Festivals & Events

Major Festivals

Calgary has several renowned and respected annual festivals and events that celebrate the right-hand side of our brains. 

Major arts festivals in and around the city:

• The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival is a world celebration of mountain themed cinema and literature
• The Banff Summer Arts Festival sees the mountain town host performances ranging from the intimate to the spectacular
• Every September, Beakerhead celebrates ingenuity by bringing people together at the crossroads of art, science and engineering
• The Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo celebrates the best in sci-fi, fantasy, anime, gaming, animation and horror with exhibitors and panel discussions
• The Calgary Fringe Festival is an annual fringe (uncensored, non-juried) theatre festival
• The Calgary International Film Festival celebrates cinema every fall
• The High Performance Rodeo swaggers as it should, with the best in new and experimental performance art
• The International Festival of Animated Objects is a biennial 10-day event celebrating puppetry and more with performances, workshops and screenings around town
• The International Native Arts Festival puts Calgary’s First Nations heritage and art in the spotlight, immediately following Stampede, and is centred around Stephen Avenue 
• Wordfest is the third-largest literary festival in Canada, honouring both the written and spoken word

Arts Festivals

There are festivals celebrating just about everything in Calgary.

The city’s major events include film, jazz, art, music, wine, food, artisans and much more. Street festivals like the eclectic Fourth Street Lilac Festival attract thousands of locals, while the world-famous Calgary Stampede is attended annually by millions of Calgarians and tourists alike.

Calgary celebrates the movies at the Calgary International Film Festival, while its annual summer Folk Festival brings in hundreds of renowned musicians from around the world.

That’s just the tip of the glacier though! Explore the various arts festivals, cultural and ccommunity events and music festivals to discover some of the excitement Calgary has to offer. 

Cultural and Community Events

From festivals celebrating entire continents of culture to grandiose community block parties, there are great annual cultural and community events in Calgary.

Here are some of the big ones to mark in your calendar:

• Afrikadey! earns its exclamation mark with an exuberant celebration of African culture 
• The Calgary Dragon Boat Race & Festival see competitors stroke their way across the Glenmore Reservoir
• The Calgary Stampede, the grand extravaganza of Calgary festivals, is the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth” attracting over a million visitors each year 
• Carifest is the best Caribbean party you can find north of 49^th parallel
• The Fourth Street Lilac Festival rejoices in the arrival of Mission lilacs with a jammed street-long party
• GlobalFest is a fireworks competition and international festival of diversity
• Marda Gras is Marda Loop’s annual community event that embraces the culture and cuisine of New Orleans
• Once Upon a Christmas is Heritage Park’s annual frontier Christmas event
• Sunfest is Inglewood’s sweet renaissance block party
• Taste of Calgary is a one-stop sampling party of the cuisine of Calgary’s restaurants
• Winefest is all about celebrating the fermented grape every February

Music Festivals

Calgary has several annual music festivals and events, from underground and edgy to black tie and prestigious:

• Calgary Folk Music Festival is a fantastic international presentation of music held every year at Prince’s Island Park
• Calgary International Blues Festival is a four-day event with some of the best local, national and international blues musicians
• Sled Island brings sweet independent music to Calgary every summer
• Chasing Summer, Western Canada’s largest outdoor electronic music festival
• Reggaefest, this family event has become the premier summer Reggae Festival in all of Canada
• Country Thunder, while new to Calgary, this premier country music festival has been booking the biggest names in country music for over 20 years
• Honens International Piano Competition takes place every three years in Calgary and celebrates the world's best young concert pianists