About Calgary...Urban feel

Ceeci left a comment on my downtown photo prowl post that got me thinking...

. . . I just finished watching "Long Way Round" the documentary of Ewan McGregor's and Charley Boorman's motorcycle ride around the world. They went through Calgary. I don't know what I was thinking...Stampede maybe...I had no idea you lived in such a big city. Now I understand why your pictures have such an urban feel . . .

It's true Calgary is a BIG city! The official population hit 1 million last month, and has continued to grow by about 100 people a day for over a year now. That makes us the fastest growing city in Canada. Calgary is currently the 4th largest metropolitan area in Canada (third largest municipal area). And it's not just a big city in terms of population, the footprint of our fair city is 790 km square (that's big, New York City's land area is only 785 km s and has 8 million people - very few if any live in the water).

What else can be said about Calgary?

• Calgary has 4 post secondary schools - 1 University (The University of Calgary of course), and 3 colleges: Mount Royal College (my alma mater), Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD), and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)
• Calgary hosts several annual festivals: Calgary Folk Music Festival (my personal favorite, and highlight of my summer), Calgary Jazz festival, Global Fest (including an international fireworks competition), Lilac festival, Calgary International Film Festival (it's not Cannes, but it's pretty darn good!)
• Calgary boasts a large arts and entertainment culture: a number of theatre companies (Alberta Theatre Projects, Vertigo Mystery Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Theatre Junction, One Yellow Rabbit, Mob Hit Productions, Loose Moose, The Shakespeare Company), The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, The Alberta Ballet, Calgary Opera, And a huge number of Museums (Glenbow Museum, Nickle Arts Museum, Modern Art Museum of Calgary, Fort Calgary Historic Park, Heritage Park, Museum of the Regiments, Museum of Movie Art) and Galleries.
• Calgary has 8 skyscrapers that are higher than 40 floors.
• Much of the downtown core is connected by second floor covered walkways known as the +15 ...there was a movie (waydowntown) that featured these, it's quite good - watch it if you can.
• Calgary hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics...and we now have a series of decaying sports centres because of it - Including Canada Olympic Park, a ski Hill within the city limits!
• Calgary has 4 professional sport teams: The Flames (National Hockey League), The Stampeders (Canadian Football League), The Roughnecks (National Lacrosse league), and the Vipers (Northern League - Baseball)
• 10 days out of every July the city is thrown to the dogs and everyone (including thousands of tourist) is given free license to act like a jackass - I'm talking about "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", The Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. I've lived in Calgary for 8+ years (and Alberta for almost 3 times that) and have only been once for a few hours...and that was too much.

So, for anyone who wondered, or even cares slightly, now you know a little bit more about Calgary.