The annual yuk fest is back with a lineup of standups that should make you line up. Until June 10.
Tonight's main event is the gospel concert. It's a heavenly way to kick off the week-long celebration of Caribbean culture.
Everything you need to know: the kitchen closes at 4 p.m. The shows run until 6 p.m.
Take a peek into the Stampede Archives, and get a little insight into the family tree of Guy Weadick to boot.
Despite their name, Martin Bennett's Static Image Paintings move on from TrepanierBaer after today.
The beer garden might be the only thing in bloom on Day 1 of this inner-city gem, but we're okay with that.
The Cowtown Opera Company present Die Fledermaus in English. To the Batmobile! And then to Heritage Park!
Worry not, theatre-lover. The season may soon be over, but fall and a new slate of shows are just around the corner. See what’s in store for the Alberta Theatre Projects by sneaking a peek at their upcoming shows, including a holiday production of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Thursday, May 31. 5:30 p.m. At Martha Cohen Theatre, Epcor Centre. atplive.com.
Under the “in case you missed it” category: Canadian indie rock-band sensation Zeus are hitting Canmore after playing Broken City last week. They’ve been described as blending The Beatles, E.L.O., Big Star and the Beach Boys. It might be a good occasion to bust out (but not out of) your bell-bottoms.
Wednesday, May 30. At Communitea Cafe, 117, 1001 6th Ave., Canmore.
The Hodgins art auction is aiming wide by offering over 350 artworks for sale in a variety of budget ranges, but, really, the appeal is the bidding process—holding up a paddle and shouting a number is an oddly compelling endeavour. Monocles are optional, but encouraged.
Auction Monday and Tuesday. At Hodgins Art Auctions, 5240 1A St. S.E. hodginsauction.com.
The annual Fairy Tales Film Fest is on now. The target audience is the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community, but straight film buffs are welcome, too. 
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Gumballs are a severely underused medium in the art world. Hoping to correct that, the Museum of Contemporary Art Calgary is bringing in Franz Spohn to help lead the assembly of a gumball portrait of Mayor Nenshi and the Calgary Tower for the Calgary International Children’s Fest.
Saturday, May 26. At 800 Macleod Tr. S.E. Noon. mocacalgary.org.
MUSICAL INFLUENCES: I love Rufus Wainwright and Hawksley Workman. But Frank Sinatra is my favourite. I love emotion and, for me, Frank’s just full of it. Emotion, I mean. I have Sirius radio just so I can listen to Siriusly Sinatra.
FIRST GIG: I sang “Puff, the Magic Dragon” for my parents at a cabin in Fairmont when I was three—my dad was so moved by my passion for music, he started bawling. I surprised him by choosing the instrumental version of that song for the father-daughter dance at my wedding. more
Join Early Music Voices and VoiceScapes in an exploration of the women of medieval nunneries through their writing, life stories and music. Also, there will likely be some sass if the concert’s title (Listen, Daughter: Music of medieval nunneries) is any indication.
Saturday, May 26. At Christ Church Elbow Park, 3602 8th St. S.W. $20 – $25. earlymusicvoices.ca.
Button, button, who’s got the button?” may seem like a peculiar premise to base an event on, but that is sure to be the question on everyone’s mind at this Saturday’s Hot One Inch Action. Making its way to Calgary for the first time, Hot One Inch is a one-night-only art exhibition conceived in Vancouver in 2004 by Jim Hoehnle and Chris Bentzen. This isn’t your typical art show, however. Instead of standing around, quietly taking in the canvases on the walls and glowering at the large-scale price tags, you can score a sachet of five buttons printed with works selected from 50 talented local artists for five dollars and that’s when the fun really begins. more
It may be presented by StoryBook Theatre, but Avenue Q is not bedtime material. The puppet-musical spoof of Sesame Street, which won the Tony for best musical in 2004, is raunchy at times, so Storybook recommends it for audiences over the age of 14.
Until Sunday, June 10. At The Easterbrook Theatre, 2633 Hochwald Ave. S.W. $25. storybooktheatre.org.
There’s a giant hole in Calgary’s festival calendar when it comes to jazz programming. With the disappearance of the Calgary Jazz Festival two years ago, hep jazz cats have no annual place to gather. Here’s where the National Music Centre (the rebranded Cantos Music Foundation) steps in with the National Jazz Summit, but, as the NMC’s director of programs, Ian Menzies, tells Jon Roe, it’s not quite an international jazz festival. more
It’s last call for the Candahar at the Illingworth Kerr Gallery. The installation is a detailed recreation of a Belfast public house that includes fraternal bartenders Chris and Conor Roddy, who made the trip across the ocean for the display by Theo Sims. So order a pint while you can—the Candahar shutters on Saturday.
Until Saturday, may 26 at Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art + Design
Nashville might hold the moniker of Music City in the state of Tennessee, but Memphis is the source of plenty of soulful sounds. “It’s rock, it’s rockabilly, it’s blues, it’s soul and it’s big-time gospel, and a lot of those ideas are fused together,” says Brian Farrell. “You can go anywhere in Memphis and hear those styles everywhere.”
Farrell, the artistic director of Calgary choir Revv52, took a trip to the Bluff City and was inspired to create a whole Memphis-themed concert for his choral crew. The result is a musical trip through the melting pot of Memphis styles and artists that includes some of the greatest songs ever written. He kindly provided a playlist and some insight into his choices to preview the upcoming show. more
Christopher Hunt and Vanessa Porteous combine for a remount of the critically acclaimed John Mortimer/Teddy Atienza riff on Shakespeare. more
Quickdraw Animation Society’s Animation Lockdown: Retro Remix Edition promises two sets of heroes: Those in a half-shell, in a screening of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), preceded by those with half-lidded eyes, who recently completed animations in a 48-hour period. The results (remixes of classic cartoons like He-Man, Thundercats and Transformers) of their race against sleep and time will be subject to your votes of approval, which you submit while enjoying a traditional Turtle meal of pizza. Cowabunga!
Wednesday, May 23. At The Plaza Theatre, 1133 Kensington Rd. 9 p.m. Admission, $8; pizza and a beer, $15. quickdrawanimation.ca.
If Saturday Night Live has taught us anything, it’s that Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon can sing himself to sleep. That ability must come in handy on tour, but local fans hope he stays awake long enough to play “Calgary,” the first single off the band’s current album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver.
Tuesday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 23. At MacEwan Hall, U of C. PBO.
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