FROSH 2024: Events to look out for as a first-year
By Ansharah Shakil, September 19 2024—
During the busy rush of the school year starting, you might wonder how you’ll have time to pass any of your classes, let alone have a social life or attend any shows. But as overwhelming as your course load can get, there are a million opportunities you have as a student to get immersed into the city’s local art scene, and you should try to take advantage of any of the events you’re able to attend.
Night markets
Multiple night markets will be occurring in places like University District, with one happening on Sept. 25. You’ll begin to see the posters all around campus advertising all the many things night markets have to offer — local vendors selling handcrafted goods alongside live music — so be sure to stop by if you can.
Festivals
Multiple festivals occur during the fall semester and they’re a great way to discover more about what you’re interested in. Calgary International Film Festival will take place Sept. 19 – 29 and Beakerhead, a festival celebrating art, science and fashion, will happen on Sept. 20 – 22. Honens Piano Festival will occur from Sept. 5 – 8. Wordfest has year-round shows with authors coming to Calgary, and their Imaginarium festival, which has many free shows, occurs in October.
Shows
The U of C School of Creative and Performing Arts will be putting on a number of shows related to theatre, dance and music that you can access for free as a student, so keep an eye out for their upcoming 2024 – 2025 season. You can also see shows at TheatreCalgary, where tickets are $44 for main floor seating. Their 2024 – 2025 season will include The Play that Goes Wrong in September, The Lehman Trilogy in October, their annual November to December production of A Christmas Carol and A Streetcar Named Desire in January. That’s not to mention Broadway Across Canada, which has shows nearby in the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, Vertigo Theatre, which once again has a number of productions for mystery-lovers to see or Lunchbox Theatre, which has some more affordable options for students.
Alberta Ballet’s promising and exciting 2024 – 2025 season is available for students to see if you purchase RUSH tickets one hour before performance the day of with proof of ID. If you’re into opera, you can check out the Calgary Opera’s upcoming season and their Opera After Dark event on Sept. 26. The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra will have shows like Phil in the Park on Sept. 8 alongside their numerous shows during the Fall semester, and also has RUSH tickets available along with a CPossibilities program that can grant you $15 tickets for select shows.
Art
Another way to get into the local art scene is by visiting galleries and exhibitions. U of C’s very own Nickle Galleries, located in Taylor Family Digital Library, has a number of exhibitions in the fall. Other galleries with exhibitions to check out are Contemporary Calgary, Esker Foundation, TRUCK Contemporary Art and The New Gallery.