Calgary Recommendations?! (Coming for the Stampede!)

[chazraps]

Howdy gang, just booked a trip to fly out to Calgary for the second week of July to catch the Stampede, The Beaches and AEW!

Give me all your Calgary tips, recommendations and can't miss do's and don'ts!

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

There’s a Bret Hart bar not far from Stampede grounds. Beyond that, I know little of Cowtown. Go take a picture in front of the Hart Mansion, it’s a c*** to find if you’re by yourself but totally worth it



EDIT: If you dig dinosaurs and archeological shit Drumheller is only like 30-40 min away from Calgary and it’s kickass

[UN PLOMBIER NIGHTMARE #blm]

buy a jarome iginla jersey

[HeyYo]

I would highly recommend going to Banff. Take an entire day, if not more, to stay there. Ive traveled to quite a few places and it's one of, if not, the most beautiful place Ive been to. If you're into hiking, message me and I can make some recommendations. It's about a 90 minute drive but I couldn't recommend it more. Plenty of tourism and great restaurants.

For restaurants in Calgary, would say Jelly Modern Donut if you're into donuts and also OEB Breakfast, both are downtown. Mucho Burrito if you like quick and cheap Mexican. I can recommend more if you say what kind of foods you're into.

Would recommend a walk through Princes Island Park, but avoid the Drop In homeless shelter that's nearby. It's a rough area.

A walk down Stephen Ave (I think it's 8th Ave southwest if I remember right). There's no cars allowed and it's nice shops and restaurants. Great for tourists.

Peters Drive In for milkshakes is a huge local favourite.

The Stampede can be a gongshow. In all seriousness, don't be surprised if random people come up to you and start talking trash for no reason, wanting to fight. Happened to me a couple times. There's always fights going on for no logical reason. Have your guard up for this and just walk away, not worth it at all.

Also be prepared for people throwing up all over the place.

Also, what beaches do you mean?

[Cranjis McBasketball]

The beaches?? I suppose you could go to the beach at Bow River….

Hitting up Lake Louise is probably your best bet for something like that, but that’s not really “in” Calgary.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Jun 4, 2024 16:15:03 GMT -5 HeyYo said:

I would highly recommend going to Banff. Take an entire day, if not more, to stay there. Ive traveled to quite a few places and it's one of, if not, the most beautiful place Ive been to. If you're into hiking, message me and I can make some recommendations. It's about a 90 minute drive but I couldn't recommend it more. Plenty of tourism and great restaurants.

For restaurants in Calgary, would say Jelly Modern Donut if you're into donuts and also OEB Breakfast, both are downtown. Mucho Burrito if you like quick and cheap Mexican. I can recommend more if you say what kind of foods you're into.

Would recommend a walk through Princes Island Park, but avoid the Drop In homeless shelter that's nearby. It's a rough area.

A walk down Stephen Ave (I think it's 8th Ave southwest if I remember right). There's no cars allowed and it's nice shops and restaurants. Great for tourists.

Peters Drive In for milkshakes is a huge local favourite.

The Stampede can be a gongshow. In all seriousness, don't be surprised if random people come up to you and start talking trash for no reason, wanting to fight. Happened to me a couple times. There's always fights going on for no logical reason. Have your guard up for this and just walk away, not worth it at all.

Also be prepared for people throwing up all over the place.

Also, what beaches do you mean?

OEB breakfast is great!

[Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!!]

Yeah this is about the first time I've ever heard of anyone talking about going to Calgary for "the Beaches" 🤣

Not sure what the schedule is like but might be fun to go to a Stampeders game.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Let me ask you this…what do you consider “near-by”? Because in Canada and especially in the Prairies, where you are heading, a several hours drive isn’t unusual. That’s just something we do. I live near Calgary, but it’s 3 hours away, but a day trip up there isn’t out of the question at all.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Jun 4, 2024 18:58:13 GMT -5 Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! said:

Yeah this is about the first time I've ever heard of anyone talking about going to Calgary for "the Beaches" 🤣

Not sure what the schedule is like but might be fun to go to a Stampeders game.

