What’s Up This Weekend?

March 31 to April 2

March 30 to April 2; Calgary Rock N’ Gem Show, gemstones, minerals fossils, jewelry, beads and more. You will find it all at Rock N’ Gem Show at Spruce Meadows in the Equiplex. This all ages, family friendly event will feature amazing minerals from around the world, giving collectors a selection to get excited about.

Until March 31; Cineplex March Break Family Favorites, each weekday during the week of spring break, there will be four March Break Family Favorites showing at participating theatres for just $2.99. Check online or at your local theatre for times. Learn more at cineplex.com.

Until March 31, 11am and 2pm; Take a (Spring) Break with Chapters and Indigo Stores, enjoy story time at 11am and play time at 2pm every day during spring break at participating Chapters and Indigo stores. Contact your local store for details.

Until March 31; Get Ready to Play! Spring Break Events at Mastermind Toys, free make-and-takes, demos, giveaways and more at participating Mastermind Toys locations. Contact your local store for details.

March 31 to April 1; The Calgary Philharmonic Presents: Diana Cohen in Concert, savor the wide-ranging artistry of Concertmaster Diana Cohen with the Orchestra and conductor Yue Bao in Mieczylaw Weinberg’s striking Violin Concerto. Felix Mendelssohn’s moody overture The Hebrides and Ludwig van Beethoven’s sparkling eighth symphony create an exciting frame of contrasts — opening with atmospheric power and culminating in robust joy. Learn more at calgaryphil.com.

March 31 to April 2; World of Wheels, all the finest Hot Rods, motorcycles, customs, and trucks are coming to the BMO Centre for World of Wheels. Get your motor revving for this special event. Learn more at autorama.com.

April 1, 10am to 4pm; Calgary Sketch & Painting Club’s Annual Spring Show & Sale, this show will feature original artworks from more than 25 local artists at Dalhousie Community Centre. There will be a door prize for an original piece of art

April 1, 10am to 4pm; Bearspaw Easter Pop Up Market and Easter Egg Hunt, the Easter Bunny arrives the Bearspaw Lifestyle Centre at noon and the Easter Egg Hunt is at 1pm. With a presentation to the 278th Girl Guides from Kyle at LRT Helicopters and the winner of our BLC Name the Bear Contest all happening at noon. Learn more at allevents.in.

April 1, 12pm; Koo Koo Kanga Roo, a dance party of the senses. For the last 12 years, lifelong friends and collaborators Bryan and Neil have toured the globe delighting fans with their high-energy music, infectious positivity, and interactive live show. Together Bryan, Neil, and Beak set out to redefine the rules of what a “kids’ band” can sound like at The Junction YYC. Learn more at ticketweb.ca.

April 1, 3pm; Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo – Wild After Hours: Giraffes, caring for giraffes is a ‘tall’ order! Join Zoo staff for an adults-only evening of inspired conversation and a delicious four-course dinner prepared by an award-winning culinary team. This special event will include a visit with giraffes and presentations from the animal care, health and welfare team who work closely with them. See behind-the-scenes photos and videos and hear stories from those close to the giraffes. Learn more at calgaryzoo.com.

April 1 to 2, 10am to 4pm; Beading Workshops at Fort Calgary, Métis artisan Janis Laboucane will share the history and significance of Métis beading throughout this beginner’s workshop, where you’ll learn to follow a traditional flower pattern for your own beading project. All materials are supplied and yours to take home if you don’t finish the flower during the workshop. Learn more at fortcalgary.com.

April 1 to 2, 11am and 2pm; Hippity-Hop to our Easter Shop — Toys R Us Easter Event, everybunny loves a cute craft project: kids can create a paper-plate bunny tail. PLUS: enjoy story time fun, cool coloring sheets and a Spring-themed scavenger hunt. Learn more at toysrus.ca.

