BY DAVID PAGNOTTA,
SPRING 2019, THE FOURTH PERIOD

Friday morning couldn’t come fast enough. As I counted down the days to my trip to Calgary, I was itching to explore some of the hidden gems the city has to offer.

I travel quite a bit and while it’s mostly a quick in-and-out to cover a hockey game, oversee a photoshoot or work one of our many events, every so often I get the opportunity to visit a city and take in all its sights. On this trip, Calgary presented multiple highlights that I plan on taking advantage of the next time I’m in town.

Upon arriving in the afternoon, I settled into the beautiful Calgary Marriott Downtown and was greeted with a personalized welcome gift – a nice touch. Naturally, I had to see how their whiskey bar, ONE18EMPIRE, stacked up right after getting my things in order. Strong marks. Then it was off to dinner and time to officially see what Cowtown has up its sleeve.

Of course, I made my way to the Saddledome for a Flames game, explored explore the Olympic village at Winsport, where I took in the Bobsled Adrenaline Experience (I can now cross bobsledding off my bucket list), and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. What may have surprised me about this wonderful city, though, was the abundance of great dining options available any time of day – one of me favourite self-appointed tasks when visiting any city is locating the spots the locals love to eat, and boy did I visit a bunch of them.

And to wash down the amazing food, I jumped on the Calgary Brewery Tour where I visited Tool Shed Brewing Company, Common Crown Brewery Co., and several other fantastic breweries

My recommendations are obviously based on my experiences, and I highly recommend visiting the spots I’ve highlighted. At the very least, you’ll be off to a great start as you build your own experiences visiting the Heart of The New West.

WHERE TO EAT

NIGHTLIFE