Step inside Calgary’s historic GRAND Theatre for an evening of remembrance, creativity, and community. Join us as we honour the legacy of Charles Daniels - a courageous Black Calgarian whose 1914 discrimination lawsuit against this theatre stands as one of Alberta’s earliest civil-rights cases.
Event Details
Date: Monday, February 3, 2026
Venue: The GRAND Theatre, 608 1st Street SW Calgary, AB
Time: Event start at 5 PM | Programming starts at 7 PM
Featuring: Spoken word, music, dance, and art unveiling, and community Q&A
Join us for a powerful evening of art, music, and storytelling as we reflect on Charles Daniels’ fight for dignity and justice - while celebrating the continuing power of Black voices and stories in this space.
The evening features:
Live performances and visual art by extraordinary Black artists
The unveiling of a new commemorative artwork honouring Charles Daniels
Food, drink, and opportunities to connect directly with artists and members of the Charles Daniels Committee
By gathering in the place where Daniels was once denied justice, we transform a story of exclusion into a living testament to resilience, creativity, and community.
We invite you to attend, listen, reflect, and honour a legacy that helped shape the cultural and social fabric of Calgary.
Live Performances
What to expect at the event
Join us for an unforgettable evening at The GRAND - where history, artistry, and community come together in celebration.
-
Step into our historic theatre and enjoy early access to the Lobby for exclusive behind-the-scenes tours. Connect with fellow guests, artists, and staff while soaking in the energy of Calgary’s oldest performing arts space.
-
Take your seat in the Flanagan Theatre and get ready for an inspiring, one-of-a-kind performance.
-
The evening kicks off with a special welcome from Executive Director Erynn Lyster, followed by a powerful unveiling that ties together legacy, vision, and community.
-
After the show, stay seated for an engaging Q&A session with the artists - your chance to hear directly from the creative minds behind the performance.
-
Mingle with fellow attendees, artists, and community members in the Lobby. Enjoy refreshments, connect with the people shaping Calgary’s cultural future, and take in the spirit of The GRAND.
-
The event winds down, but the conversations and connections will carry on.
Why this event is important
The story of Charles Daniels is a powerful reminder that the fight for civil rights has deep roots here in Calgary.
On February 3, 1914, Charles Daniels - a Black Calgarian and CPR employee - arrived at the Sherman Grand Theatre (now The GRAND) with orchestra-level seats he had purchased for a performance of King Lear. Theatre management blocked his entry and insisted he accept seats in the segregated balcony. Daniels refused and was turned away.
Within days, he retained a lawyer and filed a lawsuit seeking $1,000 in damages, launching one of Alberta’s earliest documented civil-rights cases.
The final ruling was never recorded, but what remains unmistakable is Daniels’ courage. His refusal was about far more than a seat - it was a bold assertion of dignity, visibility, and the rights of Black Calgarians. His actions remain both historically significant and urgently relevant today.
By sharing his story, this event bridges past and present - honouring Daniels, amplifying Black voices, and reinforcing the ongoing commitment to equity, inclusion, and justice in Calgary’s cultural spaces.
The Charles Daniels Committee
The GRAND established the Charles Daniels Committee to guide this work with integrity and long-term purpose. Led by creative visionaries Wakefield Brewster, Cheryl Foggo, and Lisa LaTouche, the Committee:
Advises The GRAND’s staff and board
Shapes the artistic and educational direction of this project
Ensures we honour Daniels’ legacy with insight, care, and community leadership
Helps build meaningful, lasting relationships with Black artists and audiences
Their vision is central to transforming this historic injustice into a legacy of remembrance, reconciliation, and artistic celebration.
Lisa LaTouche
-
As a proud Canadian and New Yorker, Lisa’s credits are world renowned. She was an original cast member in Broadway’s Shuffle Along, choreographed by Savion Glover and Directed by George C. Wolfe, where she received both the Fred Astaire Award and the Actor’s Equity Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus.
Her TV credits include the 70th Annual Tony Awards and Amazon’s Original “Z, The beginning of everything”. Previous highlights have also included touring with the Savion Glover production, Stepz, and also performing with both New York's Off-Broadway and the North American touring casts of STOMP.
Since 2010 she has run her own performance company Tap Phonics and has been commissioned to present for such organizations such as The Brooklyn Museum, 92Y, Gibney Dance and Fall For Dance North. As an educator and Professor she has taught for PACE University, NYU, The School of Jacob’s Pillow, University of Calgary, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Rosie’s Theater Kids and member of the creative council for the American Tap Dance Foundation. Her most recent endeavour has been writing and directing her debut film TRAX encompassing her journey back to Alberta while discovering important local black history.
Above all, her proudest achievement greatest inspiration, is the gift of being a mom.
Wakefield Brewster
-
First stepping on stage as a poet and spoken word artist in 1999, Wakefield Brewster has become one of Canada’s most powerful and prolific spoken word artists.
Raised in Toronto by parents from Barbados, he has resided in Calgary since 2016, and has since been able to flourish as a poet. He has had several anthologies of his work published in addition to his two professional spoken word recordings.
In the Canadian arts community, Wakefield fills many roles; a few highlights include:
2019 - Appointed as the very First Resident Poet & Spoken Word Artist of The GRAND in Calgary, Alberta.
2021 - Joins The League Of Canadian Poets in order to become a more integral part of Canada’s Literary scene, while representing the standards of Diversity and Representation.
2021 - Joining the Board of Directors of the E.A.R. Society – Elephant Artist Relief Society, providing emergency relief funding and affordable Health Care for Artists.
Cheryl Foggo
-
Cheryl Foggo of Calgary embraces various forms of narrative – film, literature, theatre and
journalism – to tell compelling stories of Prairie Black pioneers. By shining a light on this
rich and diverse history, she helps us understand the significance of contributions by Black
people to Canada. Her works have been seen across Canada and around the globe, and
include Heaven, John Ware Reclaimed, John Ware Reimagined and Pourin’ Down Rain: A
Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West. An inductee into the Alberta Order of
Excellence, she is a past recipient of multiple Provincial, National and International awards,
including the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Outstanding Artist Award. She received an
Honorary Doctor of Laws from Mount Royal University and was awarded the Queen
Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2023, and the King Charles the III Coronation Medal
in 2025. She has recently launched the short films For Caesar, Keystone Is and We Call Him
Sir Charles.