- Chinatown Street Festival is on the 3rd Saturday in August
- 2023 was the 20th Chinatown Street Festival
- Along 3rd Avenue SE (From Center St to 1St SE)
- As well as Along 1St SE to Riverfront Avenue
- 11AM – 7PM
- Website: https://www.calgarychinatown.com/
- Chinatown’s Instagram instagram.com/yycchinatownbia
Address: 197 1 St SW, Calgary
Located downtown on the south side of the center street and extending a few blocks is Calgary’s Chinatown. This is not Calgary’s first Chinatown, it’s in fact the third, and it’s perhaps why it is a small area. The first around 1888 was on 8th Ave SE. After a smallpox outbreak, the area was burned down to prevent its spread. Around 1901 and until 1910 an area rose up on either side of the CPR tracks around 1st Street SW. In 1910 the Canadian Pacific Railway announced they would build a hotel next to the downtown station. This caused the land values to rise and its owners sold the land out from under the tenants of this Chinatown area. Wanting to prevent further moves a number of wealthy Chinese established the new Chinatown at Center Street and 2nd Ave. All the remaining Chinese residents and businesses quickly relocated there. By 1950 the area had grown to encompass ten city blocks, and in 1974 city council officially recognised twenty hectares as Chinatown. This area has also influenced the commercial street over the river, with many businesses also catering to and owned by Chinese people. In 1980 many older buildings were demolished and the area underwent redevelopment. A highrise residential building was built and the Chinese seniors center. The Chinese Cultural Center was added to the area in 1992. Again not a large area but with a strong push to maintain its unique heritage and atmosphere, it became the Chinatown BIA in 2015.
Address: 200 1 St SW
Address: 215 2 Ave SW
Address: 197 1 St SW, Calgary
Address: 116 2 Ave SW
On Saturday, August 19th my wife and I with our two kids went down to the Chinatown Street Festival. We went years ago in ‘19 but that time we arrived late in the day and missed all of the entertainment. This time we made sure to arrive in time for the starting parade and to see the Lion dance.
Address: 233 Centre Street Sotuh
Address: 116 3 Avenue SE
I had seen some notices on social media about street and parking lot closures for the event, but being downtown savvy I already knew not to try to park close. We walked a few blocks from Eau Claire which gave us the opportunity to walk through the Chinese Cultural Center. Once on the other side, we were a block from the heart of Chinatown. Still, this was too far for our youngest who would rather we parachute directly to events.
Once there we found the usual atmosphere of any street festival with tents lining each side of the street. There were ethnic food vendors and music performances. There were tents from some import stores within Dragon City Mall with numerous anime-related collectibles as well as many stockers related to things I wasn’t familiar with. My son and daughter were both drawn to backpacks with figures on them, but my daughter quickly turned to an intricate day planner with stickers.
They had a tent outside the Far East Shopping Centre
Address: 132 3rd Ave SE
My son really enjoyed looking at these little plushies also at Kall Mart Gifts
On the other end of the event was a space with activities for kids, where my son was drawn to a bouncy castle. My daughter took part in a diamond dot activity. As well there was a spot to learn to make ballon animals and play street hockey.
At the end of this block was where the bouncy tent was and the kids activity area
In one of the area’s regular packing lots was a stage surrounded by food vendors. I would have liked to have gotten something, but in preparation for hungry and therefore cranky kids, we had gone for brunch before coming to the event. This however didn’t stop my daughter from wanting to try a Strawberry Mochi that she had heard so much about at school.
In addition to the Lion dance the stage also has musical performances and other dancers as well as martial arts demonstrations.
Address: 3rd Ave & 1 st St SE
Address: 3rd Ave & 1 st St SE
Address: 106 3 Ave SE
Address: 114 3 Ave SE
If you would like to attend next year’s festival I would encourage you to also park at Eau Claire to avoid the chaos of the area. Before coming down decide if you would like to get food at the festival. Which, unlike something like Lilac Fest, has much smaller lines, and has tables to sit at. I really appreciated that part, I like getting to sit and not eat off my lap on a bench. I would also suggest seeking out the entertainment schedule in advance to know what’s going to be happening. I would hope that in future years they have a better stage to allow greater lines of sight because it doesn’t take much before no one else can see. And they have too much going on to let that happen.
Address: 197 1 St SW, Calgary
Attending from eleven thirty to two o’clock, we left just before our son was done with the whole event. All in all, we really enjoyed ourselves. Our daughter and I would like to return to walk 2nd Ave, get lunch and visit Dragon City Mall.
If you’d like to read more about Calgary’s Chinatown, Avenue Magazine has a great article from September 2021.