Article

Convenience Meets Culture

In recent years Regina’s downtown core has experienced a full-scale renaissance. New local businesses seem to open every week, adding new energy to a neighbourhood already alive with activity.

Downtown Regina boasts diverse offerings for visitors and residents alike. A variety of bars and restaurants call downtown home, with many taking an active role in events like Restaurant Week, which showcases local chefs and flavours. As is seldom the case in many larger cities, downtown Regina is a true community that thrives on collaboration.

A Stone’s Throw

One of downtown Regina’s greatest strengths is its proximity to amenities throughout the city. The downtown core is only a 10-minute drive from the Regina International Airport, steps from elegant convention hotel properties, and a quick couple minute drive to Evraz place and the University of Regina. With an area encompassing a central park, a library, museums and 7 major hotels everything in downtown Regina is conveniently accessible and easy to navigate.

“In other centres you may have to take a 45 minutes cab ride to your hotel,” said Judith Veresuk, Executive Director of the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District (RDBID). “In that same time, we can have your bags picked up and dropped off at your hotel, have you checked into your room, and serve you your first cocktail in that same 45 minutes.”

Downtown Regina itself has also been designed to be dense, making it incredibly easy to get around. All the major hotels located downtown are within a five-minute walk from one another and two minutes from the nearest bar or restaurant. This level of walkability has allowed events like the Regina Farmers’ Market and Regina Folk Fest to flourish in downtown’s central plaza and Victoria Park.

Restaurant Renaissance

The restaurant scene in downtown Regina has exploded from a handful of local staples to array of diverse culinary experiences. From the local pub fare of Victoria’s Tavern, to the high-end flavours of Top Chef Canada winner Dale MacKay’s Avenue Restaurant, these vibrant new dining experiences offer all manner of cuisine.

“We have some long-time business that are the cornerstones of our community, and for a long time they didn’t have any new neighbours,” explained Veresuk. “As time went on and we had more entrepreneurs willing to invest in downtown, we started to see a lot of new restaurants open up. I think that’s a huge story, to see that critical mass and that growth happen so quickly.”

A Tailor-Made Experience

RDBID’s mission is to ensure that when events come to Regina attendees are treated to a tailor-made experience in the form of organized tours, itineraries, and entertainment opportunities that compliment the themes and feel of the event. This level of customization is second to none, and an area RBID prides itself on. Whether a particular event requires a large amount of reserved restaurant space, is in need of volunteer support, or could simply benefit from a local recommendation, RDBID and the downtown community as a whole are always ready and willing to deliver.

“We want to keep business here, so we go over and above,” said Veresuk. “We go that extra mile, to make sure that the experience you have in Regina is a good one.”

One thing is certain: That Regina experience will authentically reflect the renaissance of culture that has come to define downtown Regina.

Contact Conventions Regina to learn more >

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INCUBATOR CITY

From animation to aviation, fashion to film, there’s an incubator ready to support Canada’s most dynamic startups.

BY CAMILA CORNELL

When Bruno Santiago started looking for a place to launch his startup, he knew exactly what he wanted: a country with a welcoming business climate and an open door for budding entrepreneurs. When the Brazilian was offered space in a Toronto business incubator in 2016, he knew he’d found it.

Santiago set up shop in Toronto in August 2016, joining an accelerator run by technology venture capital firm Extreme Venture Partners. Santiago’s business idea—an e-commerce platform for private jet solutions—has taken root, alongside his passion for his new home.

“Canada is just fantastic when setting the groundwork for entrepreneurs,” says Santiago. “I love the business orientation of Toronto—it’s very dynamic. There is an event for startups every day if you can fit it into your agenda.” Indeed, Extreme Accelerator is just one of some 64 incubators, accelerators and technology hubs in the city—many established in the last five to 10 years—contributing to Toronto’s reputation as a vibrant launching pad for local and international talent.

INCUBATORS, ACCELERATORS AND HUBS

The basic concept behind incubators, accelerators and tech hubs is this: just as prenatal incubators nurture fragile newborns until they can survive on their own, all three aim to help fledgling enterprises in economic sectors as diverse as technology, food, fashion, film, social enterprise, financial services, music, retail and design get off the ground.

“They’re there to support startups, no matter whether they’re at the idea stage or they’ve gained some market traction and they’re scaling up,” says Chris Rickett, manager of entrepreneurship services for the City of Toronto.