Bombers are gonna kill it again this year. But don’t talk to me come playoff time

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Jun 4, 2024 16:15:03 GMT -5 HeyYo said:

The Stampede can be a gongshow. In all seriousness, don't be surprised if random people come up to you and start talking trash for no reason, wanting to fight. Happened to me a couple times. There's always fights going on for no logical reason. Have your guard up for this and just walk away, not worth it at all.

Also be prepared for people throwing up all over the place.

Cowboys, rig pigs and alcohol are a dangerous combination. As someone who used to bartend in an oil town, rodeo weekend was terrifying. So much whiskey fueled testosterone and violence.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Jun 5, 2024 11:49:27 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

Jun 4, 2024 16:15:03 GMT -5 HeyYo said:

The Stampede can be a gongshow. In all seriousness, don't be surprised if random people come up to you and start talking trash for no reason, wanting to fight. Happened to me a couple times. There's always fights going on for no logical reason. Have your guard up for this and just walk away, not worth it at all.

Also be prepared for people throwing up all over the place.

Cowboys, rig pigs and alcohol are a dangerous combination. As someone who used to bartend in an oil town, rodeo weekend was terrifying. So much whiskey fueled testosterone and violence.

Meh, as long as chaz is willing to get shit his pants drunk on bottom shelf whiskey and bust out some language that doesn’t fly most anywhere else in North America, I’m sure things will be fine.

[J. Hova]

Caesar's steakhouse is pricey but has some of the best ribeye steaks I've ever had and their service is second to none.

["Trickster Dogg" James Jesse]

You might want to rethink your travel plans.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-mayor-critical-water-supply-main-break-1.7235061

[chazraps]

Thanks for all the suggestions, gang! Super excited to fly out Monday.

And for those who were confused by my mention of The Beaches, they're playing on Tuesday with songs from what's my pick for album of the year -

Jun 14, 2024 19:08:47 GMT -5 "Trickster Dogg" James Jesse said:

You might want to rethink your travel plans.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-mayor-critical-water-supply-main-break-1.7235061

Looks like the Canadians banded together and acted selflessly to fix the water supply issue, so my travel plans are still on.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Jun 5, 2024 19:05:39 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

Jun 5, 2024 11:49:27 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

Cowboys, rig pigs and alcohol are a dangerous combination. As someone who used to bartend in an oil town, rodeo weekend was terrifying. So much whiskey fueled testosterone and violence.

Meh, as long as chaz is willing to get shit his pants drunk on bottom shelf whiskey and bust out some language that doesn’t fly most anywhere else in North America, I’m sure things will be fine.

Our friend Chaz is a darker complexion. I don’t know if I’d trust that in Calgary at all during Stampede week. That sounded poor, but I’m trying to say be safe Chaz. And let me know how Dynamite goes. And be prepared for F words and R words flying casually

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

How’s the Stampede going man? Was watching a tonne of it yesterday, looks like it’s a blast

[chazraps]

Hey everyone, just want to say I had a fantastic transformative wonderful time in Calgary. What an absolutely beautiful endlessly exciting artistically rich city!

The Stampede itself was a lot of fun, it was like the love child of the Minnesota State Fair and the Texas State Fair. Even if you aren't a rodeo person, highly recommend checking out their rodeo at least once. It's like the Wrestlemania/Super Bowl of Rodeo - the best of the best from around the world with magnificent pageantry.

The food was amazing, especially Caesar's Steakhouse where I had at the very least a top two steak in my life. Speaking of memorable top moment, The Beaches' performance at the Stampede is a top 5 concert I've ever seen - a Canadian band at the height of their powers surrounded by enthusiastic Canadian fans who know every single word - just magnificent.

Jelly Modern Donuts and Princes Island Park were also excellent destinations that I'm glad I made my way to. Bret Hart's bar is a must-see destination for all fans and his Hitman's Ale is so far the best wrestler-branded beer I've encountered.