April 1 to 2, 11am to 6pm; Spring Fest (Qing Ming Festival) 2023, celebrate the Qing Ming Festival at the Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre. The traditional holiday honors and remembers Chinese ancestors. Throughout the day, there will be workshops, exhibits, and performances showcasing Chinese culture, including traditional music, dance, and art. In addition, there will be vendors offering a variety of food and drinks, as well as selling crafts and gifts. Learn more at culturalcentre.ca.

April 2, 10am to 5pm; Winsport Winter Wrap Up Event, celebrate the end of the winter hill season with the Sun’s Out Guns Out Rail Jam, prizes, a live DJ on the back deck, face painting, a roaming magician, a photo booth and more. Learn more at winsport.ca.

April 2, 2pm to 4pm; Big Beaver Brewing and Loop Kids’ Kids Easter Party, this spring event at the Okotoks brewery will include ice cream floats, coloring contests, scavenger hunts, prizes and more. Learn more at bigbeaverbrewing.ca.

April 2, 2pm to 4pm; Michaels Make Break: Handpainted Flower Eggs, Michaels frequently has fun and inexpensive crafting projects for the whole family. Michaels runs Make Break, for kids of all ages to enjoy crafting fun. With some of the crafts, an additional purchase will add to it, but all supplies are included for these free crafts. Learn more at canada.michaels.com.

April 2, 4pm; Calgary House Concerts Presents: Ollee Owens, Ollee Owens is a musical force of nature. Combining burning intensity with elegant grace and skilled composure wrapped in an electrifying blues rock veneer, the result is an unforgettable, emotionally charged musical experience that moves both body and soul, creating a lasting connection through shared experiences and love of good music. Learn more at calgaryhouseconcerts.ca.

Ongoing

Until April 1; Follies (Concert Version), with the endless variety of Stephen Sondheim’s score, a loving and brilliant pastiche of show music from the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s, and the time-travel trickery of James Goldman’s book, Follies is a glamorous and fascinating peek into a bygone era, and a clear-eyed look at the transformation of relationships over time at Beddington Theatre Arts Centre. Learn more at frontrowcentre.ca.

Until April 1; Theatre Calgary Presents: Forgiveness at Max Bell Theatre, Forgiveness is the acclaimed 2018 Canada Reads–winning novel by Mark Sakamoto. It’s a memoir of Sakamoto’s grandparents and their harrowing experiences during the Second World War. Mark’s maternal grandfather was a Canadian soldier who spent years as a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp. His paternal grandmother was one of the thousands of Japanese–Canadians interned by the Canadian government during the war. In the face of tremendous adversity and transgressions, they chose not to live a life of anger but instead to embrace and teach forgiveness. Be prepared to be moved by this Governor General’s Literary Award-winner Hiro Kanagawa’s heartfelt adaptation. Learn more at theatrecalgary.com.

Until April 2; Spring Rally in the Alley, Spring is in the air and Gasoline Alley Museum is in the mood to celebrate with some fun activities. Swing into spring with a round of mini-golf in the Lower Showroom. Follow the clues to complete the treasure hunt. Relax and do a little fishing in the pond. Make your own tulip bouquet and test your ring-toss skills in the Upper Showroom! Learn more at heritagepark.ca.

Until April 2; Festival of Animated Objects, breathing life into the inanimate and giving expression to the inert, the Festival of Animated Objects brings world-class artists to engage and entertain audiences of all ages through the innovative and sophisticated art of storytelling through mask, puppetry and animated objects at various venues around the city. Learn more at puppetfestival.ca.

Until April 2, 7:30pm; Jupiter Theatre Presents: Frankenstein by Andrew G. Cooper, this theatrical performance from the critically-acclaimed Jupiter Theatre combines elements of movement, puppetry, shadows, masks, and provocative design to bring to life a unique and spectacular production in Calgary. Frankenstein will take you on a haunting and thrilling journey in the West Village Theatre that you won’t soon forget. Learn more at theatrejupiter.com.

