Wed, Jul 23 2008 - Downtown Jungle & Parks (View Original Event Details)
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While the weather didn’t look too promising at first, the group managed to get through the downtown loop with little more than a few drops of rain. Lots of the lesser-known downtown spots were discovered, turning an otherwise dreary Wednesday evening into a little explorer trip in our own city.
First ‘stop’ was McDougall Centre, which is exactly 100 years old this year and now houses the Premier’s office in Calgary. Next was Century Gardens, where the group was treated to heading up past the waterfalls and across big rocks in water. Not many people seem to know about the ‘upper levels’ of this park, but it’s definitely worth exploring (during daylight hours). The chess statue looked a little deep in thought over missing chess pieces, the downtown bears aren’t nearly as thrilling as the non-urban hike kind, but it’s downtown, where we also have some trees made of steel. The next highlight was the newly restored Grand Theatre. The chandeliers made of wine bottles are truly unique, but what had everyone even more excited was the neon martini bar and neon unisex washrooms upstairs. This is a funky place, so if you’re ever on 1st Street & 7th Avenue SW, do head inside to take a look. Another waterfall was spotted on the back side of the Trans Canada building, followed by more green space in James Short Park. Passing by the Chinese Cultural Centre the group decided to go for another indoor stop, followed by a shortcut through Eau Claire Market before heading back through Prince’s Island where final preparations were being made for the Folk Festival.
Great group of people, and welcome to the COC May and Bob.