Venue / Location:
Throughout the Cultural District, various venues
Ticket Price:
Various. Most events free or discounted.
Event Description:
September's First Thursday is part of Culture Month in Calgary. Don't miss out as we ramp up the launch of the Fall arts season with this culture crawl through the district.
Go to one event or many and hop your way through some of the Cultural District's most interesting venues.
TOURS
10am
Meet inside the Calgary Telus Convention Centre, in front of the entrance to the Glenbow Museum, 130 9 Ave SE, free
So you think Calgary has a short history, compared with longer-in-the tooth locales such as Cairo or Kyoto? Well, you have to look back, way back, to find our beginnings.
4:30
Meet in the lobby of the Glenbow Museum, $5
Meet up with fellow culture crawlers to explore the events of First Thursday. Start at the Glenbow Museum for The Baroque World of Fernando Botero, head to the Epcor Centre for The Wild Vibrations of Wildurban, Battleship Down, SWAP: Alberta/Yukon Video Exchange, stroll through Fashion Central, the galleries, studios and boutiques at Art Central, then hop across the alley for Theatre Junction Grand's Season Launch Alley Party. Please rsvp to art.proctor[at]gmail.com.
5pm
Meet at the information booth, main floor level, Municipal Building, 800 Macleod Tr SE, free
This Downtown Art Circuit introduces you to the Civic Art Collection downtown in and around the Municipal Building and the Plus 15. The free guided tour is primarily indoors with a quick jaunt outdoors. You can also download the podcast or Iphone app at www.calgary.ca/publicart
6pm
Cantos Music Foundation, 134 11 Ave SE
Tour the Cantos Music collection at 6.00pm, free
View the impressive assortment of instruments represented in Cantos’ collection.
LIVE MUSIC
7:30pm
John Hiatt & The Combo with Los Lobos
Jack Singer Concert Hall, EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts, 205-8 Avenue SE, $59.85, tickets at epcorcentre.org
After 35 years together, Los Lobos still knows how to mix Mexican roots with rough rock, and guitarist Cesar Rosas remains a truly spectacular blues soloist.
8pm
bbmusique Sound Sessions Presents: XIBIT 7 “Live” Improv Electronica Ambient meets World Musique in The OuterRealm.
Cantos Music Foundation, 134 11 Ave SE
Doors 7.30pm, $5 cover
VISUAL ARTS
All day
The +15 Window Space, 2nd level, EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts, 205-8 Avenue SE, free
Randy Niessen’s site specific installations are formal explorations created through a hybrid of painting, print media, and sculpture. Battleship Down is an explosive scene of geometric shapes and colour. Fire, water, and light are represented by paint and string erupting around an abstract dreadnought engulfed in its own environment.
All day
Video monitors throughout EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts, 205 - 8th Avenue SE, free
Short films, animation and video from 10 sensational Alberta and Yukon artists.
All day
The +15 Soundscape, 2nd level, EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts, 205-8 Avenue SE, free
A Multichannel Soundscape created by locally and internationally recognized sound artist Charles Fox. Open your eyes and ears to the Saskatchewan wilderness and the diversity of the ecological communities of the Canadian Prairies and Boreal Forest that are disappearing before us.
1pm – 8pm
Art Therapy
Endeavor Arts, 200 – 1209 1 St SW*, $10
Endeavor Arts, 200 – 1209 1 St SW*, $10
Art therapy is the opportunity for the left side of your brain to take a vacation and to allow the right side to come out and play. Bring something from your closet and bring it to life by turning it into a work of art or create a masterpiece on a t-shirt or a coffee cup provided to you by Endeavor Arts. *Within walking distance of the Cultural District
9am – 5pm
Glenbow Museum, 130 9 Ave SE, $18 Adult, $9 Student
The Baroque World of Fernando Botero is the first retrospective exhibition of Botero's work since 1974 and is Calgary's first-ever exhibition of this celebrated artist's work. The exhibition consists of 87 paintings, drawings and watercolours, 10 small sculptures and three monumental sculptures.
