250K visitors expected at Canada Day 150th celebration in Calgary

Calgarians will have no shortage of options to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary this Canada Day. Multiple venues will host a variety of music, entertainment, cultural exhibitions and food, all topped off with 30 minutes of fireworks and a light show.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi says he is counting down the days to the celebration.

"I am thrilled to share with you some of the programming that we'll be doing together on Canada Day this year, on the 150th anniversary of confederation, on our sesquicentennial," Nenshi said at a news conference this week.

"It's an important opportunity for all of us to strengthen our sense of what it means to be Canadian. I am actually unbelievably excited to tell you a little bit about what is going on, I just want to stamp my feet with how great this program is going to be this year."

CBC will be kicking off the celebration with a special remote broadcast during The Homestretch hosted by Katherine Duncan and Rob Brown on June 30 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Olympic Plaza.

On Canada Day, here's what's going on around the city:

Fort Calgary

About 4,000 participants will form a Canadian flag using red and white t-shirts, after a pancake breakfast. The fort is open after Canada Day festivities until 4 p.m. with Indigenous celebrations and local musicians.

9 a.m. to noon

Confederation Park 50th anniversary

A free pancake breakfast and birthday cake will welcome visitors, along with live entertainment. There's also free horse wagon rides, a self-guided interpretive trail and the opening of a 1967 time capsule.

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Chinatown

In addition to being a great place to watch the fireworks, Chinatown is also centrally located between three other Canada 150 venues.

There will be Asian cultural dances, musical drum performances, martial arts demonstrations, calligraphy, kite building and flying, lantern crafts and a multicultural parade.

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

East Village

National Music Centre's Studio Bell is hosting a street festival along with free Canadian musical performances and there are no entrance fees.

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Prince's Island Park, east

A showcase will include interactive educational displays of Canada's military history where people can touch and explore military equipment. Participants can chat with Canadian Armed Forces members and it's kid friendly with face tattoos, games and entertainment.

Also on the east side of the park there will be circus performances and circus instruction for kids eight to 16 years of age.

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Peace Bridge

The World Sikh Organization wants to demystify the turban through education and turban-tying event. They'll be handing out red and white turbans and demonstrating how to wear them.

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Olympic Plaza

It's a day of art appreciation and a whole lot more. There's a citizenship reaffirmation ceremony and they're expecting thousands to take part. The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Calgary Opera will perform on one of two stages while 1,500 guitarists will do a rendition of Four Strong Wings led by Ian Tyson.

Stilt walkers and magicians will be roving the plaza and there'll be plenty of children's craft activities.

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Prince's Island Park, west

The city and Bow Valley College's Iniikokaan Aboriginal Centre have a full day of events planned. There's a traditional powwow with drumming and grand entry followed by storytelling, traditional food, children's crafts and activities and artisan booths.

10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Eau Claire

A huge multicultural celebration with dance and musical performances takes over the Festival Market in the north plaza of Eau Claire Market. There will be youth singers, an ethno-cultural artisan market, lots of food vendors showcasing many ethnic cuisines and of course, children's activities and arts and crafts.

11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Riverfront Avenue, Harry Hays Building, north lawn

Two stages will headline Canadian performers such as Tegan and Sara, Crystal Plamondon, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald and Juno award-winning artist Armond Duck Chief. There will be multicultural music and dance all day long and food vendors will fill stomachs with a variety of ethnic cuisines.

A full 30 minutes of fireworks and a light show set to Canadianmusic will bring the day to a close.

10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.