Calgary's annual Lilac Festival has been around since 1989!
The 2009 festival brought out some 125,000 visitors!
4th Street SW is closed down between Elbow Drive and about 13th Avenue allowing visitors free reign of the street to peruse the many vendors who show up to make the day what it is.
The 2009 festival offered some 600 booths with everything from artisan wares to local business offerings, food kiosks (many being international food offered by the diverse range of restaurants along 4th), live music and performance stages, buskers, charity & other non-profit organizations and so on. I've never seen it but apparently there's even a 10 AM parade. Not for the kidlets are the various beer gardens that set up along the way offering an enjoyable venue in which to people watch and enjoy a drink. Arrive early though. It's near impossible to get in after the first hour.
This festival is free so naturally, it draws large crowds. It requires patience to navigate but is otherwise an delightful day to be out with your fellow Calgarians. And if we're lucky, it really will coincide with lilac season which fragrances the air whimsically.
Lilac Festival 2010 takes place on Sunday May 30th from 10 AM to 6 PM.