Explore Downtown YYC

2026 BUMP Festival
2026-08-04, 2026-08-05, 2026-08-06, 2026-08-07, 2026-08-08, 2026-08-09, 2026-08-10, 2026-08-11 and 2 more dates | Beltline, Calgary
BUMP 2026 HAS LANDED
Of Simmering, and the Surge
What began in 2017 as a mural festival has grown into one of Canada’s most ambitious public art organizations, transforming Calgary into an open-air gallery while expanding into sculpture, music, film, education, conferences, and year-round cultural programming. As we celebrate this milestone year, we remain committed to a simple belief: BUMP is for the people.
This year’s theme, Of Simmering, and the Surge, asks us to consider how change takes form, both slowly and explosively. How do we respond to the forces that shape our world, at both the intimate and systemic level? What are the ideas, noise, gestures, and resistances that gather in the margins, in undergrounds, in small rooms, in fleeting conversations? And how do these moments accumulate, building pressure until they break through into the larger public sphere?
Throughout August and beyond, you’ll encounter an extraordinary collection of local, national, and international artists creating new public works across Calgary. From large-scale murals to the inaugural BUMP Public Sculpture Program, this year’s festival asks how public art can become more than something we simply look at. How can it become a portal into new ways of thinking, gathering, and imagining our shared future?
For the first time in BUMP’s history, we’ve invited guest curators to help shape the artistic direction of the festival. We are honoured to welcome Ken Lum, one of Canada’s most influential voices in contemporary public art, Marigold Santos, whose multidisciplinary practice has profoundly shaped artistic conversations in Calgary and beyond, and Said Dokins, an internationally celebrated artist from Mexico City whose work examines language, memory, and public space. They have assembled a remarkable group of artists whose practices reflect the diversity, complexity, and ambition of contemporary public art today.
This year also marks the third BUMP Urban Art Conference, taking place August 13-15 at Contemporary Calgary. Over three days, artists, writers, musicians, journalists, architects, curators, and cultural leaders from around the world will come together to explore the ideas shaping public life today. Through keynote talks, panel discussions, and conversations, the conference extends the questions raised on our walls into broader discussions about cities, culture, identity, ecology, technology, and the future of public space.
Whether you’re discovering BUMP for the first time or have been with us since the beginning, we invite you to experience the city differently this August.
We’ll be announcing details for our 2026 Festival Finale in the coming weeks, along with additional public programming and events taking place throughout the festival.
Thank you for being part of BUMP’s first ten years. We can’t wait to show you what’s next.

Calgary Fringe Theatre Festival
2026-08-05, 2026-08-06, 2026-08-07, 2026-08-08 | Calgary, Calgary
Calgary’s favourite summer theatre festival is back! The Calgary Fringe Theatre Festival unfolds over nine vibrant days beginning on the Friday of the August long weekend, showcasing performers from around the world. All the acts are selected by random draw or by first come, first served basis with 100% of the ticket price (excluding taxes and ticketing surcharges) goes directly back to the artists. Anything Goes Theatre at its finest!

Audiences can choose their own Fringe adventure with a wide range of live indoor theatre productions, each crafted to surprise, inspire, and entertain.

After the final curtain each day, special events and activities keep the energy soaring, offering even more chances to connect and celebrate.

For those who prefer to enjoy the shows from home, recordings of live performances are available mid-run of the Festival for on demand viewing, making it easy to experience the Fringe on any schedule.

Design Week Launch Party
2026-08-05 19:00 - 22:00 (America/Edmonton) | Montauk Sofa, 617 10 Ave Sw, Calgary, T2R 0B2
The wait is nearly over. To officially open this year’s festival, we are gathering at the iconic MONTAUK Sofa showroom for an evening dedicated to connection, craft and the creative heart of our community.
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This year’s theme, In Tune, invites us to look closer at the harmony, and the occasional beautiful dissonance, within our urban landscape. It’s about more than just aesthetics; it’s about noticing the subtle rhythms that make Calgary thrive. There is no better place to explore this than within a space defined by craftsmanship and curated comfort.
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Join us for a night where the city’s finest designers, architects, and visionaries come together to set the tempo for the week ahead. It’s an opportunity to catch up with colleagues, meet new collaborators, and immerse yourself in the creative energy that defines our local scene. Expect a sophisticated yet high-energy atmosphere where the conversation is as sharp as the design.
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We look forward to seeing you there as we sync up and celebrate what it means to be truly In Tune.

Design Week Calgary 2026
2026-08-06, 2026-08-07, 2026-08-08 | Contemporary Calgary, 701 11 St Sw, Calgary, T2P 2C4
Design Week Calgary is a city-wide festival celebrating the impact of design on everyday life. Featuring talks, exhibitions, tours, workshops, film screenings, and community events, the festival brings together designers, artists, businesses, and the public to explore ideas shaping Calgary’s future.

