Calgary Concerts, Flames & Live Events

High Performance Rodeo runs through January at Arts Commons — One Yellow Rabbit’s international experimental theatre and performance festival, the longest-running festival of its kind in Canada. Big Winter Classic in the Beltline brings four days of indie music programming across the neighbourhood’s smaller venues. The Flames are in full swing at the Saddledome with home games most weeks. WinSport Canada Olympic Park is open for skiing, sliding and the bobsled and skeleton experience. ZooLights at the Calgary Zoo runs through the first weekend of January, and Chinook Blast, the city’s winter festival programming, builds into February.

Chinook Blast covers most of February with citywide winter programming — light installations, outdoor markets, ice sculpture at Olympic Plaza, free skating, live music in heated tents and pop-up programming in the East Village and Beltline. Block Heater music festival, programmed by the Calgary Folk Music Festival, runs three nights of indoor folk, roots and indie programming across venues in East Village. The Flames stay in full season at the Saddledome and the WHL Hitmen continue their home schedule.

March is the end of the indoor hockey and concert season run-up to the playoffs. The Calgary Underground Film Festival runs across the Globe Cinema. CMW satellite touring acts stop through the Beltline clubs. The annual Tim Hortons Brier curling championship rotates through the city periodically — when it lands at the Saddledome it dominates the week. Flames home games carry through the month and Stampeders training and pre-season organizational events ramp up at McMahon. Spring break weekends fill family programming at the zoo, Heritage Park and the TELUS Spark science centre.

The Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo lands at the BMO Centre across four days in late April — the largest comic, gaming and pop culture convention in western Canada with celebrity guests, panels, gaming halls and after-parties across the Stampede grounds. The Flames close their regular season and head into the playoffs in mid-April, which can turn the entire city red overnight. Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects and the Calgary Philharmonic close their main subscription seasons through April and into May.

May is the bridge into festival season. The Lilac Festival on 4th Street SW closes the street for a one-day Sunday street fair drawing more than 100,000 attendees. Otafest at the BMO Centre brings the city’s Japanese anime, manga and cosplay convention. Mother’s Day weekend programming runs at Heritage Park and the Calgary Zoo. Spruce Meadows opens its show jumping season with the National. The Saddledome shifts into concert mode as the Flames season finishes and touring summer dates move into the building. McMahon Stadium begins prep for the Stampeders home opener in early June.

Sled Island lands in late June — 250-plus indie music, art, film and comedy acts across 30-plus venues in the Beltline, Inglewood and East Village, with Sloan, Built to Spill and Patti Smith having all headlined past editions. FunnyFest runs two weeks of comedy across the Comedy Cave, the Laugh Shop, Loose Moose and pop-up rooms. Carifest brings Caribbean carnival programming to Shaw Millennium Park. The Stampeders open the home football season at McMahon Stadium. The Calgary International Beer Festival runs at the BMO Centre. Spruce Meadows hosts the National show jumping event over five days. Patio season hits full volume across 17th Avenue and the Beltline.

The Calgary Stampede dominates July — ten days of rodeo, chuckwagon racing, midway, grandstand concerts, Nashville North, free pancake breakfasts and citywide programming, drawing more than 1.3 million attendances and turning every venue, hotel and restaurant in town into a Stampede satellite. The Saddledome runs a concert headliner most nights of the Stampede. Country tours book around the dates. The Calgary Folk Music Festival lands the weekend after Stampede on Prince’s Island Park — four days of folk, roots, world and indie programming under tents and on the main stages. Stampeders football continues at McMahon. The Honens piano competition cycles through every three years.

Globalfest lights up Elliston Park across three weeks in August with an international fireworks competition — countries compete head-to-head on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday nights, with a cultural pavilion serving food and live music from the participating nations. Heritage Day weekend programming fills Heritage Park, Fort Calgary and the Calgary Zoo. Big Taste Calgary spotlights restaurants city-wide. Stampeders home games continue at McMahon. The Spruce Meadows Masters builds toward its September showcase, and Expo Latino at Prince’s Island brings the city’s Latin music and dance programming.

The Spruce Meadows Masters lands the first weekend of September — one of the world’s top show jumping events, with international riders competing for the largest purse on the international circuit. The Calgary International Film Festival runs across two weeks of late September at the Globe, Eau Claire and Cineplex venues, screening more than 200 films. Beakerhead pairs art, engineering and science across pop-up installations downtown for four days in late September. The Stampeders close their home football season at McMahon. The Flames open their pre-season schedule at the Saddledome. Honens piano festival programming runs at Jack Singer and the Bella.

The Flames open their NHL regular season at the Saddledome in early October. Wordfest, the Calgary international writers festival, runs across two weeks at Memorial Park Library, Studio Bell and Arts Commons. The Calgary International Film Festival closes its run into the first week of October. Halloween programming builds across Calaway Park, Heritage Park Ghost Tours and the haunted houses at Stampede Park. The Calgary Pumpkin Patch runs at the U-pick farms north and east of the city. Theatre Calgary and the Calgary Philharmonic open their subscription seasons.

ZooLights at the Calgary Zoo opens in mid-November and runs through January — more than 1.5 million lights across the zoo grounds with food, music and seasonal animal programming. The Festival of Crafts at Stampede Park gathers more than 300 Canadian artisans across four days for the largest pre-holiday craft and gift fair in western Canada. The Santa Claus Parade fills downtown the third Saturday. Remembrance Day ceremonies fill the Field of Crosses on Memorial Drive. The Flames and Hitmen carry their home schedules. Touring concert headliners book the Saddledome and Grey Eagle through the month.

December is heavy on holiday programming. ZooLights runs nightly at the Calgary Zoo. The Hyatt Festival of Trees raises funds across a week of programming. Heritage Park transforms into Once Upon a Christmas every weekend through December. Theatre Calgary stages A Christmas Carol at the Max Bell. The Calgary Philharmonic runs Handel’s Messiah and a holiday pops series at Jack Singer. The Flames carry their home schedule into the holiday break. New Year’s Eve programming fills Olympic Plaza, the downtown hotels and the Beltline restaurants and bars. Chinook Centre stays open late through the holiday shopping window.