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●Issue 022●Oct 2–Oct 4, 2026●Pumpkin Weekend●Sat —· high●32 curated events this weekend●Sunset —●Jamie's Pick: Steve Hackman's Beethoven X Beyoncé (Symphony meets pop concert)●Jamie's Pick: The Colossal Carve 2026 (Live giant-pumpkin carving)●Jamie's Pick: Calgary Wranglers vs. Abbotsford Canucks (Pro hockey, Flames farm team)●Issue 022●Oct 2–Oct 4, 2026●Pumpkin Weekend●Sat —· high●32 curated events this weekend●Sunset —●Jamie's Pick: Steve Hackman's Beethoven X Beyoncé (Symphony meets pop concert)●Jamie's Pick: The Colossal Carve 2026 (Live giant-pumpkin carving)●Jamie's Pick: Calgary Wranglers vs. Abbotsford Canucks (Pro hockey, Flames farm team)
Issue №022Thursday, October 1, 2026

Calgary Weekend Edition

A curated weekly dispatch on what to do in YYC, every Thursday.

By Jamie · From Edgemont

512 events3 daysSat high —Sunset —

Editor’s Note

October opens with an ice-carving champion taking on two giant Taber pumpkins live at the farmers' markets, and on Saturday the Calgary Phil weaves Beyoncé into Beethoven. It's also a weekend of beginnings and goodbyes, with the Wranglers opening their last season at the Saddledome, Cara Luft playing a hometown release show for her first solo album in more than 13 years, Theatre Calgary's man-eating plant moving into the Max Bell and Lunch at Allen's bringing its farewell tour to town.

— Jamie

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Big weekend plansFestivals in CalgaryAfter-dark browsingNight Markets in CalgaryCouples plansDate Night Experiences in CalgaryFamily plansKid-Friendly Events in CalgaryEat your way through itFood Festivals in CalgaryNo-ticket plansFree Events in Calgary

Festival spotlight

Pumpkins After Dark (Halloween pumpkin walk)

WinSport's Halloween walk lines a one-kilometre path with more than 10,000 carved pumpkins, real and foam, built into lit scenes with music and effects. Entry is by 15-minute timed slot, and Sunday is the cheapest of the three nights.

🎃
WinSport, Canada Olympic ParkSW · 7:30pm · Adult $17.93-$21.63, youth 4-17 $12.39-$16.08 depending on the night, plus fees, 3 and under free
Details →Link →
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Jamie's Picks This weekend's best

3 picksCurated
🎻

🥂Couples Pick

Steve Hackman's Beethoven X Beyoncé (Symphony meets pop concert)

The Calgary Philharmonic plays Beethoven's Seventh Symphony while three singers, a bassist and a drummer weave Beyoncé hits like Crazy in Love, Single Ladies and Halo right through the score. It's conductor Steve Hackman's classical-meets-pop format, not a tribute act, and Calgary gets exactly one performance.

Jack Singer Concert HallSE·7:30pm·$44-$131 adult, $34-$121 senior or studentLink →
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🎃

👨‍👩‍👧Kid-Friendly Pick

The Colossal Carve 2026 (Live giant-pumpkin carving)

Yann Blanchard, the market's ice-carving champion, trades ice for two giant competition pumpkins grown in Taber and carves one live at each Calgary Farmers' Market. Kids hunt for prize gourds and decorate pumpkins at the Little Gourd Studio, and anyone can guess the giants' weight to win a Thanksgiving market basket.

Calgary Farmers' Market West (Saturday) and Calgary Farmers' Market South (Sunday)NW·11am·FreeLink →
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🏒

🎉Social Pick

Calgary Wranglers vs. Abbotsford Canucks (Pro hockey, Flames farm team)

The Wranglers, the Calgary Flames' farm team in the American Hockey League, open their season at home Friday, and it's the first game of what the club calls its Dome Farewell Season before the move to Scotia Place. It's a full-speed pro hockey night out with friends, and the players are the next wave of Flames hopefuls: Dustin Wolf, Matt Coronato and Martin Pospisil all came up through this roster.