5 – 9pm
100 7 Ave SW, free
Join us for the First Thursday for exhibition openings, live music by Bigfoot Rocketship, and happy hour on wine, cheese, and beer at deVille.
Main Level
Micah Gallery: Featuring authentic Cowichan sweaters made by Emily Modest, handmade masks and wall plaques by artist Alfred Crocker, and spirit boxes of various totem animals.
Shisomiso: Featuring scarves by JUMA
Swirl Fine Art: Opening Reception for Introductions: New Artists
Shisomiso: Featuring scarves by JUMA
Swirl Fine Art: Opening Reception for Introductions: New Artists
Upper Level
Collage Gallery: New Works by Jim Etzkorn, Hayley Erza, and Phaedra Vandenbrun
OneBlueWall Gallery: Opening Reception for the Super Secret Show
The New Gallery: Opening Reception of Contours in the Crosshairs by Nancy Nisbet. An installation combining video projection, broken glass sculpture and still images.
OneBlueWall Gallery: Opening Reception for the Super Secret Show
The New Gallery: Opening Reception of Contours in the Crosshairs by Nancy Nisbet. An installation combining video projection, broken glass sculpture and still images.
Panagakos Gallery: Opening Reception of Metallica by Shannon Gillette
Lower Level
Heather Brewster Studio: Closing Sale! Come and enjoy some great art at reduced prices and get a sneak peek at "The Red Road" - assemblage art reflecting her journey with kidney disease and dialysis.
My Escape Studio Bulk Up: cards for All Occasions by Design Artist Melody Germain. Bonus specials on First Thursday.
My Escape Studio Bulk Up: cards for All Occasions by Design Artist Melody Germain. Bonus specials on First Thursday.
THEATRE
8pm
MOTEL theatre at the EPCOR CENTRE for Performing Arts (across from Big Secret Theatre) 205 - 8 Ave SE, $20 adult, $15 equity/senior/student/low-income
Heterophobia, a dark comedy, is a tall glass of gay with a twist of straight. In the world of heterophobia, social norms are flipped on their ears, and extreme role reversal ensues. Being gay is the norm, and being straight is the ‘deviance’.
PARTIES
5 – 10:30pm
Back Alley, Theatre Junction GRAND, 608 1 St SW, free
Theatre Junction GRAND partners with the Hi Fi Club to present the second annual Season Launch Alley Party! Join us for live DJs, performances and dancing in the streets! Preview our new season and take advantage of your last chance to buy a season pass at the early bird rate.
Theatre Junction GRAND partners with the Hi Fi Club to present the second annual Season Launch Alley Party! Join us for live DJs, performances and dancing in the streets! Preview our new season and take advantage of your last chance to buy a season pass at the early bird rate.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
6 - 7:30pm
Calgary is bidding to be named the Cultural Capital of Canada in 2012, and we are looking for your ideas about how we should celebrate! Whether it’s acknowledging Calgary’s cultural history, experiencing everything this city has to offer or something entirely new, no idea is too big, no act is too small. The ideas YOU suggest will be the basis for Calgary’s bid. Join us in a discussion about culture in Calgary and dream big! RVSP to suzanne.boss@calgary2012.com by Tuesday, August 30, 2010.
6 – 7:45pm
Drop-In Career Coaching
Calgary Public Library, Central Branch, 3 Fl. Technology Discovery Centre, 616 Macleod Tr SE, free
Drop in for one-on-one help and feedback on resume writing, job searching skills and cover letters. Bring a disk or USB.
6 - 8pm
Aboriginal Writers’ Circle
Calgary Public Library, Central Branch, 4 Fl. Meeting room, 616 Macleod Tr SE, free
Join in on this exploration of the written word and oral storytelling.
EATS
10am – 2pm
Located on Stephen Avenue Walk between Centre St and 1st St SE (outside the Telus Convention Centre)
Offers up local baking, produce, organic products and handmade goodies. Stop by and pick up ingredients for dinner on your way home – or even just grab a bite for lunch! On top of food vendors, there will be people selling clothing, jewellery, artwork and many other treasures.