Entrepreneurs and talent usually apply for a spot in a specific program, and competition can be fierce. But once accepted, they can generally access a range of perks, from shared working space to equipment, staff members with business and technical acumen, mentors who are accomplished entrepreneurs themselves, and matchmaking events between startups, talent, potential investors and customers. But while there are many similarities between incubators, accelerators and tech hubs, there are some key differences as well. Here are some examples.

• Incubators tend to focus on early stage businesses and generate revenue by charging fees for their programs. But they may also be subsidized—sometimes heavily—by government or larger corporations. “The businesses can usually stay for as long as they need to, up to a point,” says Sunil Sharma, chair of the Canadian Acceleration and Business Incubation (CABI) and managing director of Techstars Toronto (an accelerator).
• Accelerators are often run by venture capital funds that take a stake in the startups as payment for their services. “With an accelerator, companies join in a batch or cohort, and there’s a defined start date and end date,” says Sharma.
• Innovation hubs act more as a catalyst between investors and researchers (often with universities and hospitals) who seek to turn great ideas into tangible, useful products.

Although their motivations may be different, incubators, accelerators and hubs all have a vested interest in seeing startup enterprises survive, whether to increase Canada’s competitiveness, provide jobs or simply make some cash.

AN OPEN DOOR TO TALENT

Canada, and particularly Toronto, offers a welcoming atmosphere for talented individuals looking for a safe launching pad. In an attempt to spur innovation and job creation, Canada’s Start-up Visa Program offers permanent resident status to foreign-born entrepreneurs, as long as a Canadian venture capital fund or angel investor group commits financially to their business or they have the support of a business incubator. Significantly, about 48 percent of the members of startup teams in Toronto come from other countries.

Once here, Santiago points out, Toronto has all the elements a startup needs to grow, from a highly skilled workforce and a cosmopolitan atmosphere to economic stability and a business friendly culture that actively encourages entrepreneurship.

Rickett couldn’t agree more. The City of Toronto has been involved in incubation for about 30 years, and Rickett and his team make it their mission to help people start new businesses in the city, provide support for incubators and accelerators, develop new incubators to support key sectors, and lead collaborative projects between incubators and accelerators.

“Toronto tends to fly under the radar because we don’t talk enough about how awesome we are,” he says. “But we have a diverse and deep startup ecosystem.”

Here’s just a small sampling of the kinds of incubators, accelerators and incubation hubs you’ll find.

MARS DISCOVERY DISTRICT

What do the producer of a new ADHD drug, an innovative solar panel developer and a medical company exploring technologies to aid in brain surgery have in common? The answer: They’re all being nurtured by MaRS Discovery District.

MaRS’ 1.5 million square-foot innovation centre in the heart of Toronto ranks as the world’s largest urban innovation hub. Its goal: To help to commercialize the cutting-edge research being performed in the hospitals, businesses and university labs that surround it.

“Our startups are tackling some of the most complex global challenges, from innovative cancer therapies to advanced energy storage,” says Karen Greve Young, vice-president of corporate development and partnerships at MaRS.

To that end, MaRS offers space, mentoring and matchmaking events for startups with investors, customers and talent. It also works with corporations and government to help them adopt innovation in four main sectors, namely, energy and the environment (i.e., “clean tech”), finance and commerce, health, and work and learning.

“Innovation is the most powerful driver of positive economic and social change,” says Greve Young. “We like to say that MaRS is not just about creating billion-dollar companies, but touching a billion lives.”

TORONTO FASHION INCUBATOR

Toronto Fashion Incubator (TFI) ranks as the first official fashion incubator in the world. Launched in 1987, to spotlight and support the next generation of Canadian fashion designers and entrepreneurs, it has prompted copycat programs in over 30 global cities, including London, Paris, New York, Milan, Amsterdam, Melbourne and Chicago.

TFI’s resident designers get 24/7 access to a work studio, high-end sewing machines and industrial irons, and a resource centre where they can check out costly trend forecasting services gratis.

Among the successful alumni are Sunny Fong of Project Runway Canada fame; Joeffer Caoc who established first Misura and then Joeffer Caoc; U.K. designer Todd Lynn; Pina Ferlisi, once the creative director of Marc by Marc Jacobs and McQ and now the creative director of Henri Bendel; as well as the labels Line Knitwear, David Dixon and Smythe.

DIGITAL MEDIA ZONE

In the eight years since it opened its doors, the DMZ (Digital Media Zone) at Ryerson University has become the top-ranked university-based incubator in North America, and third in the world, according to UBI Global—a leader in performance analysis of business incubators.