Scotiabank SaddledomeSE·7pm·$21 & upLink →
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Friday YYC picks

Temps: —° / —°
🏒

🎉Social Pick

Calgary Wranglers vs. Abbotsford Canucks (Pro hockey, Flames farm team)

The Wranglers, the Calgary Flames' farm team in the American Hockey League, open their season at home Friday, and it's the first game of what the club calls its Dome Farewell Season before the move to Scotia Place. It's a full-speed pro hockey night out with friends, and the players are the next wave of Flames hopefuls: Dustin Wolf, Matt Coronato and Martin Pospisil all came up through this roster.

Scotiabank SaddledomeSE·7pm·$21 & upLink →
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🎸

Pavlo In Concert (Mediterranean guitar)

Toronto-born guitarist Pavlo plays what he calls Mediterranean music, an upbeat instrumental mix of Greek, flamenco, Latin and Balkan sounds, with his full band. It's his only Calgary date this tour, and his bio says he gives a guitar away to someone in the audience at every concert.

Bella Concert HallSW·8pm·$58.73-$70.65Link →
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🎭

A Fox on the Fairway (Golf-club stage farce)

Morpheus Theatre opens Ken Ludwig's A Fox on the Fairway, a door-slamming farce about mistaken identities and romantic mix-ups among the stuffy members of a private golf club. Ludwig, who wrote Lend Me a Tenor, built it as a tribute to the English farces of the 1930s and '40s, and the whole run lasts nine days.

Pumphouse TheatreSW·7:30pm·$25 adult, $21 student or seniorLink →
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🪕

Cara Luft with Brianna Lizotte (Roots album-release concert)

Juno-winning roots singer Cara Luft, a founding member of The Wailin' Jennys, plays her hometown release show for My Heart Will Always Be, her first solo album in more than 13 years. Edmonton fiddler Brianna Lizotte opens.

River Park ChurchSW·7:30pm·$38.61-$43.93 + Eventbrite feesLink →
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Also on Friday

03 picks
🎶
Connie Kaldor with Gabriel Campagne (Prairie folk songwriter)Juno-winning prairie songwriter, her son opens
Calgary Folk Club (Dalhousie Community Centre)NW·7:30pm·$35 + GST and fees·Link →
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Three-time Juno winner and Order of Canada member Connie Kaldor sings about prairie life in a 300-seat listening room, with her son Gabriel Campagne opening. It's the second show of the Calgary Folk Club's 55th season.
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🧵
Introduction to Textiles (Free curator tour at Nickle Galleries)Curator brings vault textiles out for close looks
Nickle Galleries, Taylor Family Digital Library, University of CalgaryNW·12pm·Free, registration required·Link →
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Curator and textile scholar Michele Hardy takes a small group into the Nickle Galleries vault to look at collection textiles up close, from cotton, wool and silk to woven, knitted and felted pieces. It's free, but the group is capped at 20, so register ahead.
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🏀
Calgary Cup Day 1 (University basketball tournament)Four university basketball games on one ticket
Jack Simpson GymnasiumNW·2pm·$18 adult, $9 youth 7-17, $48 family·Link →
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The UCalgary Dinos host their annual preseason tournament, with four games Friday, including both Dinos teams against UBC Okanagan at 6 and 8 PM. Seating is general admission.
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Saturday YYC picks

Temps: —° / —°
🎻

🥂Couples Pick

Steve Hackman's Beethoven X Beyoncé (Symphony meets pop concert)

The Calgary Philharmonic plays Beethoven's Seventh Symphony while three singers, a bassist and a drummer weave Beyoncé hits like Crazy in Love, Single Ladies and Halo right through the score. It's conductor Steve Hackman's classical-meets-pop format, not a tribute act, and Calgary gets exactly one performance.

