Western Canada has a long tradition of parades, fairs and exhibitions celebrating the rich harvest of its ranches, farms and fisheries. Add Canadians’ natural affinity for fun, and it’s no surprise that F&B events and festivals feature prominently in the annual calendar. Here is a sampling of tie-ins for groups looking to add authentic flavor to the agenda.
Vancouver’s annual line-up includes Canada’s biggest food and drink festival, Dine Out Vancouver Festival. The January 2016 edition will feature 17 days of culinary events and experiences, with hundreds of restaurants and dozens of hotels throughout the city participating. Running from mid-February to early March, the Vancouver International Wine Festival is the largest consumer wine festival in North America.
While Banff welcomes foodies to the Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival in May, Edmonton is inaugurating the Northern Lands Festival later this month. The two-day gathering pairs winemakers from across Canada with craft beer producers, distillers and the country’s finest chefs.
Introduced last year, Edmonton’s Porkapalooza BBQ Festival returns this June, followed in July by A Taste of Edmonton. Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2014, Canada’s largest food festival attracts 500,000 people each year to Sir Winston Churchill Square with restaurants, food trucks, live music and more. August 2015 sees the 40th annual Servus Heritage Festival, a three-day showcase of Canada’s vibrant multicultural heritage.
Attracting top North American chefs, RAW: almond is a singular three-week (late January to mid-February) gourmet dining experience staged in a floating pop-up restaurant on Winnipeg’s frozen rivers. The week-long Winnipeg Wine Festival culminates in a public two-day tasting at the RBC Convention Centre with over 100 wineries from around the world.
Winefest in February is Calgary’s oldest wine festival, while this May sees the tenth anniversary of the Calgary International Beer Festival. And the 2015 edition of the legendary Calgary Stampede this July will feature Juicy’s Outlaw Grill, the world’s largest grill coming in at over 20 feet high, weighing 27 tons and covering nearly 100 feet of turf.
