The Regional Airshow is back at the airport for two full days, which makes this the biggest weekend of the Grande Prairie summer. The city's own Heritage Day event runs the same Saturday out at Heritage Village, so Saturday is stacked and Sunday and Monday are yours. Five things worth leaving the house for. We have also written up what is closed on the Monday and why the city event is on Saturday.
Grande Prairie Regional Airshow
Festival
Grounds open at 10 a.m. both days with the flying from noon to 4 p.m., hosted by the Rotary Clubs of Grande Prairie. On-site parking passes are limited and go early, but there is free parking at Northwestern Polytechnic, Grande Prairie Composite High School and St. Joseph Catholic High School with shuttles circulating every 20 minutes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., which is the smarter way in. Bring lawn chairs, hearing protection for younger kids and cash, because there are no ATMs on site. Umbrellas, pets and hard-sided coolers are not allowed.
When: Saturday and Sunday, August 1 and 2. Grounds 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., flying noon to 4 p.m.
Where: Grande Prairie Airport
Cost: Adults 16 and up $40, seniors 65 and up $35, youth 7 to 15 $25, children 6 and under free. Veterans and active military free with ID
Grande Prairie Heritage Day
Heritage
The city's Heritage Day celebration is on the Saturday, not the Monday, and it is free. Five hours at Heritage Village with live blacksmithing, rope making, a Tub n' Scrub laundry demonstration, vintage carnival games, scavenger hunts and booths from community and cultural organisations. It finishes at 5 p.m. and the airshow grounds stay open until 6, so if you want both on Saturday do the airshow in the morning for the noon flying and come here after.
When: Saturday, August 1, noon to 5 p.m.
Where: Heritage Village, Grande Prairie Museum, Muskoseepi Park
Cost: Free
Instagram: @cityofgp
Chariot Fest
Community
An annual procession behind a hand-pulled chariot with traditional music, dance and a free vegetarian feast at the end of it, running late morning into the early afternoon at the Montrose Cultural Centre. The food is genuinely free and open to anyone, and because it wraps by mid-afternoon you can walk straight over to the Heritage Village programming afterward.
When: Saturday, August 1, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: Montrose Cultural Centre, Grande Prairie
Cost: Free
Dive-In Movie at the Eastlink Centre
Family
A film projected over the pool on the Friday night while you float through it. It is the cheapest way to start the long weekend with kids, and the leisure pool side is where you want to be rather than the lap lanes. Get there before the 7:30 start to claim a spot and a floatie.
When: Friday, July 31, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Where: Eastlink Centre, Grande Prairie
Cost: Admission through the Eastlink Centre
Muskoseepi Park
Free
Four hundred and fifty hectares running right through the middle of the city, with paved trails, the Bear Creek Reservoir, a pavilion and paddle boats. It is the same park the museum and Heritage Village sit in, so the Sunday and Monday plan writes itself: walk the creek, rent a boat, and you have spent nothing. The trail network connects most of the north side, so you can pick it up close to wherever you are.
When: Open daily through the long weekend
Where: Muskoseepi Park, Grande Prairie
Cost: Free; paddle boat rentals extra
Editor's Pick
The airshow, and go on the Sunday. Saturday collides with Heritage Day, Chariot Fest and everything else in the city, while Sunday has the same flying schedule with less competition for the shuttles and the parking lots. Either way, take the free shuttle from Northwestern Polytechnic rather than gambling on an on-site pass, and put hearing protection on the kids before the first pass, not after.
Know an event we missed? Tag us @culturealberta or email hello@culturealberta.com.
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