Hello, beautiful people of Calgary!
The lilacs are about a week from going off, the trees have finally finished leafing out, and Calgary has slipped into the short stretch of the year where nobody can find a reason to complain. (Give us until July. We will.)
This week's issue: the City is trying to give away a 113-year-old building for a dollar, the woodpeckers are eating Calgary's siding, and the zoo has two new grizzly cubs with a backstory.
The event calendar is calmer than last week's marathon-sized one, but Come From Away opens at Theatre Calgary and the Phil takes on Broadway. Plus a tucked-away suburban townhouse guess in Price Check.
Let's get to it.
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You can own a 113-year-old building for a dollar — if you can move it.
The City is offering to donate the Ogden Block, a 1913 building on Ogden Road SE that started life as the Hong Lee Laundry, a Chinese-owned business and boarding house well outside Calgary's historic Chinatown. The Green Line LRT needs the site for the future Ogden station, so the City will hand the whole structure to anyone who can relocate it by November 15 — and put $50,000 toward the move. The asking price is $1. If no one steps up, it comes down. Applications run through June 23. Read the details
Council might be changing its mind on the free fare zone.
For years you've been able to ride the train or a bus through the core without paying — handy when you're hopping two stops in the wrong shoes. In early May a council committee voted 7-4 to scrap it as of August 1, and it looked like a done deal. Then the public response showed up. Councillor inboxes filled up, the mayor came out against the change, and at least two more votes have shifted toward keeping the zone. Council takes it up at today's meeting, and the math now points to the zone hanging on. A clean reminder that the loud, polite email still works around here. Read the story
Your property tax bill is in the mail.
The City sent out roughly 600,000 bills last Friday. Payment is due June 30, and a seven per cent penalty lands on anything unpaid starting July 1. If yours hasn't turned up by June 1, call 311 for a statement. You can also pull up this year's bill, plus the last four, at calgary.ca/mytax, or spread the cost over monthly installments through the TIPP program. See the payment options
The flickers are back, and your siding is on the menu.
The northern flicker — Calgary's most common woodpecker — drills through stucco looking for bugs or a place to nest, and late May is peak season for both. Damage can run into the tens of thousands per household. Home insurance generally won't touch bird damage or the water damage that follows the holes, and flickers are federally protected under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, so you can't legally take matters into your own hands. Recommendations are pretty consistent: catch the drumming early, hang reflective deterrents before the bird commits to your wall, and treat prevention as the only real play. Once they've moved in, your options narrow fast. Read the piece
Meet Turner and Fritz, the Calgary Zoo's two new grizzlies.
Turner and Fritz were found near Diamond Valley last September, after their mother was killed in what Fish and Wildlife described as "an aggressive interaction with a human." Alberta sent the two cubs to the Wilder Institute's care team, where they spent the winter and spring getting ready for public life. The zoo announced last Wednesday that they're out on habitat for the first time — doing what cubs do, which is mostly sniffing things and climbing on things they shouldn't. Read the update
This is Dopey, a 2-year-old female Large Mixed Breed who weighs 77 pounds. She lives up to her name in the best possible way.
Dopey is all wagging tails and playful energy, and she believes every person she meets is a new best friend. In her mind she is a lap dog, and she will do her best to squeeze into yours, even when the math doesn't quite cooperate. Shelter staff say she's making real progress on the polite-ways-to-ask-for-love front, with the four-paws-on-the-floor approach coming along nicely (treats help).
Her history is limited, so she's looking for a patient home willing to take introductions slowly. She is untested with kids, cats, and other dogs, so any of those would need supervised, gradual intros. What she does need is someone happy to be cuddled at all hours by an enthusiastic 77-pound shadow.
How to adopt: Visit the Calgary Humane Society. See her profile
Last week, 44.4% of you got it right. The answer was $2,175,000, on Lansdowne Avenue SW in Elbow Park. The lower option edged the correct one by a hair (45.8% vs. 44.4%), while only 9.7% reached for the top number.
This week we're trading inner-city character for clean suburban lines. The listing is a renovated two-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouse in one of Calgary's quieter master-planned pockets — shared walls, tree-lined paths, and the kind of cul-de-sac feel where everyone walks past the same tree.
Take a good look at the photos and cast your vote. Bonus points if you can guess the neighbourhood (just hit reply and shoot us an email with your guess).
