Calgary’s largest one-day street festival returned triumphantly on Sunday, at least if the crowds were anything to go by.
The 33rd annual Lilac Festival, which was postponed for the past two years because of the pandemic, returned in full form on June 5, along 4 Street SW.
Organizers for the festival said they were expecting 80,000-90,000 people attend, just shy of the 100,000 mark seen in previous years.
“I think for Calgary, for the people who organize it, to have a normal regular old lilac festival happening today feels really great,” said Jennifer Rempel, event producer for the Lilac Festival.
New this year was the addition of several blocks of 17 Avenue SW, with an expanded number of vendors, booths, and musical performances.
“We’re programming between second and fifth Street and we’re really welcoming and engaging those businesses and hopefully we can continue that growth,” said Rempel.
She said that it wasn’t hard to get vendors and musicians to return to the festival this year.
“A lot of the people that were here made commitments in 2020, the bands we had booked in 2020, so you’re seeing a mostly 2020 Lilac Festival. Everybody stuck with us, and we stuck with our commitments as well,” Rempel said.
Photos from the Lilac Festival
Tens of thousands of Calgarians visited the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThe Calgary Fiddlers perform at the 12 Avenue Stage at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThe Calgary Fiddlers perform at the 12 Avenue Stage at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYA young girl points in excitement to the Calgary Fiddlers at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYLocal rock musicians, the Awab Paracha Band, perform at the 17 Avenue Stage at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. The expansion on to 17 Avenue was new this year for the festival. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYLocal rock musicians, the Awab Paracha Band, performs at the 17 Avenue Stage at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. The expansion on to 17 Avenue was new this year for the festival. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYSweet Barry Wine plays the 23 Avenue Stage at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYAshley Velvet performs at the 15 Avenue Stage at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYVisitors to the Lilac Festival take in alternative RnB band K O D A E in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYBuskers Canadian Famous provided some off stage music at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYMembers of the Radha Madhav Cultural Association performed at the 18 Avenue Dance Stage at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYMembers of the Radha Madhav Cultural Association performed at the 18 Avenue Dance Stage at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYCapoeria Brasil Calgary shows off the art of dance-fighting at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYCapoeria Brasil Calgary shows off the art of dance-fighting at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYJustin Dahlen and his dog Stevie wear matching hoodies at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYA Shiba gets a treat from Nammy Pet Treats at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYA volunteer for MP Greg McLean hands out candy to passersby at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. The MP was on hand to greet members of the public. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYSamir Kayande, NDP candidate for Calgary-Elbow, meets with the public at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. Alberta’s NDP, along with the UCP, Alberta Party, and Wildrose Independence Party all used the opportunity to find supporters for the upcoming 2023 provincial election. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThe League of Ukrainian Women were among the social organizations doing outreach at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYFalun Dafa was among the various religious organizations and churches present at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYTrainers from Barry’s, a high intensity gym, leap to attract attention from the thousands of passerby at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThe SAIT Trojans were there to drum up support for the college’s sports teams at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThe permanent business along 4 Street also took part in the Lilac Festival, including OEB by selling fresh eggs from a person in a chicken suit, in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYGnomes were among the many fantastical things to see at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThelma Thistle was among the many different clothing vendors using unique ways of reaching customers, in this case with a boutique in an RV, at the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYCalgary Police and EMS were on hand in large numbers for the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. Organizers for the festival were expecting between 80,000 to 90,000 people to attend during the day. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThousands of Calgarians took to 4 Street SW for the Lilac Festival in Calgary on Sunday, June 5, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
