Doug Dirks on culture shock and Calgary arts

"Turn this plane around. Now."

That was my first thought when the plane carrying me from Montreal to my new life in Calgary landed back in 1979. I looked out the window. It was snowing. Hard. In the middle of May.

I had just graduated from high school, and followed my family west after the rise of the Parti Québé​cois. Like most teenagers in Montreal, I'd already been to several major concerts at the Forum and Olympic Stadium, and was just discovering the seemingly endless entertainment options in both official languages.

But West it was.

Cultural wasteland? Not a chance!

The snow eventually melted and spring came to Calgary. But I was still suffering a serious case of culture shock. I'd just left a diverse metropolitan city, renowned for its arts and culture scene for a city referred to as Cowtown. At least that's what a lot of people called it back east.

The days of complaining like a bored teenager about how there's nothing to do in Calgary are clearly over.- Doug Dirks

Before moving to Calgary, I'd heard about the Calgary Stampede, and not much more. Was it a cultural wasteland?

Fortunately, as I was pleased to learn, Calgary was so much more. Home to (back then) half a million people, a thriving oil and gas industry, and a "can-do" attitude on the arts and culture front.

Shortly after planting stakes here, I went to a Supertramp concert at McMahon Stadium, and started to explore some of the other available options on the arts and entertainment scene.

It was the early '80s. The Loose Moose Theatre Company was in its zany infancy. Theatre Calgary was staging plays in a converted tractor showroom on 9th Avenue. Weekends consisted of trips to the Tradewinds or Carriage House Inn to see local bands, or heading out to the occasional concert at the old Corral. And there was always the chance to catch a play or two featuring semi-professional actors — people holding down two or three jobs to make ends meet in between roles.

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It was a struggle for some artists and musicians to make a go of it financially, but there's no shortage of opportunities now in Calgary for them to hone their craft. On any given night, you can see a world class performance by the CPO, catch a world premiere of a play at Arts Commons, or check out a talented musical act at Festival Hall.

The days of complaining like a bored teenager about how there's nothing to do in Calgary are clearly over.

If you can't find something to entertain you, then you clearly aren't paying attention. Or you're a dedicated fan of something obscure, like Klezmer music. No, wait, we have at least one or two of those groups now as well.

We have a thriving opera company, popular folk and blues festivals, an International Children's Festival, Alberta Ballet and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, thriving comedy clubs and touring musicals playing to full houses at the Jubilee Auditorium.

Our city has just hosted a wildly successful Juno Awards, and the opening of the new National Music Centre should trigger unprecedented growth on the local music scene.

All of this is happening in the midst of a painful economic downturn.

Boom and bust arts

It reminds me of the early '80s, and the other boom and bust cycles in Calgary's energy industry. Hard times for the arts then, and certainly things are hard again with the current downturn. But we weather these storms, and thanks to the generous support of corporations, private donors and various levels of government, we'll get through this one too.

Our arts scene has become diverse enough to offer different creative outlets.

Think of our booming film and TV industry, which takes advantage of this beautiful part of the world. So movies like The Revenant, and the hit TV series Fargo and Hell on Wheels.

The new Calgary Film Centre is also about to open, and should give our city's talented crews a much needed economic boost. (I'm polishing my resume, just in case a casting agent is looking for an ageing radio and TV host — one whose only scene in the movie Cool Runnings died a quick death on the editing room floor.)

So yes, there's lots going on, and we are all very creative, and so far this has been a love note to our arts and culture scene.

But I'd like to talk about one little sore point.

'Calgary ovation'

Can we please talk about what some of us call the "Calgary ovation."

You know, how everything always seems to get a standing ovation. Over the years, most of us have been guilty of expressing a little too much enthusiasm when it comes to the efforts of the artists tasked with entertaining us.

I've seen dozens of wonderful concerts, plays and other shows over the past five years or so. Most of them have been excellent, but a few have been mediocre — at best. And yet, almost all of them have prompted prolonged standing ovations at the end of the performance. It's like "everybody gets a trophy day" at your kid's school.

So, maybe, as our city grows more culturally sophisticated, we can just dial back the praise a bit. Limit ourselves to – oh – three curtain calls and some wild applause.

Anyway.

Enjoy the show(s). I'm here all week, every week on The Homestretch.  Don't forget to tip your server!

Calgary at a Crossroads is CBC Calgary's special focus on life in our city during the downturn. A look at Calgary's culture, identity and what it means to be Calgarian. Read more stories from the series at Calgary at a Crossroads.