One of my favourite things about Calgary in the spring and summer is that we celebrate everything. Let’s face it, the number of festivals in June, July, and August is just absolutely ludicrous — in the best way, of course. We have festivals that celebrate films of all genres, and music of all kinds. Festivals that celebrate both the cooking and eating of food, and the art and majesty of Canadian beer. We have art festivals, children’s festivals, and pet festivals! We have comedy festivals that make us laugh, science festivals that make us think, and cultural festivals that open our minds. We even have a festival that celebrates the sun and a festival that celebrates salsa. That’s a lot of festivals—so many, in fact, that ‘festival’ is looking less and less like a real word.

I had the pleasure of attending this year’s Lilac Festival on Sunday, June 5. Lilac Festival is one in which Calgary celebrates Lilacs— the beautiful trees, the purple blooms, the delightful smell, and the fact that these delightfully smelly blooms are actually blooming! As any Calgarian will tell you, our winters are cold, and summer often teases us with a short, somewhat wintery spring. But when the lilacs are blooming, we all know summer is coming.

Thousands of festival goers flocked to 4th St. on Sunday, checking out the vendors, partaking in the activities, listening to the music, and soaking up the sun. I arrived just in time to catch the parade. The colour guard wowed me with their uncanny ability to throw flags in the air, and the Calgary Stetson Show Band, that played Carly Rae Jepsen’s instant hit, Call Me Maybe, had me dancing in the street. The parade was full of dancers, music makers, and politicians. I even caught a wink and a wave from Mrs. Calgary! I perused the books at Shelf Life Books, I ate a few delicious, and irresistible mini donuts, I fell in love with the art at Rural Creative and Paperlove Co., and I am the proud new owner of a beautiful kimono from Lost in Layers! Thanks for the market in the sun, Calgary!

Lilac festival was the perfect way to kick off the festival season in Calgary. Tune into “Where the F is Beth?” to discover more of Calgary’s endless celebrations, and whenever you catch yourself thinking, “whoa, I just love this activity/food item/music” you can bet your bottom dollar there is probably a festival for it. You name it, Calgary celebrates it with a festival. And why not?