Just over 300 startups sprang to life in the DMZ, garnering more than $380 million in funding among them.

Noteworthy grads include employee communication platform SoapBox; medical photo-sharing app Figure 1 (used to crowdsource diagnoses to complex and rare conditions); and robotics company DreamQii, which launched Canada’s most successful startup crowdfunding campaign ever three years ago, raising $2.5 million for its PlexiDrone product.

The DMZ’s reach extends far beyond Canada’s borders as well, with partnerships in the U.S., India, South Africa, the U.K. and Tunisia. A recently opened space in New York City should “allow DMZ ventures in Toronto to explore the market opportunities in the U.S.,” says Rickett. “That’s the next step in helping companies built in Toronto to scale globally.”

CANADIAN MUSIC THEATRE PROJECT

When the Canadian musical Come From Away launched on Broadway back in March 2017, it took New York by storm, garnering glowing reviews and a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. The heart-warming production was based on the true story of how the town of Gander, Newfoundland, welcomed 6,579 people who arrived on their doorstep after 38 planes were forced to land on September 11, 2001.

What few people know is that the musical was originally developed and produced by Sheridan College and the Canadian Music Theatre Project (CMTP), Canada’s first incubator for the development of new musical theatre works.

Launched in 2011, the incubator offers chosen writers, lyricists and composers a writer’s fee and an opportunity to hone and perfect their work. They can make full use of a professional director, a music director and a cast of fourth-year Sheridan students to workshop the material, bringing the characters to life.

So far, CMTP has workshopped 19 musicals, including Brantwood, which won the 2015 Dora Mavor Moore Audience Choice Award, and The Theory of Relativity, which ran Off West End in London, England.

“The very best in the business will tell you that what makes it onstage is probably draft 472, not draft one,” says Michael Rubinoff, producing artistic director of CMTP and Theatre Sheridan. Like all of Toronto’s incubators—whether they focus on upstart businesses, arts ventures or social enterprises—CMTP provides the support creators need to help them get to that polished draft, prototype or launch.

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For more information about working with Business Events Toronto contact our team here.

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Luxury Caribbean Adventure Tours
No trip to the Caribbean would be complete without taking advantage of Island Routes group adventure tours. As a preferred partner of Sandals Resorts, Island Routes has selected the best-of-the-best tours that each island has to offer, from catamaran sails and deep-sea fishing to mountain biking and dune buggy off-roading excursions. Discover the real Caribbean, far off the beaten path, endlessly exhilarating and always spectacular.

Learn more about Island Routes >

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Fall Focus

Fall group travel is growing with Sandals Resorts & Beaches Resorts every year as they take advantage of the benefits of Fall travel.

Here are the Top 3 reasons to consider Fall travel for your group:

1. MORE VALUE: Our best rates of the year are offered in Fall.
2. MORE COMPLIMENTARY ROOMS: We offer the 6th room on a complimentary basis for travel from September to December with a maximum of 5 complimentary rooms per group.
3. MORE AVAILABILITY: Fall, considered to be an off-peak travel season, translates into better availability of room categories available for your group including higher-level suites.

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Calgary’s Culinary Scene Surprises and Delights

When you think of Calgary’s culinary scene, images of sizzling steak paired with a spicy Caesar cocktail may come to mind. And while a great steak is certainly one of this city’s claims to fame (check out Avenue Calgary’s best steak houses here), the food offerings are vast and exciting. Here are a few of Calgary’s top restaurants to check out on your next visit:

Deane House
Deane House represents Canadian fine dining in the historical heart of Calgary. The building was once the home to RCMP Captain Richard Burton Deane, but now houses a menu proud of its prairie roots. For groups, request the garden room or dining room.

Shokunin
Shokunin placed 21st on Canada’s 100 Best restaurant list and was thrown into the international spotlight thanks to Netflix’s cooking competition show, The Final Table. Chef Darren MacLean brings his passion for Japanese cuisine in an approachable way, with a focus on seasonality, technique and maximizing flavour. Make reservations for this hot spot!

Teatro

Teatro is one of Calgary’s most timeless dining institutions, situated near the end of Stephen Avenue for more than 25 years. Its location is convenient for those attending conferences either at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre or BMO Centre at Stampede Park, and its classic Italian cuisine is rich and comforting.

Native Tonques

Taco Tuesday, anyone? With Native Tonques’ elevated take on Mexican street food, you’ll be happy with tacos on any day. Pair these with one of the 60 bottles of mezcals and you’ve got yourself a fiesta.

