When you think of Calgary, your mind probably goes to the Calgary Stampede. Cowboys. Rodeos. Bulls. Big hats. Boots. Horses. But guess what? Calgary is a lovely, cosmopolitan city with whimsical artwork on the corners and in the parks. There are tall nudes, dancing. There are multicolored squirrels peeking out from a wall. There are robots and statues in bright colors. What a wonderful city!
There is a pedestrian mall, Stephen Avenue Walk, right in the middle of all of this wonderfulness. It has restaurants, retail stores, and coffee shops. On one corner is Hudson Bay Department Store….and, can you believe?….the plaque on the building says the company was incorporated on May 2, 1620 by King Charles II as The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson’s Bay. Quite the title, and quite the date!
The last three photos are from the Esker Foundation art gallery in an old section of Calgary, Inglewood. The last is a modern tapestry, while the artwork above it is an embroidered panel, a skill which the artist is employing because of her grandmother’s influence from Hungary.
Inglewood has now come alive as the new hip place to eat and shop. All of the buildings are vintage, and there were vinyl record stores and several that called themselves “retro” stores.
PS The Stampede starts July 6 this year….but we won’t be here.
