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Brave the cold together or cozy up together.
One18 Empire
For winters in Calgary, there are many ways to treat someone special to a fun date, or to enjoy a group date night.
Calgary has many festivals to look forward to this winter. You’ll see a mix of indoor and outdoor venues between Calgary’s winter festivals, and a huge variety of art and culture to take in together.
Brave the cold and outdoors with outdoor dates in Calgary and make the most of the snow. There are extensive cross-country ski trails, fields for snowshoeing, and iceways for skating. And between all these activities, you can stop at the Calgary Park picnic sites for a quick bite.
The outdoors in winter is not everyone’s cup of tea. If you know your date would rather spend the time inside together, or you’d instead not take a risk, you can pick from the restaurant ideas or Calgary’s indoor attractions.
Dinner & Drink Dates in Calgary
Board Game Cafes
Take your date to one of Calgary’s three boardgame cafes for a casual evening of food, drinks, games, or all of the above. When you arrive, you pay to play per hour or half-hour. With this small fee, you get access to a massive library of board games, card games, and other table top games. Each of these locations offer full dining menus, and full drink or café menus.
- The Hexagon Board Game Cafe: #200 1140 Kensington Rd NW
- ShoeBox Games & Cafe: 509 McKnight Blvd NE
- D6 Tabletop Cafe: 2323 32 Ave NE #112
Sip your way through YYC Hot Chocolate Fest
YYC Hot Chocolate Fest. There will be cafes, pubs, and restaurants competing to win over your tastebuds with the best cup of hot cocoa in Calgary. The biggest bonus to supporting these businesses during the festival is that the hot chocolate proceeds support Meals on Wheels. YYC Hot Chocolate Fest raised ~$79,000 last year alone!
When: February 1-28, 2022
Where: various Calgary restaurants, cafes, and pubs
Jubilations Dinner Theatre
If you act quickly, you can treat yourself and your date to the Theatre’s last week of The Office: A Pop Rock Parody. And starting at the end of January, Jubilations will show Mama Mio, an ABBA-inspired and disco-style “parody romp.” Each show ticket includes a buffet meal, and access to drink sales.
When: Mamma Mio January 21st, 2023 – March 25th, 2023
Where: Westbrook Mall 1002 – 37th Street SW
How much: $69.95-$75.95
Dinner Date and Skate
Plan a dinner date at One Empire, whiskey inspired bar and restaurant and you can enjoy a private rooftop ice rink. You will need to order food and drinks totaling $50 per person to be eligible to skate on private skating rink.
Where: 820 Centre St SE, Calgary
Attend a Trivia Night
With Trivia Nights becoming as popular as they now are, you will be able to find a trivia niche for yourself, your date, and your combined interests. You’ll find the restaurant- and pub-hosted events on various nights of the week, too. Some upcoming trivia nights in Calgary include:
- A few general trivia nights offered by Calgary’s Canadian Brewhouses all throughout winter.
- Weekly Tuesday night trivia at the Cat n’ Fiddle Pub.
- Try more Tuesday night trivia at the Tailgunner Brewing Company
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl1kbn3BBlD/
Dinner with the Best Views
- Sky 360 is the Calgary Tower’s revolving restaurant at the top. From way up there, you can view the Rockies, foothills, neighborhoods, and several parts of downtown Calgary
- The Wilde sits at the top of the 27-storey downtown Courtyard Marriott. Your dining experience will include views out of the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows.
Outdoor Winter Date Ideas in Calgary
Crokicurl & Skating
Skating at Bowness Park or North Glenmore Park are both beautiful places for an evening/sunset date; and both of these parks now have crokicurl, a curling version of the Crokinole board game! Head to either park to try the game for a fun group date idea. Both parks also have large skating areas and ice ways to travel.
When: rentals open mid-December
Where: 8900 48 Ave NW
How much: rentals $12-$20 per person
Try Snowkiting
Why not try out a new activity this winter together? Sign up for snowkiting lessons with Kite Alberta. Head to Canmore area, and glide over frozen lakes on a crisp winter day.
Use Snowshoes to Explore Fish Creek Park
You can snowshoe or cross-country ski in Fish Creek PP, but there are no official and groomed ski trails. So, you may want to rent a pair of snowshoes or split boards from Calgary’s outdoor outfitters and hit the trails with a bit more confidence. It is a refreshing way to get exercise on a winter day and requires little-to-no previous experience.
- The University of Calgary (skate skis, snowshoes, winter hiking boots): 2500 University Dr NW
- Sports Rent (snowshoes and ice cleats): 4424 16th Ave NW
- AQ Outdoors (snowshoes and split boards): 5063 11th Street SE
Try Fat Biking Together
Or introduce your date to fat biking! It is a fun way to tour through the snow, and there are several trail systems in and around Calgary which permit fat tire bikes (‘fat bikes’). The idea of the bikes is to give the rider more traction in winter conditions. They are winter tires for bicycles. You can rent yourselves the bikes from the U of C Outdoor Centre, Bow Cycle, or Ridley’s Cycle.
