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Mystery writers land. Monsters take 17th. Steins up. 🎃

Louise Penny is in town, 17th Ave goes full Halloween, and Thursday is your last 18° day for a while.

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From Calgary
October 22, 2026

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Good morning, Calgary! Soak up today, because Thursday's sunny 18° is the last warm day for a while. Rain turns to snow on Friday, and Sunday tops out at a chilly -3°.

The world's biggest mystery convention is in town (Louise Penny included), 17th Avenue throws a free Halloween carnival, and Oktoberfest takes over the German Canadian Club. Plus Ghouls' Night Out at Heritage Park, Little Shop of Horrors' final weekend, two Flames home games, and live music every night. Grab a warm jacket and let's get into it.

🌿 City Spotlight: A Snow-Day Escape to Devonian Gardens

Snow on Sunday? Head indoors to the tropics. Tucked on the fourth floor of CORE Shopping Centre downtown, Devonian Gardens is a one-hectare indoor botanical garden with more than 500 trees, 50 varieties of plants, fountains, fish ponds and a playground. It's completely FREE and open during CORE Shopping Centre hours.

Top 3 Stories

🔍 The World's Biggest Mystery Convention Lands in Calgary

Crime fiction fans, this is your week. Bouchercon 2026, the World Mystery Convention, runs through Sunday, Oct 25 at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre, and it's the first time the annual gathering has come to Calgary. First held in 1970 in Santa Monica, it brings readers, writers, editors and publishers together for four days of panels, signings and awards. This year's guests of honour read like a bestseller list, led by Louise Penny (Lifetime Achievement), Kathy Reichs, Abir Mukherjee and Mark Greaney, and the Anthony Awards are handed out Saturday night. Most events are for registered attendees, but young sleuths get their own day: Kids' Bouchercon is a FREE day of breakout sessions, an author panel and a pop-up bookstore at Central Library on Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM, with registration required. A big win for Calgary's book lovers.

🎪 17th Avenue Throws a Free Halloween Carnival

Dust off the costume. Halloween on 17th turns Tomkins Park into a Carnival of Curiosities this Friday and Saturday, and it's FREE for all ages. Friday kicks off with the Monster's Ball, an outdoor dance party with a live DJ, aerialists, illusions and roaming performers from 8 to 11 PM. Saturday runs from 3 to 11 PM with classic carnival games like the Clown Toss, roaming Halloween characters, and trick-or-treating at more than 40 businesses along the Avenue from 3 to 5 PM. No registration needed, just show up in your best costume. Street parking fills up fast, so take transit if you can, and bundle up, because Saturday tops out around 3°.

🍺 Oktoberfest Takes Over the German Canadian Club

Prost, Calgary! The German Canadian Club of Calgary and Schlaraffia Rocky Mountania are teaming up for Oktoberfest Calgary this weekend at 218 37 Ave NE. Expect live music, Schuhplattler dancers, alphorn performances, German food and beer, a market with 50+ local makers, a classic German car show, and a bouncy castle for the kids. Friday is a soft opening from 5 PM (no market vendors yet), and the full celebration runs Saturday from noon to 9 PM and Sunday from noon to 6 PM. Dust off the lederhosen or dirndl, because there's a Best Dressed prize every day, and say hi to Oktoberfest Queen Petra while you're there. Seating is first-come, first-served, so arrive early.

A quick word from today's sponsor that helps keep the From Calgary Newsletter FREE!

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Location: 843 17th Ave SW (Beltline, across from Tomkins Park)

Vibe: Vietnamese breakfast all day, steaming pho, sizzling plates, cozy and buzzy

An Sang means "eat breakfast," and that's the whole idea. An Sang serves Vietnamese brunch and all-day dining from the team behind Bee The Banh Mi. Go for the Bò Né sizzling plate, a bowl of brisket pho, or the Pho-tine, which is fries, beef and cheese curds in pho broth. Add a salted Vietnamese coffee. It's right across from the Halloween on 17th carnival, so make it your pre-party. Follow @_ansang.yyc for specials.

