Dispatch: Block Heater and Glow Festival

The scene on Stephen Avenue Saturday night, during the Glow Festival and Block Heater Music Festival, both of which are part of Calgary's Chinook Blast. (Photo credit: Stephen Hunt)

Last week, Calgary and Edmonton hosted a Music Cities Conference, a three day event dedicated to the significant role music plays in the economy of cities.

One of the highlights of the virtual (apart from live music gigs at different Calgary and Edmonton venues) conference was Michael Rodrigues, who spoke on Zoom from Sydney, Australia, where he is the city's 24 Hour Economy Commissioner – or, to use a phrase, the Night Mayor of Sydney.

Rodrigues spoke about the opportunities available to downtowns between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., and how he was determined to help bring people back to Sydney's central business district.

For him, part of the inspiration came from a stint living in Dubai, a desert city that he said had a dynamic 24 hour economy fueled in part by the warm weather that caused people to stay home during the day and venture out at night, in a largely alcohol-free culture.

It sounded promising, but it was difficult to imagine Calgary, in February, embracing its 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. self, particularly with snow and cold in the forecast for the last half of the weekend.

But this weekend was also a convergence of Block Heater, the Glow Festival and Chinook Blast, a triumvirate of initiatives designed to encourage the city to check out downtown after dark.

And Saturday evening, the headliner at the Block Heater was Cadence Weapon, the former poet laureate of Edmonton turned rap star, who was recently named the winner of the Polaris Prize, Canada's coolest music award.

Despite a forecast calling for snow and plunging temperatures, Stephen Avenue looked more like Montreal during Jazz Fest than Calgary in mid-February.

Thousands of people milled around Stephen Avenue. Families checked out the festival of lights, while others skated on the frozen pond of Olympic Plaza, within easy listening distance of Cadence Weapon, who was practically playing the role of house DJ for the skaters!

(He also announced he was heading for LA Sunday morning at 6 a.m. to start work on a new album).

Along Stephen Avenue, Milestones opened its outdoor seating, complete with fire pits at each table.

There was a second stage set up nearby and inside a building a duo performed some sweet Spanish guitar and drums in a 'window performance', with the music piped outside.

Milestones sold carry out hot chocolates and the entire atmosphere was as festive – and sober – as a Dubai teahouse at 4 a.m.

It was a February Saturday to remember, and a demonstration of the possibility that imaginative programming can inspire in a city where if you build it, they will come (downtown).

Chinook Blast continues through this weekend.