Victoria Park glows until 11 p.m. for the free Night Light festival, Doors Open YYC unlocks buildings across the city for two days, hot air balloons glow over High River on Friday night and International Avenue throws its free LanternFest on Saturday. Three of the four best things this weekend cost nothing, and three of them happen after dark, so pack a jacket.
Saturday is the one to plan around. Doors Open runs all day, LanternFest goes from 5 to 9 p.m. on 32 Street SE and Night Light runs 6 to 11 p.m. in Victoria Park, which is close enough to do both by train. Sunday is the quieter day, and the one for Granary Road, the Wild's last home game and the farmyards.
Sixteen things worth doing in Calgary, with times, addresses and what each one costs.
Night Light, Calgary's free light art festival
Festival
Three nights of light installations, projection-mapped buildings, interactive artwork and roaming performances across Victoria Park, and it is free. It starts Thursday, so Friday and Saturday are your nights; the projections do not do much until the sky is properly dark, which this late in September is around 8 p.m., so arriving at 6 means an hour of warm-up. Take the train to Victoria Park/Stampede station rather than driving; parking around the park is scarce on festival nights.
When: Thursday, September 24 to Saturday, September 26, 6 to 11 p.m. nightly
Where: Victoria Park, around Central Memorial Park and Haultain Park
Cost: Free
Doors Open YYC
Heritage
For one weekend a year, buildings that are normally staff-only open for free behind-the-scenes tours: arts and culture spaces, sports and science facilities, architecture and heritage sites across the city. Use the Plan My Trip tool on the Doors Open site to save a route, because the sites are spread from the inner city to the suburbs and some run timed tours that fill early. The historic sandstone sites downtown are the classics; the working facilities are the ones people talk about afterwards.
When: Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27
Where: Sites across Calgary, see the map
Cost: Free
Heritage Inn International Balloon Festival, High River
Festival
Balloons from around the world fly competition flights over High River all week, 40 minutes south of the city, and the one evening built for spectators is the Balloon Glow on Friday from 5 to 9 p.m.: the balloons stay tethered on the ground and fire their burners in the dark. It is free, it is loud, and small kids either love it or need to be a little further back. There is no launch on Glow night, so if you want to see them actually take off, the daily flight schedule on the festival site lists the morning launch windows, weather permitting.
When: Balloon Glow Friday, September 25, 5 to 9 p.m.; flights through Sunday, September 27
Where: High River, see the festival site for the glow location
Cost: Free
LanternFest on International Avenue
Culture
The fifth year of the free evening on 32 Street SE that celebrates how lanterns are used in celebrations around the world: lantern-making, live performances, face painting, food trucks, a skating rink with free skate rentals, and illuminated art once the sun goes down. It closes 32 Street between 17 and 19 Avenue SE from 5 to 9 p.m. Bring the lantern you make over to Victoria Park afterwards; Night Light runs until 11 and the two are a short train ride apart.
When: Saturday, September 26, 5 to 9 p.m.
Where: 32 Street SE between 17 Avenue and 19 Avenue SE
Cost: Free
Pumpkins After Dark opens at WinSport
Family
The walk-through of thousands of hand-carved, lit pumpkins opens its Calgary season on Friday night at Canada Olympic Park and runs to Halloween. No jump scares, which is why it works for the under-sixes where the haunted houses do not, plus live carving demonstrations and food trucks along the path. Entry is time-slotted and the opening weekend slots go first, so book the exact time you want rather than turning up. Dress warmer than you think; the path is on the hill and the wind finds it.
When: Opens Friday, September 25; runs to October 31
Where: WinSport, Canada Olympic Park, 88 Canada Olympic Road SW
Cost: From about $17 plus fees, timed entry
Pumpkins in the Park at Granary Road
Family
Granary Road's pumpkin weekends run this Saturday and Sunday and again October 3 and 4: the active learning park, the mini golf and the farmyard animals plus the pumpkin patch and fall programming, with the indoor market for when the weather turns. A day pass is $24.95 plus GST, and the season pass at $69.95 pays for itself on the third visit if you have kids who will want to come back for the Christmas market. It is 15 minutes south of the city on 112 Street West; go in the morning, because the parking lot is full by 1 p.m. on pumpkin weekends.
When: Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27 (also October 3 and 4)
Where: Granary Road, 112 Street West, Foothills County
Cost: Day pass $24.95 plus GST
Calgary Hitmen vs Edmonton Oil Kings
Sports
A Battle of Alberta at the junior level on Friday night, and the Hitmen's farewell season at the Saddledome before the move to Scotia Place, which is the reason to go to a few of these this year while you still can. Tickets start under $20 and the crowd is mostly families, which makes it the easy first hockey game for a kid. Puck drop is 7 p.m.; the train to Victoria Park/Stampede is the move, especially with Night Light happening a few blocks away the same night.
When: Friday, September 25, 7 p.m.
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome, 555 Saddledome Rise SE
Cost: From about $19
Cavalry FC vs FC Supra du Québec
Sports
Cavalry's next home match at Spruce Meadows is Friday against Québec's FC Supra, one of the last home dates of the Canadian Premier League regular season. ATCO Field is a small, steep, close-to-the-pitch stadium and it is far and away the best atmosphere for the money in Calgary sport. It is a long way south with no train, so leave early; the club's site has the kickoff time and parking details.
