Oh, Calgary what a great full of events Canada Day you’re going to have.
This year Canada will be celebrating its 155 anniversary of Confederation, and Calgary will be hosting many events for Calgarians to enjoy on this special occasion.
Here’s a list of events happening in Calgary on Friday, July 1.
Events in SW Calgary
Canada Day at Olympic Plaza
Arts Commons, Live ArtsXpeditions, and local musicans will be putting on performances throughout the day at Olympic Plaza. Visitors can expect a wide variety of genres including jazz, Indigenous, Afro-fusion, folk, and country music.
The free performances run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Address: 228 8 Avenue SW
17 Avenue Summer Series at Tomkins Park
The 17th Avenue BIA Summer Series kicks off on Canada Day.
The Little Red Ball Company will be putting on some circus performances with stilt-walking, aerial, and other high-flying performances starting at 11 a.m.
Visitors can also take in Lakota Hoop Dancing from 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Performances are free.
Address: 17 Avenue SW and 8 Street SW
Canada Day in Chinatown
The Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre will be holding programs for visitors, performances by martial arts groups, singers, many vendors, and free souvenirs.
Cultural booths open at 11 am, and performances start at 1 p.m. and run until 4 p.m.
Address: 197 – 1 Street SW
Canada Day Rager at the Whiskey Rose Tent
The Whiskey Rose is putting up its very first-ever Stampede tent on July 1 for Canada Day on 17 Avenue. The festivities will feature live music by various performers and prizes from 95.3.
Tickets are available on the Showpass website.
Address: 1020 – 17 Ave SW
Canada Day Outdoor Carnival
The Springs Church will be hosting an outside carnival from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m.
The carnival will have a Butterfield Acres petting zoo, face painting, balloon animals, glitter tattoos, princess and superhero training, carnival games, a giant inflatable slide and an obstacle course inflatable.
According to the organizers, there will be a toddler play area, the Calgary Police will also attend with a squad car for photos, and a concession is available with hot dogs, pop, and chips for purchase.
Admission will be $5 for ages three and up.
Address: 924 Heritage Drive SW
Heritage Park – Canadian Cultural Mosaic
Staged live for the first time since Global Fest 2017 for the Canada 150 celebrations, the Canadian Cultural Mosaic is a dramatic re-telling of the history of the Indigenous owners of the land and then the journeys of a few of the settlers who call Canada home and continue to contribute to the mosaic of today’s multi-cultural country.
Heritage Park will be telling the historic stories in three chapters over the course of the afternoon and a variety of other performances will be held throughout the park.
The event will be from 12 to 4 p.m.
Address: 1900 Heritage Drive SW
Canada Day at Eau Claire Market
From 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., Calgarians can enjoy a free all-day party at Eau Claire Market.
There will be free ice cream, live entertainment, an artisan market, children’s crafts, face painting, airbrush tattoos, a petting zoo, and magicians.
The Garage Sports Bar will be hosting a licensed area with live music until 9 p.m. for adults.
Address: 200 Barclay Parade SW
Events in SE Calgary
Canada Day at Studio Bell
Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC) will be celebrating Canada and its six-year anniversary.
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., visitors can explore Canada’s musical mosaic through new exhibitions, hands-on, family-friendly activities, and pop-up performances across multiple floors.
Pay-what-you-can admission tickets will be available for purchase upon arrival or visitors can beat the line and book their tickets online.
Activities include Dueling Piano Kings’ all-request piano show, hands-on instrument petting zoo, roaming buskers throughout Studio Bell, Kimball Theatre organ performances and pop-up demonstrations of unique NMC collection items.
Address: 850, 4 Street SE
Canada Day Walking Tours, Powwow, Indigenous Market, and Music at Fort Calgary
Fort Calgary is hosting a Canada Day-themed walking tour of 40 acres of parkland.
There will be learning stories rooted in the site and reflecting on the connection between the lands and the larger history of the creation of Canada. Walking tours will take place from 11 am to 1 pm.
Registration for the free event will be online.
The Canada Day Powwow begins at 11:30 a.m., with the Grand Entry at 1 p.m. Visitors will have a chance to learn Metis Jigging with Bev Lambert, and take in traditional dances from Treaty 7 peoples. Indigenous vendors will be on hand selling hand-crafted Indigenous-made items.
Fort Calgary will also be featuring an all-Canadian line-up of artists from 3 to 9:45 p.m., including Justine Tyrell, Mariel Buckley, Five Alarm Funk, Ruben and the Dark, and Sloan.
Performances are free to attend.
Address: 750 9 Avenue SE
Canada Day in the East Village
With over 100 vendors, a beer garden, and musical performances Canada Day in the East Village is sure to satiate the thirst for entertainment. Events start at 11 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m.
Address: 8 Avenue SE between 4 Street SE and 5 Street Square SE
Canada Day at the Central Library
The Calgary Public Library will be hosting an afternoon of activities and programs, telling the stories of Calgary and Canada. Special storytimes, the Big Book Borrow, and traditional Indigenous games are among some of the activities taking place at the Central Library.
Events go from noon to 4 p.m.
Address: 800 3 Street SE
Made in Canada
The Max Bell Centre is hosting an all-new Alberta music festival.
A number of Canadian performers including, Adventure Club, Dzeko, Shaun Frank and Young bomb will take the stage from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m.
Tickets ranging from $84.05 to $187.98 and can be purchased online.