Ten Foot Henry
Ten Foot Henry’s veg-forward, shareable menu bridges “the gap between what you should be eating and what you really want to eat.” It was named one of Calgary’s 20 best overall restaurants for 2019 thanks to its thoughtful menu and approachably upscale vibe.

Article

Calgary’s Industry Leadership

Big skies and even bigger ideas fuel conventions in Canada’s energy capital. But energy and natural resources aren’t the only areas where Calgary is leading the industry.

Learn about Calgary’s industry leadership in natural resources, agriculture, clean tech and advanced manufacturing here.

Article

Leveraging Local Flavour at Your Next Event

This is a sponsored post by Meetings + Conventions Calgary from Event Manager Blog.

Cookie-cutter event experiences won’t suffice for your attendees. You want to give them something out of the ordinary, an experience they will remember. And for good reason. Experience is incredibly important to building lasting memories, and positive attendee experience improves retention.

But finding a unique host city that is easily accessible and in-tune with what event planners need is a challenge. You want a locale that wows, makes a good impression from a hospitality perspective, and provides the needed support for your event. And you want them to serve it up in a way that is unique to their area.

Why a Unique Host City is Important

Some potential attendees will make a decision on whether to attend based on location. An intriguing location means an event ticket (or several), while a run-of-the-mill locale means they’ll likely skip this year for the next.

Defining the location for an ideal event experience is an extremely personal one, and knowing your audience will help you select something that will make an impression. Here are a few things to look for in order to select a host city that will resonate with your guests:

• Cultural Uniqueness
• The Appeal of a Local Arts and Crafts Scene
• Opportunities for Blood-pumping Excitement
• World-Class Knowledge and Experience
• The Awe of Natural Wonder
• Flavour of the Beverage Scene

Cultural Uniqueness

If you want your conference to be unique, look for a host city steeped in originality. Select somewhere that can’t be confused with anywhere else. Sure, you can still have a unique conference experience in a city used by everyone else, but it is a lot harder. Selecting a host city that makes potential attendees stop and think about the time they’ll spend there evokes much more of a reaction and resonates with them on a higher level than somewhere they just went a few months ago (or even last year).

Cultural events serve as good differentiators and provide unique experiences. For example, events held in Calgary, Canada can incorporate a “White Hat Ceremony” as part of their festivities. This exclusive opportunity allows delegates to become honorary Calgarians by receiving a souvenir white hat. It’s a fun local tradition that has been around since the 1950s, with a long list of past participants from princesses to presidents being “white-hatted.”

A White Hat ceremony can take place at the airport as delegates arrive or anytime during the meeting or event. Whenever and wherever it takes place, it’s something they’ll always remember and is a strong opportunity for social media shares.

BONUS IDEA

Want even more traction from the white hatting? Livestream the ceremony and make sure everyone participating knows the event hashtag. You’re about to create some Insta-magic.

The Appeal of a Local Arts and Crafts Scene

Connecting with the artisans in the area can give attendees a feel for the local people and their culture, not to mention their handiwork makes for cherished souvenirs for friends and family back home. However, most event guests don’t have time to spend looking for crafters and “Made in” designations, so they grab something on an airport store shelf minutes before departure.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can create meaningful exchanges between craftsman and attendees that create a deeper appreciation for the area by experiencing the handiwork of local artisans. The easiest way to do this is by working with a convention and visitors’ bureau in your host city that can bring these special people to your group, like Meetings + Conventions Calgary (MCC) did with the Makers’ Market.

Calgary is known for its entrepreneurial spirit. It is rich in a population of local artisans, who create everything from soap to coasters to coffee. Attendees are often delighted when event planners use local products in swag bags, because these items are usually things they are not familiar with or do not have access to at home. However, MCC went one step further by incorporating a Makers’ Market right into an event, as was done with Go Media Canada. This event brought local artisans to Go Media Canada participants, making it much easier for attendees to take time out of their hectic schedules to explore the Canadian-made, hand-crafted goods.

BONUS IDEA

In addition to hosting a Makers’ Market, you can include local swag in hotel rooms as a welcome gift or parting souvenir. Another idea is to arrange an edible Makers’ Market with tastings of local foods and/or beverages.

Opportunities for Blood-pumping Excitement

If you’re looking to attract a younger audience or you want to shake up your after-hours activities at your next event, consider a city with plenty of original excitement. Move beyond everyday activities and look for a host city that can serve as a “Basecamp for Adventure.”

