Chorney-Booth: Fun food events to help usher you into September

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As we enter the last, languid, long weekend of the summer, you’d be inclined to start filling your September calendar. Summertime in Calgary’s restaurant industry is usually all about beers and bottles of rosé on the patio, but as fall comes blowing in, events are booked, corporate lunches resume, and we collectively think about cheering ourselves up with hardier food and drink.

On the events side of things, there are a few big events coming up in early September to celebrate the changing of the seasons. The first is the return of Carnival Cocktails for Cancer, a whimsical circus-themed fundraiser that has been off the scene since a last-minute COVID-19 cancellation in 2020. This one dates back to the heady days of the 2010s, when collaborative dinners and big food station-laden events were happening around the city almost constantly.

Launched in 2015 by Jesse Willis (best known as a partner at the Vine Arts wine shops), the fundraiser honours his late family member Jennifer Gardiner, a.k.a. Jen Unplugged, a local force of nature who was much beloved in many of Calgary’s professional and social circles. Gardiner and Willis initially conceived the event — food and cocktails inspired by carnival flair — to launch a magazine she had planned, but after Gardiner passed away in 2014 from colorectal cancer, Willis vowed to see the event to fruition. It ran as a fabulously successful, single-night event until that COVID cancellation, and then the pandemic and regular life kept Willis from resurrecting it.

“We wanted to do a fundraiser that Jen would love,” Willis says. “To honour her memory but also raise some money and be the kind of event she would have wanted to be at or throw herself.”

Willis felt it was time to bring the fundraiser back, and while he still likes the idea of one big party bringing restaurants together, he also wanted to figure out a way to bring paying customers to new restaurants while also extending the fun to Edmonton, where Vine Arts opened a store in 2023. Instead of a single-night event, the new Carnival Cocktails for Cancer is a 10-day dine/drink-around, with dozens of bars and restaurants participating across both cities. Each venue offers an exclusive drink, a dish, or a combination of both. A dollar from each featured item sold will be donated to the Alberta Cancer Foundation.

What does Carnival for Cancer fare look like? Native Tongues (which happens to be co-owned by Willis’ brother Cody), will offer a festive take on elotes (a.k.a. Mexican corn on the cob) as well as mint and mango margaritas. Meanwhile, Proof will be serving a cocktail called The Bearded Lady (a fruity/peanut butter affair garnished with cotton candy) while Bodega by Sabor — in both Calgary and Edmonton — is opting for a passionfruit concoction inspired by nights at a carnival.

Other participating restaurants include Scozzafava’s Deli (with a carnival-themed sandwich), Salt and Brick, and Bar Rocca. Carnival Cocktails for Cancer runs from Sept. 5 to 14. For more details, visit carnivalcocktails.ca.

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On the other side of the coin, the inaugural NEXT Food Expo takes place Sept. 8-9 at the BMO Centre. While anyone is welcome to buy a ticket and attend, this one is geared to industry, though that can mean anyone from owners of big restaurant chains to dishwashers and front-of-house staff. Conceived to bring a Western Canadian presence to the big food service expo game, organizers have gone the extra mile to ensure NEXT isn’t just your typical boring trade show.

Sure, all the trade shows boast they’re doing things differently, but in this case, co-founder Domenic Pedulla brought event producer Kandrix Foong on board. As the founder of the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, Foong knows how to bring some razzle-dazzle to a trade show floor. While the first year won’t have everything on the organizers’ wish list, attendees can expect cooking and bartending competitions and demos, plenty of exciting speakers, and immersive experiences to keep things energetic and interesting. Most importantly, the price point is relatively low, so large swaths of a restaurant’s staff can come in to learn some new tricks and boost morale.

“We really want to make it accessible,” Pedulla says. “We want there to be a high degree of value for people to come and to bring their teams.”

For tickets or more information, visit nextfoodexpo.com.

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Finally, for someone who just wants a good meal, Modern Steak is holding its latest month-long pop-up throughout September, this one with a Tuscan steakhouse theme. La Buca will run Thursdays through Sundays at both the Modern Steak Stephen Avenue and Southport locations, with former Modern Steak/current Lusi chef Michael Scarcelli helming the project. Expect regional Italian flavours and Alberta ingredients woven into a six-course menu, priced at $159 (plus tax and gratuity). Wine pairings are also available at an additional fee.

For reservations or more information, visit modernsteak.ca.

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth can be reached at elizabooth@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @elizabooth or sign up for her newsletter at hungrycalgary.substack.com.