Tuesday, May 26
Come From Away — first preview at Theatre Calgary | The Broadway musical about Gander, Newfoundland after 9/11. Runs through June 27. Max Bell Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Tickets
Dog Days hot dog festival | 45 Calgary restaurants and breweries serving their own takes on the hot dog, already underway and running through June 6. $1 from each featured dog goes to PALS. See the lineup
Wednesday, May 27
Corb Lund at Ranchman's | Alberta country royalty at the Macleod Trail honky-tonk. 8:00 p.m. Tickets
Thursday, May 28
Calgary Surge vs. Scarborough Shooting Stars | CEBL basketball at WinSport Event Centre. 7:30 p.m. Tickets
FunnyFest Comedy Festival opens | 70 comedians and 11 nights of stand-up at venues across Calgary. Runs through June 7. Schedule & tickets
Sip Happens wine tasting at Calgary Co-op Shawnessy | A curated tasting of summer-ready pours with light bites in a low-key social setting. 7:00 p.m. Tickets
Friday, May 29
Calgary Philharmonic — Broadway Hits at Jack Singer | Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Tickets
Comedy Colosseum at The Grand | Improv face-offs all night. 8:00 p.m. Tickets
Alestorm at MacEwan Hall | Scottish pirate-themed heavy metal. 7:30 p.m. Tickets
Okotoks Dawgs home opener weekend | The Dawgs start their 2026 WCBL season at Seaman Stadium, 25 minutes south. Sylvan Lake Gulls Fri 7:05 p.m., Lethbridge Bulls Sat 7:05 p.m. and Sun 2:05 p.m. Tickets
Saturday, May 30
Big Band Burlesque at Martha Cohen Theatre | Glitterverse Productions and the Midnight Blue Jazz Society's 17-piece brass band, with headliners Luna Yen and Tre Da Marc. 7:00 p.m. Tickets
Calgary Latin American Film Festival — Venezuela night at Globe Cinema | The inaugural festival screens Children of Las Brisas, a documentary about three Venezuelan kids trying to become professional musicians. 6:15 p.m. Tickets
Sunday, May 31
Calgary Wild FC vs. AFC Toronto | Northern Super League at McMahon Stadium. 2:00 p.m. Tickets
Royal Canadian Circus — final day at CrossIron Mills | Last chance to catch the all-new 2026 production under the Big Top before it leaves town. Tickets
InglewooDIY Festival — final day | The maker festival wraps with jewellery workshops, candle-making, wine-charm sessions and more across Inglewood. See the lineup
Want your event to be featured? Hit reply and send us the details. If it's cool, we'll share it with Calgary.
Esra Cash & Leanne Lightfoot | Gravity Espresso | Tue, 6:30 p.m. Details
Punk Rock Bingo | Ship & Anchor | Tue, 7:00 p.m. Details
Tom Phillips & The DTs (Honky-Tonk Tuesdays) | The Blues Can | Tue, 8:00 p.m. Details
Open Mic | Ironwood Stage | Wed, 7:00 p.m. Details
Mojo Philter (Wing Wednesday) | The Blues Can | Wed, 8:00 p.m. Details
Suzanne de Bussac (Happy Hour) | The Blues Can | Thu, 5:00 p.m. Details
Hover Horse w/ Hangman Pencil Co. | King Eddy | Thu, 7:30 p.m. Get tickets
Black Cherry Perry & The Mississippi Medicine Show | The Blues Can | Thu, 8:00 p.m. Details
Jenny Allen (Lunchtime) | The Blues Can | Fri, noon Details
Happy Hour with Tera Lee | King Eddy | Fri, 4:30 p.m. Details
Mark Sadlier Brown (Happy Hour) | The Blues Can | Fri, 5:00 p.m. Details
Easy Dan | Gravity Espresso | Fri, 6:30 p.m. Details
Ridley Bent | Ironwood Stage | Fri, 8:00 p.m. Get tickets
Cruz Vallis | King Eddy | Fri, 8:30 p.m. Get tickets
The Ashley Hundred w/ Sam Singer & Kue Varo | Palomino Smokehouse | Fri, 9:00 p.m. Get tickets
Emo Night Calgary | Dickens Pub | Fri, 9:00 p.m. Get tickets
Acoustic Afternoons with Meera Sylvain | King Eddy | Sat, 11:30 a.m. Details
Saturday Afternoon Jam with Mike Clark | The Blues Can | Sat, 3:00 p.m. Details
Gravity Artist of the Month: Anjie Corpuz Quartet | Gravity Espresso | Sat, 6:30 p.m. Details
Jessi Cruickshank DJ's: Evening Club | Commonwealth Bar | Sat, 7:00 p.m. Get tickets
The Mocking Shadows | Ironwood Stage | Sat, 8:00 p.m. Get tickets
Neon Taste presents Hedonist w/ White Collar, Power of Evil & more | Palomino Smokehouse | Sat, 8:00 p.m. Get tickets
Roman Clarke | King Eddy | Sat, 8:30 p.m. Get tickets
Charlie Jacobson | The Blues Can | Sat, 9:00 p.m. Details
Woodhouse Big Band (Brunch) | The Blues Can | Sun, 11:30 a.m. Details
Songsmith Sundays with Carter Felker | King Eddy | Sun, 11:30 a.m. Details
Blue Gospel | Ironwood Stage | Sun, 2:00 p.m. Details
Sunday Jazz Jam with The Streamline Quartet | Gravity Espresso | Sun, 2:00 p.m. Details
Sunday Afternoon Jam | The Blues Can | Sun, 3:00 p.m. Details
Sunday Night Blues Jam | The Blues Can | Sun, 8:00 p.m. Details
Have a great week.
P.S. Forward this to anyone in the market for a 77-pound furry friend.