A quick word from today's sponsor that helps keep the From Calgary Newsletter FREE!

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REPORT

🌤️ 7-Day Weather Forecast

THU 22

FRI 23

SAT 24

SUN 25

MON 26

TUE 27

WED 28

18° / 2° 🌤️

4° / -3° 🌨️

3° / -4° ☁️

-3° / -5° 🌨️

5° / -1° ⛅

7° / -1° 🌦️

10° / 1° ☀️

Heads up:  Thursday is your last warm day, sunny and 18°. Rain turns to snow on a windy Friday, Saturday hovers around 3°, and Sunday brings snow with a high of -3°. Good weekend to swap in the winter tires. Sunshine and double digits return by Wednesday.

PROPERTY: OPEN HOUSE - Saturday, Oct 24, 1-3 PM - A striking Trojan Custom Homes build steps from the Calgary Golf & Country Club and the Glenmore Reservoir, with a walk-through glass wine wall, dual 12-foot kitchen islands, a resort-style backyard with an automated pool, and a hidden safe room. Click here to view the listing and reveal the price.

PETS: Time to meet some new friends. Chewbacca the Large Mixed Breed, Ninja the Domestic Longhair cat, and Gandalf the Lionhead rabbit are all looking for forever homes.

CALGARY FLAMES

Featured Games - Battles of Alberta

Mar 3 vs Edmonton Oilers at 7:30 PM
Sec 206, Row 18 (2 or 4 tickets) - $449/pair

Mar 23 vs Edmonton Oilers at 7:30 PM
Sec 206, Row 18 (2 or 4 tickets) - $449/pair

Finally, a win on home ice. Yegor Sharangovich one-timed a Morgan Frost feed late in the third period to beat the red-hot Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Sunday, snapping Carolina's seven-game win streak. Frost had a goal and an assist in his 400th NHL game, Matvei Gridin scored his first of the season, and Devin Cooley made 34 saves. The homestand continues tonight with Minnesota, then Detroit on Saturday, and Toronto on Monday.

Upcoming Calgary Flames Games - Call / text 403-975-5515

Oct 22 vs Minnesota Wild at 7:00 PM
Sec 205, Row 19 (2 tickets) - $99/pair
Sec 206, Row 18 (2 or 4 tickets) - SOLD

Oct 24 vs Detroit Red Wings at 6:30 PM
Sec 202, Row 15 (2 tickets) - $189/pair
Sec 206, Row 18 (2 or 4 tickets) - SOLD

Oct 26 vs Toronto Maple Leafs at 6:30 PM
Sec 217, Row 20 (2 tickets) - $399/pair
Sec 206, Row 18 (2 tickets) - SOLD

Oct 30 vs Seattle Kraken at 6:00 PM
Sec 215, Row 18 (2 tickets) - $155/pair
Sec 206, Row 18 (2 or 4 tickets) - SOLD

Nov 6 vs Anaheim Ducks at 7:00 PM
Sec 206, Row 18 (2 or 4 tickets) - $178/pair

HAPPENINGS

THURSDAY 22nd

  • FREE Men's Workout, 5:30-6:15 AM at 2019 Chicoutimi Dr NW.

  • Hotel Blackfoot - Flourish Festival, Thursday to Sunday. The calligraphy festival's Experience Hall and gallery are FREE and open to the public all four days.

  • Christine Klassen Gallery - Triple Exhibition Opening Reception from 5 to 8 PM. FREE first look at three new shows, including Josefina Rodriguez's pit-fired paper clay.

  • Heritage Park - Carnival of Curiosities Adult Night from 6 to 10 PM. Ghouls' Night Out for grown-ups (18+), with tarot readers, a haunted house and Halloween cocktails. $29.95.

