Fall Events

The end of August is nigh upon us and though Summer doesn't officially end until September 22nd, the imminence of a new school year and the back to work attitude that comes with it sure makes it feel like "vacation mode" is over.

But, the end of summer doesn't mean that life stops and there are certainly plenty of events going on that will be of interest and keep a person busy.In conjunction with the previous posts of Alberta events,  "Speaking Of Events, Here's A  Few In July" and "August Events", check out these Fall flavoured Alberta festivities.


How about a blend of art, science, engineering and technology, rolled together and called "Beakerhead"? This annual event takes place in Calgary on September 19th through 23rd and has tons of free events, installations and exhibits in which to attend in the  city's core.

photo courtesy of Beakerhead

Up, up and away, in my beautiful balloon! Head down to High River during the days of September 26th to 29th and catch the 2018 Heritage Inn Balloon Festival, where pilots from around the world compete for points earned through their navigational skills. Especially exhilarating is the "Glow Event", 8:00 on Friday Sept 28th, where pilots flame up their balloons like giant light bulbs.

photo courtesy of Heritage Inn Balloon Festival

Maybe you're less interested being outdoors and more interested in what people wear, so what about Western Canada Fashion Week in Edmonton, from September 26th to 29th. Various showcases of designers and those associated through fashion and beauty products, art and design, plus those in the media and production community.

photo courtesy of WCFW

Get back outdoors and do a nice hike! Depending on the weather, it can be mid to late September and early October when the rich golden yellow colour appears in Larch Valley, as the unusual Alpine Larch gets set to lose its' needles. But, be aware, this is an extremely popular hike at this time of year and pandemonium ensues, as there is one road in and out, and a very small parking lot at the Moraine Lake area where the trailhead begins. Plus, it is bear country and frequent sigthings mean hikers are required to be in groups of 6, so bring some friends or be prepared to hang out until you can get a group of fellow outdoor enthusiasts together.

photo courtesy of Town of Banff 

Not only is there a Jasper Dark Sky Preserve, designed to eliminate light pollution under the guidance of the Royal Astonomical Society, but  they also have a special celebration of the darkness when they host the Jasper Dark Sky Festival  on Oct 12th - 21st. There's talks, with guest speakers ranging from astronauts to astrophysicists, and some music to hep you star gaze. best bring some wool socks and a warm blanket to keep you snugly as you lounge in your reclining lawn chair!

If you can't make it all the way up to the dark of Jasper, there's plenty going on at the Banff Mountain Film And Book Festival . This event has everything from photography workshops to arts and craft sales, plus plenty of  book programs and storytelling during the week of Oct 27 - Nov 4.

photo courtesy of The Banf Book and Film Festival

Anxiety Bunny

Dutch artist Pieter Janssen, who is better known as Piet Parra or sometimes just Parra, and is a multi-faceted artist to say the least.

Be it sculpture, graphic art, murals or clothing and shoes, Parra has made his mark and is quite recognizable, even if you don't actually know the name.

Parra mural in Amsterdam

Parra mural in L.A.

Not So Happy Bird

Vaso Di Culo ( Jar Of Ass)

Take A Rest

How I discovered Parra was through a permanent installation at Flevopark in Amsterdam, during the Appelsap Fresh Music Festival. It's a reworked version of his Anxiety sculpture that was originally created for the Juxtapoz x Superflat exhibition, as pictured below.

Anxiety

Anxiety Bunny in Flevopark 

Addendum: Earthquake Insurance Coverage For B.C.

So, the post titled "Earthquake Insurance Coverage For B.C." was written on Tuesday, and scheduled and posted on Wednesday evening, followed by a C.B.C. news report on that very day stating there were two significant earthquakes off the coast of B.C.!!

Image courtesy of CBC News

Certainly, the news story sure gave me an eerie feeling about "questioning" the validity of earthquake insurance coverage in the first place, then writing a post about it and how I was surprised by the number of quakes that occur there and the rest of the world.. "Speak Of The Devil" so to speak! Crazy!

Earthquake Insurance Coverage For B.C.

