Calgarians looking to get back outdoors after the latest cold snap will find a bevy of activities in the Culture and Entertainment District and in the East Village in January and February.

From outdoor light shows to fitness and fun, to more sedate activities like bird watching, and even building massive cardboard forts, CMLC is hosting several events to give people something to do this winter.

The goal, said Emma Stevens, Director for Communications and External Relations at CMLC, is to bring a mix of long-running activities in addition to new ones to give people a reason to visit the East Village and the Culture and Entertainment District—and as a bonus, many of the events are running parallel to Chinook Blast, Calgary’s winter city festival.

“What’s so great about programs like Chinook Blast is it brings folks out and into the downtown core, and they can see so many great activities that are their program for Chinook Blast, but also experience the other stuff that we have going on.”

Stevens said that the activities kick off on Jan. 20, with the return of birding on St. Patrick’s Island, which has been a very popular activity that allows people to explore the island.

“It’s a program we started last summer, and it’s been really popular in partnership with Nature Calgary, and we’ve extended that through the winter. What’s neat about that is you can actually come out and see different birds than you would have seen in the summer or in the fall, you can really get a sense for what bird life and what those species look like through the winter as well,” Stevens said.

She said that due to the popularity of the program, people are encouraged to sign up beforehand to ensure their participation.

For Calgarians looking to get a little more active on the island, CMLC will be bringing their outdoor curling sheets for a Cabane à Curling competition (complete with scoreboards) from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., starting on Jan. 26.

Weekend visitors to the competition will also get to take part in some of the pop-up activities like maple taffy and fire pits.

Cross-country skiing returns to East Village

With the latest snowfalls in Calgary, cross-country skiing is returning for a fourth year at Fort Calgary in a one-kilometre, professionally groomed Nordic loop track.

“It started out in Covid as a way to get people out outside and into the community in a safe way, and it’s just really stuck as a popular activity. Though it is dependent on snow, so we’ve been waiting for that big snowfall so we can get out there and get it groomed,” said Stevens.

For one night only on Feb. 3, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the track will be lit up in celebration of Chinook Blast for a Nordic at Night celebration—with complementary ski rentals. When people get tired of skiing, they can take in live performances and hot chocolate.

“Basically, we bring out some lights and some entertainment, and it’s a really fun community event. We call it an all-ages cross country ski glow party, so it’s cross-country skiing with a little bit more,” Stevens said.

On Feb. 10, Calgarians are invited to take part in Lunar New Year celebrations at CMLC’s Hygee Hut located on the Riverwalk, from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. to watch the Jing Wo Cultural Association’s lion dancers.

Fortifying winter fun at Pixel Park

The Calgary Surge will be holding a pop-up basketball competition, complete with prizes, from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. on Jan. 27 at Pixel Park.

“Pixel Park is really exciting because it’s a brand new space for us. It only opened in October of last year, so this is the first winter we’ve had space in the Culture and Entertainment District. You’ll be able to meet Sergio the mascot, and head coach Nelson Terroba,” said Stevens.

“There’ll be some skills contests so you can win some Surge prizes, including some tickets to their big home opener at the Saddledome in May.”

For Calgarians looking to do something fortifying during the first part of February, CMLC in partnership with Recess Calgary will be building a co-operative cardboard fort at the park.

“The concept there is really about getting out and playing for people of all ages. Recess isn’t just for kids, it’s for everyone. So we’re actually collecting a bunch of cardboard right now, and building a castle together on February 4,” Stevens said.

“That’ll be a really fun, really fun and unique event in Pixel Park. I think those kinds of events are awesome because we’re using the park—it’s definitely a skate park, it’s an off-leash dog park, it has sports courts, but it’s also just a great place for placemaking and programming overall.”

For more details on all of the events programming in the East Village and in the Culture and Entertainment District, see www.evexperience.com/event-calendar.