Thread by @peterhemminger

This week is @FemmeWave, a fest that, on top of just booking amazing art & music, is also thoughtful and progressive about every aspect of it's organization in a way that puts most North American festivals to shame. (1/x)

This week is also TONTO Week at the @nmc_canada, celebrating one of the most amazing instruments ever built. If it was happening in NYC or London and I read about it, I'd be pulling out my hair in frustration that I couldn't be there.

Next week is GIRAF, an animation festival on par with any in the world. LA only got a dedicated animation fest... last year? We're going on year 14.

Related: Artists from around the world, who've studied (or taught) at some of the most renowned art schools, are blown away by @QuickdrawYYC's facilities. They are amazed Calgary has this resource.

We've got easily the best community radio station in Canada, probably in North America. We have some staggeringly good festivals (hi @cuff, @sledisland, @calgaryfolk).

Did you know @sentrybox is the world's biggest hobby gaming store? That people fly in from around the world to see it? That @fallcon has been creating community around board games for 31 years, long before the new board game boom took off?

Find me another event like @Beakerhead anywhere in the world. A celebration of art, engineering and science where people get equally excited about all three? Where they forget about silly artificial boundaries between creativity and science?

Have you seen how @SunaltaYYC has been finding new ways to serve its community, like a toy library for neighborhood kids? Have you seen their ambitious plans for expanding & improving but holding onto their history?

Have you ever seen so many people excited by a library, of all things? But @calgarylibrary built it with care, and it's already being recognized as one of the best in the world.

Comparing Calgary to other cities is a sucker's game, because you'll never be satisfied and because it's too easy to take what you have for granted. But step back and look at what's here--what we've been building. Because it's actually pretty incredible.

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