This weekend is your last chance to take the kids to Calaway Park for Halloweekend! Join the Boo Crew, stroll through Hallotown, dress up as your favourite family-friendly character and enjoy the spooky season as it ramps up properly. Pro-tip: you can get cheaper tickets at Calgary Co-Op.
Right as Halloweekend ends, Screamfest begins at Stampede Park. This yearly tradition includes six haunted houses, an ultra-immersive zombie outbreak haunt, midway games, a movie theatre, and more! Get tickets at screamfest.ca and check out even more Halloween ideas in our October issue.
Here’s a two-hit idea for some early week shenanigans: hit The Ship and Anchor on Tuesday for Punk Rock Bingo hosted by Darren Ollinger, who you might recognize as the lead singer of Julius Sumner Miller. Then, head to Dickens on Wednesday for Trivia Killed The Radio Star, a music-oriented quiz event hosted by Talespin Trivia. Punk Rock Bingo is free, and Music Trivia is only five bucks, so you’re in for some cheap thrills and more cash for cold ones. Both events start around 7 p.m.!
Speaking of Dickens, there are free screenings of the TV show Dragula every Tuesday at the bar, immediately followed by the weekly They’ve Got Talent drag showcase.
Here’s a fun one: take your dog to a comedy show on Thursday with Big Dog Energy at South Block BBQ. The show is dog-friendly and features local and international comedians; tickets start at $20. Search Big Dog Energy on Eventbrite!
Calgary’s newest record store, Neon Taste, is throwing a three-day party this weekend full of slammin’ heavy punk tunes and guaranteed good times. Friday and Saturday features bands like Headcheese, Puppet Wipes and Closetalkers at the Palomino, while Sunday features DJ’s spinning choice selections all night at Pin Bar. Hit up @neon.taste.records on Instagram for more details, and check out their new shop in Chinatown for some killer deals on wax.
Get your booty to Mac Hall on Saturday for Carnifex, Cryptopsy, Mental Cruelty, Organectomy, and Heavy//Hitter for even more heaviness. Carnifex’s latest album, Necromanteum, is a doozy of headbanging deathcore, and this five-band bill promises an endless torrent of heavy metal all night. Doors are at 5:30 p.m., so show up early to grab a shirt!
If that all seems too heavy for you, fear not; there’s a lot else going on this weekend. Pumpkin Fest is taking over the Blue Grass Nursery on Saturday, with pumpkin carving, a scarecrow showdown, and tons of autumn fun. Tickets are only $10, and the event promises to bring some joy to the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
Morpheus Theatre is finishing its production of Tom Smith’s Drinking Habits at the Pumphouse on Saturday with a closing night show.
The Calgary Flames play the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, returning the party to the ‘dome.
And the National Bank Challenger tennis event begins this weekend at OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre. The festivities begin early with the Everyone Can Play Gala on Friday and Saturday before the event properly begins on Sunday. The largest combined indoor men’s and women’s tournament in Canada will run all next week.
For more events and things to do around the city, grab the October issue of The Scene, on stands now.