Address: 1001 Barlow Trail SE
Canada Day BBQ
The Lake Bonavista Homeowners Association (LBHA) is hosting an all-free Canada Day BBQ at the lake for all its members and their guests.
According to LBHA, there will be hot dogs served for the first 500 people, live music with Jacquie Drew, lawn games around the pad, a bubble station, a Canada Day colouring/activity station, board games set up inside for those who want to escape the heat and an Oh Canada photo booth.
Address: 757 Lake Bonavista Dr. SE
Canada Day Tour of Union Cemetery
Calgarians wanting to take in something more historical for Canada Day have the opportunity to learn about the city’s past at the Union Cemetery. The free guided tour will engage visitors with the colourful characters from the city’s past, which organizers are promising include “Mounties and ministers, cowboys and cooks, prohibitionists and politicians.”
Booking online is encouraged as drop-in spots are limited.
Tours start at 2 p.m. at Galloway House in the Union Cemetery.
Address: Spiller Road and Cemetery Road SE
Events in NW Calgary
BownessFest, Canada’s largest festival
Our Lady of Assumption School field will be hosting the first-annual BownessFest Canada Day festival.
The event will be free to the public, and it will include over 30 musical and cultural performers, a food truck pavilion, a local vendor market with over 50 local vendors, a free community BBQ between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., along with free family activities, contests, prizes and more.
The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Address: 7311 34 Ave NW
Canada Day Women’s Tournament
Women from all over the country will be honoured on July 1 at Calgary’s Riley Park at 8 a.m. through cricket and kicking.
The Alberta Cricket Council is hosting the event that will last for three days in honour of Calgary’s women who’ve worked hard to keep the game of cricket alive in the city.
Address: 800 12 St NW
Canada Day Fireworks Show
The Lynx Ridge Golf Club is welcoming all Calgarians for free to celebrate Canada on July 1 at 11 p.m. to watch Calgary’s northwest biggest firework display.
There will be food and beverages for everyone to enjoy and parking will be available.
Address: 8 Lynx Ridge Blvd
Events in NE Calgary
The Calgary Zoo, Zoo Night and Festivities
The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo will be kicking off the long weekend of family-friendly activities.
The walk-through of the zoo will reopen on July 1 where visitors will be able to explore the biofact station, a photo-op with a larger-than-life beaver and Canada Day colouring pages, while enjoying maple Nanaimo bar sundaes, exclusively available on Canada Day.
Visitors will also have a variety of surprises waiting for them and will get the opportunity to explore the Land of Lemurs.
The zoo will also be hosting Zoo Nights from July 1 until July 2.
Visitors will enjoy live music, drinks, dinner boxes and biofact stations!
The zoo will stay open late for visitors to enjoy their favourite animals and the beautiful zoo grounds a little longer.
Address: 210 St. George’s Drive NE
Canada Day at St. Patrick’s Island
Enjoy family-friendly entertainment from buskers, stilt walkers, cultural entertainers, and stage performances at St. Patrick’s Island. Canada Day performances kick off at 11 a.m. with the Calgary Chinese Cultural Society Orchestra, followed by The Calgary Fiddlers at 12 p.m., Zumba at 1 p.m., Ukranian Dancing at 2 p.m., LaBelle Sisters Indigenous dance at 3 p.m. and Polish dancing at 4 p.m.
Confluence Plaza is also holding a variety of magic, theatre, and interactive events throughout the day, starting at 11 a.m.
Calgarians will also have the opportunity to visit with the Calgary Fire Department aquatic rescue team, to learn about how firefighters perform rescues on the river.
Performances are free to attend.
Address: St. Patrick’s Island Park, 1300 Zoo Rd N
Canada Day Hockey Challenge
Who said you can’t play hockey in the summer?!
The Hockey Development Centre (HDC) is hosting a Canada Day hockey tournament.
The event will be a three-on-three extravaganza where participants can play three games in one day.
There will be games, music, beer gardens and free BBQ and drink for the players and at the price of $5 for non-players.
Address: 10710 25 St NE
City of Calgary Canada Day Fireworks
With music soundtrack on CJSW 90.9FM at 11 p.m. The fireworks show from the Municipal Building will include a blessing from Stoney Nakoda Elder Cindy Daniels and a message from Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
There will be a live stream seen from anywhere with a view of the Calgary Municipal Building.
The firework show can also be seen from Tom Campbell’s Hill, Saint Georges Drive in northeast Calgary or from anywhere with a view of the Calgary Municipal Building.
City of Calgary Canada Day Road Closures
A full list of the road closures is available via the City of Calgary.
As a result of the Canada Day events throughout the city, the following roads will be closed:
East Village – from 6 a.m. to Midnight
8 Avenue S.E. from 4 Street to 6 Street S.E.
6 Street from 9 Avenue to 8 Avenue S.E.
5 Street from 8 Avenue to 7 Avenue S.E.
7 Avenue & 5 Street Square S.E. and 5 Street from 8 Avenue to 7 Avenue S.E.
Ramsay – from 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Resident access by permit only at Spiller Road S.E. & Burns Avenue S.E. and Bellevue Avenue S.E. & MacDonald Avenue S.E.
Downtown – from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Macleod Trail S.E. between 7 Avenue S.E. and 9 Avenue S.E.
3 Street S.E. between 7 Avenue S.E. and 9 Avenue S.E.
Happy Canada Day to all from the LiveWire Calgary team!
