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Big Bet 1 of 3 · Finale weekend

The Great Calgary Puzzle Swap

· International Puzzle Day · Central Library + every CPL branch

One weekend. One city. Every CPL branch operating as a drop-off and exchange hub. The most public PuzzleYYC event of the 2026–27 season — and a candidate for a Guinness World Record.

Who

Every Calgarian. Drop-off open to all; spectators welcome at the Central Library finals.

What

City-wide swap of every donated puzzle + televised speed-puzzling finals.

Why come

Bring puzzles you've finished, take puzzles you haven't. No piece is wasted.

📍 All CPL branches as Jan 29–30 swap hubs

Every Calgary Public Library branch becomes a swap hub for the weekend. Drop off puzzles in the morning. Pick up new ones in the afternoon. No travel required — there's a hub in your quadrant.

Calgary swap hubs · Jan 29–30, 2027 quadrants intersect at downtown · Bow River shown
Calgary CPL branches — swap-hub map (wireframe) A wireframe sketch of Calgary divided into NW, NE, SW, SE quadrants with the Bow River winding east-west, and pins marking the Central Library plus six named CPL branches that serve as swap hubs. Bow River NW NE SW SE ★ Central Library finals venue Crowfoot NW Saddletowne NE Village Square NE Signal Hill SW Quarry Park SE + all remaining CPL branches as drop-off pods
★ Central Library — finals venue Named branches — confirmed swap hubs Remaining CPL branches — drop-off pods
wireframe sketch — final illustrated map via MZM-1132 visual brief

The Ziploc Initiative + Guinness investigation

🧩 The Ziploc Initiative

Every puzzle, every piece, in a labeled bag. No orphan pieces. No mystery boxes. Volunteers hand-check before the swap goes live — security and trust at scale.

🌍 Guinness — feasibility study

Investigating "Largest Puzzle Swap." Gathering criteria from Guinness, comparing benchmarks, sponsor attribution TBD. Decision gate: confirm or set aside before September 2026.

status: under review

What's already happening on Facebook — no account required to read

Calgary's puzzle scene is already alive on Facebook — four established public groups host swaps, exchange tips, and run pop-up events. Not everyone is on FB; we surface their public activity right here so you don't need an account to know what's happening or show up.

CL
Calgary Puzzle Library
● active~12 posts/wkpublic · FB group
recent public activity
  • "Spring Swap" — 47 puzzles exchanged at CentralApr 26
  • "New drop-off pod at Saddletowne"Apr 12
swaplibraryall-ages
Visit on Facebook →
YE
YYC Puzzle Exchange
● active842 members*public · FB group
recent public activity
  • "1000-piece challenge night" — 31 attendees, CrowfootApr 19
  • "Q1 swap stats" — 219 puzzles exchanged Q1 2026Apr 05
swapmarketplacepeer-to-peer
Visit on Facebook →
JS
Calgary Jigsaw Swappers
~5 posts/wk512 members*public · FB group
recent public activity
  • "Looking for: 1500-piece landscapes" — 8 repliesApr 22
  • "Free 500pc bundle, NW pickup"Apr 14
swaprequestsfree-stuff
Visit on Facebook →
PP
Puzzle Parents YYC
● weekly310 members*public · FB group
recent public activity
  • "Family table at Family Puzzle Day Oct 31?"Apr 24
  • "Best 100pc puzzles for ages 5–7" — 14 repliesApr 09
familieskidstips
Visit on Facebook →
Run a Calgary puzzle group we haven't listed? tell us →  ·  * member counts pending verification
Source: public posts only · manual weekly pull until an official partnership agreement lands. No FB API keys in source. No login wall. No iframe embeds requiring FB cookies.
Lead partner: Calgary Public Library · Tourism YYC · StumpCraft · ALL CPL branches as drop-off + swap hubs · sponsor pool (open)
Get email updates for the Swap — or volunteer for the weekend: email us.
Last updated: 2026-04-28 · wireframe v3
Open question: Guinness criteria · televised broadcaster confirmation