Seating over 19,000, Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome has a bit of something for everyone, including professional hockey, rock concerts, rodeos, circuses, conventions and more. Business outings or evenings with friends are made even more exciting when spent in the Super Suites or the Seminole Executive Club, two luxurious and elite locations found within the Saddledome. The Telus Conference Center also offers state-of-the-art facilities. Enjoy happy hour specials prior to games and concerts at Dutton's Canadian Lounge or take in great views while sample fine Calgarian cuisine at the Saddleroom Restaurant.
Canada Olympic Park was the venue for the 1998 Winter Olympics and offers a variety of adventure sports facilities. These facilities are used both by high-performance winter athletes and by ordinary, adventurous, Calgarians. The bobsled track immortalized by four Jamaican sledders continues to be used for World Cup events. The downhill ski slope is a popular entry-level spot for skiers, while the half-pipe area crawls with local snowboarders. The park also gets steady summer use by cross-country and downhill mountain bike racers. Inside the main COP building there is a restaurant/bar and the Olympic Hall of Fame and Museum. Prices vary according to activity.
One of the world's great equestrian facilities is located in the rolling ranch lands just south of Calgary's city limits. Built and maintained by the Southern family, this sprawling site is now home to some of the world's top show-jumping events. The facilities are also a year-round attraction for horse-lovers and aspiring competitive riders. Competitions occur on six different grass rings, including the main venue that can seat 30,000 spectators for events. Four major competitions take place during the season, the biggest of which occurs in mid-September.
The Olympic Oval, one of the sites of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, continues to be a solid attraction for tourists. The massive silvery-white roof that covers this huge building on the University of Calgary campus is an engineering and architectural marvel. The facility remains the fastest speed skating track in the world, with records routinely shattered at World Cup competitions staged each year. Several national teams, including Canada's, train here, offering fans a chance to have very close brushes with the skating elite. The track is regularly open to the public for skating on regular or rental speed skates.
One of the largest venues in Alberta, the Jack Singer Concert Hall attracts big-name artists with its classical beauty and easy-on-the-ear acoustics. The hall boasts of the Carthy Organ, hand-carved from solid oak and containing more than 1600 polished alloy and wood pipes. This concert hall is part of Arts Commons, a performing arts complex occupying 10 acres (4.5 hectares) in Downtown Calgary. As one of the major art centers in Canada, Arts Commons hosts world-class performances on Singer Hall's state of the art stage. The Box Office opens one hour prior to performance and closes one hour after the show starts. This venue can also be rented for private events.
True to its name, the Theatre Junction GRAND was founded as the largest theater in the Pacific Northwest in 1912. It hosted such iconic acts as the Marx Brothers and Fred Astaire in its earlier days and continues to serve as a cultural hub in downtown Calgary. Known today for its contemporary performing arts, the landmark venue showcases exciting theatre, dance, film, and music productions. Better still, you can enjoy dinner and a show at the Theatre Junction GRAND, which also celebrates community the culinary arts with its award-winning restaurant, Workshop Kitchen + Culture.
Calgary Central Library, founded in 1920s is a re-developed library in its new location at Downtown East Village, working parallelly along with 20 other branches, under its Calgary Public Library flagship library system. Located in an oval-shaped building, uniquely designed resembling a kaleidoscope. With shiny pieces of glass placed together beautifully in geometric shapes, the library is one beautiful sight. The library runs on public funds and offers free membership to local residents and free access to their books. The place is visited by thousands of visitors per day and is one of the largest libraries in Canada.
A part of the Our Lady of Fatima Church, this hall is quite popular especially with the 7000 strong Portuguese community who migrated to Calgary from the Azores Islands. Mostly church related and community events are held here, however the occasional music concert or dance performance also draws people from across the city to this quiet, green neighborhood. The hall is not too state-of-the-art in terms of technology but the convivial atmosphere which it generates, more than makes up for this.
Since the early 1970s, this popular company has been offering Calgary's downtown population a little theater entertainment during lunch. Every noon, office-going crowd towed with brown bags, hurry to this small theater for an hour of live entertainment. There is lunch available at the theater for those who don't have their own, and guests are welcome to eat in their seats. The acts on stage is light theatrical fare mainly one act comedies but then again who wants heavy drama in the middle of their work day? Spend your break time at Lunchbox Theatre.
Part of the hugely successful Vertigo Theatre Centre is an immensely popular venue, The Studio. It is very flexible and can hold in excess of 130 people. This experimental theater is replete with black curtains, black seating, ample lighting and other necessary technological requirements. Concerts, auditions, workshops and many more such events can be held here. The Playhouse, also within Vertigo, is another venue used for events.
West Village Theatre situated in the heart of Calgary is an intimate theater playing host to a wide range of theatrical productions ideal for people of all ages. Poetry slams, talks, lectures, theatrical productions and musicals amongst many others are organized at West Village Theatre on a regular basis making it haven for fans of performing arts in the neighborhood. Various shows organized at this theater is aimed at improving the overal performing arts scene in the city which will be eventually beneficial for the artists and the fans. West Village Theatre also features a bar where you can a grab your favorite and unwind before or after the show.