About Kelly Doody’s Calgary
Calgary has always been a city of interesting rooms.
The kind where entrepreneurs sketch ideas on napkins, artists launch new work, foodies test dishes on friends, and community builders quietly shape the future of a place.
For the better part of two decades, I had the privilege of being present in many of those rooms.
As a daily columnist for the Calgary Sun and then writer for the Calgary Herald, my job was to attend the city’s most interesting gatherings, meet fascinating people, and tell the stories that brought Calgary to life.
Later, through my work in PR and marketing, and eventually as the founder of Social School, a digital marketing academy in Inglewood, I maintained my close-up view of the entrepreneurs, founders, and builders committed to evolving our brilliant city.
Then, the pandemic closed the rooms.
It closed a whole host of things, in fact, as you will no doubt agree.
In the years that have followed, I’ve increasingly found myself missing the energy of Calgary in a way I hadn’t quite expected. The conversations, the creativity, the hum of a million-plus people collectively dreaming, doing, and developing incredible things.
So, I hopped back in.
What This Publication Is
Kelly Doody’s Calgary is a window into the people, places, and spaces that make a city worth writing about.
Untold stories about Calgary’s modern-day mavericks, energized entrepreneurs, and committed community builders. And not just the ways they’re shaping YYC’s future, but how and where they live and play.
The paths they’ve tread, the homes they’ve built, the neighbourhoods they love, the places they gather.
Because cities are not defined by their skylines, but rather, the lives lived inside them.
From urban lofts to lakefront living rooms, heritage homes to new builds in the burbs, the spaces we inhabit tell a tale of who we are and what we value. This is a place that celebrates those spaces, and the wild and wonderful souls who bring them to life.
Think of it as a modern society column: less celebrity, more community. Less real estate listing, more real life living.
Why I’m Writing It
I believe cities thrive when their stories are told.
When interesting people are perfectly woven together. When neighbourhoods are celebrated for what they actually are.
Not their price per square foot, but their epic sunsets, electric cafes, and block parties that spark friendships lasting decades and beyond.
Calgary is full of people quietly building remarkable things, and beautifully living inspired lives. This collection of posts is my way of shining a light and holding the mic.
About Me
I’m a fourth-generation Calgarian, and 20-year writer, marketer, and entrepreneur.
I’m also a real estate agent and advisor, specializing in the kinds of homes and neighbourhoods you’ll read about here… sunny lake communities, inner-city enclaves, spacious estates on the city’s edge.
But I’m not writing this to sell you a house. I’m writing it because Calgary’s stories deserve the brightest light of day, and I’ve missed being part of the telling.
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If you love this city — its people, homes, neighbourhoods, and stories — you’re in the right place, and I gratefully invite you to subscribe and stick around.