Until April 8; Lunchbox Theatre Presents: Countries Shaped Like Stars, a musical love story for adults, teens and precocious children, Gwendolyn Magnificent and Bartholomew Spectacular use a tin-can telephone to share their whimsical story. The performance begins with demanding dragon fruits and ends with heartache whispered into the ears of birds and constellations. With spoons, water glasses, whirly-winds and a mandolin, the performers create the sounds and images of a landscape forever altered by two people coming together and falling apart. A new production of this fun and charming multi-award-winning musical play featuring Calgary artists. Learn more at lunchboxtheatre.com.

Until April 9; Nightrise, this unique winter activity merges multimedia, storytelling and nature for a new and inspiring perspective at Banff Gondola. Learn more at banffjaspercollection.com.

Until April 16; Howie Tsui: Retainers of Anarchy at the Edison, featuring a 25-metre hand-drawn animation strip, this exciting exhibit brings together martial arts characters and techniques with the social and political realities of present-day Hong Kong. Learn more at glenbow.org.

Until April 16; Barnyard Baby Days, good times to remember fur-ever with spring babies (lambs, goats, bunnies, cows, piglets, chicks) and other fun experiences. Don’t miss the spring Instagram-worthy photo-ops, the opportunity to see and even help with bottle feeding, and heart-warming up-close moments with some favorite farm animals! Learn more at butterfieldacres.com.

Until April 16; Stage West Dinner Theatre Presents: Elvis Has Left The Building, in this whacky comedy, it’s December 20, 1970, and Elvis Presley has disappeared. No one, not even his wily manager, “The Colonel”, knows of his whereabouts. But the Colonel is all shook up because he has racked up a secret debt – and with the King himself missing, the only way to pay it off is to find an Elvis impersonator within 24 hours. Learn more at stagewestcalgary.com.

Until April 16; Gaslight at Vertigo Theatre, Bella Manningham believes she is living an idyllic married life with her charming husband Jack, but is she? Items begin to disappear, pictures move by themselves, and the gaslight dims without even a touch. Bella worries that her grip on reality is slipping and that she will drive Jack away. Secrets from the past are slowly revealed as Bella searches for answers and realizes that the people she loves are not always as they seem. Learn more at vertigotheatre.com.

Until April 19; Heritage Park Ghost Tours, visit Heritage Park for a guided ghost tour through the darkened streets of the Historical Village. Behind the Park’s old-fashioned charm lie stories of otherworldly encounters, spine-tingling history and some memorable manifestations! Meet up spot is in Town Square, in front of the Gasoline Alley Museum. Learn more at heritagepark.ca.

Until April 30; We Were Here: Stories from Early Chinatown, Gasoline Alley Museum welcomes a new exhibit from January 14 to April 30; We Were Here: Stories from Early Chinatown. Bring your family and come learn about Chinese history on the prairies through art and imagination, discover fictional stories written by members of the Chinese community and explore two iterations of Chinatown in Calgary. Learn more at heritagepark.ca.

Until June 3; Wedding Singer: 1999, we’ve all attended a wedding or two. Which is why we could all relate to the classic movie about a 1980’s wedding singer who finally found a love of his own. By the 1990’s, the wedding singer has had lots of practice and is often called on to sing at the biggest weddings of the year. But what happens when he must sing at, what everyone says will surely be, the wedding of the millennium? Oh, and the millennium bride just happens to be his daughter. Learn more at jubilations.ca.

Until October; Sacred Defenders of the Universe at TELUS Spark Science Centre, a vibrant floor-to-ceiling journey inside a graphic novel that follows four Indigenous superheroes as they seek to bring back the balance of earth between humility and respect for the land, and the excessive destruction of human ego. Learn more at sparkscience.ca.

Mobile Adventure Playgrounds. Join The City of Calgary for a self-directed, drop-in program that uses loose parts and natural materials to inspire active and creative outdoor play, and connect people, young and old, to nature. Visit calgary.ca/free for locations and details.

Calgary AfterSchool. Calgary AfterSchool offers free afterschool programs across Calgary. The programs are offered two to three days a week at various recreation facilities, community centres and community-based partner agencies. Visit calgary.ca/afterschool for locations and details.