Lilac Festival kicks off Calgary summer festival season as 100K expected to 33rd edition

Thousands were expected along 4th Street Southwest to enjoy the 33rd edition of Lilac Fest. Tyler Barrow reports.

The Lilac Festival was in full bloom Sunday, drawing huge crowds to the Beltline for the annual event.

The 33rd edition of the Fourth Street festival featured 16 blocks of vendors, offering food, an artisanal market featuring 600 vendors, and eight stages offering live entertainment including musicians such as Mocking Shadows and Michael Bernard Fitzgerald.

“[It] is the real kickoff to the summer festival season that happens in Calgary,” said Lilac Festival producer Jennifer Rempel ." It’s the start of the big festivals and the big cultural events, and it’s just a celebration where Calgary, and can come together, anticipating if our weather holds out today, we should hit around 100,000 people."

“Lilacs are the first kind of flower of the summer season, and so that’s why it’s called Lilac Festival,” said Rempel. “Also, if you walk around the neighborhood of Mission, there’s lilac bushes everywhere to be found, and so that’s really the theme -- and it’s spring and getting out of your house, lots of new things to discover, especially the music.”

For vendor Clara Bernal, business isn’t booming at the Lilac Festival but the opportunity to spread the word makes it special -- as well as the people.

“Sales are not crazy but it’s just the contact with all the people – so it’s advertising for us, so you can just promote your business," said Bernal, “and it’s a lot of fun. We are from Colombia, it’s a Latin culture -- and we love to have people around all the time so for us, it’s fantastic.”

For visitor Ryley Knorr, the Lilac Festival is an annual tradition that has become a special event.

“We love it,” Knorr said. “We come every year. I booked off today just so that I could do this. Turned off all the phones. We love coming. It’s always a great time.”

With files from CTV News’ Tyler Barrow