Published by Programme B
When visiting Calgary this summer, you’ll be spending a lot of time touring the city’s festival circuit. With dozens of festivals displaying the arts and culture scene of Canada’s ‘Cowtown’, your one problem will be how to get to everything. It will be a chore if you rely on public transit and costly to use taxis. Your best bet to navigate the Calgary festival circuit is to rent a car from SIXT Calgary airport. With a car rented from SIXT, you keep money in your pocket and make your festival schedule yours.
Calgary Stampede
The first festival you are going to check out is the Calgary Stampede, which will bring the Stampede Grounds alive from July 5th-14th to celebrate western hospitality and culture. After parking your car, Stampede events to take in are the Stampede Rodeo, the Stampede Parade, the Nashville North concert series, and endless agriculture showcases.
Marda Gras Street Festival
Winding down the Stampede, head over to the Marda Gras Street Festival. Taking place August 11 in the Marda Loop, this street party has been bringing the sights and sounds of New Orleans to Calgary for years. It is free to attend, so check out the live music, dance, cultural exhibits, and one-of-a-kind shopping opportunities on offer.
Food and Drink Festivals
If food and drink are your things, Calgary will not disappoint you. Among the food and drink festivals to keep you fed and hydrated, two of the best ones are the BBQ on the Bow Festival and the Calgary International Beer Festival.
BBQ on the Bow Festival
Running from August 31 – September 1 at the Montgomery Community Center, BBQ on the Bow Festival is Canada’s oldest BBQ festival. Set up as a competition sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society, this is the place to eat your fill of authentic BBQ Alberta Beef.
Calgary International Beer Festival
Then, wash it all down at the Calgary International Beer Festival, hosted in the BMO Center. You will find more than 500 beers from local and international brewers to sample. Educational brewing seminars are available on site, as well as a people’s choice completion to vote in.
Music Festivals
After the BBQ and beer, the best way to round out your Calgary festival adventure is to party. Calgary hosts plenty of music festivals to help you with that.
Canmore Folk Festival
The most famous Calgary music festival is the Canmore Folk Festival. About an hour from Calgary, in the Rocky Mountain town of Canmore, Canada’s longest-running folk festival will be on August 3rd – 5th. Drawing over twenty thousand music lovers to the sleepy mountain town, this festival is a great way to relax in the Canadian Rockies.
Sled Island Music Festival
If your tastes lean to urban music, great! Calgary has you covered with the Sled Island Music Festival. Taking place among a variety of venues, Sled Island brings together more than 250 acts from the worlds of pop, alt-rock, hip-hop, trap-music, and punk to keep your head bobbing through free and ticketed shows on June 19th-23rd, 2019.
These are some of the best festivals to visit in Calgary this summer. You can always check out more if you want. Touring town in a car rented from SIXT you can go where you want when you want.