Rio has Carnival, New York City has the Macy’s Parade and New Orleans has Mardi Gras. The Bow Valley has, well, numerous festivals and celebrations throughout the year – too many to mention in one breath – each event celebrating Canadian Rockies history, recreation and culture in its own way. Here’s the festive year at a glance: January allows for wasting little time after the New Year. The Ice Magic International Ice Sculpture Competition and Exhibition attracts talented sculptors from around the world – including, in 2003, a team from Jamaica – who carve imaginative and detailed creations from 140-kilogram (300-pound) ice blocks on the famous Lake Louise shoreline.
February kicks off with the Canmore and Banff/Lake Louise winter festivals celebrating snow, cold temperatures, winter sports and outdoor activities. Celebrated since 1917, the current Banff/Lake Louise format includes a town party and family carnival, as well as assorted semi-serious and silly winter contests. The Mountain Madness Relay comprises downhill and cross-country skiing, running, snowshoeing and ice skating.
March features the Bruno Engler Ski Veterans Race. Engler, a beloved Bow Valley mountain guide, filmmaker, photographer and ‘bon vivant’, founded the race in 1966. He died in 2001, aged 85 years, but the fun race for skiers over 35 years old continues today with Engler’s legacy. The international Canmore Ice Climbing Festival, usually held in early March, celebrates one of the fastest growing winter sports in North America. The main feature is an 18-metre (60-foot) manmade icewall constructed on Canmore’s downtown fringe from chicken wire, scaffolding and extraordinarily long hoses. It must be seen to be believed.
April represents Bow Valley residents’ love to compete as they do in the annual Spring Thaw 5-Mile (8-kilometre) Run/Walk, which doubles as a fundraiser for Canada’s National Cross-Country Ski Team.
May celebrates the May long weekend, on grassy lawns and at lake-front cottages for many Canadians. In the Bow Valley, skiers and snowboarders attempt to sail over an ice-water pool, more often landing in it than not, at Sunshine Village’s season-ending Slush Cup. Also in May, the Canmore Children’s Festival features storytellers, theatre, magic, puppets, crafts and games designed to delight children of all ages.
June recognizes the valuable workforce in Banff and Lake Louise. The One Hot Summer Staff Info Fest introduces student workers to the communities and prospective employment opportunities. The free food, prizes and live entertainment make for one hot party, too.
July is synonymous with Canada Day (July 1) and is celebrated in Banff and Canmore with fervour. Pancake breakfasts, fun runs, parades, live entertainment and in Canmore, fireworks can all be counted on. Bow Valley rubber heads rally mid July for the 24 Hours of Adrenalin mountain bike series, which passes through the Canmore Nordic Centre each year. Adrenalin insiders say Canmore is the best locale on the 24-Hours circuit. Canmore celebrates its coal-mining heritage with Miners’ Day and, in 2003, the town plays host to the KaNaise South African music festival for the first time. Also in July, Banff presents the four-week Banff Arts Festival at the Banff Centre for the Arts, featuring over 60 events. Meantime, Banff’s own Living Room Theatre performs Shakespeare in the Park in Central Park, July through September.
August is perhaps Canmore’s most festive season. The annual Canmore Folk Music Festival is the longest-running (26 years in 2003) show of its kind and a highlight on Alberta’s music festival calendar. The festival runs over the Heritage Day long weekend attracting world-class acts and ‘folkies’ from everywhere – typically between 3,000 and 5,000 heads, weather depending. Competitors in the gruelling Transrockies mountain bike challenge roll through Main Street a couple weeks later completing seven days and 700 kilometres in the saddle, following trails between Fernie (British Columbia) and Canmore. The annual Canmore Highland Games, Western Canada’s biggest Celtic celebration, also takes place in August, on the Labour Day weekend.
September is time to run for a good cause. The Terry Fox Run raises funds for cancer research while the CAUSE Canada Canadian Rocky Mountain Half Marathon and 8km (5ml) race pools together resources for the Canmore-based CAUSE Canada (Christian Assistance for Underdeveloped Societies Everywhere). In 2003, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra makes its way back to Canmore for the first time in nearly 10 years performing Mozart in the Mountains at the Stewart Creek Golf Club’s driving range.
October flies by with the Festival of Eagles, celebrating the annual Golden eagle migration along the Rockies’ high crests. In Canmore, the Vic Lewis Band Festival celebrates the musician and teacher who introduced band music to Bow Valley students in the 1940s.
November in the Rockies heralds t
