Upcoming Festival: Marda Gras Street Festival

Every year on the second Sunday of August Marda Gras comes to town. This New Orleans themed street festival makes the streets come alive. And the best part is the entire event is free to the public. You can come out and hang out at the Marda Loop and have a great time.

As you can imagine there are a lot of really great events schedule on this day. The party gets started at 10am and goes until 5pm. During this time thousands of Calgarians will make their way to the Marda Loop to experience not only the culture of New Orleans but the food as well. If you have children you can bring them along for fun and games too. The entertainment is free for everyone.

At the Kids Quarter you will find face painting, sports, games, a bouncy castle and so much more. No matter what your child is into he or she is sure to find something they will enjoy at the Kids Quarter. All money raised will go directly to the Marda Loop Communities Association.

If you will be riding your bike you will love the open street areas that are dedicated to bicycles. You can get a bike tune up and ride the street course. Open Streets is possible thanks to several businesses in the area. Some of them include the Good Life Bike Shop, Commuter Challenge, the Arusha Centre, Paper Girl, Elbow Valley Cycle Club, Calgary Carshare and CJSW just to name a few.

If you love are you will love the art tent where you will find a variety of different artistic masterpieces. And for those who love a good show you can check out the main entertainment stage. There you will be able to hear everything from jazz, to blues, to Dixieland.

On 33 Ave you will find two different areas devoted to entertainment. One of the main street performers will be the Carnival Magician James Jordan. You and your family will be highly entertained by his juggling and magic tricks.