Photo: Chinook Blast/FACEBOOK

Everything to know about Chinook Blast 2025

By Ansharah Shakil, January 26 2025—

At the risk of making a terrible pun, Calgary’s winter festival Chinook Blast is always a blast. This year it’s taking place from Jan. 31 to Feb. 17. One of Calgary’s largest festivals, this marks the fifth year anniversary of Chinook Blast. If the festival continues to be as far-reaching and all-encompassing as it has been in the past, it’s set to stay a Calgary staple, 

What’s unique about the festival is that it covers a broad spectrum of activities — music, arts and sports to name a few, with more than 70 organizations and over 120 events. Within Chinook Blast are festival partners High Performance Rodeo, Calgary Folk Festival’s Block Heater and Ethnik Festival of Arts and Culture. 

High Performance Rodeo is a theatre and art festival with standout shows, Block Heater is a music festival jam-packed with interesting artists and Ethnik Festival celebrates Calgary’s Afro-Canadian and Caribbean communities. The Festival of Animated Objects’ Puppet Pop-Ups will occur in February as well, giving attendees a glimpse of what they can expect for the full festival in March. The Exposure Photography Festival will be another place to connect with different types of art.

Chinook Blast is the umbrella under which these festivals can fall, encouraging all forms of art to integrate with each other. There are these festivals, family-friendly events, multiple different markets and parties, like the Arts Commons’s Disco Blast Sunday Skate Party. 

Construction at Olympic Plaza means that the festival is centred around Stephen Avenue this year, a place where festival-goers can expect to see magical light shows and eight new unique art installations. Live music and roaming performances occur on Jan. 31 to Feb. 1, Feb. 7 and Feb. 14-17 at different times through the day or night. 

At the Confluence Historical Site and Parkland, a new hub for the festival, there will be a new outdoor sporting hub as well as a beer garden, food trucks, hot chocolates, winter-themed movies, craft sessions and activities like poetry reading or haiku writing. Not to mention that you can actually ride on a horse-drawn wagon around The Confluence from Feb. 1-9. And sports fans can rejoice — the third ISU Speed Skating World Cup event will be taking place at Olympic Oval, while The Confluence will also be hosting Drag on Ice 3 on Feb. 8. 

In terms of music, Chinook Blast will be showcasing local favourites like Sargeant X Comrade. The YYC Music Awards will take place on Feb. 17, a celebration of the rich music scene within our city. For Black History Month, the National Music Centre (NMC) will be hosting a special event on the evolution of Black Canadian music.

Chinook Blast has so much to offer it might even seem overwhelming, but there’s certainly something for everybody. The best way to narrow down what you’re most interested in is to check out the festival’s calendar, making note of events that are free and searching based on your interests in what to attend. You can learn more about the festival and find its event calendar on the Chinook Blast website.


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