Summer food festival season kicks off with oysters, tacos, and ice cream
Calgary's busiest food months arrive with Rodney's Oyster Fest, Mexifest, Stampede eats, and more festivals across July and August.
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Summer brings Calgary's most ambitious food festival calendar. Here are standouts worth your calendar space.
Rodney's Oyster Fest returns Sunday, June 28, with live DJ, shucking competition (pros and amateurs both welcome), and a silent auction supporting The Mustard Seed. Tickets start at $45.
Mexifest, July 3–5 at Eau Claire Plaza, celebrates Mexican culture with food vendors, entertainment, and arts. Admission is $20.
The Calgary Stampede, July 3–12 at Stampede Park, drops dozens of new Midway foods alongside free Stampede Breakfasts. Entry is $28.
Fiestaval, July 17–19 at Eau Claire Plaza, gathers over 30 Latin American food vendors, a beer garden, live entertainment, and an artisan market. Admission is free.
YYC Ice Cream Fest runs July 17–Aug. 16 across various locations, with participating cafés and creameries serving creative chilled treats in support of Calgary Meals on Wheels.
Taste of Calgary, July 30–Aug. 3 at Cowboys Park, brings hundreds of the city's top restaurants, breweries, and food trucks offering samples. Free admission.
Alberta on the Plate, Aug. 7–16 across partner restaurants, is a 10-day dine-out celebration of Alberta food. Participating spots offer multi-course fixed-price menus highlighting local producers, growers, distillers, and brewers.
Brewery & The Beast, Aug. 23 at The Confluence (formerly Fort Calgary), is an "all you can enjoy" festival with over 60 of YYC's top chefs, distillers, brewers, and meat producers. Tickets start at $159.95. Guests receive a wooden board with a cupholder and free rein to eat and drink.