We’ve officially wrapped up our 13-week Summer On 17th festival, which ran from July 1 until September 21 in Tomkins Park and was home to free events including outdoor movies, fitness classes, theatrical performers, live music and more! This inaugural event featured more than 170 hours of free entertainment with 60 different performers and musicians taking the stage, 12 outdoor movie screenings, interactive activations from community partners like Telus Spark and outdoor workouts from 17th Ave fitness studios. This event was open to people from all walks of life and was a reminder to Calgarians that 17th Ave is one of the most vibrant and bustling communities in Calgary.
Summer On 17th kicked off on Canada Day with a full day of festivities to celebrate the occasion including traditional hoop dancing, live music and theatrical performances. From July 8 to 16, we brought the Stampede to 17th Ave with daily performances from country artists such as Brandon Lorenzo and Pistol Noon Band. Event attendees and passersby could also channel their inner cowboy and cowgirl and fine tune their rodeo skills on the mechanical bull and calf-roping machine in Tomkins Park.
Once the Stampede wrapped up, people still had plenty of reasons to head down to 17th Ave. Free programming continued in Tomkins Park with outdoor fitness classes every Sunday morning, and live performances taking place five days a week featuring a wide variety of musicians including classical, country, Latin, jazz, blues and more, and local artists like Sweet Barry Wine, L’Omelette and the Calgary Concert Opera. We also hosted three drag competitions between July 22 and September 2 in collaboration with WERK, where more than 200 people gathered at each event to cheer on Calgary drag performers as they strutted their stuff in front of guest judges and an enthusiastic audience.
We ended our summer festival with twelve movies brought to life with roving characters and performers dressed in movie-themed garb, a photobooth, live music, break dancing troupes and more with 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. showings each Saturday and Sunday between September 3 and 18. Movies such as The Goonies, Mean Girls, and The Notebook drew large crowds to Tomkins Park, where people cozied up with blankets and takeout eats from nearby businesses.
As the 17th Ave Business Improvement Area, we were thrilled to see Tomkins Park filling up each week with Calgarians and visitors alike who sang and danced along with live performers, stopped into local businesses and took part in a vibrant community event. This was a great opportunity to highlight 17th Ave as a safe, inclusive, and energetic district and neighbourhood.
Stay tuned, as the 17th Ave Business Improvement Area will be bringing back Summer On 17th bigger and better in 2023. Until then, we promise we will keep you inspired to visit Calgary’s favourite avenue with upcoming Halloween, shopping and Christmas festivities. Follow us at @17thavesw to keep up to date with events, promotions and more.
