By Shane Flug
The leaves are falling and Calgary's summer festival season is wrapping up, but the coming cooler days don’t mean you have to stay in and chill with Netflix. The arts, culture and food scenes here in town are still at it with an abundant lineup of festivals sure to help you make the most out of this fall. Here are 10 festivals scheduled this October. [Photo credit: iStock]
If you're living with celiac disease or are just health-conscious, there’s no need to miss out on the Bavarian beer festivities. The Calgary Chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association is throwing its third gluten-free event with dinner and a variety of celiac-safe beers, ciders, wines and non-alcoholic options to enjoy. Gutes Trinken und Essen!
Chock full of life-changing ideas worth sharing, Wordfest is Calgary’s premier festival celebrating all things written word. Authors this year include The Long Stretch author Linden MacIntyre, who will be interviewed onstage by CBC Calgary EyeOpener host Jennifer Keene, as well as other heavyweights such as Mandy Len Catron, Tom Perotta and Ruth Ware.
If the large-scale pop country festival circuit wasn’t your summertime cup of tea or you steered clear of Stampede’s “Bud Light-on-a-stick” fare, then roots festival Wide Cut Weekend is your intimate alt-country alternative this fall. Hosted in five of Calgary’s finest smaller live music venues, there will be plenty of Americana action to catch. Highlighted artists include Dustin Bentall, Amy Nelson and Tom Phillips.
With a month-long lineup starring an ambitious five-composer collaboration marking Canada 150, True North’s premiere is a can’t-miss night at the symphony with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. For other special nights, guitar will meet conductor with Fred Penner, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald and Corb Lund. Other ensembles coming to town for this classical music fest include the Kronos Quartet and Land’s End Ensemble.
Celebrating the best of our local restaurants along with wines from across the globe, the 20th incarnation of Calgary’s largest food fest is one to fill the belly and warm the soul. Don’t let the name fool you – there will also be gourmet spirits and beers to taste.
Cabaret will meet sexuality onstage during the fourth annual year of the Calgary Burlesque Society’s festival. Showcasing both classical and modern forms of the performance art, this festival’s diverse range is sure to please. Headliners include Vancouver indigenous sextet Virago Nation and San Diego queen DI’ LOVELY.
With more than 400 local and international tattoo artists coming this year, including Ink Master season 3 winner Joey Hamilton, the numbers make this Canada’s largest tattoo show of kind. With entertainment and contests, Calgary’s ink-obsessed will have plenty to discover between getting a new stamp.
Hell bent on scaring even the most horror movie-tolerant adults (and accompanied teens), ScreamFest is a spook-tacular way of getting in a devilish mood. Between fleeing from zombies, demons and some of Pennywise’s fellow insane clown posse in six haunted houses, you’ll only have yourself to blame if you forget to bring a change of undergarments.
With more than 40 comics on the roster over six days, there will be plenty of rib-tickling opportunities during YYComedy to help you escape from the jokes of daily life – like Deerfoot Trail after the first snowfall. Check out Alberta talent like Lisa Baker or laugh all evening during the Funny1060 Gala with This Hour Has 22 Minutes’ Shaun Majumder headlining.
With eight days of performances, artist talks and workshops scheduled, Springboard Performance’s Fluid Fest will ignite our city through dance. Watch Sara Porter’s masterful blend of stand-up, poetry, dance and visual art in her latest self-reflective piece or soak in the controlled chaos of seven artists sharing one small stage at the Physical Therapy Cabaret performance.
Festivals in Calgary work more seasons than just summer. From celebrating books to jumping from “Boo!” scares, October’s festival lineup dares you not to stay in and binge watch.