I just got a notification from one of the major insurers that BlueCircle represents, offering enhanced earthquake coverage, which made me think...how often does an earthquake happen in B.C. that would make you consider getting insurance for such an event?

The answer may surprise you, as it did me! It seems that almost daily there are earthquakes that happen in and around British Columbia! Small in magnitude, and deep enough to not have a noticeable effect perhaps, but regular enough to consider that maybe, just maybe, one day the big one will hit, as it did in Indonesia just recently.

The image above is a screen shot from a website that popped up when researching earthquakes in British Columbia. Earthquake Track does just that, tracking earthquakes around the world. Consider the following facts about earthquake occurrences and how they affect us surface dwellers.

There are approx 900,000 earthquakes each year that we don't or can't actually feel but are recorded on a siesmograph. 

About 30,000 earthquakes are felt each year but do little or no damage.

When earthquakes get into the 5.5 magnitude range, the effects become noticeable and damage starts to occur to man-made structures.

Magnitude 6.1 and above earthquakes cause a lot of damage, including tsunami, when conditions and location are conducive. 

There have been 5 major earthquakes in the past 2 days, with 2 being  6.23 and 6.9 in Praya, Indonesia, which made the news here in North America. However, there was 1 in Lebabsa Fiji that hit 6.8, and 2 in Levuka, Fiji, one hitting 6.3 and one a whopping magnitude of 8.2!Just yesterday, there were 10 earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 that hit Bali in a 24 hour span.

So, earthquake insurance coverage indeed! 

Women In The Wind

This past weekend, Calgary played host to hundreds of riders from all across Canada and the U.S. who gathered together for the 2018 Women In The Wind Summer Internationals.

There are 118 Women In The Wind chapters (as of June 2018) located in Canada, Ireland, Nepal, New Zealand, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Chapter membership is open to women that own and/or operate a motorcycle of any make. Members are required to hold a valid drivers license with a motorcycle endorsement or permit.

Alberta has 8 chapters, located all across the province, with the local chapter Chinook Outriders getting the honour of hosting the 2018 Summer Internationals. BlueCircle was proud to be a "Second Gear" sponsor of this huge get-together and help in a variety of ways, giving out some cool swag, leading a group of riders, providing a support vehicle, and having our very own Angela Murray do a key speaking engagement and also act as M.C. for the Saturday night banquet and awards ceremony.

The big ride of the event, held on Friday, took the riders through the Highwood Pass on a super hot day, with temperatures hitting 37°C, compounded by some smoke from forest fires in B.C.. There were a few minor problems, with a broke down bike and a rider who got a bit overheated and exhausted, but all in all a great day for everyone.

Watch for future WITW events coming up this year, like the Canadian Motorcycle Rally For Women being  held in Edmonton and co-ordinated to also help celebrate the 30th anniversary of the local Wild Roses Chapter 

Calgary was quite hazy from all the forest fire smoke in BC

Before the kick stands go up, everyone gathers for a safety talk

More and more bikes arrive

The parking lot is filling up

Bobby Baum led a group, right after the safety talk

On the road, just past Morley AB

Heading into Kananaskis on Highway 40

Pit stop at Mt. Kidd

It was a hot and smoky day

Despite the smoky haze, still a beautiful sight

Ang led this group of lovely ladies

Back on the road

We had one motorcycle casualty, which is why we have the support vehicle

A panoramic view

One lone motorcycle coming our way

Ang gave a key note speech after the ride

Smoke!

I took this photo as we rode out to K-Country, just to show how hazy things were from all the smoke from the forest fires in B.C.

Not the best quality shot, but the fuzzy pixel count and the effects of the haze makes it look a bit like a watercolour painting. 

OSA Chopper

With Sturgis in full swing and lots of people writing about it, here's a video on a "bike bike" motorcycle gathering that's a little bit different just because because it takes place in Japan.

Champagne Glass Mechanics

So, you think that cracking open a bottle of bubbly and having a sip is as simple as popping the cork and pouring a glass? 

Think again! There's some physics to how you taste Champagne and it has as much to do with the glass in which you pour this elixir.