Giant pumpkin drop, painting and Wordfest: 4 things to do in Calgary this weekend

Thanksgiving is a time to get together with family and friends to celebrate the bounty of the harvest and get ready for winter.

For many, the long weekend is already packed with plans.

But if you're still looking for ideas to get you up and out of the house, Homestretch director Tracy Fuller can help.

1. Lawren Harris exhibition at the Glenbow Museum

For those who weren't inundated with jack pines,blue lakes and rocky shores growing up, the Group of Seven were Canadian landscape painters in the 1920s, originally including Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonaldand Frederick Varley.

In recent years, the work of Lawren Harrishasseen a bit of a renaissance, getting a lot of love from unexpected admirers like comedian Steve Martin, who curated a travelling exhibition last year.

• Lawren Harris painting Mountain Forms sells for record $11.21M at auction

Starting on Saturday, another Lawren Harris exhibition is opening at the Glenbow museum in Calgary. It's called Higher States: Lawren Harris and His American Contemporaries.

The show comes to us from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and focuses on the relatively little-known period of Lawren's life when he moved to the U.S. and embraced abstraction and modernism styles that were far from his iconic Canadian landscapes.

The exhibition officially opens on Saturday, but the gallery is throwing a launch party on Friday night, with admission by donation.

Check it out after 7:30 p.m. For tickets and info head to their website.

2. Live musical performance of The Little Mermaid

This is one kids and adults will both enjoy.

The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is performing music fromThe Little Mermaidlive this Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Each performancewillaccompanya screeningof the classicDisney film atthe Jack Singer ConcertHall.

Tickets are going fast, so head to the Calgary Philharmonic website to get yours before they're gone.

3. Pumpkin Festival at Blue Grass Nursery

If you're in the market for pumpkins, you'll want to check out the Pumpkin Festival at Blue Grass Nursery, just south of CrossIron Mills. It happensSunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This is a fundraiser for the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation, so there's a suggested donation of $5 per person.

The event includes tons of fun activities, like pumpkin bowling, Cinderella pumpkin coach rides, a straw maze, petting zoo, trampolines, face painting and more.

The grand finale will be watching organizers drop a pumpkin weighing more than 225 kilograms from a 30-metre craneonto a car.

More info can be found on their website.

4. Wordfest

All genres, all age ranges if you like reading, then Wordfest is for you.

It starts with an all-ages Alligator Pie event on Monday with the one and only Dennis Lee, author of the popular children's book.

That goes at the Memorial Park Library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the best part, it's free.

A complete schedule of events for Wordfest is available online.

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With files from The Homestretch