Jack Singer Concert HallSE·7:30pm·$44-$131 adult, $34-$121 senior or studentLink →
Email
🎃

👨‍👩‍👧Kid-Friendly Pick

The Colossal Carve 2026 (Live giant-pumpkin carving)

Yann Blanchard, the market's ice-carving champion, trades ice for two giant competition pumpkins grown in Taber and carves one live at each Calgary Farmers' Market. Kids hunt for prize gourds and decorate pumpkins at the Little Gourd Studio, and anyone can guess the giants' weight to win a Thanksgiving market basket.

Calgary Farmers' Market West (Saturday) and Calgary Farmers' Market South (Sunday)NW·11am·FreeLink →
Email
🧸

Calgary Toy Show & Sale (Collectible toy market)

Eighty-three tables of vintage and modern toys fill three rooms, from Hot Wheels and LEGO to Star Wars, Barbie, Pokemon and Funko Pops, priced from $1, with door-prize draws all day. The show runs only twice a year, and admission is cash only with no ATM on site.

Edgemont Community CentreNW·10am·$3 adult, $5 family, under 16 free, cash onlyLink →
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🦒

Wild Walk 2026 (Calgary Zoo charity walk)

The zoo's charity walk loops about three kilometres through the grounds before the gates open to everyone else, with keepers setting up animal enrichment along the route and a buffet breakfast party on Asia Lawn at the end. Registration doubles as a full-day zoo ticket, and costumes are encouraged.

Wilder Institute's Calgary ZooNE·8:30am·$60 adult 16+, $40 child 3-15, under 3 freeLink →
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🏈

UCalgary Dinos Football vs. Regina Rams (University football)

The 1-3 Dinos try to snap a three-game losing streak against the 2-2 Regina Rams, who have dropped two straight themselves, with three conference games left after this one before the playoffs. Every ticket is general admission, and a $48 family pass covers two adults and up to four youths.

McMahon StadiumNW·1pm·$18 adult, $9 youth 7-17, $48 familyLink →
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Also on Saturday

07 picks
👻
Haunted Mini Golf (Halloween mini golf at WinSport)Eighteen spooky holes, creepy but family-friendly
WinSport Mini Golf Course, Canada Olympic ParkSW·1pm·$17 adult, $15 youth or senior, $10 ages 3-5, 2 and under free·Link →
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WinSport dresses its 18-hole outdoor mini golf course in Halloween decorations and eerie obstacles, creepy enough to be fun but light enough for the whole family. The course is licensed, and a Pumpkins After Dark ticket knocks $2 off walk-up admission.
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🎻
Cassie and Maggie (Nova Scotia Celtic sister duo)Fiddle, step dancing and Gaelic songs
The King EddySE·7:30pm·$21.08-$36.76 with fees·Link →
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Nova Scotia sisters Cassie and Maggie mix driving fiddle, close harmonies and percussive step dancing, singing in Gaelic and English. They're touring Gold and Coal, which won them Ensemble of the Year at the 2026 Canadian Folk Music Awards.
Email
🎷
The Motown Tribute Orchestra (10-piece soul tribute)Ten-piece Calgary band plays classic Motown
Parkdale United ChurchNW·7:30pm·$11.98-$43.93·Link →
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Calgary's Jazz Nebula opens its season with its one big-band show of the year, a ten-piece group with horns and three singers working through hits like What's Going On, Superstition and My Girl.
Email
🍁
Maple & Makers: A Fall Market (Free makers market)Alberta artisans, bakers and handmade gifts
Winston Heights-Mountview Community CentreNE·10am·Free·Link →
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Alberta makers, bakers and small shops fill a community hall with candles, knits, jewellery, original art and fresh baking, pitched for Thanksgiving hosting and early holiday gifts. Entry is free.
Email
🎨
Group Art Society of Calgary Fall Show and Sale (Free art show)Meet local painters, buy originals, free entry
Parkdale United ChurchNW·10am·Free·Link →
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Local painters hang original work in many styles and sizes and sell it directly, with seven new guest artists this year and a door-prize draw for an original acrylic by Colin Bell.
Email
🪐
So Long Pluto (Kids' space musical at CIFF)Demoted Pluto dreams of the planets' dance troupe
Globe Cinema (Globe Down)SW·12:30pm·$19 + fees, 20% off with code CIFF4KIDS·Link →
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Pluto, the planet that got demoted, dreams of joining the solar system's official dance troupe in this French-language Quebec musical with English subtitles. It's the last of only two Alberta screenings at the Calgary International Film Festival.
Email
🥨
Paulaner Official Oktoberfest 2026 (Trackside Oktoberfest and horse racing)Pretzels, brass band and $50,000 stakes races
Century Downs Racetrack and CasinoOutside city·1:45pm·Admission not published, food and drink extra·Link →
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Century Downs, the racetrack just north of Calgary, pairs a Bavarian-style party with four $50,000 thoroughbred stakes races. Expect bratwurst, pork hock and apple strudel, Paulaner beer, live brass and stein-holding and pretzel-eating contests.
Email

