River Hall opens today for its longest season yet
A free downtown gathering space returns for ten weeks, and the island fills up for four days of music.
River Hall opens Thursday, July 23, and runs through Sept. 27 at Lot 6, 311 8 Street S.W., where a parking lot beside the Bow River is converted into a free, all-ages gathering space. Ten shipping containers house local food and drink vendors offering craft beer, cocktails, non-alcoholic drinks, coffee, fried chicken, ice cream and vegetarian options. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday — an expansion to four days a week across ten weeks, in the site's third season. Last summer it drew more than 10,000 visitors, hosted 34 events and worked with more than 80 local programming partners. The space includes a community stage for live music and DJs, shaded picnic zones, family activities, new greenspace and open sightlines to the river, and Shirley's Greenhouse returns with fresh local produce from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on select dates through the Farm Stand Program. Admission is free and pets are welcome. Opening night features Back & Forth, Jadé, Jenuiine and DJ Sonidef. (City of Calgary)
Folk fest returns to Prince's Island for four days
The 47th Calgary Folk Music Festival runs July 23 to 26 at Prince's Island Park, with more than 70 artists playing seven stages over four days. Programming spans folk, funk, global sounds and hip hop, mixing full concerts with the collaborative cross-artist sessions the festival is built around. The grounds also hold food vendors, an arts market and a family zone. The festival has been held annually at Prince's Island since 1980, and its eco initiatives crew has diverted upwards of 70 per cent of event-generated waste each year since the early 2010s. (Calgary Folk Music Festival)
Canada's first dementia-inclusive park set to open in the southeast
Canada's first dementia-inclusive park is set to open in Calgary's southeast. The Martin Family Legacy Gardens is designed as an accessible and inclusive public space for people living with dementia and for the caregivers supporting them, with both groups named as intended users. The project has been in the works at Parks Foundation Calgary since 2021. The result gives the southeast a green space built around dementia-inclusive access rather than general park use. (LiveWire Calgary)
Express bus service shrinks to one trip each way this fall
Express bus service is being scaled back this fall to one trip in the morning and one in the afternoon, a phased step meant to give riders time to find alternatives elsewhere in the network. Calgary Transit is also introducing 500-series express routes built to work alongside regular routes and transit hubs rather than only running one-way to downtown at peak. The stated reasoning is that one-way peak routes spend more time travelling out of service between trips while still incurring operating costs, and that funding, operators and vehicles have not grown at the same rate as Calgary's population. Further changes will follow through future seasonal service updates. (Calgary Transit)
Transit runs Sunday service on Heritage Day
Buses, CTrains and On Demand operate on a Sunday level of service on Monday, Aug. 3 for Heritage Day. The call centre and the On Demand trip booking line are open 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1, Sunday, Aug. 2 and Heritage Day itself. Calgary Transit Access dispatch runs 6 a.m. to midnight across all three days, but its booking call centre is closed on the Monday, and its customer service and eligibility functions are closed all weekend. The Centre Street Platform customer service counter is closed all three days. (Calgary Transit)
A barn loft outside Calgary becomes a bright, airy living space
An old wooden barn on a property just outside Calgary now holds a bright, airy living space in its upstairs loft. The James family worked with local designer Lori Sellmer on the conversion, turning an antiquated loft into finished living quarters. The work keeps the original wooden barn standing on the property while reworking the upper level for everyday use. (Avenue Calgary)
Taste of Calgary sets up at Cowboys Park for five days
Taste of Calgary runs July 30 through Aug. 3 at Cowboys Park, formerly Shaw Millennium Park, at 1220 9th Ave. S.W. Doors are open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, except on the holiday Monday, when the festival closes at 8 p.m. Admission is free. Sampling runs on tickets priced at $1 each, with dishes ranging from two to eight tickets, and tickets can be bought in advance or on site. Alongside restaurants and beverage companies there are local musicians, artisans, entrepreneurs and interactive activities, and pets are allowed on leash. (Taste of Calgary)
GlobalFest moves to Spruce Meadows for four themed nights
GlobalFest runs Aug. 27 to 30 at Spruce Meadows, its new location. Each night carries a theme: Japan on Thursday, Aug. 27, Mexico on Friday, Aug. 28, Italy on Saturday, Aug. 29, and the Global Finale on Sunday, Aug. 30. Along with the international fireworks competition, the festival is staging what it bills as Alberta's largest-ever drone show, with more than 600 custom-designed drones, plus 20-plus cultural pavilions, international food vendors, a night market and live performances. General admission starts at $35 and includes parking on a first-come basis. (GlobalFest)
Nate Bargatze brings the Big Dumb Eyes tour to the Saddledome
Comedian Nate Bargatze brings the Big Dumb Eyes World Tour to the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday, July 25, at 7 p.m. The show is billed as a night of laughter with Bargatze.
Daniel Caesar plays Calgary in mid-August
Daniel Caesar's Son of Spergy 2026 North America Tour reaches the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday, Aug. 14, at 7 p.m. The Calgary stop falls within the singer's North America run.
WWE Summer Tour books an August night at the Saddledome
The WWE Summer Tour comes to Calgary on Sunday, Aug. 23, with a 7 p.m. start at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Deep Purple plays the Saddledome on Aug. 31
Deep Purple plays the Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday, Aug. 31, with a 6:45 p.m. start.