What do you mean by a light strip on the side? I see large vertical areas of subdued colour.

Ah - I see a border on some. You're right, that does distinguish it (and thanks) but my reaction there to the design is: wow, by so little. It's hardly intuitive or clear: the same representation for two completely different things where the only difference is a few left-side pixels :(

Many calendar apps use roundrects for items which helps for multi-day appointments/events because you can tell which is the start/left edge of the item and which is the end/right edge of the item.

I'm not sure what's displayed if the app shows the middle portion of an event that extends for more than one week - maybe a rectangle, if the rounded corners signify the beginning/ending of an event.