High Noon in the Cultural District

By Kelsey Hipkin

It is a beautiful day in Calgary and what better way to spend the afternoon than a lunch date with a friend and some good music down at Olympic Plaza.

Selina eats A&W in the Olympic Plaza sunshine.

Running for the last 22 years High Noon (formerly known as the Brown Bag Music Series) features a different artist every Wednesday at noon from now until September (I found out about it through my Calgary Culture update). Olympic Plaza was jam-packed with the downtown lunch crowd taking in the tunes and munching away at their noon fare. The weather was warm enough that a few brave little ones were even splashing around in the water.  My friend Selina and I had a little A&W…nothing says summer like a Mama Burger in the sun!

Featured for High Noon today was 18-year-old Joe Nolan who calgaryculture.com touts as writing, “with the deftness of Neil Young, and critics compare his guitar work to the complexity and virtuosity of Bruce Cockburn.” Not a bad shout out if you ask me and Nolan delivered. He had a very pleasant and folksy voice and added a great atmosphere to an already great day. You can check out the Edmonton natives sound on MySpace here.

I mentioned before that I heard about High Noon through my Culture Calgary update, heard of it? Calgary Culture is a reference to Calgary’s Cultural District comprised the “heart of the city”, and is, in it’s own words, “home to dozens of arts and culture hotspots like galleries, museums, theatres, concert halls and outdoor festival space, plus excellent shopping, dining and nightlife all within a few browsable blocks.” I find the website is a great source to see what’s shakin’ in downtown Cowtown.

See you around Calgary, I’m off for a cold beer before indulging in some fabulous Shibuya sushi, I know…tough day.