Choose the shape of the night
Use this page when dinner alone feels too thin. Start with the highlighted picks, then filter for food, music, arts, or free options.
date night experiences
Concerts, dinners, immersive shows, and nights out that feel planned enough to make the calendar.
Use this page when dinner alone feels too thin. Start with the highlighted picks, then filter for food, music, arts, or free options.
The strongest date-night picks have a clear time, clear price, and something to talk about after.
🛍️Best Bet
A free Friday evening market with local vendors, street food, live music, and an easy wander-and-snack date plan in Inglewood.
👨👩👧Best Bet
TELUS Spark's travelling dinosaur exhibition puts SUE, the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex ever found, inside a multisensory science experience for kids and curious grown-ups.
🎉Best Bet
A free downtown Latin festival with live music, dance performances, DJs, food vendors, artisan stalls, and family-friendly cultural programming all weekend.
Calgary's Japanese festival celebrates its 15th anniversary with cultural performances, food, vendors, and a lively Friday evening start at Max Bell Centre.
Six live performances spread along 17th Avenue turn the corridor into a free, low-commitment summer music crawl.
A free summer market at Lougheed House focused on flowers, artisans, seasonal goods, and a softer Saturday morning pace.
A free kids' workshop where dice and chance rules turn pattern-making into an approachable gallery activity.
A Friday-to-Sunday market browse with produce, baked goods, vintage stalls, local artists, and food hall options.
A before-hours zoo breakfast with polar bear viewing and a quieter start for families who want the zoo without the full midday crowd.
A candlelit Queen tribute at Studio Bell gives Saturday night a polished, sit-down concert option without turning the evening into a late club plan.
A zoo brunch that solves Sunday morning first, then lets everyone wander Asia Highlands, Wild Canada, or the playground without inventing a second plan.
ChamberFest West closes with a buoyant program built around Schubert's Trout Quintet, with Haydn, Prokofiev, and Widmann around it.
More than 25 Calgary cafes, restaurants, and creameries compete for YYC's Best Scoop, with a donation from each item supporting Calgary Meals on Wheels.
A free 17th Ave market with local makers, vintage finds, food, and an easy pre-dinner wander near Western Canada High School.
Come enjoy an evening enjoying live music in the Heritage Plaza, where each week, one of the best emerging live bands in Calgary will take the stage! Watch from the Selkirk patio as you enjoy dinner, or explore the shops of the Haskayne Mercantile Block before you setup your lawn chair and enjoy...
Current is a new series of public art activations presented by The New Gallery (TNG), transforming the Bow River pathway into a flowing corridor of creativity. Connecting Calgary’s cultural landmarks and natural landscapes, these activations merge art, nature, and community through installation,...
Christine Klassen Gallery’s Chroma, is its annual summer exhibition exploring colour as a force for curiosity, connection, and reinvention. This year’s exhibition brings together new work by Carl White, Steve Speer, Bryce Krynski, and others, alongside Chrissy Nickerson’s new Bridges...
Thousands of people come to shop at Heritage Park every year – and now we’re bringing the market to you! Come shop our local vendors, explore the shops in the Plaza, grab a bite to eat and be entertained at Markets in the Plaza! Markets in the Plaza is a pet-friendly event, so make sure
Contemporary Connections is a guided tour series designed to make art accessible and engaging for Calgary’s diverse communities. These events create a welcoming and inclusive space for participants to explore our exhibitions and connect with others, fostering meaningful relationships through the...
Fiestaval opens with Latin American food vendors, artisan market stalls, live music, professional dancers, salsa performances, and DJs downtown. The source lists it as a free, family-friendly festival day.
Avenue's annual food-and-drink market returns to Rangeview with more than 15 local vendors serving cookies, hot sauce, ice cream, drinks and more. The Avenue event article confirms July 18, 2026 from noon to 4 p.m. with free admission.
Participants will have the opportunity to make a beaded bag charmof a stylized Fathead minnow; this freshwater fish can be foundthroughout Alberta, including in the Bow River. A zine sharinginformation and reflections on the Fathead minnow will be available andparticipants are encouraged to reflect...
Day two of Fiestaval brings another full day of food vendors, dancing, music, and community celebration to Eau Claire Plaza. The listing marks admission as free.
Join artists-in-residency Kseniia Koshmai, Yu Chen, Jona Redwood, Shea Iles and Ezgi Turker for the reception of HOME residency, which creates space for dialogue between these perspectives, fostering connection while honouring the distinct histories, relationships, and experiences each artist...
Embrace creativity and exploration in our Saturday Drop-in Art Making program. This program is offered most Saturdays from 1-5 PM throughout the year. Materials and light instruction are provided, along with rotating themes and activities. Our programs encourage children, youth, and families to...
