CALGARY -- Calgarians and visitors to Calgary are invited downtown this weekend for a free festival that will illuminate the evenings.
"GLOW is a free, all-ages, outdoor winter festival in the heart of downtown Calgary," said Marco De Iaco, executive director of the Calgary Downtown Association. "It's all about bright lights, fire pits, music, ice lounges. We're going to be staging it on the 14th, 15th and 16th of February — so this Friday, Saturday and Sunday — from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m."
The festival will take place along four blocks of Stephen Avenue (Eighth Avenue) stretching from First Street S.E. to Third Street S.W.
In addition to the illuminated art installations, visitors will encounter a trackless train, ice carving competitions, ice lounges and live dance and music performances.
"We have some great artists, 35 artists will be performing on three stages throughout the festival," said De Iaco. "Some great artists; Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Tyler Shaw, Static Shift, Neon Dreams. We have the Earth Heart Collective, which has travelled the world, that will be performing on the 300 west block attached to the Galleria trees.
"People might want to visit the ice lounges at The Met(ropolitan Grill), Local or even The Guild will have an ice lounge. Milestones will have their patio open for the main stage in front of the convention centre."
Free parking will be available during the festival in the Bankers Hall and The Core parkades.
De Iaco says the GLOW festival has grown from its humble beginnings as a light art walk but the reimagining of the event will continue in the years to come.
"We're not done yet," said De Iaco. "The long term vision here is to create an annual winter festival that the entire downtown core will embrace and get involved in. This is a step in the right direction."
He adds that the festival serves as a testing ground for temporary additions to Stephen Avenue that could potentially find a permanent home.
"It's an opportunity to test new ideas and shape new experiences for downtown that hopefully will attract Calgarians to come down and visit and be attractive for tourists if they're in town."
For more details — including a schedule of events — visit GLOW Winter Festival.
