Where Are The Best Summer Festivals in Calgary?

Many great summer events happen in Calgary for adults, kids and the entire family. Some of these events are more popular than others. If you're moving to the area and looking for a great summer sunshine event to help you become a part of your new community, try one of these great festivals.

Sled Island Music & Arts Festival

The Sled Island Music & Arts Festival will be held in June for anyone ready to celebrate music. This festival features many different venues with all types of talent taking the stage. Last year nearly 30,000 people were in attendance and this year is expected to be the same. The bands on stage aren't your typical types of bands. Instead, the festival looks for bands that stray from the typical commercial rock.

The best way to get the full experience is the Festival Pass. You can get individual tickets for events or you can get one of the many festival passes for different events. If you want the full experience, you need the Festival Discover or Festival Discover Plus Pass. However, if you only want to see the films, you can get a film pass and enjoy all the great choices.

Calgary Folk Festival

The Calgary Folk Festival is magical music event for everyone from young to old, singles to families! You’ll find 7 stages offering over 68 amazing folk music performances. With so many options even 4 days won’t be enough to catch everything you desire without a little planning.

Considered one of the seven musical wonders of the world by Globe and Mail, this is one event you won’t want to miss this year. Bring your friends, your family members, and your children. Anyone who enjoys music, culture, and just having fun will love this festival.

Sun and Salsa Festival

Coming in just a few days, the Sun and Salsa Festival is another great free event for everybody to enjoy. This festival features over 500 gallons of salsa and you get to judge all the different choices. You can get in free and spend $3 on a bag of chips to dip into the salsas. Live music, dancing and plenty of fun for the kids will also be a part of this annual event.

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.

ReggaeFest

ReggaeFest is making its way to Calgary and will happen in August. Come out to enjoy Calgary's reggae music at its best and take in of the culture and beats that this event has to offer.

ReggaeFest is put on by the Calgary Reggae Festival Society every year and features local talent and music including other artists from international locations. This is a family event that brings residents of Calgary together to enjoy a taste of reggae music, artists, culture and food.

SummersEND Music Festival

The SummersEND Music Festival is an event many look forward to every summer, but dread at the same time. This event marks the end of summer, which is sad, but it's also one of the premier music events of the year. It will be held over Labour Day Weekend at the end of August.

The event kicks off with everybody wearing white at the BMO Center and will finish with everybody wearing neon. Wear white on Friday and join the other 7,000+ planning to attend. Accessories can be any colour, but the event team asks that you wear a white top, shirts, shorts and pants. On Saturday, the goal is to get everybody in the most outrageous colours possible. Wear your favourite neon clothing and make the day loud.

Whether you just need an excuse to party or you love great music, the SummersEND Music Festival provides the perfect two-day party for your needs.

Lilac Festival

Every year when spring rolls around, the Lilac Festival is held on 4th street. This is a free event perfect for moving from the winter months to the warmer spring and summer months. Full of fun, entertainment, vendors, food and more, the entire family can enjoy this festival every spring.

These festivals, along with the many other summer events in Calgary provide plenty of fun for everybody. Whether you're relocating and looking for a great way to meet new people or you just want to come out to one of the top events, there's plenty to choose from throughout the city.