Whether you live here or are just visiting, there’s always something to see. And of course, there’s the Calgary Stampede (one of the biggest events in Canada). Here’s a list of annual events you won’t want to miss.
Is this list missing something? Comment at the bottom.
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Events sorted by month.
January
- High Performance Rodeo: A three-week international festival of live art with theatre, music, dance, and comedy.
- Chinook Blast: Calgary’s winter festival with art installations, performances, and activities (runs into February).
- U/D Winter Pop-Up: Free January winter afternoon with outdoor skating, ice carving demos and s’mores.
February
March
- MTT Fest: A music and technology festival.
- Rodeo Royal: A championship rodeo event.
April
- Artifact Small Format Film Festival: Celebrating celluloid-based film.
- Gluten Free Expo: A showcase of gluten-free products and services.
- Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo: A celebration of pop culture with celebrity guests, comic books, and more.
- Calgary International Spoken Word Festival: Showcasing spoken word poetry and performance.
- Calgary Maple Festival des Sucres: Celebrating all things maple syrup with tastings, demonstrations, and activities.
- Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF): Showcasing independent and genre films.
- Vaisakhi Mela: A Punjabi spring harvest festival.
- International Festival of Animated Objects: Showcasing puppetry, animation, and other forms of object theatre.
May
- FunnyFest Calgary Comedy Festival: Calgary’s annual comedy festival (runs into June).
- Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival: Showcasing LGBTQ+ themed films.
- Heritage Park Festival of Quilts: An exhibition of quilts at Heritage Park Historical Village.
- Calgary International Beerfest: Featuring craft breweries from across Alberta and beyond.
- Commuter Challenge Week: Encouraging sustainable transportation (runs into June).
- Otafest: An anime convention.
- Jane’s Walk: Free community-led walking tours across Calgary on the first weekend of May.
- U/D Night Market: Free monthly outdoor market with local artisans, live music and family activities (plus a Holiday Edition).
June
- Lilac Festival: A street festival in the Beltline and Mission districts, celebrating the blooming lilacs.
- Calgary Greek Festival: Celebrating Greek culture with food, music, and dance.
- Ignite! Theatre-Arts Festival: A showcase of new and experimental theatre.
- Light & Motion Prop Arts and Circus Festival: Celebrating circus arts and prop manipulation.
- MEC Bikefest: A celebration of cycling with rides, races, and workshops.
- MEC Paddlefest: A festival for kayaking, canoeing, and stand-up paddleboarding.
- Sled Island Music and Arts Festival: An independent music and arts festival.
- Calgary Ukrainian Festival: Celebrating Ukrainian culture and heritage.
- Neighbour Day: Citywide day of block parties, barbecues and park meetups on the third Saturday of June.
- Dalhousie Outdoor Farmers’ Market: Weekly Thursday-evening summer market with 25+ Alberta vendors, food trucks and live music.
- Calgary’s Largest Garage Sale: Massive indoor sale each June at the Acadia Recreation Complex with hundreds of vendor tables.
- FunnyFest Calgary Comedy Festival: (see May)
July
- Canada Day: Nationwide celebration with events and fireworks throughout Calgary.
- Calgary Stampede: The “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,” featuring rodeo events, concerts, exhibitions, and midway.
- Calgary Folk Music Festival: A diverse lineup of folk, roots, and world music artists performing on Prince’s Island Park.
- Calgary International Blues Festival: Celebrating blues music with performances by local and international artists.
- Inglewood Sunfest: A street fair in the historic Inglewood neighbourhood with live music, artisan vendors, and more.
- Shakespeare by the Bow: Outdoor theatre performances of Shakespearean plays (runs into August).
- Calgary Japanese Festival “Omatsuri”: Celebrating Japanese culture with food, music, and dance.
- Bowness Stampede Breakfast and Parade: Free Stampede-week pancake breakfast and small-town parade down Bowness Road.
August
- Caesar Week: A week-long festival dedicated to the Caesar cocktail.
- Calgary Dragon Boat Race & Festival: Dragon boat races and cultural performances on the Glenmore Reservoir.
