Festivals in Calgary

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Festival plaza in Eau Claire

Prairie Town at Heritage Park

Rider at the Stampede Rodeo

The following is a list of annual festivals and cultural events that take place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and the surrounding area:

1 Winter
2 Spring
3 Summer
- 3.1 Calgary Stampede
4 Fall

[edit] Winter

Twelve Days of Christmas (December)
Zoolights (December/January)
One Yellow Rabbit - High Performance Rodeo (January)
Calgary Winter Festival (February)
Rodeo Royal (March)
Calgary Independent Film Festival (March)

[edit] Spring

Calgary International Spoken Word Festival (April)
Visaki Mela (Punjabi Spring Harvest Festival) (May)
Calgary International Children's Festival (May)
Fourth Street Lilac Festival (May)
Fairy Tales: International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (May/June)
Carifest (June)
Banff World Television Festival (June)
International Jazz Festival (June)
Calgary Greek Festival (June)
Inglewood Sunfest (June)
Ignite! Theatre-Arts Festival (June)

[edit] Summer

Calgary Stampede (July)
Chariot Festival of India (July)
KaNasie (July) - South African music festival
Kensington Sun and Salsa Festival
Folk Music Festival (July)
Beltline Blues Festival (July)
Heritage Day (August)
Taste of Calgary (August)
Summerstock (August)
Dragon Boat Festival (August)
Marda Gras (August)
Chinatown Street Festival (August)
Afrikadey! (August)
Calgary Fringe Festival (August)
International Reggae Festival (August)
GlobalFest - One World Festival and International Fireworks Competition (August)
Expo Latino (August)

[edit] Calgary Stampede

Main article: Calgary Stampede

The city is famous for the Calgary Stampede, a very large agricultural fair and rodeo every July. The Stampede officially bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth". It features an internationally recognized rodeo competition, a midway, stage shows, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon races, First Nations exhibitions, and pancake breakfasts around the city, among other attractions. It is among the largest and most well known festivals in Canada. The event has a 93 year history.

The Calgary Stampede was inaugurated in 1912 by Guy Weadick, an American trick roper. Weadick wanted to put on a world-class rodeo event and Wild West show that would bring the best cowboys from across the continent. The first Stampede was the richest rodeo competition in North America with prize money totaling $20,000. It drew more than 100,000 spectators. In 1923, the Stampede was combined with the Calgary Exhibition and the chuckwagon races were added. In 2004, the rodeo prize money was doubled to $1 million to put the Stampede on par with other major rodeos such as the National Finals Rodeo.

In 2005, attendance at the 10-day rodeo and exhibition totalled 1,242,928, which set a new record. Attendance at the "Stampede Parade" (North America's second longest parade), which takes place downtown on opening day is usually somewhere between 300,000 and 400,000. During Stampede Week, many of the city's residents dress in country attire, and many businesses decorate their stores and offices in this "western" style.