Events & Culture

A calendar that never goes quiet.

Rodeos and summer fairs, Highland Games and Chariot Fest, Indigenous Peoples Day and Pride Week, harvest days in towns of two thousand - Central Alberta runs on community events twelve months of the year.

See what's on What about winter?

240+ Annual events

32 Towns hosting

12 mo Year-round programming

Ponoka Stampede Westerner Days CentreFest Red Deer Highland Games National Indigenous Peoples Day Chariot Fest Pride Week Art Walk Lacombe Days Heritage Days Bentley Farmers' Days Alix Harvest Days Festival of Trees Canada Day at Bower Ponds Saturday markets Ponoka Stampede Westerner Days CentreFest Red Deer Highland Games National Indigenous Peoples Day Chariot Fest Pride Week Art Walk Lacombe Days Heritage Days Bentley Farmers' Days Alix Harvest Days Festival of Trees Canada Day at Bower Ponds Saturday markets Ponoka Stampede Westerner Days CentreFest Red Deer Highland Games National Indigenous Peoples Day Chariot Fest Pride Week Art Walk Lacombe Days Heritage Days Bentley Farmers' Days Alix Harvest Days Festival of Trees Canada Day at Bower Ponds Saturday markets

Coming up

Upcoming events in Red Deer.

From the Tourism Red Deer events calendar, updated automatically.

See all events on Visit Red Deer

Fri, Oct 23 · 10:00 am

Our Best To You Handmade Market

Westerner Park

Fri, Oct 23 · 9:00 pm

After Hours Haunt – VIP Night

2085 50th ave red deer

Sat, Oct 24 · 6:00 am

Powwow Dance Championships #2

Red Deer Resort and Casino

Sat, Oct 24 · 10:00 am

Make Art: Feel Better at the MAG

Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery

Signature events

The dates locals plan their year around.

Late June Ponoka

Ponoka Stampede

Six days of world-class rodeo - Canada's second-biggest stampede.

Pro rodeo at the highest level, a midway and nightly grandstand shows - the town triples in size for the week.

Mid-July Red Deer

Westerner Days

Red Deer's flagship summer fair: midway, concerts, ag showcase.

Five days of free grandstand concerts, a full midway and the agricultural showcase the city was built around.

July 1 Red Deer

Bower Ponds Canada Day

A family-first Canada Day with fireworks over the pond.

Free all day, walkable from downtown, and the fireworks reflect off the water - the easiest big day out of the year.

Late summer Downtown Red Deer

CentreFest

International street performers take over downtown.

Buskers from a dozen countries working the street corners - pay-what-you-like, and downtown itself becomes the venue.

Every Saturday Region-wide

Community markets

Farmers' markets in nearly every regional town.

Producers, bakers and makers a short drive apart - the low-key weekly ritual that ties the region together.

Culture & heritage

Where the region shows you who it is.

6 celebrations · open any card

Summer

Chariot Fest (Ratha Yatra)

A vibrant Hindu chariot procession through Red Deer, followed by an afternoon of free vegetarian food, classical and folk dance, music and colour.

June

Red Deer Highland Games

Pipe bands, heavy events and Highland dance - Scottish tradition on the prairie.

Feb–Mar

Red Deer Festival of the Performing Arts

A long-running competitive festival for music, speech, dance and drama.

June 21

National Indigenous Peoples Day

June 21 celebrations honouring First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures.

June

Red Deer Pride Week

A week of events, workshops and the march celebrating 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Sept

Red Deer Art Walk

Downtown galleries and storefronts turned into a walkable art exhibition.

Small-town celebrations

Every community has its weekend.

A parade, a market and a midway - pick a town, and the whole community turns out for the weekend.

Find these towns on the map

01 / 04 · Lacombe

Lacombe Days

02 / 04 · Rocky Mountain House

Heritage Days

03 / 04 · Bentley

Farmers' Days

04 / 04 · Alix

Harvest Days

NOV–JAN

Year-round, not just summer

Winter is when the region really comes alive.

Outdoor rinks, hockey leagues, Festival of Trees, ice festivals and a Christmas-market circuit that runs from mid-November through January.

Outdoor rinks Hockey leagues Festival of Trees Ice festivals Christmas markets

12 months of programming

Family-first programming

Most events free or under $20

The vibe

A peek at the regional calendar.

Saturday markets Every town, every weekend

Plan a weekend around one.

Pick an event, find the town, and see what else is nearby - the interactive map ties it all together.

Explore the region

Job Seeker Hub

Employer Login

From Badlands to Boreal

Why Central Alberta

Moving to Alberta?

Built on Evidence