Sunday YYC picks

Temps: —° / —°
🎤

Lunch at Allen's (Canadian songwriter supergroup)

Murray McLauchlan, Cindy Church, Marc Jordan and Ian Thomas sit in a circle trading their own songs and the stories behind them, from Farmer's Song to Marina Del Rey and Painted Ladies. They've toured together for 20 years, and this is the Calgary stop on their farewell tour.

Jack Singer Concert HallSE·7:30pm·$88.64-$100.27Link →
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🎀

CIBC Run for the Cure (Breast cancer fundraising walk or run)

The Canadian Cancer Society's yearly walk-run for breast cancer starts and finishes at Southcentre, with a 1 km out-and-back or a 5 km loop around Willow Park. It's untimed, so families can walk it at any pace, and registration stays open right through Sunday morning.

Southcentre MallSE·7am·Fundraising minimum $150 adult, $60 youthLink →
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🧇

Sunday Safari Brunch (Zoo buffet brunch)

The zoo's Safari Lodge sets out a Sunday buffet with a Lindt milk-chocolate fountain, eggs Benedict, a Belgian waffle bar and a chef-made omelette station, and the ticket includes a full day at the zoo. Online sales close at midnight Saturday, so book ahead.

Safari Lodge, Wilder Institute's Calgary ZooNE·9am·$49.95 adult, $45.95 senior, $29.95 child 3-15, under 3 free, zoo admission includedLink →
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Also on Sunday

05 picks
🏒
Calgary Hitmen vs. Regina Pats (Junior hockey)Postgame autographs from two Hitmen players
Scotiabank SaddledomeSE·2pm·$19 & up·Link →
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The Hitmen host the Regina Pats, the world's oldest major-junior franchise, in a Sunday afternoon game. Kale McCann and Carter Sanderson sign autographs behind Section 210 after the final horn.
Email
🧺
The Mercantile on 9th (Free Inglewood makers market)Thirty makers, vintage, ceramics and fresh baking
Alexandra Centre (The Mercantile on 9th), InglewoodSE·10am·Free, RSVP online·Link →
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The Mercantile on 9th's Harvest market brings 30 independent vendors, from potters and vintage clothing sellers to bakers and jam makers, inside and outside the Alexandra Centre. Leashed dogs are welcome.
Email
🍂
Union Cemetery Tour (Free guided history walk)Volunteer guides share stories of early Calgarians
Union Cemetery (meet at Galloway House)SE·2pm·Free, registration recommended·Link →
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City volunteer guides lead a 90-minute walk through Union Cemetery, one of Calgary's oldest, telling the stories of Mounties, ranchers and the families who shaped the early city. Register ahead, though a few walk-up spots are kept.
Email
🚂
Heritage Park Historical Village and Gasoline Alley MuseumSteam train rides before the season closes
Heritage ParkSW·10am·$39.95 adult, $31.95 senior, $27.95 child 3-15, plus GST, 2 and under free·Link →
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Heritage Park's outdoor village is open on weekends only until October 12, so this is one of the last chances this year to ride the steam train and streetcar. Admission also covers Gasoline Alley's antique cars and the new 100 Years of AMA exhibit.
Email
🦃
17th Annual Davisburg Turkey Supper (Country-hall turkey dinner)Catered turkey, homemade pies, live music
Davisburg Community Association hallOutside city·1pm·Tickets up to $33.40 on Eventbrite·Link →
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The Davisburg Community Association serves a catered turkey dinner with all the fixings in its rural hall south of Calgary, with live music, a silent auction, a 50/50 draw and homemade pies for sale. The kids' zone includes the Foothills Fire Department.
Email