Take a drive to the Canmore Nordic Centre for peaceful, backcountry biking.
Winter Walking at Glenbow Ranch
The Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park west of Calgary is close to the city and could only take up a couple of hours. However, the trails extend for several kilometres throughout the park. So, you could spend a day at the Ranch enjoying sunrise or sunset views, wildlife viewing, photography, or a winter picnic. There are picnic sites, washrooms, and gazebos/shelters dotting each of the separate trails.
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Hit Calgary’s Skating Areas
Calgary has a wonderful number of skating areas, outdoor rinks, and the quick access to Rocky Mountain skating. For some city skating, you have the ice ways as well, which give you a path to follow as you enjoy your date. Some of the iceways and other skating areas have other nearby attractions or activities.
- Olympic Plaza in downtown Calgary is surrounding by bright city lights, but also a few holidays light displays, too.
- Carburn Park is a great place for skating, quiet winter walks, picnics, and birdwatching.
- On top of a skating rink, Prairie Winds Park has scenic pathways and a toboggan hill.
- Thomson Family Park is a smaller skating area in the Beltline neighbourhood.
Indoor Date Ideas for Calgary in Winter
Complexions Contemporary Ballet in LOVE ROCKS
Watch Contemporary ballet by Complexions presented by Alberta Ballet just in time for Valentine’s Day. Set to the music of Grammy Award-winner Lenny Kravitz, Complexions showcases a unique take on “love” on an individual and societal level.
When: February 16 to 18, 2023
Where: Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, 1415 14 Ave. NW, Calgary
How much: $57.9 – $187.9+fees
TELUS Spark Science Centre Hockey: Faster than Ever
Calling all Flames fans and hockey fans in Calgary: this winter, the TELUS Spark Science Centre will present Hockey: Faster Than Ever. The exhibit explores the science behind one of Canada’s most popular sports. It also gives guests insight into the history and culture of the game and offers interactive ways to learn. Share your love of the game together with this unique opportunity.
Or you can join for Sparks After Dark on February 10th and learn about the laws of attraction and chemistry as they are turned upside down during an 18+ night – all while enjoying delicious bites, drinks, science and live music!
When: January 13 to March 12, 2023
Where: 220 St. George’s Drive NE
How much: $22-$26 per person
Dinner, Drinks, and Games
Calgary’s Rec Room in Deerfoot City is a one-stop-shop date location. The Rec Room gives you entertainment, games, sports, dining, snacks, or drinks. Even if you want to spend the night in, or simply go to play games, you can order from the Rec Room’s menu on Skip or Uber.
Where: 1180-901 64 Ave NE
Calgary Winter Festival Date Ideas
Chinook Blast
Chinook Blast is a culmination of all of the wonderful winter festivals in Calgary. And on top of the festivals which take place during Chinook Blast, there will be other activities to look forward to in Downtown Calgary. The Chinook Blast Hub will have light and art installations on display, including around the Olympic Plaza skating area.
When: January 27 – February 12, 2023
Where: downtown Calgary
How much: free
High Performance Rodeo
Don’t let the name or location fool you; Calgary’s High Performance Rodeo is an annual celebration of local arts and culture. The Rodeo has been gracing the city for 37 years with a huge variety of artistic performances and experiences. While many of Calgary’s winter festivals take you outside, the High Performance Rodeo will seat you and your date in a cozy theatre or indoor venue.
When: January 16–February 5
Where: multiple venues
How much: box office – 403.294.9494
BIG Winter Classic
Treat your date to a mid-winter dance party. The BIG Winter Classic is Calgary’s premier 4-day music and arts festival. And this year’s lineup fills five full evenings with a genre for every taste- whether you feel like hearing some relaxing vibes, a good dance beat, or a head-banging beat.
When: January 25–29
Where: various Calgary venues
How much: weekend pass $117.93 per person; single venue tickets available
Block Heater
Warm up for an evening or afternoon with one Calgary’s winter festivals which gets bigger and bigger every year. The 8th annual Block Heater will host 32 artists and 13 separate events over four days and four venues. These venues are all around the Chinook Blast festivities, and Block Heater is on the Blast’s final weekend. Take in a show, enjoy skating at Olympic Plaza, then browse all the colourful art on display!
When: February 9-12
Where: Jack Singer Concert Hall, Palace Theatre, Festival Hall, Central United Church, Ironwood Stage & Grill
How much: $20-$60.50 per person