- Calgary Fringe Festival: A fringe theatre festival with a variety of performances.
- Calgary Pride: LGBTQ+ Pride parade and festival.
- Carifest: A Caribbean cultural festival.
- Chinatown Street Festival: A celebration of Chinese culture in Calgary’s Chinatown.
- Expo Latino: A Latino cultural festival.
- Great Outdoors Comedy Festival: Outdoor comedy festival on Prince’s Island Park.
- GuitarFestWest: A week-long classical guitar festival.
- Heritage Day Festival: Celebrating Alberta’s heritage.
- International Reggae Festival: Showcasing reggae music.
- Marda Gras: A street festival in the Marda Loop neighbourhood.
- Mountain View International Festival of Song and Chamber Music: Classical music performances.
- When Words Collide: A festival for readers and writers of commercial and literary fiction.
- Tabestoon Festival: (biennial) Iranian arts and culture festival.
- Taste of Calgary: A food and drink festival.
- GlobalFest: An international fireworks festival showcasing pyrotechnic displays from around the world.
- Chasing Summer Music Festival: A high-energy electronic dance music festival.
- Tour de Bowness: Alberta’s largest amateur cycling race plus a Bowness Road street festival.
- Western Canada RibFest: Travelling barbecue festival with competing rib teams, live music and a family fun zone (Calgary stop in August).
- T2E Festival: Free two-day August festival with a moonlit night market, custom motorcycles and family activities.
September
- Artember: An art festival in Airdrie (just outside of Calgary).
- Beakerhead: A festival combining art, science, and engineering with interactive installations and performances.
- Barbecue on the Bow: A culinary festival and barbecue competition.
- BrazilFest: Celebrating Brazilian culture.
- Calgary Corporate Challenge September Games: Team-building event with various competitions.
- Calgary Highland Games: Celtic sports, music, and dance.
- Canmore Highland Games: (in Canmore, just outside of Calgary) Celtic sports, music and dance.
- Cochrane Lions Labour Day Rodeo: (in Cochrane, just outside of Calgary)
- Heritage Park Railway Days: Celebrating the history of railways at Heritage Park.
- Calgary International Film Festival: Showcasing local and international films, with screenings, workshops, and galas.
- Calgary Fiesta Filipino: It’s barbecue done the Filipino way.
- Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival: A celebration of food and drink with tastings, demonstrations, and seminars.
- U/D Block Party: University District’s biggest yearly party: a free September street celebration with live music and a kids zone.
- Stampede in September: Free western-themed community festival with live bands, a petting zoo, carnival games and a beer garden.
October
- Calgary Arab Film Festival: Showcasing films from the Arab world (now branded Calgary Arab Film Nights).
- Calgary Tattoo & Arts Festival: A showcase of tattoo artists and their work.
- CIBC Run for the Cure: Fundraising run/walk for breast cancer research.
- ScreamFest: Canada’s scariest Halloween event, with seven haunted houses, carnival games and an adults-only night.
- Wordfest: Calgary International Writers’ Festival: a literary festival featuring author readings, discussions, and workshops.
- Puppet Power: Festival of Ideas: (biennial) A puppetry festival with performances and workshops.
- Halloween on Mainstreet: Family Halloween afternoon with trick-or-treating at Mainstreet Bowness businesses.
- The Great Pumpkin Carnival: Family Halloween carnival with games, a free pumpkin giveaway, food trucks and face painting.
- Calgary International Film Festival: (see September)
November
- Calgary Justice Film Festival: Environmental and social justice film festival.
- CUFF.Docs Documentary Film Festival: Non-fiction film festival.
- Bowness Christmas Market: Holiday market with 80+ vendors at the Bowness Community Association.
- Auburn Bay Parade of Lights: Annual November evening parade of light-decorated floats with Santa and hot chocolate stations.
December
- Airdrie Festival Of Lights: (in Airdrie, just outside of Calgary) Christmas lights and festivities.
- Emerging Artism: An art show featuring emerging artists.
- Once Upon A Christmas: A Christmas market at Heritage Park.
- Zoolights: A dazzling display of Christmas lights at the Calgary Zoo. (Runs into January)