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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Explore Downtown YYC
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20260826T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20260826T235959
DTSTAMP:20260815T034541
CREATED:20260815T000412Z
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SUMMARY:An Evening with Tom Symington
DESCRIPTION:A conversation and Q+A with Tom Symington\, author of Not So Normal: Memoirs of a Gay Boomer\, and Our Past Matters author\, Kevin Allen. \nAbout the book \nGrowing up in post-World War II Alberta in a stable\, loving home\, Tom Symington didn’t feel that he was “different.” Evading early pressures of romance and sexual exploration\, repressing instances of name-calling (“femmy”)\, and hostility from schoolmates\, Tom was almost able to believe in a world that valued the rights and freedoms of all citizens. From Calgary to Sierra Leone to France\, this candid\, heartbreaking memoir braids the evolution of gay rights in Canada with the life journey of one individual. Following high school\, as Tom entered university and became a teacher\, he was forced to reconcile his sexual orientation with the prevailing social and legal environment in Alberta\, Canada\, and the world beyond. As decades passed\, “femmy” merged with “gay\,” “queer\,” and “LGBTQ+ community” in a rallying movement and an enduring struggle towards pride and self-acceptance against the current of societal expectations and discriminatory legislation. Not So Normal is as much a coming-of-age odyssey and a celebration of selfhood as it is a grave reminder that there is still much work to be done in the realm of human rights\, and an urgent call to action to recentre love in our increasingly diverse and divisive world. \nAbout the Authors \nTom Symington grew up\, attended university\, and became a secondary school teacher in Alberta (Wild Rose Country). He went on to travel\, volunteer\, work\, and study in Sierra Leone\, Europe\, the United States\, and Québec\, earning a Diplome d’études professionnelles (DEP) en céramique and becoming a translator after completing a Graduate Diploma in Translation at McGill University.Not So Normal is available from Friesen Press (books.friesenpress.com) and all bookstores. \nKevin Allen is a fourth-generation Calgarian who has been documenting and profiling queer people and events for 30+ years. Kevin started the Calgary Gay History Project in 2012 to uncover and preserve stories from Calgary’s 2SLGBTQ+ past (www.calgarygayhistory.ca). The Project has achieved national recognition and led to the award-winning documentary film: Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story; and the best-selling book Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary. Additionally\, Kevin works as a senior election administrator for both Elections Canada and the City of Fernie.
URL:https://calgarydt-seeker.paperleaftest.com/event-calendar/icrw12z5bt2-an-evening-with-tom-symington/
LOCATION:1302 4 St SW #100\, Calgary\, AB\, Canada\, Alberta T2R 0X8\, 1302 4 St SW\, Calgary\, Ab\, t2r 0x8
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20260829T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20260829T130000
DTSTAMP:20260815T034541
CREATED:20260815T000442Z
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UID:10008097-1788001200-1788008400@calgarydt-seeker.paperleaftest.com
SUMMARY:How Can You Think That?! Political Book Club: Irrational Publics
DESCRIPTION:A book club for conservatives and liberals who want to get out of their echo chambers and bridge the great divide. Buy the book\, read it\, and come join us for a lively discussion. This month’s book is Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy  by Stephen J.A. Ward \nABOUT THE BOOK \nAcross cultures\, democracies struggle with intolerant groups\, misinformation\, social media conspiracies\, and extreme populists. Egalitarian cultures cannot always withstand this swing towards the irrational. In Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy Stephen Ward combines history and evolutionary psychology for a comprehensive view of the problem\, arguing that social irrationality is likely to occur when social tensions trigger a person’s enemy stance: ancient extreme traits in human nature such as aggressiveness\, desire for domination\, paranoia of the other\, and us-versus-them tribalism. Analyzing eruptions of public irrationality – from apocalyptic medieval crusades and Nazi doctors in extermination camps to suicidal cults – Ward presents his evolutionary theory of public irrationalism\, demonstrating that human nature has both extreme Darwinian traits promoting competition and sociable traits of cooperation and empathy. The issue is which set of traits will be activated by the social ecology. Extreme traits\, once adaptive when humans were hunter-gatherers\, have become maladaptive and dangerous. Catalyzed by intolerant media and demagogues\, the swing towards the irrational weakens democracy and may lead to human extinction through nuclear holocaust. Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy concludes with practical recommendations on what society should do to resist the engines of unreason within and without us. \nMORE ABOUT THE BOOK CLUB \nWe’ve all felt it: Whether we’ve argued pointlessly with someone on social media\, felt our blood pressure rise as we’ve fought over politics with family members\, or simply veered delicately away from certain topics\, it’s hard to ignore the chasm between those who hold opposing political views. And it feels like it’s getting worse\, that politics are getting uglier\, and that reasonable discussion is falling by the wayside. What can ordinary people do to bridge the great divide? We can read books that smart and reasonable people have written in defense of their views and we can talk about these books with others who may or may not wear the political stripes we do. Come to Shelf Life Books for a monthly book club that does just that. Ideally\, participants will have read the book assigned for that day\, and will come prepared to discuss it. All of the books on our list will be made available by Shelf Life. We will meet from 11 AM to 1 PM on the last Saturday of every month (except for April).
