Calgary Parrot Head Club News

Re-Cap: 14th Annual Christmas Charity Drive

The 2010 Christmas Food Drive and Silent Auction was another hugely successful event! As a club, we decided to sail away from our usual port-of-call -- i.e. the Toy Drive -- and threw our support behind the Calgary Veterans' Food Bank. Many veterans rely heavily upon donations. We collected a mountain of non-perishable food items, as well as cash donations. Thank you Calgary PHC!! We also raised $300 to support a family in need of a bit of Christmas cheer that season. Our silent auction as a fundraiser for PADS has surpassed $7,500 in the past 2 years, which has enabled the Club to sponsor 3 pups: "Tiki", "Monday", and "Buffett". (Refer to website www.pads.ca).

River Clean-Up

On Sunday May 2, 2010, the City held its 43rd Annual River Clean-Up. It was a bit touch-and-go as to whether the clean-up would happen, as we had snow late in the week. The snow melted and the weather held, and about 23 members of the phlock met at the Hose-and-Hound for a quick coffee and Baileys before heading out. Due to our growing numbers, Loralyne was able to secure us a larger section of riverbank to clean. Sad to say that nothing very interesting or unusual was found along our stretch, not even a blown-out flip-flop or bottle-top! After a couple of hours of making the riverbank and pathway garbage-free, the flock reconvened at the Hose-and-Hound for some cheeseburgers and boat drinks. A job well done!

Parrotheads Help the Homeless

Community involvement has always been an important focus of this club. This year, it started when a phlocking of 26 members served lunch at the Calgary Drop-In Centre, in March and again in April. Great job for all who supported!! Your club is open to any suggestions of a project that is near and dear to your heart, that a group of 20 or more could help out and make a difference for a few hours. Let any of the "Bored of Directors" know, and we can make it happen....

Thanks from Vida for Birthday Bash

Thanks to all who came out for my 50th birthday phlocking at Shuckalucks. It was a blast.  Thanks for the beautiful lamp and the cake was fantastic.  Thank you to everyone who was a part of putting this together.  It really will be something I remember forever.  A huge thank you to Brian Neale and DJ Rocky for making the trip from Toronto to join the celebration.   Thank you to Sherry and her staff Connin, Woody, Lea & Emily for looking after us so well.  We raised $180 in the 50/50 draw for Haiti Relief which Dave has already donated to www.canadaforhaiti.com (as it was done before the 12th) the government matches our donation – so $360 will be going to Haiti Relief. Thank you to everyone who supported this great cause.    Rich H. (he is my assistant’s hubby) won the 50/50 and donated his $180 back to PADS Calgary.  Thank you Rick for giving your winnings back to PADS.    

Which brings me to – our newest pup on the Calgary scene – “Buffett” – a beautiful black lab who is going to be a very big black lab judging from his size right now. So now as a result of our fund raising efforts in 2009 for PADS Calgary, we have 3 puppies being raised in the Calgary area: Tiki, Monday & Buffett.  Make sure you make a point of saying hello to them as you run into them on field trips or just out and about town. 

Forget San Francisco -- We Headed
out to Manassas, Virginia, for the

Labour Day Weekend Show

By Derek

Last time I submitted an article for the newsletter, I was a Jimmy Buffett Concert Virgin,18-Jul-2010 20 other crazy Calgary Parrot Heads. It was truly one of the great times of my life. DQ Dave's next great advice was "as much fun as you had in Vegas - you haven't truly experienced Jimmy until you see in at an outdoor concert".

The long, long winter (that would never end) finally started to show signs of ending. Some members of the Phlock were starting to plan their next Phlocking to Vegas for the SummerzCool Tour Concert. DQ Dave was consistent with his message, and Bev and I were thinking we should try to see if we could make it work. Dave started looking at the schedule and it looked like the best fit was going to be "The Labour Day Weekend Show" in Manassas, Virginia. Before you knew it, Steve and Cathy and their son Shaun were all in. The phlocking was started.

Vida posted on the "Coconut Telegraph" that there were 7 members of the CalPHC phlocking to Manassas, and could anyone pass on some suggestions. Before you know it, there were E-mails coming from 4 or 5 other PH Clubs, all offering up sugggestions, advice, and hospitality. What an outstanding community of people Parrot Heads are!

