There are so many ways to celebrate winter in Calgary. And Chinook Blast covers all the fantastic winter festivals and celebrations in the city.
Chinook Blast
Calgary’s Chinook Blast is not one festival. It is made up of all of the great winter celebrations and festivals happening in January and February- and there are a lot.
Many of the Chinook Blast activities around Olympic Plaza the main Hub are free to enjoy. These include skating, art walks, and listening to live music. On top of those free activities, Chinook Blast Covers all the big winter events in Calgary (some ticketed, some free). These include music festivals, arts and culture festivals, food festivals, and sporting events.
Here are 10 ways to experience the festival:
Take a Chinook Blast Art Walk
Chinook Blast is a big festival and event. Before you dive into performances, buying tickets, and signing up for talks, start your time with an art walk.
The Chinook Blast Hub is in Olympic Plaza where you’ll find free skating, live music and DJs, bonfires, and food vendors.
It is the perfect place to start your Chinook Blast Art Walk. It is also a good place to get your bearings before exploring all the events. Some of the art is interactive, and most installations are best explored after the sun goes down!
Live Music Festivals
Live entertainment is the heart of Chinook Blast. Within the festival’s three weeks are three performing arts festivals in addition to a variety of other live shows. So if you want to come to Calgary to dance, or get a sample of the local music scene, you can do so at:
- The BIG Winter Classic, from January 25–29, offers musical acts at various downtown venues.
- Block Heater is presented by the Calgary Folk Music Festival on February 9-12 and is set to feature local and international artists.
Live Theatre
High Performance Rodeo runs until February 5. The festival showcases different types of theatre events from wild and bold performances from local, national and international artists.
The High Performance Rodeo will host plays and dance performances, while other acts like spoken word performers, and more dancers, can be spotted viewed around Downtown.
- Catch one of the free dance performances, like Luminescent Tall Tales, at Olympic Plaza throughout Chinook Blast.
- The High Performance Rodeo will host several Theatre Events during Chinook Blast, while other show presenters include Arts Commons, Calgary Opera, Korean Social Services Centre, WP Puppet Theatre, and Vertigo Theatre.
Attend a Live Talk
The Live Talk events at Chinook Blast are for all ages and include ways to learn from various insightful and influential people in the city. The live talks cover Indigenous culture and history, photography, filmmaking, storytelling, and love.
- Fort Calgary will host Fireside Stories. These story hours are led by Treaty 7 Indigenous Storytellers and include fireside comforts like blankets and hot chocolate.
- The High Performance Rodeo includes three live talks from Steve Hackman, and Kim Kilpatrick.
- Calgary’s Fire Department Chief will lead a children’s story time at the Central Library.
- The Arts Commons will host two talks: Venus: Future Love, and Ami Vitale: Wild Hope.
Attend the Cultural Events
There are many festivals taking place within Chinook Blast. And besides music or performances, these additional cultural festivals celebrate many other parts of culture like food and history (along with art and dance!).
- The annual Ethnik Festival of Art & Culture is from February 24-25, and celebrates Black History Month through showcases of Afro-Canadian culture, art, and food.
- Catch Pop-up performances at the TD Artists’ Pavilion on January 26 and 27, February 2 and 3, or February 9 and 10.
- The Yuan Xiao Lantern Festival will take place on February 5th at the Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre & Daqing Square.
Extreme Winter Sporting Events
Winter sports range from relaxing to the downright extreme. And Chinook Blast is a celebration of all winter sports. On the more extreme side of playing in the snow are sports like rallycross (on ice), and snowboarding.
- Snow Rodeo (February 6-12) will take you out of downtown to Winsport and Canada Olympic Park. Snow Rodeo includes the Slopestyle and Half-pipe World Cups, and offers spectators a chance to view Olympic-calibre snowboarding.
- Nitro Rallycross is an on-ice-car-race taking place at GMC Stadium. The races kick off on February 4h.
- Take in some mini-thrills with Chinook Blast’s Mini Shred Park presented by Canada Snowboard. The park is in the Chinook Blast Hub and allows kids a chance to refine their slope skills.
Skating, Skiing, Curling
Chinook Blast celebrates all parts of winter, from escaping the cold, to embracing it with winter sports. These winter sports are relaxing ways to enjoy the fresh air, downtown Calgary, family time, or social time.
- Skate rentals at Olympic Plaza are free throughout the entire festival. Olympic Plaza is the centre of all festival events, too, and makes a suitable place to start your day downtown.
- Find Calgary’s pop-up curling rink on St. Patrick’s Island open daily. You can also find extra activities beside the rink on January 27, February 3, and February 10.
- A large Nordic loop is now open in the East Village for cross-country skiers.
Shopping at the Chinook Blast Markets
Chinook Blast is a terrific opportunity to support local in so many ways. You can show your love for the local performers and artists, and Calgary’s creators. Three different markets will take over City Hall’s atrium over the three weeks of Chinook Blast.
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- The Four Winds Indigenous Showcase And Market: January 27-29.
- Chinook Blast Asian Market (February 3-5)
- Market Collective Night Market (February 10-12)
Warm up with YYC Hot Chocolate Fest
The contest for Calgary’s best cup of Hot Chocolate begins on February 1st with YYC Hot Chocolate Fest. The month-long event allows local restaurants, pubs, and cafes, to showcase a signature hot chocolate and compete for either YYC’s Best Hot Chocolate, Best Spirited Hot Chocolate, or the special Cup That Runneth Over Award. Plus, $1-$3 from the sale of every participating hot chocolate are donated to Calgary Meals on Wheels. Last year, the festival raised over $79,000 for Meals on Wheels.
Spend Winter Sundays in C-Square
Downtown’s Olympic Plaza may be the official Chinook Blast Hub, but there are other free outdoor events scattered around central Calgary. The East Village will host Sundays in C-Square every week of the Chinook Blast.
The community event gives you a place to gather around a big fire, enjoy a warm drink, and listen to live local music. There will be various outdoor activities on site for all ages, including the nearby cross-country ski trail.