It is just one piece of the 4th Street Business Revitalization Zone’s plans to attract people to the area and support local businesses with extra exposure.

“We did a survey that showed that more than 60 per cent of people who come to the festival come back to the area to buy something,” says Monique Joy, Lilac Festival organizer. “I think that shows that the festival offers really great exposure for the businesses.”

The proof of the festival’s success is not only in its turnout (more than 100,000 people came out to enjoy the festivities in 2007), but also in the fact that it has been voted Best Free Event for ten years running in FFWD’s Best of Calgary Reader’s Choice Awards.

What makes the festival so great? A large part of it is tradition—everyone knows that the end of May brings blooming lilacs along with the beginning of the summer festival season marked by the Lilac Festival on 4th Street southwest.
The Lilac Festival began in 1989 as a one-block community garage sale with local business participation. The name, of course, comes from the many lilac bushes in the area in bloom when the festival takes place in late spring. This year marks the 19th annual Lilac Festival, slated for May 25.

But it’s not just tradition that brings the revellers out in droves to this late-spring festival. There is so much to see and do, it’s been said that eight hours just isn’t enough. An area stretching 14 blocks along Fourth Street, from 12 Avenue to Elbow Drive S.W., is shut down beginning at 10 a.m. on the last Sunday of May and filled with 600 vendors from all over Western Canada, beer gardens, activities for kids, a volleyball tournament and live art, as well as performances by local bands and dance companies.

Vendors run the gamut from clothing to tents with lots of interesting items in between, and when it comes to choosing bands to perform, Joy says, “the more different (the music), the better the chance you have of playing.”
For visitors wishing to plan their day in advance, entertainment schedules are posted on the Lilac Festival website (http://www.lilacfestival.net) three weeks in advance.

According to a Lilac Festival participant survey, the majority of people who attend the festival come for the overall atmosphere, describing the event as a place where people are having a good time without getting out of hand and the mood is very upbeat. Other favourites include the music, shopping, and the chance to sample food from the more than 35 culturally different restaurants within the span of the festival.

For newcomers to the area, such as those moving into any of the new or conversion condo projects popping up throughout Mission, the Lilac Festival is a great chance to get out and discover new businesses in their area.

Festivalgoers begin to emerge in droves from the beginning of the day, and early-comers will catch the kick-off parade at 10 a.m. The parade starts at 25 Avenue (near Safeway) and continues down Fourth Street to Memorial Park at 13 Avenue S.W.

Though the day is usually warm and sunny (a stark contrast to the sometimes-snowy May long weekend a week earlier), remember that Calgary weather is notorious for turning around completely in five minutes or less. Since a day that starts off hot and sunny can end rainy and cool, and vice versa, come prepared for the elements—Joy recommends bringing an umbrella, jacket and sunscreen.

To beat the parking rush, she also advises taking transit to the festival.