I'll say that Calgary is perhaps the most pedestrian friendly city I've ever been to, over four days I only needed to Uber to the Hart House which was pretty breathtaking to finally see in person. I respected the rules and didn't set foot *on* the property but got plenty of photos around it. From there, I took an Uber to the stop of Scotsman's Hill which you may not recognize by name but was the hill that any Calgary-filmed WWF interview of Bret took place in. Just an instantly recognizable view of the entire city. The hill itself is also very pedestrian friendly as I walked from the top there through the stampede and back to my hotel after.

I was also able to go to the Owen Hart Foundation Block Party and a photo of my arms, pecs and two stuffed animals I brought to their stuffed animal drive made the Calgary CTV news - calgary.ctvnews.ca/calgarians-trade-teddy-bears-for-pics-with-chris-jericho-at-owen-hart-foundation-event-1.6957782

And, of course, the AEW show was just fantastic. It was also surreal timing and location-wise to walk out of the Saddledome and then outside the doors I'm immeadiately in the middle of a Metric concert, so seeing Canadian indierock legends with unexpected convenience was a nice touch.

So yeah, my review of Calgary is that I absolutely loved it, I highly recommend it and I want to thank everyone who contributed their wisdom and suggestions for what was a great experience.

One thing I will add to anyone prospectively going during the stampede - buy a cowboy hat soon as you get there or bring one. People treat you better when you're taking part in the fun.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Aug 5, 2024 21:33:41 GMT -5 chazraps said:

Hey everyone, just want to say I had a fantastic transformative wonderful time in Calgary. What an absolutely beautiful endlessly exciting artistically rich city!

The Stampede itself was a lot of fun, it was like the love child of the Minnesota State Fair and the Texas State Fair. Even if you aren't a rodeo person, highly recommend checking out their rodeo at least once. It's like the Wrestlemania/Super Bowl of Rodeo - the best of the best from around the world with magnificent pageantry.

The food was amazing, especially Caesar's Steakhouse where I had at the very least a top two steak in my life. Speaking of memorable top moment, The Beaches' performance at the Stampede is a top 5 concert I've ever seen - a Canadian band at the height of their powers surrounded by enthusiastic Canadian fans who know every single word - just magnificent.

Jelly Modern Donuts and Princes Island Park were also excellent destinations that I'm glad I made my way to. Bret Hart's bar is a must-see destination for all fans and his Hitman's Ale is so far the best wrestler-branded beer I've encountered.

I'll say that Calgary is perhaps the most pedestrian friendly city I've ever been to, over four days I only needed to Uber to the Hart House which was pretty breathtaking to finally see in person. I respected the rules and didn't set foot *on* the property but got plenty of photos around it. From there, I took an Uber to the stop of Scotsman's Hill which you may not recognize by name but was the hill that any Calgary-filmed WWF interview of Bret took place in. Just an instantly recognizable view of the entire city. The hill itself is also very pedestrian friendly as I walked from the top there through the stampede and back to my hotel after.

I was also able to go to the Owen Hart Foundation Block Party and a photo of my arms, pecs and two stuffed animals I brought to their stuffed animal drive made the Calgary CTV news - calgary.ctvnews.ca/calgarians-trade-teddy-bears-for-pics-with-chris-jericho-at-owen-hart-foundation-event-1.6957782

And, of course, the AEW show was just fantastic. It was also surreal timing and location-wise to walk out of the Saddledome and then outside the doors I'm immeadiately in the middle of a Metric concert, so seeing Canadian indierock legends with unexpected convenience was a nice touch.

So yeah, my review of Calgary is that I absolutely loved it, I highly recommend it and I want to thank everyone who contributed their wisdom and suggestions for what was a great experience.

One thing I will add to anyone prospectively going during the stampede - buy a cowboy hat soon as you get there or bring one. People treat you better when you're taking part in the fun.

I highly encourage you to run for council in Calgary, because the one huge, giant issue everyone has with Calgary is urban sprawl. So, if it's the most pedestrian friendly city you've ever been to, they're likely to elect you god.