Be a tourist in your own backyard and explore local hot spots, happenings, festivals, food and more!
HOT CHOCOLATE FEST (Calgary)
February is a bone-chilling month, but you can warm up with Calgary’s YYC Hot Chocolate Fest. All month long, participating restaurants and cafés across the city create signature hot chocolate concoctions, with proceeds going to Meals on Wheels. Don’t forget to vote for “Calgary’s Best Hot Chocolate” for a chance to win prizes! Feb. 1-28
ALBERTA WINTER GAMES
From hockey to speed skating to synchronized swimming, the Alberta Winter Games offers young Albertans—ages 11-18—a chance to show what they can do. Medicine Hat plays host to this year’s games, which will welcome over 2,000 enthusiastic young athletes playing 22 different sports over four days. We’re exhausted just thinking about it. To Feb. 16.
EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL
Alberta’s only photography festival celebrates its 12th year in 2016 throughout the month of February, with events and exhibitions—most of them free to the public—in Canmore, Banff and Calgary. To Feb. 28, various locations
CANMORE WINTER CARNIVAL
This year, Canmore Winter Carnival plays host to two World Cup events: the biathlon (that’s the one that combines skiing and shooting) and cross-country skiing. The festival lasts six weeks, and includes ice carving, snow sculpting, and lots of kid-friendly activities. To March 1, various locations
SILVER SKATE FESTIVAL (Edmonton)
Sure, you’ll get a chance to hit the ice during this ten-day festival in Edmonton’s River Valley, but the Silver Skate Festival has so much more to offer. With sleigh rides, snowshoe races, winter triathlons, arts and crafts, and live music and theatre performances, the weeklong festival truly has something for everyone. Feb. 12-21, Hawrelak Park, Edmonton
BOOK CLUB AT LUNCHBOX THEATRE (Calgary)
An audience favourite at the 2014 Suncor Stage One Festival, Book Club centres on a wife and mother whose book club buddies turn into amateur sleuths when she suddenly disappears. To Feb. 27, Lunchbox Theatre, Calgary
AMA FAMILY DAY AT SOUTHGATE MALL (Edmonton)
Join us for some family fun at Edmonton’s Southgate Mall. The kids can enjoy free temporary tattoos and get their picture taken with our cartoon tow truck. Feb. 15
WINTERLUDE (Grande Prairie)
The annual Family Day winter fest is back. Bundle up the kids and head out to Muskoseepi Park from noon till four p.m. For just five bucks for the whole family, you can enjoy sleigh rides, skating, snowshoeing, and more. Feb. 15
FAMILY FUN DAY (Edmonton)
This year, Edmontonians can celebrate 25 years of Family Day in Alberta with a day of fun at City Hall and Churchill Square. Bring the kids and lace up for a free skate between noon and 4 p.m., with live entertainment, crafts, and food trucks set up on site. Feb. 15
THE WIZARD OF OZ (Calgary)
Head on down the yellow brick road when this stage adaptation of the beloved 1939 film comes to Calgary for a week of shows. Feb. 16-21, Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
WINTERPLAY FESTIVAL (Fort McMurray)
The centerpiece of this annual festival is the Shootout on the Snye, a four-on-four pond hockey tournament—plus an optional skills competition—that spans the three days of the festival. The tournament can draw as many as 40 teams of players from all ages, so bring the family to watch the spectacle. Feb. 19-21
HORSE-DRAWN WAGON RIDES (Edmonton)
Grab a buddy or that special someone and take a scenic ride through Fort Edmonton Park in a horse-drawn wagon, with hot chocolate to boot. The rides are available on Saturdays and Sundays until the end of March, and they’re selling out fast—go online to book now. To March 20