Keep your spirit warm this winter season with these Alberta cultural events and happenings.
WINTER WONDERLAND
Chill out in the Rockies by ordering something on the rocks at the Tribute Craft Spirits Celebration in Banff. Enjoy craft cocktails from more than 20 local bars and eateries. Jan. 18–30.
Bask in the glow of the Winter Light Festival at Lethbridge’s Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden. Stroll through a dazzling array of 170,000-plus lights. Visit nikkayuko.com.
MUSICAL MOMENTS
Country meets R&B in the melodic vocals of Kane Brown at Rogers Place. Country’s coolest crooner is currently touring in support of his third studio album, Different Man. On Dec. 18, he’ll be joined in Edmonton by Chris Lane, Jesse James Decker and Restless Road.
What happens when you mix an epic 19th-century symphony with one of the best alt-rock albums of the 1990s? Find out on Jan. 28 during a performance of Brahms V. Radiohead, led by conductor/fusion expert Steve Hackman and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra at the Jack Singer Concert Hall.
Get fired up at Alberta’s only music fest held in a former pottery factory. Every January for almost two decades, folk musicians and fans take over Medicine Hat’s Medalta Potteries as part of the Tongue on the Post Festival.
BLUE MAN GROUP
Get ready for a trip to Pandora. In his long-awaited sequel, director James Cameron is taking filmgoers on another journey to the planet of Pandora, inhabited by blue creatures known as the Na’vi.
Edmonton carpenter Raymond Knowles can’t wait for the sequel. He enjoyed the 2009 original so much that he covered 95 percent of his body in blue tattoos. Even his own truck is decorated with Avatar-themed decals—all in honour of the box office smash. “I still to this day get goosebumps watching it,” says Knowles, adding that he believes The Way of Water will be equally impressive, if not more. “I think this one is going to be just as amazing and beautiful.”
Avatar: The Way of Water hits theatres across Alberta on Dec. 16. AMA members save on Cineplex and Landmark movie passes. Available only at AMA centres.