Lilac festival is an annual

street festival A street fair celebrates the character of a neighborhood. As its name suggests, it is typically held on the main street of a neighborhood. The principal component of street fairs are booths used to sell goods (particularly food) or convey informa ...

held in Calgary,

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. The festival has grown to entertain over 80,000 people each spring. The lilac (''Syringa'') flowers are often blooming throughout the area at this time. The festival takes place along the 13 blocks of 4th Street (between 13th Avenue South and Elbow Drive) in the

Beltline The Atlanta BeltLine (also Beltline or Belt Line) is a open and planned loop of multi-use trail and light rail transit system on a former railway corridor around the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta BeltLine is designed to reconnect nei ...

and

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

neighborhoods. It is an all day free event and is open to all ages. At 10:00 am (MT), a parade signals the start of the festival. The parade begins along 4th Street from 25th Avenue SW to 13th Avenue SW. The festival features over 500 vendors such as entertainment stages, street dancing, musical talent, artisan vendors, food, and other business stalls. The festival also includes bouncy castles for young children to utilize.

History

The Lilac Festival started out as a small neighborhood celebration in 1989 by the Cliff Bungalow-Mission Community Association and the 4th Street Business Revitalization Zone. In 2005 it had an estimated 120,000 attendance. Lilac festival has been voted Calgary's best free festival in 2006. In 2007, the festival was held on May 27. Image:lilac_fest_2007.jpg, "The Lilac Festival" in Calgary's Mission district Image:bellydancer_lilac_2007.jpg, Belly Dancer Image:knight_lilac_2007.jpg, Knight in shining armour Image:balloonlady_lilac_2007.jpg, The balloon lady In 2018, the approximate attendance is over 100,000 people. Two years later, the festival was scrapped caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

References

{{Calgary landmarks Festivals in Calgary Flower festivals in Canada Fairs in Alberta Street fairs 1989 establishments in Alberta Recurring events established in 1989

History

Sponsors

See also

References