When: Friday, September 25, evening (kickoff time on the club site)
Where: ATCO Field, Spruce Meadows, 18011 Spruce Meadows Way SW
Cost: From about $27
Calgary Wild FC vs Vancouver Rise, Fan Appreciation Match
Sports
The last home game of the Wild's second season in the Northern Super League, a Sunday 2 p.m. kickoff at McMahon against Vancouver, billed as Fan Appreciation. Women's pro soccer in this city has been one of the better afternoons out since it started: cheap tickets, an easy crowd, and the game is over by 4 so it does not eat the whole day. Park at the university and walk in rather than fighting Crowchild.
When: Sunday, September 27, 2 p.m.
Where: McMahon Stadium, 1817 Crowchild Trail NW
Cost: From about $29
Alberta Ballet: Giselle
Culture
Alberta Ballet opens its 60th anniversary season with Giselle, the defining Romantic ballet, at the Southern Jubilee: Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The Saturday matinee is the one to take a first-timer or a kid to, since the second act is the famous one and it lands before bedtime. Tickets start around $73, and the upper balcony at the Jubilee is a genuinely good place to watch ballet from, because you can see the patterns.
When: Friday, September 25, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, September 26, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Where: Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, 1415 14 Avenue NW
Cost: From about $73
First Métis Man of Odesa, final weekend
Culture
Theatre Calgary's season opener, a true story of a Métis playwright and a Ukrainian actor whose love story runs into the pandemic and then the war, closes on Sunday at the Martha Cohen Theatre. Saturday is a Salon Saturday, with a free pre-show talk from a guest speaker 45 minutes before the 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. performances in the main lobby, open to anyone holding a ticket. It is a two-hander, funny and hard in equal measure, and it closes this weekend.
When: Friday, September 25, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, September 26, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; closes Sunday, September 27
Where: Martha Cohen Theatre, Arts Commons, 215 8 Avenue SE
Cost: From about $30
Hansel and Gretel at Loose Moose
Family
Loose Moose's Theatre for Kids season opens with Hansel and Gretel done the Loose Moose way, which means improvised, loud and built around the audience shouting suggestions. Saturday's show is 1 p.m. and runs an hour, which is exactly as long as a five-year-old lasts in a seat. The theatre is small and the run goes to October 4, so if Saturday is sold out there are more weekends.
When: Saturday, September 26, 1 p.m.
Where: Loose Moose Theatre, 1235 26 Avenue SE
Cost: About $19
Calgary Fall Home Show
Community
Three days of renovation, design and building exhibitors at the BMO Centre, with the main stage schedule of designers and contractors the reason to pick a day. It is the practical stop of the weekend: if you are pricing a kitchen, a basement or windows before winter, this is the one room where every trade is standing there ready to quote. Go Friday for a quieter floor; Saturday afternoon is shoulder to shoulder.
When: Friday, September 25 to Sunday, September 27
Where: BMO Centre, Stampede Park, 20 Roundup Way SE
Cost: Up to about $14, see site
Feast on Fourth, final days
Food
The Fourth Street BIA's walkable food festival runs through Sunday: more than 30 restaurants and shops along 4th Street SW in Mission with $10 feature offers, so you can eat your way up the street a plate at a time. Dine-in only at most of them, and the busy rooms do not take reservations for the deals, so go for a late lunch on Saturday or Sunday rather than Friday dinner. The offer list is on the BIA site; check it before you go, because not every business runs its deal every day.
When: Through Sunday, September 27
Where: 4th Street SW, Mission, between 17 Avenue and Elbow Drive
Cost: $10 feature dishes and offers
Heritage Park's Historical Village, weekends only now
Heritage
The Historical Village has dropped to weekends and holidays for the fall, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with Gasoline Alley Museum and the Heritage Plaza shops open every day. Fall is the best time to go: the crowds are gone, the cottonwoods along the reservoir have turned, and the steam train runs on a schedule you can actually plan around. Check the daily activity guide on arrival for which buildings are staffed.
When: Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Heritage Park, 1900 Heritage Drive SW
Cost: About $27.95 to $39.95
SUE: The T. rex Experience at TELUS Spark
Family
The most complete T. rex ever found is at Spark until November 29, paired with the giant-screen T.REX film in the Infinity Dome, and a new exhibition called Impossible Geometries opens this Friday. Both are included in regular admission. Spark on a rainy Sunday is the standard Calgary parent move, which means the parking lot is full by 11; arrive at opening or after 2 p.m.
When: SUE through November 29; Impossible Geometries opens Friday, September 25
Where: TELUS Spark Science Centre, 220 St. George's Drive NE
Cost: Regular admission
Editor's Pick: Saturday night, in two halves. LanternFest on International Avenue from 5 p.m., make a lantern and eat from the trucks, then the train downtown to Victoria Park for Night Light until 11. Both are free, both are only on this one weekend, and the projections are best after 8 p.m.
Know an event we missed? Tag us @culturealberta or email hello@culturealberta.com.
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