. Then they can step out onto the glass floor and stare down at the Olympic Plaza, the Glenbow Museum, and the bald spots on park monuments.

Yet the tower’s height isn’t its only draw. From the ground up, it strives to showcase the best of the city. At the base, the visitor information centre furnishes newcomers with city guides that point to popular attractions, and at 155 metres, the elegant Sky 360 restaurant fans romantic sparks as it completes its 360-degree rotation every hour.

A passenger aircraft hangs from the ceiling. A WWII fighter jet crouches silently next to a WWI triplane and a vintage helicopter. At the Aero Space Museum of Calgary, visitors peruse an expansive collection of propeller- and jet-powered vintage aircraft inside a renovated hangar that was built in 1941 to serve as the drill hall for a flight-training school. Museum staffers care for and maintain a range of North American and European aviation artifacts, such as military and civilian planes built by Barkley-Grow, de Havilland, and Waco; a replica Sopwith triplane; and Sikorsky and Bell helicopters. They also display an in-progress restoration and daily massage treatments on a real Avro Lancaster, a British four-engine heavy bomber used in WWII. Guides also lead educational tours through hangar exhibits, during which young visitors learn about the physics of flight and the inner workings of airplanes.

Bikram Yoga Northwest’s certified team of women instructors cultivates healthy lifestyles through the Hatha-style yoga practice and shares their passion with students of all ages and fitness levels within their eco-friendly, heated studio. As students bend and stretch through the series of 26 postures, they draw in deep breaths of purified air passing through the room’s air exchange system. This custom system ensures that the studio's warm and humid environment remains as fresh and pure as the morning dew on Mr. Clean's forehead. Further keeping the studio sanitary, it is floored with anti-microbial Mondo Yoga flooring, which serves double duty in preventing bacteria and cushioning yogis with a softer and slip-resistant workout surface. Eco-friendly practices extend throughout the on-site changing rooms and showers, which sprinkle guests with drops from low-flow showerheads and thermal-efficient hot-water tanks.

To a soundtrack of upbeat music, players at Century Bowling take aim at pins under standard lighting or the glow of black lights. Computerized scoring flashes across above-lane screens, and automatic bumpers help newer players keep their balls on course without installing thumbhole GPS systems. From their lanes’ seating area, players can snack on pizza, hot dogs, and appetizers between turns or sip on draft and bottled beers or mixed drinks.

Behind 60 feet of storefront windows, visitors to ChromaColour Creative Art Centre's laid-back studio transform the blank surfaces of glass, ceramic, canvas, and even T-shirts into unique pieces of art. Two spacious workshops—one that holds 50 people and one with capacity for 100—invite budding artistes to learn a new mode of expression or hone an old one. In pottery classes, students forge ornamental or utilitarian pieces, decorating with eco-friendly paint that staffers mix themselves in-house. Though formal classes are offered, artists can often waltz in during studio hours, take a seat, and chat with family, friends, or the piece of artwork they're working on.