Golf courses, patios open for warm Calgary weekend
It's out with outdoor rinks and in with golfing, cycling and patio parties as warm weather is set to rule the weekend forecast.
The City of Calgary says it will be the last weekend for its remaining outdoor rinks at Olympic Plaza and Bowness, and people taking advantage of the weather say those final opportunities to hit the ice are melting away.
"The temperature is perfect for skating but for the ice, not so much. It's like a puddle out there," said Quinn Nyugen while skating at Olympic Plaza.
As skaters take their final spins, others are gearing up for a different kind of spinning.
Calgary Cycle says this year's weekend tent sale will be different.
"The last two years, I've been here clearing snow with machines and shovels with my kids the night before, making sure the tent could go up and then this year, it's potentially plus 15," said Derek Lee with Calgary Cycle.
"It's great."
Lee says the mild winter meant a lot more biking in Calgary in the past months, but this warm weather, just ahead of the first day of spring, seems to signal the start of bike season.
"Everyone's coming out of the woodwork," he said.
"I'm thinking about updating my current bike. It's definitely something I've been thinking about now that the weather is getting nice," said Julie Sproule while bike shopping.
The nice weather also has a lot of people thinking about golf.
Fox Hollow is opening its fairways on March 16 with temporary greens and tee boxes.
"Saturday, we're open on nine holes, so it's going to be somewhat busy, but Sunday, we're opening on 16 holes and it's already a full tee sheet," said Jon Fry, Fox Holllow assistant golf pro.
The nice weather has a lot of people thinking about golf.
Not exactly St Patrick's Day on the green, but the next best thing, locally.
"Green shorts and brown grass, but it's as good as we can get in Calgary," Fry said.
Many Calgarians recall one extremely snowy St. Paddy's Day in 1998.
In contrast, parties are expected to spill onto patios this March 17, with the chance of temperatures near the record high.
According to the city, there are 933 restaurants in Calgary with a patio, and neighbourhoods that have the highest concentration are by far the Beltline with 119 patios and downtown with 96 patios.
On top of the 933 restaurant patios, the city is launching its seasonal patio program in May.
Right now, there are 75 applications.
While people plan to enjoy the warm weekend, Calgary is expecting another wintry blast next week.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.