  • Shelf Life Books - Book Launch: Triangularity at 7 PM. FREE readings with poet Alice Major and Linguaphile author Julie Sedivy.

  • Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary Flames vs. Minnesota Wild at 7 PM. Sec 205, Row 19 (2 tickets) - $99/pair. Text 403-975-5515 for tickets.

  • THURSDAY-SUNDAY | Max Bell Theatre - Little Shop of Horrors at 7:30 PM. Tonight is a relaxed performance, and the show closes Sunday.

FRIDAY 23rd

SATURDAY 24th

  • FREE Men's Workout, 6:30-7:30 AM at 2019 Chicoutimi Dr NW.

  • FREE Men's Workout, 6:30-7:30 AM at 16210 McKenzie Lake Way SE.

  • Parkdale United Church - Calgary Tea Festival from 10 AM to 4 PM. Calgary's first tea festival sold out, but 100 late-entry tickets (2 PM entry) were just released.

  • Central Library - Kids' Bouchercon from 10 AM to 4 PM. FREE mystery day for young readers with an author panel and pop-up bookstore. Register first.

  • Butterfield Acres - Harvest Pumpkin Fest, Saturday and Sunday. Farm animals, wagon rides through Scarecrow Alley, and pick-your-own pumpkins. Book a 2-hour time slot.

  • German Canadian Club - Oktoberfest Calgary from noon to 9 PM. Schuhplattler dancers, alphorns, 50+ market vendors and a bouncy castle.

  • Tomkins Park - Halloween on 17th from 3 to 11 PM. FREE carnival games, roaming characters, and trick-or-treating at 40+ businesses from 3 to 5 PM.

  • Heritage Park - Ghouls' Night Out from 5 to 9 PM. Costumes encouraged, and bring a flashlight.

  • Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary Flames vs. Detroit Red Wings at 8 PM. Sec 202, Row 15 (2 tickets) - $189/pair. Text 403-975-5515 for tickets.

SUNDAY 25th

LIVE MUSIC

  • THURSDAY | King Eddy - Jenny Orenstein and Mike Plume, Thu Oct 22 at 7:30 PM. A songwriter double bill in the cozy back room on 9 Ave SE, $30.

  • THURSDAY | The Palace Theatre - W.A.S.P.: 1984 To Headless, Thu Oct 22, doors 6 PM. Blackie Lawless and crew bring the classic-era metal tour, with K.K.'s Priest. 18+.

  • FRIDAY | Bella Concert Hall - Baroque at Bella with Nicholas McGegan, Fri Oct 23 at 7:30 PM. The Calgary Phil and Chorus play Handel's Royal Fireworks Music, Rameau and Bach, $59.

  • FRIDAY | The Blues Can - Wild T & the Spirit, Fri Oct 23 and Sat Oct 24 at 9 PM. Toronto's blues-guitar wildman, $10 pre-sale or $15 day of show.

  • SATURDAY | Grey Eagle Event Centre - Brit Floyd: The Moon, The Wall and Beyond, Sat Oct 24 at 8 PM. All of The Dark Side of the Moon plus highlights from The Wall, from $69.83.

  • SATURDAY | King Eddy - Hurtin', Sat Oct 24 at 8:30 PM. Saturday night at the home of the blues for just a $10 cover.

  • SUNDAY | The Blues Can - Sunday Big Band Brunch, Sun Oct 25 from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Swing with your eggs, $10 cash cover.

  • SUNDAY | The Palace Theatre - Digable Planets, Sun Oct 25, doors 7 PM. The Rebirth of Slick jazz-rap legends, with Mauvey. 18+.

COMING UP

THANK YOU!

Thank you for reading From Calgary today. If you enjoyed this edition, found something useful, or learned something new, please share it with someone who lives in Calgary.

Brent 
Publisher - From Calgary

P.s. BUSINESS OWNERS: Want to advertise to smart Calgary locals? Email [email protected] (or reply to this email) and let me know!

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