All weekend runs Fri–Sun

Also all weekend

05 picks
🎃
Pumpkins After Dark (Halloween pumpkin walk)Self-paced kilometre of carved pumpkin scenes
WinSport, Canada Olympic ParkSW·7:30pm·Adult $17.93-$21.63, youth 4-17 $12.39-$16.08 depending on the night, plus fees, 3 and under free·Link →
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WinSport's Halloween walk lines a one-kilometre path with more than 10,000 carved pumpkins, real and foam, built into lit scenes with music and effects. Entry is by 15-minute timed slot, and Sunday is the cheapest of the three nights.
Email
🌱
Little Shop of Horrors (Man-eating-plant rock musical)A talking plant with a taste for blood
Max Bell Theatre, Werklund CentreSE·2pm·$24-$120 + $6 fee per ticket·Link →
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Theatre Calgary's Little Shop of Horrors follows a timid flower-shop clerk whose talking plant grows bigger with every feeding, set to a score of 1960s doo-wop and Motown-style pop. The plant puppets are built by Calgary's Green Fools Theatre. Recommended for ages 13 and up.
Email
🍝
Pasta La Feasta (Month-long restaurant pasta festival)Eleven chefs cook Canadian-themed pastas all October
11 participating restaurants in Calgary and BanffOutside city·2026-10-02·Restaurant menu prices, $3 per featured dish to charity·Link →
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Eleven restaurants each serve one special pasta all October, themed Proudly Canada this year, and $3 from every featured dish goes to The Alex Community Food Centre. Think Taber-corn agnolotti at Acme or Jiggs Dinner agnolotti at River Cafe.
Email
🐯
A Concrete Jungle Book (StoryBook Theatre family musical)The Jungle Book reimagined as a city musical
Beddington Theatre Arts CentreNW·8pm·$28-$38 + GST and $3.50 fee per ticket·Link →
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StoryBook Theatre opens a homegrown musical that moves Kipling's The Jungle Book into a modern city, following a young kid searching for belonging among rules and hierarchies. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Email
🌽
Fall on the Farm and Harvest Lights (Calgary Farmyard corn maze and pumpkin patch)Corn maze goes dark for flashlights Friday, Saturday
Calgary FarmyardOutside city·10am·$25.95 + GST online, $30.53 + GST at the gate, 2 and under free·Link →
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Calgary Farmyard's date-specific pass covers more than 40 attractions just east of the city, from the corn maze and wagon rides to zip lines and the Wall of Goats. Friday and Saturday the farm stays open to 9:30 PM under thousands of lights.
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In Case You Missed It News

🎭Vertigo Theatre turns 50 - Calgary's mystery-theatre company is marking five decades with a season that celebrates its past and its future.

📚Wordfest's Imaginairium returns October 13-18 - The literary festival is back for its 31st year, with 60 writers performing downtown at Memorial Park Library and partner venues.

🍽️15 Calgary restaurant openings to watch - Daily Hive rounds up the new restaurants lined up to open across the city as October begins.

🦒City tree trimmings are becoming zoo habitat - Calgary Parks now sends thousands of kilograms of trimmed trees and branches to the Calgary Zoo, where they become forage and enrichment in the animal enclosures.

🎬Daily Hive's must-see CIFF films - The Calgary International Film Festival wraps up Sunday, and Daily Hive picked the films worth catching before it ends.

More Events 480 listings

Beyond our curated picks, here’s everything else happening in Calgary this weekend.

See you out there. — Jamie

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Calgary Weekend Edition · Issue 022Made in Edgemont · ✺