Vaisakhi Mela, a retro movie and Loverboy: What's happening in Calgary this weekend

The weekend is already upon us and if you don't have any plans yet, you'll be sure to have some thanks toThe Homestretch's Ellis Choe and herlist of entertainment options in Calgary.

Vaisakhi Mela

In India, the new year is celebrated in the spring and is tied to the harvest, but the dates change every year because the timing is dictated by the lunar calendar.

This is the seventh year the South Asian community in Calgary is celebrating with a festival called Vaisakhi Mela, which is a celebration of the Indian New Year, the harvest festival and a religious festival rolled into one.

The event is free to attend and will feature dancing, various competitions and food. It runs from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Genesis Centre, 7555 Falconridge Blvd. N.E.

Theatre Calgary fundraiser

Saturday marks a 50th anniversary gala fundraiser for Theatre Calgary.

They're calling it,The Garden Unlocked, and a $300 ticket gets you prosecco, a three-course dinner, silent and live auctions with all proceeds of course going to Theatre Calgary.

Artistic director Stafford Arima says they're planning some special entertainment for the gala as well.

Dress code is masquerade formal and the event runs from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. atThe Hudson (200 8 Ave S.W.)

Theatre Junction Grand

Theatre Junction Grand is putting on a play, If I Could Tell You Everything, which is co-written and staged by local teenagers with the help of Geoffrey Simon Brown, an award-winning Calgary playwright in residence at Theatre Junction's Mentorship Program.

It's a play about recycling of sorts a group of teenagers performing a play about a group of teenagers who are building a new civilization out of garbage.

The play runs Friday and Saturday startingat 8 p.m. at Theatre Junction Grand (608 1st St. S.W.) and tickets are $10.

Retro movie night

The Lougheed House is showing a Charlie Chaplin film as part of an Art Deco exhibit they launched this spring.

It's Chaplin's 1936 film Modern Times, which was his last 'silent' film.

It's filled with sound effects but Chaplin, as the Little Tramp, doesn't speak in it.

Apparently he did write dialogue for it but eventually scrapped it.

Chaplin wrote the film to address the rise of nationalism, the effects of the Great Depression, unemployment and industrialization as job losses due to technology were a big concern during that era. It also reflected Chaplin's own uncertainty about his career due to the technology of sound being introduced into film at that time.

"Talkies" first appeared in 1927 and Chaplin didn't make a film for five years because of it.

The film starts at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Julie Andrews tribute

The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is presenting a show dedicated to Julie Andrews and her beloved songs.

The show's aptly called My Favourite Things.

Singer Diane Penning, along with conductor and singer Paul Langford and the Calgary Children's Choir are bringing her songs to life songs from Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady and Camelot.

It's all happening at Jack Singer Hall Fridaynight at 8p.m.

Gordie Howe C.A.R.E.S

We're going from Climbing Every Mountain to Working for the Weekend.

That's right, Loverboy is performing at the Palace Theatre on Saturday night to raise money for Gordie Howe CARES, which is a group dedicated to raising funds for Alzheimer's and Dementia Research in Calgary.

The show starts at 7 p.m.and is in conjunction with the annual pro-am hockey tournament, running April 7 and 8.

Tickets for the show are $49.50.

Sue Foley on tour

Sue Foley is a Canadian blues artist who is touring for the first time in a long while.

She just put out her first solo album in 10 years, The Ice Queen, which was inspired by a sad breakup of a long relationship.

It features the likes of big names in blues such as Jimmie Vaughan, ZZ Top singer Billy F. Gibbons, Chris "Whipper" Layton (Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble) and Charlie Sexton (The Arc Angels, Bob Dylan's backup band).

Foley performs at Studio Bell at The National Music Centre on Friday at 7 p.m.

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With files from The Homestretch