Join us for the opening reception of our Spotlight Exhibition: Before They’re Gone by Calgary jewellery artist Anna Burger-Martindale. Before They’re Gone is a love letter to the biodiversity of our planet. It is an ongoing and far-reaching series of handmade jewellery featuring endangered...
Mush Love is back for our 4th annual event focused on bringing people together to celebrate the fabulous world of fungi and the magic of mushroom culture! This artist-run initiative is a creative platform that combines an inclusive, group art exhibition with a mushroom-inspired market featuring...
Join us for a one-night-only improvised performance, where visuals and music collide in an experience that will never happen the same way again. Curated by Bug Incision’s Chris Dadge, the evening will feature four experimental musicians, while two EMMEDIA artists perform live analog visuals,...
The final day of Calgary’s Latin American celebration closes the weekend with music, dance, food vendors, and festival programming downtown. The source lists the event as free.
Through sculpture and video, Richard Ibghy and Marilou Lemmens examine how bodies (human and nonhuman) are measured, valued and shaped by systems of data and performance, drawing on the visual language of modern science to trace the ethical stakes of systems that quantify lived experience into...
Globe Cinema Presents: Night Nurse (2026) At the start of her new job in a luxury retirement community, Eleni (Cemre Paksoy) is drawn into a series of scam calls targeting the elderly residents, a pull she can’t quite name or resist. As the community’s strange rhythms close around her,...
In this class facilitated by Katie Wackett, participants will embark on a guided tour of summer Blockbuster movies. Each week we will watch a film and discuss its meaning. Each screening will have a special snack to go along with the film. This class is ideal for artists who enjoy watching and...
Color Hunt YYC is a community photography walk activity. After an hour-long photo walk through the neighbourhood focused on finding and capturing color, participants gather to decompress, share their shots, and reflect on what they noticed and created. It’s a relaxed, conversation-led space...
Rising country artist Ashley Garrett performs on the legendary King Eddy stage for the happiest time of day. Come for the brews and stay for the live tunes! Happy hour food and drink specials run from 2 pm to 6 pm at the Eddy. About Ashley Garrett:Two-time winner of Cowboy’s Music Festival’s...
Join us for an evening of live jazz with The Strangers 🎷🎹 The Strangers are a Calgary-based jazz combo bringing together swing, bebop, funk, and fusion. What started from a simple jazz jam and a shared desire to connect people through music has grown into a group shaped by five musicians with...
If you’ve never experienced hearing talented musicians perform in an intimate environment, you are in for a treat. You’ll see anyone from artists hoping to break into the music scene, to established stars showing up unannounced, and everyone in between. Doors open 5pm. Local Vocals FRIDAYS on...
$20 Early Bird Registration Classic cars, live music, vendors, Spolumbo's BBQ, Cold Garden Beer Garden, hockey shot, vendors, music
Join this workshop to learn and practice the basics of being a sound tech for live events!Learn how to set up and operate live sound equipment in this beginner-focused workshop! This workshop will help attendees understand the science behind sound, to explore how sound can be shaped or controlled...
REVUP AUTOSHOW 2026 TOUR - Calgary Western Canada’s premier automotive event is back in Calgary to host this year's "Summer Stage" in the iconic Telus Convention Centre July 18th, from 1pm! Bring the whole family to see some of the best aftermarket tuner...
Cyanotype photography is a camera-less technique that involves laying an object or negative on paper coated with a solution of iron salts before exposing it to UV light and washing with water to create stunning white and Prussian blue images. Cyanotype is one of the first photographic processes...
This drawing session invites participants to draw from life while models wear traditional attire from different cultural backgrounds. The session focuses on close observation of form, texture, and detail, while also encouraging awareness of the cultural context behind what is being drawn.
Brad started stand up at 17, since then he has recorded an album with just for laughs originals, been on CBC radio, headlined across canada, and bought a huge iced out cuban link chain. His mind is crazy, twisted, and insane (in a cool way). He hopes you will like his jokes and stories.
Discover the magic of transforming discarded #6 plastic into beautiful shrink plastic charms. Participants will design and create their own imagery, then watch in wonder as the plastic shrinks and thickens during the heating process. Using recycled copper or brass wire, participants will learn...
Always wanted to try your hand at embroidery? This summer embroidery workshop is for you! Our experienced crafting facilitator will take you through the basics of embroidery, in the historic Conservatory at Lougheed House where House residents of the past once did their own handicrafts. Choose from...