URL:https://calgarydt-seeker.paperleaftest.com/event-calendar/66dlbl7191i-how-can-you-think-that-political-book-club-irrational-publics/
LOCATION:1302 4 St SW #100\, Calgary\, AB\, Canada\, Alberta T2R 0X8\, 1302 4 St SW\, Calgary\, Ab\, t2r 0x8
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20260902T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20260902T235959
DTSTAMP:20260815T034541
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SUMMARY:Zine Launch:  QILT2BAG+ 13\, 14\, 15
DESCRIPTION:Join us for the release of three more issues of From the QILT2BAG+: Horror\, Elders and Queer Creativity. This is a collaborative\, community project featuring cover art by local community members\, and contributions from queer folks from all over. \n As well as the opportunity to get copies of the ‘zine\, you’ll have the chance to meet many of the contributors and hear readings from the latest issues. \nWe hope you can join us. \nAbout the Zine \nFrom the QILT2BAG+ is a collective\, collaborative ‘zine created to uplift and celebrate 2SLGBTQIA+ writers and artists. Each issue follows a theme and features everything from poetry to personal essays to photography to art.
URL:https://calgarydt-seeker.paperleaftest.com/event-calendar/lmoo-4htc6y-zine-launch-qilt2bag-13-14-15/
LOCATION:1302 4 St SW #100\, Calgary\, AB\, Canada\, Alberta T2R 0X8\, 1302 4 St SW\, Calgary\, Ab\, t2r 0x8
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20260903T190000
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SUMMARY:Book Launch: We Are Busy Being Alive
DESCRIPTION:A reading by Rishi Midha to celebrate the release of his new book\, We Are Busy Being Alive\, joined by Kirti Bhadresa. \nThe Book: \nSet in a North American milieu of detachment and alienation\, the stories in We Are Busy Being Alive document the attempts of disillusioned characters to re-enchant themselves with a seemingly indifferent world. Their flailing quests after a sense of purpose are equal parts tragic\, absurd\, frivolous\, and touchingly human. \nA drug-fuelled romance with a stolen painting; a sexual awakening at the dentist’s; a crisis of personality from the months-long haze of a forest fire. Small spectacles dangle outside the confines of the everyday\, keeping the restless characters reaching. \nThe stories are a nudge out the door and into the lonesome night\, with a wink and a shrug as if to say—what else to do? Through each quiet inflection of hope\, mischief\, and despair\, We Are Busy Being Alive reacquaints readers with the magical qualities of their miserable\, monumental lives. \nAbout the Authors \nRishi Midha’s short fiction has appeared in Best Canadian Stories 2026\, subTerrain\, and The New Quarterly. He has won or been a finalist for the LUSH Triumphant Fiction Contest and the the Peter Hinchcliffe Short Fiction Award. We Are Busy Being Alive is his debut story collection. \nKirti Bhadresa lives in Calgary\, Alberta on Treaty 7 territory. Kirti has published fiction and non-fiction writing in literary journals including The Fiddlehead\, Prairie Fire and Room Magazine. Her first book\, a short story collection entitled An Astonishment of Stars was published in October 2024 by ECW Press. An Astonishment of Stars was on the CBC Most Anticipated list and went on to become an indie bestseller. It was a 2025 Writers’ Guild of Alberta Fiction Finalist\, was longlisted for the 2025 Giller Prize\, was a Shelf Life Books Staff Pick\, and won the Alberta Short Story Collection prize in 2026.
URL:https://calgarydt-seeker.paperleaftest.com/event-calendar/ul1ax2c4n0i-book-launch-we-are-busy-being-alive/
LOCATION:1302 4 St SW #100\, Calgary\, AB\, Canada\, Alberta T2R 0X8\, 1302 4 St SW\, Calgary\, Ab\, t2r 0x8
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