Groups across Calgary unite to create a lip synch video to the song Sweet City Woman
“Swee-ee-eet, sweet city woman, I can see your face, I can hear your voice, I can almost touch you, swee-ee-eet, sweet city woman…”
The popular folk song Sweet City Woman was originally sung by The Stampeders, a
Michael Green, the creative director for the Sweet City Lip Dub Experience, in Olympic Plaza.
Photo by Alexandra Rabbitte Calgary-based band. The song became a No. 1 hit on the Canadian charts in 1971. While that may have been a long time ago, it has been said to be a favourite for Calgarians for many years to follow.
In fact, it was the inspiration for the Sweet City Lip Dub Experience, a cultural event that took place at City Hall and Olympic Plaza on Saturday, Sept. 29 to celebrate Calgary being named the Cultural Capital of Canada in 2012.
Calgary celebrates Cultural Capital of 2012
“This year, Calgary is the Cultural Capital of Canada, and we have a theme song, Sweet City Woman. We thought that we would orchestrate this kind of a happening, as a party. Kind of a love letter to our own city,” said Michael Green, the event’s creative director.
Green estimated that there were about 4,000 people in attendance on the
unusually warm day in late September.
The event had a variety of cultural groups from across Calgary, ranging from children participating in mock-miniature chuck wagon races to a performance by the group known as Calgary Raging Grannies. There were several MLAs in attendance, dance and theatre groups, as well as some local celebrities.
Bret Hart, former WWE wrestler, participated in the Sweet City Lip Dub Experience on Saturday, Sept. 29.
Photo by Alexandra Rabbitte“I think too much in Canada and Calgary we tend to not appreciate our own sometimes, and this is a small example of a Calgary song that’s lasted 40-50 years. Everyone likes it and it’s a nice happy thought. I’m happy to be a part of it,” said Bret Hart, former WWE wrestler, who was proudly wearing a Calgary Hitmen T-shirt.
This year has been a big year for celebration in Calgary: celebrating the centennial anniversaries of the Calgary Stampede, Calgary Public Library and the Pumphouse Theatre, to name a few.
Calgarians plan to show the world our diversity
“Its good to bring out all the different aspects that Calgary has to offer, and to see such a variety of interests represented,” said David Luckman, a stilt walker with a performance group who participated in the lip dub.
The event was working towards creating a video that showcases Calgary to the rest of the world. The video consists of this variety of groups from across Calgary lip-synching to the song, Sweet City Woman, by The Stampeders.
“Calgarian’s like to have fun, I think that (they) have an intrinsic understanding that fun is so important and that’s quite central to our sense of identity,” said Green.