Calgary kicked off summer festival season in style, with the biggest-ever Lilac Festival.
Calgary’s largest free admission outdoor street festival happened along 4 Street SW with an extension into 17 Avenue SW between 2 St and 5 St SW and Central Memorial Park making this the biggest Lilac Festival to date.
The festival happens on the first Sunday in June every year and brings over 100,000 attendees.
The expansion included more space for activities like two additional stages along with more vendor presence, extended patios, and food trucks.
“We’ve just done a lot of expansions over the last couple of years, so we’ve expanded on 17th Avenue between 2nd and 5th Street. And this year, we’ve now expanded into Central Memorial Park,” said Jennifer Rempel, Lilac Festival Event Producer.
The Lilac festival has always had community at the heart of the event, this year along with the new additions that the festival is offering, there will be two dance stages and six live music stages as well.
The event has over 600 vendors this year with something for everyone that attends the event.
“It’s rare that you get 40 food trucks in one location. So, you get to explore some food trucks that you haven’t tried before,” said Rempel.
Another central focus that the Lilac Festival offers for the community is an engaging Kids Area, which was stationed at 18th Avenue and 4th St on the west side. The location included many activities such as a new “kid’s rave”, a mobile locked room, and an interactive craft station.
As the event continues to expand its services, there is lots of enthusiasm in stock for the Lilac Festivals to come.
“Lilac Festival to me is when we take a road over that’s normally meant for cars and you bring people together and the power of that connection. People can’t describe it, but it is something in the connection of walking on a road that normally you’re driving down,” said Rempel.