Emerging writers of all genres are welcome to drop in to write, workshop ideas, and develop projects with guided peer feedback! The Emerging Writers’ Café is a quarterly meet-up for local emerging writers of all genres looking to develop their projects and ideas. It’s a space to share work,...
Join Free Spirit Dance in July and August at containR Art Park in Inglewood. A unique outdoor social dancing event in the heart of Calgary. We will host a free Latin Dance Workshop by Free Spirit Dance instructors at the start of the night, followed by social dancing and featured performances with...
Contemporary Connections is a guided tour series designed to make art accessible and engaging for Calgary’s diverse communities. These events create a welcoming and inclusive space for participants to explore our exhibitions and connect with others, fostering meaningful relationships through the...
Join us for an inspiring and hands-on creative experience as we guide you through the process of designing and crafting a stunning 10″ Coral Bowl. Inspired by the designs of Serenity Passage, this elegant glass piece is perfect as a centerpiece, for displaying fruit, or as a decorative accent.
Inglewood Sunfest 2026 – A Summer Celebration! Join us for a vibrant day of fun at Inglewood Sunfest, a stylish summer festival in one of Calgary’s trendiest neighborhoods. Get ready to celebrate, engage, and be entertained! Explore over 200 vendors, including artisan crafts, small...
In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore ways of preserving the beauty of our short Calgary summer through the historic cyanotype process. Using locally gathered botanical materials, we will create a series of rich blue-and-white prints that capture details of seasonal plant life. $70,...
The event will feature performances by students from several Calgary flamenco schools alongside professional artists including singer/dancer/flamencologist Silvia Temis, Francesca Canalizo, Anastassia Alexander, Daniela Crestani and Alma Viva Dance,...
Join us at Sparrow Artspace for a fun and creative event where you can make and trade your own Artists Trading Cards with other newcomers in Calgary! This is a great way to meet fellow newcomers and creatives, share your work, and connect with the local art community. All supplies will be provided.
The Calgary International Blues Festival main weekend runs at The Confluence with blues acts, an arts market, craft beer, and food trucks. Children 12 and under are listed as free.
A week long celebration culminates in 4 days of non-stop music on Mainstage followed by the nightly Twilight Blues Series. Food trucks, festival souvenirs, bar service, arts market. Family friendly.
Join HOME Residency artists Kseniia Koshmai, Ezgi Türker, and Shea Iles for an artist talk exploring memory, belonging, play, and the many meanings of home. Kseniia will speak about her miniature paintings on wooden objects as containers for memory and personal stories, while Ezgi will share her...
Century Downs is excited to announce the return of Libations Fest, sponsored by Born Brewing Co. & Country 105!
Please join us for a curator-led tour of five solo shows by Canadian and international artists at Contemporary Calgary, reflecting on notions of belonging, power, resistance, evolving social dynamics, and speculative futures. The tour will be followed by a A Long Dramatic Pause, a performance...
This workshop invites participants to address their personal homes by writing letters. A lived home or a home yet to come, or an imagined home. A past or future self, a person, the land and the inhabitants of the land. We’ll write together to write letters where we find refuge and we’ll listen...
Youth 13-18 are invited to join us for a 3-day summer camp to explore materials, personal stories, cultural memories, and identity. Inspired by Shirley Moorhouse and Zadie Xa’s ability to share stories through fabric, youth will spend time experimenting with materials and developing the skills...
Tommy Mellor is an international performing comedian from Calgary, Alberta. He is known for his dry/deadpan delivery, unique perspectives, and low energy/high laughs approach. Join the Danish Canadian Club at The Comedy Cave for a special summer evening of great food, laughs, and good company.
This hands-on workshop invites participants to explore their personal understanding of home through reflection and making. Guided by prompts and material exploration, participants will create a small, intentional object using fiber, thread, and mixed materials inspired by dreamcatcher...
Canada Paints Plein Air is back for its second year in Calgary and calling to artists for a one-day summertime event at Bow Valley in Fish Creek Provincial Park. Applications are open now for Canada Paints Plein Air Competition being held Saturday, August 8, 2026. Beginners welcome! The...
Lantern Peace Festival brings together local artistry and global advocacy with a captivating lineup featuring book talks by former child soldier James Mathiang and community builder Dr. Arthur Clark, alongside insights from Rights to Learn Afghanistan Senior Director Murwarid Ziayee.
Celebrate Korean culture at Calgary Korean Day with a full day of traditional music, K-pop performances, cultural displays and delicious Korean cuisine. This festival invites all ages to experience the vibrant heritage and modern energy of Korea in the heart of the city.
Marda Gras is back!What are you most excited to see, eat, buy and do this year? Everyone’s favourite Pet Pageant returns! More artisan booths and makers! Kids Area Crafts and Activities. Bike Parking is Back! Will we see you there?
