4 Simple Tips for Building a Winning Winter Meeting Experience

Hosting an event during the coldest months of the year offers some big benefits. Your organization’s budget can score some savings with an off-peak winter booking, and your marketing team will rejoice - by removing the need to compete with busy summer schedules, boosting attendance numbers gets a bit easier. When it comes to falling in love with the cold, there’s no better place than Calgary.

As you look ahead to your next annual gathering, follow these four tips to make your winter meeting a major win.

Your attendees may have heard of curling, but do they know how to line up in the hack? Are they ready to get the rock in the house? Curling is one of Canada’s most beloved sports and gives your group an opportunity to build connections and competition in a laid-back environment. You can book a private experience through our team at one of the city’s curling clubs like the Glencoe Club or the Calgary Winter Club .

And for a grittier group experience, saddle up (and layer up) to hear the snow crunch beneath a set of fat bike tires on the most extensive urban pathway network in North America.

Banff and Lake Louise may make the biggest headlines for skiing and snowboarding in Alberta, but you don’t have to leave the city to find an opportunity for your attendees to enjoy some fresh powder. Instead, you can host your event at WinSport's Canada Olympic Park. The official home of the 1988 Winter Olympics offers skiing, snowboarding, and tubing inside city limits. And with 45,000 sq ft of meeting and conference space, it’s a venue where business and pleasure blend seamlessly.

Want to send your attendees home with some new bragging rights? Book the Ice House where they can learn the art of the bobsleigh launch.

Instead of bringing all your networking activities inside, create the most unforgettable party your group will ever attend by braving the elements.

For some inspiration, consider SkijorDue , a two-day event held at The Confluence in February 2025 that offered 12,000 bundled-up spectators a chance to watch horses pull skiers through a snowy obstacle course. The event added fondue from local food trucks, some of Calgary’s best craft beers, and lots of firepits. By embracing a more creative approach to event design, you can make sure that all your attendees will agree that hibernation is overrated.

No matter the weather, your attendees will likely be spending plenty of time inside one of Calgary’s two premier convention centres and comfort will be top of mind.

The Calgary TELUS Convention Centre is part of a 16 km (10 mi) long skywalk network that connects the entire downtown. On frigid days, attendees can access top restaurants, hotels, and shops without stepping foot outside.

And at the newly-expanded BMO Centre , a massive two-story fireplace — the largest in Canada — anchors the Exchange. Attendees can network fireside in this dramatic, yet cozy, central gathering space.

Working on a winter idea for your next program? Talk with our team and learn how Calgary can elevate your attendees’ experience.