All of us had different routes and arrivals, but met in Bristow VA on the Friday. Turned out that it is usually very hot at that time of the year, and once we checked in -- we headed to the poolside! After I dived into the water and came up, the first thing I heard was some JB tunes coming from the poolside. I looked up and saw some Virginia Parrot Heads, and even though it was only 1 PM, the Tiki Bar was open and it was 5 O'Clock somewhere. I met Tim and his crew from Virginia; they had been to the Thursday concert and were staying for the Saturday concert the next day. Their crew was incredibly well set up, so I asked how many times he had seem Jimmy play? His answer: He thought this was his 84th or 85th concert! Now this is one serious Parrot Head!!

Through "The Coconut Telegraph" and Steve and Cathy, we had hooked up with the Washington Parrot Head Club. They said they had room for 7 crazy Canadians, and the fun was about to start. They had a bus going, a full day of tailgate partying, a DJ, and even had lined up some of the Coral Reefers to stop by and sign autographs for a meet-and-greet. We had large Canadian Flag like the one Vida had in Vegas -- a new tradition had started.

As the bus rolled up to the Nissan Amphitheater, all I could see for miles and miles were RVs, trucks, cars, all tailgate partying. The closer we got, it became clear that Parrot Heads were tailgating to a whole other level. I saw Volcanos, Pirate Ships, Tiki Bars, Beaches, Pools, Bars, and any other thing that Jimmy mentions in a song. If he mentions it in a song, it was there in front of us and for as far as you can see in any direction. And it was still 5 hours to concert time!

We hoisted up the Canadian flag where the Washington Parrot Heads were tailgating, and it became a gathering spot for fellow Canadian Parrot Heads, as well as the Canadian expats living south of the border. Onced again, we got all the Canadians (and whoever else that wanted) to sign the flag. We even got 4 of the Coral Reefers to sign it, and it now hangs proudly at our Happy Hours.

Walking around the tailgate party was something that I will never forget. The outfits, the signs, the games, the music... But most of all, it was the energy and the fun that everyone was having -- and it was still hours until the concert! Before I knew it, the doors opened and in we went to grab our piece of turf on the grass to experience one of the best times of my life. The party had just moved inside the amphitheater. Soon the whole complex was full of beach balls being tossed around.

Finally the stage lights went on and out came the band. Just as Jimmy as about to start, a full moon was coming over the back of the seats and the grass, and with the picture on the big screen and Jimmy talking about "what a perfect way to start the Labour Day Weekend Show."

Three hours later, and after a ton of his oldies, the show was eventually ending. What a night! I had a smile on from start to finish. We headed back to our bus to meet up with our Washington Parrot Heads for the ride home. The crazy Canucks took some flack heading onto the bus, but they were great hosts and really looked after us. In fact, when we were getting dropped off at the hotel after the concert, they all started singing "Oh Canada" in our honour. We must have done something right!

We headed back to Calgary the next day, and our "most excellent adventure" had ended. We quickly exchanged pictures with the group, and now have them as great memories. Bev's comment before we headed out was that we couldn't be doing this every year. Well, it was less than a week after we were home and at the next Happy Hour that she asked: When and where were we going to go next year?

So fellow Parrot Heads, there is a group starting to plan the next great outdoor Buffett concert next summer. The more the merrier!! Until then, Phins Up!

It's Official:

Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville
to Open in Calgary!

To the delight of Calgarians, and especially us Parrot Heads, the first Margaritaville restaurant in Canada will be opened on the Stampede grounds here in Calgary in 2012, the 100th Anniversary of the Calgary Stampede.

Margaritaville will be the anchor tenant along Stampede Trail, a unique entertainment / shopping strip to be built between 12 Avenue and the existing entrance to the Stampede Park. This strip will be a "festival marketplace", and will help turn the park into a year-round destination.

More details available in this Press Release from Stampede Trail.

Also: check out the official Margaritaville Calgary web page.

(Other source: the Calgary Herald: "Margaritaville Seen as Toast of Stampede",
10-July-2009, Pages A1 and A11)

Unless otherwise noted, most of the articles on this page were adapted from the newsletter, published by Loralyne M., Eva R. and Deanna L.

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