Tourist Attractions you would like to see in Calgary

[MasterG]

Originally Posted by *Stardust*

Personally, like I said before I would like to see a permanent farmers market. Whether it be West End, Eau Claire or Beltline. Local suppliers would be nice, which would support organic and local farming. But a food court area would be awesome. I think out of all the farmers markets I've been to, my favourite one might be St. Lawrence market in Toronto. Food court upstairs with lots of unique vendors and another floor that supplies veggies/fruits/meats/dairy. There has to be unique shops and vendors specific to Calgary, because it would act as a tourist attraction.

I wonder if it is even possible to get a large institution like that in the centre city?

Most of the examples elsewhere were rehabilitated older buildings that were hard to repurpose, such as St.Lawrence Market. We really don't have any, unless they open Mewata for that purpose.

Granville Island would be a nice example of a modern one, but if I recall correctly, it was an underused industrial plot. Calgary doesn't have a stock of underused industrial buildings in the core, with an exception of a few plots along 10th / 11th ave. However, it is not like these are a deal either, any farmer market would have to outbid a condo developer for the plots. I really don't know the economics of building a farmers market from scratch, but I suspect it has relatively tight margins and tends to shy away from building construction.

I'm not sure the path that is required to get there in the current market, but I do think the next phase of Calgary's urban boom has to be some larger institutions like a farmers market. The NMC is certainly shaping up to be a draw along with the new Library. A large Beltline movie theatre complex would be a good, though not unique, Calgary draw.

One thing the city should focus is keep expanding the existing popular festivals and events. Many festivals are really coming into their own. Lilac Fest stands out as an overcrowded maxed-out festival crying for expansion. They should start closing more streets (17th Ave for example) and allow it to keep growing, in another decade if could become a two-day festival and start to try some really interesting things.

Folk Fest is another that is maxed out. They should find ways to keep growing it, start having additional venues off the Island. The demand appears to be there.

Sled Island had a banner year last year and is being taken more and more seriously in the indie music scene. 200+ bands and 30+ venues all throughout the inner city. The thousands of people scattering between all the different combinations of venues make the city alive like few other inner city festivals. Lots of growth potential still, it seems like they keep building in popularity and reach.