This year’s theme, In Tune, explores the rhythms of the city around us—its sounds, spaces, people, and everyday experiences. Through diverse programming, Design Week Calgary examines how design helps us notice what is often overlooked, revealing new connections between the built world and the lives we lead.

What to Expect

Talks and panel discussions with designers, artists, architects, and city builders
Workshops and hands-on learning experiences
Exhibitions, installations, and public art activations
Film screenings and storytelling events
Studio tours and behind-the-scenes experiences
Networking events and community gatherings
Opportunities to engage with Calgary’s creative industries and cultural leaders

River Hall YYC
2026-08-06 11:00 - 22:00, 2026-08-07 11:00 - 22:00, 2026-08-08 11:00 - 22:00, 2026-08-09 11:00 - 22:00, 2026-08-13 11:00 - 22:00 (America/Edmonton) | 311 8 Street SW, 311 8 Street Sw, Calgary
River Hall YYC

☀️ Free open air community events
along the Bow River
🎶 Entertainment •
Activities • Wellness & more!
💫
Family + Dog friendly 🐾
📍 Lot 6, 311 8 ST SW

Hours
✨ Thursdays & Fridays:
5–10 PM
✨ Saturdays & Sundays:
11 AM–10 PM

Enjoy the best of summer at River Hall with vibrant events,
local talent, vendors, and plenty of opportunities to connect, relax, and have
fun!

Whether you’re looking for a fun weekend outing, a perfect
date spot, or simply somewhere to soak up the sunshine, there’s plenty of room
to hang out and make the most of the season.

Design Week Calgary
2026-08-06 13:00 - 19:30, 2026-08-07 13:00 - 19:30, 2026-08-08 13:00 - 19:30 (America/Edmonton) | Contemporary Calgary, 701 11 Street Southwest, Calgary, Ab, T2P 2C4
Design Week Calgary taking place August 6–8, 2026, is a festival celebrating the city’s exceptional design talent. Created by designers, it invites the public into the creative world of graphic, visual, tech, film, sound, fashion, architecture, urban, landscape, and interior design.
2026 Theme: In Tune
Our 2026 programming asks us to get ‘In Tune’. To notice the rhythms of the city around us—its sounds, its spaces, its people—and to find harmony within them. This year, we explore how design helps us attune to what is often overlooked, revealing new connections between the built world and the lives we lead.
Design Week Calgary 2026 is presented by d.talks.

Sunday Safari Brunch
2026-08-09 09:00 - 23:59 (America/Denver) | Calgary Zoo, 1300 Zoo Rd Ne, Calgary, T2E 7V6
Join us for a unique Calgary brunch experience in the heart of the zoo. You can enjoy both gourmet and comfort breakfast foods, including a free-flowing chocolate fountain with fresh fruit, eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon, a Belgian waffle bar, cooked to order omelets, and much more. Get your combo brunch and admission tickets today!

Country Club
2026-08-09 14:00 - 20:00 (America/Edmonton) | The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland, 750 9 Avenue Southeast, Calgary, T2G 5E1
A country fair vibe with festival energy, this is where the rodeo meets the rave. The wildest party of the summer is set to take over as Canadian festival collective, Feaster announces the Alberta debut of Country Club- a full-scale country experience unlike any other.
Celebrating local music, sips, and eats in an open-air festival, guests break out their boots, buckles, and bandanas for an unforgettable experience in the Alberta Sun. Music includes country and YeeDM, including VAVO, Dazy Duke, and MC4D.

Carifest 2026
2026-08-14 | Cowboys Park, 1220 9 Ave SW, Calgary
Aug 14 – 16, 2026
Get ready for the ultimate celebration of Caribbean culture, music, and vibes! Carifest Calgary returns, promising an unforgettable weekend of vibrant festivities.

When Words Collide Festival 2026
2026-08-14 | Hyatt Regency Calgary, 700 Centre St S, Calgary, T2G 5P6
​Featuring 170+ events, 150+ presenters, and more genres than you can shake a bookmark at for 3 sweet summer days and nights in Calgary, AB, from August 14-16, 2026.

​If you are a writer, reader or fan, we dare you to have more fun at a festival this summer.

About the Festival
Held in Calgary, Alberta, every August, When Words Collide is Canada’s largest multi-genre, writer/reader/fan/ festival. Meet artists and publishers of commercial and literary fiction, including genre, YA, children’s books, poetry, and more, from across Canada and the world.

When Words Collide supports writers in the craft and business of writing, exploring all avenues of the writing process, publishing and storytelling, while building a strong literary community. We love to bring local writers (Alberta and Canada) to the attention of book lovers.
