Thank you for your participation.

The WHAT WE HEARD reports are now available here - Stakeholder Engagement and Public Engagement. They can also be found in the links section.

We know that festivals and events are important in making Calgary a great place to make a life, and a great place to make a living. They contribute to our quality of life and in building complete communities. They give citizens opportunities to experience arts, culture and entertainment and draw visitors and tourists to our city to share in those experiences.

The City of Calgary is creating a new Festival and Event Strategy that will maximize the benefits of the festivals and events that are planned and hosted in our city to our citizens and our economy.

We want to hear from key festival and event industry stakeholders to create this Strategy.

The following themes were most referenced from Round One of Stakeholder engagement in April 2021. Please click on each theme for a full view.

Calgary Economic Development’s report, “Calgary and the New Economy 2018,” identified the important role the creative industries play in economic recovery. City Council Directives for 2019 – 2022 placed a significant value on the need to attend to the growth and development of the arts, cultural, festival, and winter activities that support economic growth and spur job creation in the city. With approval of the 2019-2022 OneCalgary budget, City Administration is directed to develop and implement a Festival and Event Strategy for the Arts and Culture line of service.

Stakeholder input over the next several weeks is important and we are offering a series of virtual input opportunities, select one, or both, that work for you and your organization. These online engagement opportunities are invitation-only and will be attended by various stakeholders that contribute to the festivals and events programs across the City. At these opportunities, we will provide an overview of what we have heard so far, discuss festival and event strategy goals and actions, answer questions and collect feedback.

Stakeholder input is important and will help The City to refine the Strategy.

A What We Heard Report will be shared with stakeholders and the public. The Strategy will be completed and presented to Council in September 2021, and we will develop the Implementation Strategy.