If you’ve come to Lethbridge for any length of time whatsoever and you’ve left your golf clubs at home, you’ve made a terrible mistake.

With more than 15 full-18 and nine-hole golf courses within about a half-hour’s drive of downtown, Lethbridge is a golf trip all on its own.

Just in the city limits alone, you will find any type of golf you are looking for, whether a beginner or seasoned veteran of the links. The Lethbridge Country Club houses the city’s line private equity club, while the semi-private Paradise Canyon Golf Resort (pictured) on the city’s West side provides all comers with some of the most amazing Alberta golf not played beside a mountain.

For fully public accessed golf, try the Henderson Lake Golf Course in the heart of Henderson Park. Or for a view of the High Level Bridge, try the Bridge Valley Golf Course, a nine-hole facility next to the world famous train bridge.

Outside of Lethbridge, you won’t have to travel far at all to find championship-level golf. Coaldale’s Land-O-Lakes Golf and Country Club and the Magrath Golf Course are just two of the many courses reviewed by many as being as good or better than many resort courses.

But the towns of Raymond, Nobleford, Enchant, Picture Butte, Cardston and more all have their own courses each with their own unique styles and layouts but all sharing the same beautiful backdrop of southwest Alberta.

With all there is to enjoy at the Lethbridge and area golf courses, you won’t even care what you shoot. OK, well, less anyway.

by Richard Amery

Courtesy of LABEAT.CA

It is a great week for music leading up to the August long weekend.

There are phenomenal shows this week beginning tonight at the Slice with Said the Whale, Aidan Knight and We Are The City. Tickets cost $10.

Maria in the Shower, an unusual roots band from Vancouver who features horns and harmonica and a variety of influences in their music. They were at the Slice, July 19 and are back, July 28.

 Another cool roots band, the Sunparlour Players are also back at the Slice, July 29.

There are a couple great shows , July 30.

The Slice is going rockabilly with  Hurricane Felix and the Southern Twisters, with special guests, Bent 8, while around the corner, the Mocha Cabana has  a special show with Whitehorse  based singer/songwriter Jude Waldeman, who had one of his songs recorded by Ronnie Hawkins. He will be playing from 6-9 p.m.

Five Alarm Funk also returns to the Slice, Saturday, July 31. For something a little more country, Karen Romanchuk plays the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Aug.

Richard Amery is an arts aficionado and editor of L.A. Beat, Lethbridge’s only online arts and entertainment magazine and guide to everything happening in Lethbridge’s art, drama, music and museum community.

Are you looking for a great way to explore Lethbridge?

The Coulees and Culture Connection Daycamp features five full days of exciting activities that will keep you busy and show you the diversity of Lethbridge. Participants explore a different location each day including the Helen Schuler Nature Centre, New West Theatre, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Be Fit For Life and the Galt Museum & Archives.  Cost of the camp is $125.

The camp runs August 9-13, 2010.

For more information call 403-327-8770 ext. 0

by Richard Amery

courtesy of LABEAT.CA

South Country Fair is over, but music in Lethbridge is just getting started this week.

Some of this week’s highlights are return visits from the Arbitraries, July 21 as well as  Hippodrome at the Slice, July 23. Red Ram also returns to the Slice the next night, July 24 with the New Weather Machine.

 But a couple of the best shows are early the next week beginning with the United Steelworkers of Montreal, who play the Slice, July 26.

Said the Whale is the next day, July 27, when they will be playing a gig at the Slice with We Are The City and Aidan Knight.

Unfortunately the 1010 Pub is no longer  holding Monday open mics, fortunately  the Owl Acoustic Lounge’s Monday open mic is picking up steam. I even got up on stage there for the first time. I’ve been taking a break from playing live, thanks to numerous other projects happening simultaneously. It is a fun open mic, and surprisingly  a lot of people play at it who I have never seen before in addition to a couple familiar faces like Tyson Wiebe and Daylan Delaney.

 It’s a good week for open mics. Most local clubs  are holding their open stages on Thursdays including  Coyote Joes,  the Good Earth Coffee House and Beaches Pub and Grill plus there is an open jam at the Owl.

Toques  and Beards host  the open mic at the slice tonight and  Ben Brown hosts his open mic at the bar One Lounge at the Sandman Inn.

The Lethbridge Folk Club winds up the week with their open mic on Friday at the Wolf’s Den.

In other news, the Blarney Stone is “closed for renovation until July 29”

so next week’s Ill Scarlett show has been relocated to Scores North, July 30. Tickets are $30. An alternate venue is being found for the Cancer Bats’ Aug. 9 show.

 Richard Amery is an arts aficionado and editor of L.A. Beat, Lethbridge’s only online arts and entertainment magazine and guide to everything happening in Lethbridge’s art, drama, music and museum community.