This workshop expands the cyanotype process onto several kinds of paper and fabrics, using the different materials to create different results. Using both botanical materials and photographic imagery, participants will explore how light, texture can create different results to your cyanotype prints.
This comprehensive program offers a deep dive into creative exploration, professional development, and collaboration. Led by Dance//Novella leadership Racheal Prince and Brandon Lee Alley, participants will engage in a week-long professional development opportunity designed to enhance their skills...
Experience the beauty of live music along the Bow River as 2025 Honens Gold Laureate Élisabeth Pion joins Calgary Philharmonic bassoonist Antoine St‑Onge for a captivating outdoor performance. Their unique pairing creates a rich, lyrical sound that feels perfectly at home in this scenic...
Expo Latino returns to Prince’s Island Park and this year is especially meaningful as the Hispanic Arts Society celebrates its 30th anniversary. 30 years of culture, 30 years of community, 30 years of celebrating Latin America in Canada.
Held in Calgary, Alberta, every August, When Words Collide is Canada’s largest multi-genre, writer/reader/fan/ festival. Meet artists and publishers of commercial and literary fiction, including genre, YA, children’s books, poetry, and more, from across Canada and the world.
EXPO LATINO FESTIVAL WESTERN CANADA'S LARGEST LATIN FESTIVAL Friday, August 14, 2026: 3:00 pm-1:00 am* Saturday, August 15, 2026: 11:30 am -1:00 am* Sunday, August 16, 2024: 11:30 am - 9:30 pm* *Times are subject to change FESTIVAL PASSES COST ***FREE...
Get ready to experience the flavours of the Caribbean right here in Calgary! The Taste of CARIFEST Expo will be a vibrant celebration of Caribbean culture, featuring a Food Wars Competition, the highly anticipated Carifest Band Launch, and much more!
This old-fashioned, country-style fair is a full weekend of free, family-friendly fun celebrating rural life, agriculture, heritage, and community. Enjoy friendly competitions, farm animal exhibits, hands-on Make and Take activities, live demonstrations, local vendors, and live entertainment.
This all-ages, hands-on drop-in invites visitors to explore Acadian music traditions through fiddle-inspired sounds, group music-making, and the rhythmic pulse of spoon playing. Drop in and take part in lively, collaborative music-making that shows how rhythm, movement, and song bring people...
The Lady of The Earth is a dance theatric work told through a single narrator and powerful ensemble movement. Three generations grandfather, father, and grandchild carry one story. Folk motifs meet contemporary staging, with iconic Dabke sequences and new choreographic formations, the piece moves...
Caribbean Food, Art, Music & Dance! A family-friendly event that celebrates all things Caribbean! Rain or shine – WE IN D’PARK! Hosted by Drew Atlas and featuring Jaxx from Toronto, Benjai from Trinidad and Tobago and Problem Child from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines!
This workshop invites participants to reflect on what home means to them through painting. Each person will create a small wooden box inspired by a memory, a place, a feeling, or something important. Participants will be guided through simple painting techniques and supported in developing their...
Join HOME Residency artists Jona Redwood and Yu Chen for an artist talk exploring identity, belonging, cultural memory, and the personal meanings carried through handcrafted objects and portraiture. Jona will share their practice creating dreamcatchers, jewelry, and interactive craft experiences as...
Welcome to YYCFanFair, Calgary’s ultimate celebration of fandom and pop culture! Explore a vibrant marketplace filled with comics, toys, video games, and rare collectibles from local vendors. Meet talented artists and discover unique treasures that you won’t find anywhere else. Whether...
This week-long course takes you through every step of making your own TV style, fur and fleece, hand & rod puppet from your own original design. From patterning to fabrication and finishing, this is an advanced and in depth course with the entire Puppet Stuff team of artists who will guide you...
David Garneau: Dark Chapters and Reading the Ruins comprises a pairing of exhibitions by Canadian Métis artist and scholar, David Garneau. Dark Chapters, curated by Arin Fay, uses metaphorical still life paintings to share the lived experience of contemporary Indigenous people contending with the...
Big weekend plans
Street festivals, citywide food weekends, fairs, and marquee public events worth planning around.
Open →After-dark browsing
Evening markets, late shopping, pop-ups, and stroll-first plans that feel good after work.
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Festival days, zoo plans, markets, and public events that work when kids are in tow.
Open →Eat your way through it
Food festivals, tasting weekends, markets, pop-ups, and drink-forward events worth planning around.
Open →No-ticket plans
Free markets, festivals, outdoor events, gallery days, music, and public plans that still feel worthwhile.
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