Canada Day is right around the corner, and communities across Rocky View County are ready to celebrate.
With parades, music festivals, fireworks and more, county and area residents have plenty of opportunities to partake in the July 1 festivities.
SavageFest comes to Crossfield
Crossfield will see the SavageFest Music Festival making its return for its third year on July 1. The Canada Day festival will be held at the Crossfield Rodeo Society and will support the Homes for Heroes Foundation, which supports military veterans.
Featured bands performing at the festival include The Scarecrows, Pillow Fight, KellyT Overdrive, Sorry Not Sorry, Vinyl Trax Rockabilly, Front Line, and Machine Gun Rabbit.
The rodeo main gates open at 8:30 a.m. with a pancake breakfast going from 9 to 11 a.m. The day will be full of events and activities, from farmers markets, raffles, and draws throughout the day.
At 11 p.m. a firework display will light up the sky. Machine Gun Rabbit will close off the night at 11:30 p.m. and the grounds will officially close at 2 a.m.
Century Downs celebrations
In Balzac, the local casino and horse-racing venue will be full of patriotic spirit on both June 30 and Canada Day.
The Century Downs Racetrack and Casino celebrations will kick off on June 30 with live harness racing on the horse-racing track, coinciding with an outdoor concert and fireworks show.
Festivities will continue on Saturday, filled with food and drink specials, live harness racing, face-painting, and a live DJ. Cash draws will be held every hour from noon to 7 p.m.
Cochrane brings patriotism to the park
The Town of Cochrane will once again host a number of events at Mitford Park on July 1 for community members to come out and celebrate the day.
Starting at noon and going until 11:30 p.m., the popular park will see live entertainment, food trucks, beer gardens, and cap off the festivities with a fireworks display.
From noon to 3 p.m. the men’s and women’s Bow Valley rugby club teams will play competitive games featuring hard-hitting tackles and fast-paced passing.
Pony rides and the Butterfield Acres Farm Corral will be available from noon to 4 p.m.
Additional fun will include face-painting, inflatable games, mini golf, archery tag, and more throughout the day.
Airdrie events a-plenty
For residents in the northern part of the county, Airdrie will be great place to gather on July 1, with a day full of events to celebrate Canada Day.
From 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., there will be a pancake breakfast located at the Safeway parking lot just off Airdrie's Main Street. The breakfast will be hosted by the non-profit organization Airdrie Kin Club.
The breakfast will be a warm-up for the Airdrie Canada Day Parade, which will kick off at 10 a.m. along Main Street. Over 80 floats will make their way past downtown, featuring local businesses and community groups.
After the parade, visitors are encouraged to head over to Nose Creek Regional Park for the Canadian music concert from noon to 3 p.m. The concert will have award-winning Airdrie musicians performing, as well as food trucks and beer gardens.
Coinciding with the parade and music concert, the yearly Airdrie Pro Rodeo will kick off at 2:30 p.m. and will include Jr. Rodeo, Pro. Rodeo, and kid’s activities. The rodeo is also held on June 30.
Rounding off the day's events, Chinook Winds Regional Park in southeast Airdrie will be full music and dancing starting at 8 p.m. A 20-minute fireworks show will start at 10:45 p.m. and light up the night sky.
Redwood Meadows bike parade
In the southwest corner of the county, the Redwood Meadows Community Association will be hosting its annual Canada Day Bike Parade at 10:30 a.m., followed by a day's worth of activities and entertainment.
The RMCA's afternoon festivities will include dancing, live music, beer gardens and concessions for the adults, and bouncy houses and face-painting for younger attendees.
Games will get underway at 2 p.m. at Curtis field, including potato sack races, three-legged races and wheelbarrow races.
A family dance will be held at the rink from 7 to 10 p.m., with a fireworks display to cap off the evening.
See redwoodmeadows.ab.ca for more info or visit the RMCA's Facebook page.
Chestermere
Plenty of events will help celebrate Canada Day at Chestermere's John Peake Park on July 1.
The day will get underway with a pancake breakfast from 9 to 11 a.m., coinciding with live performances on the pavilion stage starting at 10:10 a.m. and running until 8:30 p.m.
Performers will include an Indigenous dance performance from Wild Mint Arts, Young Bhangra, Abstract Dance Academy, Trina Morgan, Alex Roberecki, Cream & Sugar Band, The Blenders
Here's the schedule of events going on in Chestermere. Be sure to join us at John Peake Park to take part:
There will also be food trucks, wagon rides, stilt-walkers, and a trading post market from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A petting zoo from 3 to 5 p.m. and a free slice of cake at 1:30 p.m. will also be available.
Concluding the day's entertainment will be a fireworks display, weather permitting, at 10:30 p.m.
