The City of Calgary Recreation facilitates the bookings of open public park spaces for various outdoor activities, including weddings, fundraising events, performances, walks/runs, etc.
Any City of Calgary Parks department maintained greenspace or park site may be booked providing the appropriate Parks division office has given permission to do so. These include: major parks, regional & local pathways, small miscellaneous greenspaces, and downtown plazas. Picnic sites and community playfields can also be booked for purposes outside of the realm of their normal or intended use.
Booking any one of these facilities requires a special event permit.
What is a special event?
A special event is an event that occurs in a City of Calgary park or greenspace and is categorized as anything that has a greater impact on neighbouring communities and is not consistent with the intended or typical use of the park (i.e. picnic site is not being used for a picnic, a playfield is not being used for soccer, a pathway is being used for a fundraising walk, or a park is being used for a wedding).
Some examples below might be incorporated in your event, and therefore require specific permission from the City of Calgary Parks offices. (Note that not all activities are suitable for all park locations; some activities may not be approved depending on location):
Set up of tents (not exceeding a combined 600 sq ft)
Set up of temporary stages or other structures (i.e. risers). Note: stages must be under 2 feet tall and cannot house major equipment or bands.
Dunk tanks and/or inflatable bouncers
Petting zoos and events involving animals
Vehicle access to the park or picnic site
BBQ's that are large, solid fuelled (use of charcoal, wood or smoke chips such as those for smoking or roasting whole animals) or any BBQ being set up in a non-designated picnic site
Food sales, service or distribution (i.e. serving or selling food/ beverages to the public)
Posting banners or signs
Amplified or acoustic performances (dance, theatre, music)
Selling merchandise
Face painting
Fundraising event
Walk, run or marathon
Wedding ceremony
Community fun days, carnivals or movies in the park
If any of the following four components apply to your event, this is considered a festival event:
Fireworks, open flame or other pyrotechnics
Tents, stages and/or other structures exceed a combined 600 square feet
Alcohol sales or service
Use of roadways
In these instances your request cannot be processed as a simple special event. Rather, you must contact Event Services at (403) 476-4323 or eventservices@calgary.ca no less than 90 days prior to your planned event for information and booking. Visit planning a festival for more information.
Things to know before booking
Special event applicants will be contacted for payment of a $26.25 non-refundable administration fee. Your application will be sent to the appropriate Parks area office(s) for review when this fee is paid.
The City of Calgary does not normally post notices of rentals or events.
Permit holders must have a copy of their permit with them at all times during the event. This is proof of your rental and includes the conditions set forth by the Parks area offices.
Permit holders are expected to adhere to all conditions laid out on your permit's conditions of use as well as abide by all other
parks bylaws and
Special event guidelines. It is your responsibility to ensure that all participants are aware of and are adhering to these conditions as well.
If a non-permitted user is occupying the site, please contact City staff if available on site, or call 3-1-1.
Find a park - browse some of the more popular, but not exclusive, parks available for booking.
Timelines for booking
Applications will be accepted for the current year plus the following year.
For the current year: Special event applications can take 6 - 8 weeks to process and applications are processed in the order they are received.
For the following year: Responses for (most) special event applications for the following year cannot be processed prior to the New Year. Customers can expect to receive permits or updates approximately 6 - 8 weeks after the New Year unless the event is occurring in the first 2 months of the year. Booking priorities are first given to festivals and renewal special events for the following year's booking requests.
