There are not one, not two, but three different festivals happening this weekend, so you have some major choices.
If you’re a movie fiend, the Artifact Small Format Film Festival kicks off at the Globe this Thursday and goes until Sunday. Movies made on 16 millimeter and Super 8 are screening all weekend at Calgary’s coolest indie theatre. If you’re hitting the Calgary Underground Film Festival later this month, this makes for an excellent pre-game.
Drama nerds will want to hit the Pumphouse for the Calgary Region One Act Play Festival, running from Wednesday to Sunday. Enjoy new, emerging theatre with new scripts presented by pros and newbies alike. Check out the April issue of our magazine to learn more about this festival, and grab tickets for your show of choice at pumphousetheatre.ca.
And for the headbangers, the Electric Highway Festival is the place to be. This heavy rock-focused festival is putting on its final edition on Friday and Saturday at Dickens, with Bison headlining and tons of Alberta acts spanning heavy metal, stoner rock, and more. Check out the full lineup at theelectrichighway.ca.
Speaking of Dickens, why not start the week there? Local drag queen Lilith Fair is hosting Drag Bingo on monday, promising prizes, performances, and perversity. Admission is only $10, which also gets you your first bingo card for free! And if you’re a gamer, Ship Arcade is taking over the Ship & Anchor all night, transforming Calgary’s favourite bar into the retro arcade of your dreams.
Every Tuesday night in April, you can flex your sketching skills with HanFu Life Drawing Night. Live models dressed in traditional Hanfu Chinese attire will be the basis of your next drawing masterpiece, posing at OC Modern Factory. All skill levels are welcome — you just gotta bring your own art supplies. Check out yuchenartstudio on Eventbrite for details and tickets.
Thursday is a tale of two Calgarys. The Flames take on the Anaheim Ducks at the ‘Dome, and just down the street, black metal legends Mayhem are destroying the Palace! Either way, it’s going to be rowdy, so take your pick: moshing or screaming your lungs out alongside the red wave.
Any student of punk rock knows that stand-up comedians used to open for bands in the ‘70s. Skunkworks Distilling is bringing that tradition back with Laughs and Giraffes this Friday. Several comedians will be doing sets, headlined by Troo Knot, and right afterwards, local punk band Giraffistan will hit the stage. Doors are at 7, and admission is only 15 bucks. Don’t ever tell me there’s nothing to do in Calgary!
Rounds the week off at Slow Burn Books for their first ever Indie Author Market on Sunday. Fifteen local authors are on deck to sell and sign your new favourite romance novels, and there are also tons of other vendors. Tickets are six bucks, with a dollar from each ticket going to the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society, whose mission is to “empower and inspire storytellers to connect, learn, and develop their craft.” Steamy books and a good cause: what’s not to like?
For more events and things to do around the city, grab our April issue of The Scene hitting stands this week, and visit us online at thescenecalgary.com
