111 Places In Calgary That You Must Not Miss
Interesting choice of bull for the cover…looks more like the running of the bulls than a Stampede bucking bull. I am surprised they didn’t use an image of Outlaw, one of the most famous Calgary Stampede bucking bulls. There is a sculpture of him in a downtown plaza.
When I arrived home from Victoria, I was surprised and happy to find a copy of the book “111 Places In Calgary That You Must Not Miss” in my mailbox.
I was anxious to see what was and wasn’t included.
I quickly looked for some of my favourite hidden gems to see if they were missed and was pleased to see places like #98 Stampede Park Art Walk was included, as was:
#14 Alberta’s Dream Sculpture
#106 Udderly Art Pasture
#60 Calgary’s funky Manhole Covers
#21 Calgary Tower’s Carillon
#13 Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs
#4 Aquila Books
#27 Cold Garden Beverage Company
#55 Knox United Church Labyrinth
#100 Suncor Energy’s Centre’s Bush Plane
#93 Sidewalk Stamps
I immediately loved the format of the book with large colour photos of each place, well researched stories about the place and text large enough to make it easy to read. It is pocket book size, but the quality of the paper makes it feel more like a tiny coffee table book.
Outlaw was one of the greatest athletes to every perform at the Calgary Stampede. He was ridden only once in 71 trips out of the chute. He was considered one of the “rankest” bulls in the world.
Missing Places
However, I was surprised to find that writer Jennifer Bain didn’t include downtown’s +15 walkway system. How could that be? It is perhaps Calgary’s most unique urban experience, with 60+ bridges connecting over 100 buildings creating at 20 km indoor walkway. To her credit she does mention the +15 system in the #100 Suncor Energy Center’s Bush Plane hanging from the ceiling.
Link: NYC’s High Line vs YYC’s +15 Walkway
I know Bain couldn’t include everything Calgary has to offer, but I was surprise at some obvious missing places in the top 111 places:
Blackfoot Diner (iconic Calgary diner)
Esker Foundation Art Gallery
Olympic Plaza and the Famous Five Sculpture
Stephen Avenue National Historic District (Hudson Bay Store was included)
Prince’s Island / Chevron Learning Pathway
Memorial Drive (Field of Crosses, public art, Poppy Plaza)
River Park Dog Walking Promenade (does have East Village Dog Park)
Café Beano (long standing artists hangout)
Recordland (Canada’ largest used record store)
Glamorgan Bakery (best cheese buns)
Memorial Park Library & Park (Alberta’s oldest)
Little Train / Lagoon at Bowness Park
Saturday Afternoon Blues Jams (Mikey’s, Ironwood, Blues Can)
Hidden Iconic Canadian Art at Eight Avenue Place
Tea Traders in Inglewood
there are more…
FYI: Be sure to read the captions at the bottom of the photos as there is a “Tip” added on each page, which means in reality there are 222 places you must not miss.
Link: Calgary: Tea Trader & Lapsang Souchong
Surprise & Strange Places
At the same time I was surprised at some of the places Bain identified that I wasn’t aware of, or haven’t visited yet. I will definitely be adding them to my list of places to visit:
#109 Wrestling at the Legion (family Fridays with real Canadian wrestling)
#68 Nile Supermarket (Alberta’s largest African & Middle Eastern Store)
#53 Iron Crow (classic collectables and vintage home décor)
#58 Little Chief (restaurant at Grey Eagle Resort serving indigenous fare)
#56 Leon The Frog (stairwell at University of Calgary with secret poem)
#38 European Club “Oak Leaf” (traditional Russian saunas come with beatings)
#32 Dark Table (blind dining experience)
#91 The Secret Seed Pod (Prairie Winds Park)
And there were some very some strange choices, like #85 RiverWalk Public Toilets. Turns out each of the two $125,000 each toilets were finalists in Canada’s Best Restroom Contest in 2016. Bain obvious did lots of background research which is evident in #41 Goats Doing Weed Patrol, where she shares the story of how a pilot project in one park in 2016 has grown to up to 1,000 goats grazing in a half-dozen sites across the city as a unique way to control weeds. I love #104 T. Lobsang Rampa’s Ex Home, the story of Cyril Henry Hoskin, who lived in a downtown rental apartment and scooted around downtown in a motorized wheelchair and who wrote a 1956 global best seller called “The Third Eye” that was supposedly the autobiography of a Tibetan lama.
Turns out the publisher had a list of categories they wanted included - things like hidden places, abandoned places, unexpected views, washrooms, tattooists, haunted places, new life for old buildings.
Why 111?
I was curious why 111 and not an even 100, so I checked with Bain. Turns out the publisher Emons Verlag started this series in 2008 and it is based in Cologne, Germany, where 11 is considered a lucky number and where their annual carnival starts on Nov. 11 at 11:11 am. They obviously couldn't wrap a series around just 11 places, so they added a 1 to make 111.
I also learned, Emons Verlag have 500+ titles but have only been in North America for a few years and so aren't well known here yet. They started in the USA with New York City in 2015 and in Canada with Toronto in 2018 and Vancouver in 2019. Calgary is the third Canadian book, with Whistler coming in 2021.
Link: 111 Places
Who are Bain & Ryan?
Jennifer Bain is an award-winning Canadian journalist who travels the world in search of quirk (perhaps we are related). She has been a travel editor, food editor and Saucy Lady columnist. She has produced three kids and two cookbooks.
Christina Ryan is an award winning photo-journalist and currently teaches in the photography program at SAIT. She lives with an understanding husband and three daughters who are never surprised when she leaves the house in the middle of the night to cover the latest breaking new story.
Christmas Gift
If you live in Calgary and are looking for a unique Christmas gift idea, I would recommend “111 Places In Calgary That You Must Not Miss” by Jennifer Bain, with great photos by Christina Ryan. You can buy the book for $27.00 at any independent book store or Chapters/Indigo location or order it online through Amazon (remember it started as an online bookstore).
Link: 111 Places Calgary / Chapters/Indigo
Link: 111 Places Calgary / Amazon
And if you don’t live in Calgary you might want to purchase “111 Places” of a city you would like to visit, but can’t because of COVID. Or perhaps give a 111 Places Book to a friend so they can have a virtual trip to their favourite city. I have never been to Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Singapore or Cape Town, but have always wanted to go to these cities – they all have 111 Places books. I was in Hong Kong in the mid-90s, it would be interesting to see what is included in the 111 Places Hong Kong.
Last Word
This time last year I was exploring the streets, parks, back alleys, cemeteries, shops and museums of London, England and one of my research books was titled 1,001 places to see in London. I bet if a few of us Calgary nerds got together we could easily come up with “1,001 Places In Calgary You Must See” and still we would miss some.
I can’t believe Hotel Arts isn’t in the book with it contemporary art collection, outdoor pool that becomes an indoor pool in the winter and its Alice In Wonderland inspired Yellow Door restaurant. 111 Place In Calgary That You Must Not Miss is a great start at exploring all of the fun, funky and quirky things our city has to offer.
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59 Free Fun Things To Do In Caglary