The following is an incomplete list of annual festivals and cultural events in Calgary and the
Calgary Region
The Calgary Metropolitan Region (CMR), also commonly referred to as the Calgary Region, is a conglomeration of municipalities centred on Calgary, the largest city in Alberta.
With the Government of Alberta's establishment of the Calgary Metropo ...
, in the province of
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
.
This list includes
festivals
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holida ...
of diverse types, such as regional festivals,
commerce festivals,
fairs
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks.
Types
Variations of fairs incl ...
,
food festivals
A food festival is a festival, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season.
History
Fo ...
,
arts festivals
An arts festival is a festival that can encompass a wide range of art forms including music, dance, film, fine art, literature, poetry and isn't solely focused on visual arts. Arts festivals may feature a mixed program that include music, lite ...
,
religious festival
A religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that religion. Religious festivals are commonly celebrated on recurring cycles in a calendar year or lunar calendar. The science of religious rites and festivals is known ...
s,
folk festivals
A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods.
Handicra ...
, and recurring festivals on holidays.
List of festivals in Calgary
Most attended festivals
Calgary Stampede
The city of Calgary is famous for the Calgary Stampede, a large agricultural fair and rodeo held every July. The Stampede officially bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth". It features an internationally recognized rodeo competition, a midway, stage shows, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon races,
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
** First Nat ...
exhibitions, and pancake breakfasts around the city. It is among the largest and most well known festivals in Canada. The event has a year history. In 2005, attendance at the 10-day rodeo and exhibition totaled 1,242,928, which set a new record. Attendance at the Stampede Parade (North America's second longest parade), which takes place downtown on opening day, is usually somewhere between 300,000 and 400,000. During Stampede Week, many of the city's residents dress in country attire, and many businesses decorate their stores and offices in western style.
Lilac Festival
The 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 infor ...
held in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. In 2005 it had an estimated 120,000 attendance.
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 neig ...
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.
Sun and Salsa Festival
The Sun and Salsa Festival is an annual festival put on in the
Kensington Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) of Calgary.
Attendance of the festival has grown to around 100,000 in 2010.
Former festivals
This is a list of festivals that no longer exist, have been on a prolonged hiatus, or festivals that were once held in Calgary but have since moved to elsewhere.
*
Bow River Flow
Bow often refers to:
* Bow and arrow, a weapon
* Bowing, bending the upper body as a social gesture
* An ornamental knot made of ribbon
Bow may also refer to:
* Bow (watercraft), the foremost part of a ship or boat
* Bow (position), the rower s ...
(August) — human-powered transportation festival
* Calgary Corn Festival - Kingsland Farmers' Market (August)
* Calgary Intercultural Turkish Festival (July)
* FozzyFest (
Canada Day long weekend) — outdoor electronic music festival in South
Kananaskis
* Haultain and First Street Festival in
Victoria Park (September)
* Morningside Music Bridge (July) — international music festival, originally hosted by
Mount Royal University
Mount Royal University (MRU) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
History
Mount Royal University was founded by Alberta provincial charter by the Arthur Sifton government on December 16, 1910 and officially opened on September 8 ...
in Calgary but now held in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
*
Summerstock (August)
*
Sun and Salsa Festival (July) — Latin festival in
Kensington. In 2015, organizers announced that the festival would be cancelled due to construction developments in the community, and has been under an indefinite hiatus since.
*
X-Fest
X-Fest is an annual music festival held in various venues throughout the United States by Clear Channel Communications radio stations. It features alternative rock, hard rock, heavy metal, grunge, and industrial rock bands.
Noblesville, Indiana ...
Calgary (August)
— Alternative music festival in
Fort Calgary
Fort Calgary was a North-West Mounted Police outpost at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers in present-day Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally named Fort Brisebois, after the outpost's first commander, the outpost was renamed ''Fort Calg ...
.
See also
*
List of festivals in Alberta
The following is an incomplete list of annual festivals in the province of Alberta, Canada. This list includes festivals of diverse types, including regional festivals, commerce festivals, fairs, food festivals, arts festivals, religious festi ...
*
List of festivals in Canada
This is an incomplete list of festivals in Canada. This list includes festivals of diverse types, among them regional festivals, commerce festivals, fairs, food festivals, arts festivals, and recurring festivals on holidays.
Sublists by locale ...
*
Lists of festivals by city
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List
The SC Germania ...
*
Culture of Calgary
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Ty ...
*
List of attractions and landmarks in Calgary
References
External links
{{Calgary landmarks
&
Festivals
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holida ...
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...