Festivals in Calgary bring the city to life and celebrate everything from culture and music to food and theatre. Plan your next trip to Calgary around one of these must-attend festivals and discover how every season is festival season in Calgary.
Festivals in Calgary
Annual Festivals
Festivals in Calgary
Beakerhead
Art, science, and engineering come together for this downtown Calgary spectacle with events, installations, and hands-on activities each year. Beakerhead is a family friendly festival that is guaranteed to ignite your imagination with both free and paid events.
When: September (Annual)
Beakerhead is a mashup of art and science (Photo credit: Kelly Hoffer).
Calgary International Film Festival
The Calgary International Film Festival brings over 200 feature and short films to the big screen each fall, with gala events, movie screenings, and red carpet premieres. Local and international films are shown at various theatres throughout the city with the opportunity for fans and local filmmakers to interact.
When: End of September (Annual)
Walk the red carpet at the Calgary International Film Festival.
The Imaginairium by Wordfest
Spark your literary imagination at The Imaginairium by Wordfest, an an annual festival that has been attracting readers and authors from around the world for over 20 years. Writers from around the world come to Calgary for ten days of live experiences, like talk-show style conversations, variety shows, and live storytelling. Wordfest also provides year round programming for book lovers of all ages.
When: October (Annual)
Book worms will love Wordfest.
High Performance Rodeo
High Performance Rodeo is Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts. Local and international theatre, music, dance, comedy, and interdisciplinary art come together at various venues each January, in collaboration with local arts organizations and theatre companies.
When: Throughout January (Annual)
Get a front row seat for live theatre at High Performance Rodeo.
Chinook Blast
Warm up your winter with Chinook Blast. This winter festival is a celebration of the best of winter in Calgary with safe and fun ways to warm up your schedule. Local artists illuminate winter nights with photo-worthy installations along with events and activities from winter festivals, including GLOW, Calgary Folk Music Festival’s Block Heater, and High Performance Rodeo.
When: February
Chinook Blast
Block Heater
The Calgary Folk Music Festival presents Block Heater, a live music festival that brings the best in folk music to Calgary each winter. Local and international artists headline various indoor venues around the city for intimate performances and jam sessions, with 2-day wristbands available so you can explore all the music at all the venues for one price.
When: Mid-February (Annual)
Warm up your winter schedule with live music at Block Heater.
Calgary International Beerfest
Canada’s largest beer festival brings together over 700 beers from more than 200 breweries. The Calgary International Beerfest includes tastings, brew master seminars, awards, and live entertainment worthy of a toast.
When: First weekend in May (Annual)
Drink local craft beer at the Calgary International Beer Festival.
Calgary International Salsa Congress
The Calgary International Salsa Congress welcomes some of the best salsa dancers in the world for showcase performances in Calgary. Watch local and international dancers, participate in daily workshops, and finish the night with an exciting dance party where you can salsa with locals and world class professionals.
When: March (Annual)
The world’s best dancers come to Calgary for the Calgary International Salsa Congress.
Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo
The Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo is a celebration of all things pop culture. This family-friendly festival, one of the largest of its kind in North America, includes hundreds of vendors, exhibits, workshops, autograph sessions, and panel discussions featuring iconic stars from the small and big screen.
When: Last weekend in April (Annual)
Celebrate all things pop culture with Your Guide to Attending the Calgary Expo.
Calling all fans to the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo.
Sled Island Music & Arts Festival
Sled Island Music & Arts Festival brings together over 200 bands, comedians, films, and artists in more than 30 venues throughout the city. Get a Sled Island festival pass and explore an eclectic collection of venues and performances, from bands that don’t usually make tour stops in Calgary, in five jam-packed days of culture in the heart of the city.
When: Mid-June (Annual)
Learn more with Your Guide to Attending Sled Island.
Sled Island brings live music to various venues across the city.
Calgary Stampede
For more than 100 years, the Calgary Stampede has welcomed the world to Calgary for the richest rodeo in the world, thrilling chuckwagon races, midway rides and games, First Nations culture, agriculture showcases, Grandstand Show, and live music festival. That’s why they call it The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
When: Starting the first Friday in July after Canada Day (Annual)
Fun on the Midway at the Calgary Stampede.
Calgary Folk Music Festival
Get a front row seat to a festival lineup of international artists at the Calgary Folk Music Festival. This popular music festival takes place on Prince’s Island Park, with over 70 artists and nine stages, for a truly unique music experience. Regular festival goers enjoy setting up a small camp right in front of the stage with blankets, low-rise lawn chairs, and picnic baskets to enjoy the festival atmosphere.
When: Last weekend in July (Annual)
Make the most of this popular festival with Insider Tips to the Calgary Folk Music Festival.
The Calgary Folk Music Festival is a unique festival experience on Prince’s Island Park.
Carifest
Join in the fun of Carifest, a spectacular celebration of music, costumes, tradition, and culture. Carifest hosts a colourful parade that starts in Olympic Plaza and makes its way to Shaw Millennium Park for a festival of live reggae and steel pan music, dancing, and food in the park each summer.
When: July/August
Carifest in Calgary
Calgary International Blues Festival
The Calgary International Blues Festival is a week of blues music from around the world that includes workshops, special events, and live concerts. Local and international musicians come together for this Calgary classic. The Calgary International Blues Festival also hosts the Calgary Midwinter Bluesfest in February and March each year.
When: Last weekend of July and first week of August (Annual)
Calgary International Blues Festival.
Chasing Summer
Experience the best party of the summer with Chasing Summer. This outdoor electronic music festival brings chart topping DJs to Calgary for a two day festival of heart pumping beats from your favourite bass dropping electronic artists.
When: August Long Weekend (Annual)
Feel the energy of Chasing Summer in Calgary.
Taste of Calgary
Discover Calgary’s rich culinary scene at Taste of Calgary, a unique mix of restaurants and beverage companies with a side of live music. Admission to the festival is free and you can purchase sample tickets for $1.00 to try select dishes from some of Calgary’s best restaurants and brewers.
When: August (Annual)
Sample the best flavours in the city at Taste of Calgary.
Country Thunder
The biggest names in country music take the stage at Country Thunder for an epic concert event each summer in Calgary. Prairie Winds Park hosts this outdoor music festival with two stages, up-and-coming artists, and a nightly headliner straight from the top of the country charts.
When: Mid-August (Annual)
The biggest names in country music come to Calgary for Country Thunder.
GlobalFest
GlobalFest is a multicultural celebration with five incredible nights of dancing, music, food, and fireworks displays. Each night of the festival features a world class fireworks show set to music from an international group of pyro-artists at Alberta’s most explosive festival.
When: Mid-August (Annual)
Fireworks and music come together at GlobalFest.
Expo Latino Festivals
Expo Latino Festivals is Western Canada's largest Latino festival and has been welcoming visitors for a vibrant collection of food, artisans, dancing, music, and entertainment for over 24 years.
When: August (Annual)
Expo Latino Festival
Honens Festival
Share your love of classical music with the Honens Festival in Calgary. The annual festival features performances from local and international pianists at various venues throughout the city. The annual Honens Festival takes place each year while the Honens International Piano Competition takes place every three years.
When: August & October (Annual)
Honens International Piano Festival brings classical music into new and exciting places.
Calgary Pride
Calgary Pride is a great way to celebrate the city’s diverse and inclusive community. The Calgary Pride Parade attracts more than 60,000 spectators and is followed by Pride in the Park, a free family-friendly outdoor celebration with food trucks, live music, beer garden, and family activity zone.
When: Labour Day long weekend (Annual)
The Pride Parade at Calgary Pride.
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