To do this, think about what your host city offers that other cities don’t. Yes, zoos are nice but you want to consider activities that will differentiate your event from others. Is the host city known for extreme sports? Maybe the arts opportunities are unparalleled.

Next, think about what your audience wants. Adrenaline junkies, for instance, won’t be impressed by a sedate wine tasting, but they will like other heart-pumping Calgarian offers:

• Shooting down the longest downhill luge track (5,905 feet!) in the world at Skyline Luge Calgary (group and team bookings available).
• Racing on the bobsleigh track made famous by Team Jamaica during the ’88 Winter Olympic Games and the Disney film Cool Runnings. It’s considered the fastest sport on ice. The pilot will speed you through ten turns reaching speeds of over 60 miles per hour and experiencing up to 4 Gs of force. There’s also a summer version that takes 4 riders down a track of 10 turns hitting speeds of nearly 50 mph and a force of 2 Gs. But if both of those options are just a little too fast for your group’s liking there is also the Acura (snow) Tube Park that is the largest of its kind in Western Canada.
• Soaring across North America’s Fastest Zipline. The adventure incorporates three different lines and takes about an hour. After the training line, attendees are brought to the 295-foot ski jump tower for the Monster – North America’s fastest zipline. Next up is the eight-story Plaza Zipline, which takes riders into a treed area and back down to the base.
• Leaping off an eight-story platform at Free Fall in a bungee-style harness (talk about a trust exercise)!

BONUS IDEA

Gamification can be used outdoors as well. Think multi-activity challenges and leaderboards to encourage attendees to participate and increase the stakes. You can create individual competitions or divide your group into teams for greater interaction.

World-Class Knowledge and Experience

If your group has a unique interest or need, speak with the local convention and visitors bureau to leverage local knowledge and experience. Learning more about the intellectual capital available in an area can give a place a unique advantage as your next event location.

WHAT PLANNERS GET FROM A LOCAL KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE

There are multiple benefits to looking for a host city that is rich in an area of knowledge that appeals to your group. Some of these include:

• A larger speaker pool.
• Creative ideas and experts from another area of the world.
• “Field trips” to local areas of interest such as universities, labs, archeological digs, and others that are unique to the area.
• Additional attendees or volunteers who are interested in your event’s subject matter.

If you plan for an industry or association conference, you can contact local members in your proposed host city or work with the CVB to uncover some of the most unique sites, research, and experts in your area of interest. For instance, event planners looking for the following industries might consider working with Calgary to meet their attendees’ needs, because Calgary has a special group called the Calgary Champions.
 
Calgary Champions is a group of professionals that helps bring conferences of interest to Calgary. This group looks for events in particular industries or learning paths that the city is well-suited to host because of its deep knowledge and talent in the areas. Calgary is fortunate to have a diversified economy. The city is in a unique position to host healthcare, science, energy, and several other fields:

• Cleantech
• Agribusiness
• Aerospace
• Manufacturing
• Transportation
• Logistics

BONUS IDEA

Consider budding hybrid industries and blends (like health tech) that may interest your group. Find out how the host city is innovating by talking to their CVB that can help make the necessary connections to individuals leading that local innovation.

The Awe of Natural Wonder
Natural beauty is another unique differentiator when it comes to host city selection. Do you want to host your event in an urban area? Around beaches? The desert? Each has its own appeal and defines the area and the experience.

Even some urban areas can boast amazing green space and outdoor activities. Calgary, for instance, is Canada’s sunniest major city. Attendees at events there can take advantage of the 497 miles (800 kms) of walking and cycling paths. They can rent bikes and ride along the river cycling path or rent kayaks and rafts to float past downtown on the Bow River.

Sometimes an urban area can provide amazing natural wonder within a short distance so attendees can enjoy the best of both worlds—the convenience of a central location mixed with the allure of nature. As an example of how conference attendees can enjoy natural sites they can’t see every day, Calgary is well within day-trip driving distance to the following:

• The stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains (1 hour)
• UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Banff & Jasper National Park (1 and 3 hours, respectively)
• Dinosaur Provincial Park (2 hours)
• Waterton Lakes National Park (3 hours)

BONUS IDEA

Create a unique experience for attendees that marries their area of interest with a local subject matter expert on an expert-led outing to an area of natural beauty, such as an excavation site, place of historical significance, or a national park.

The Flavour of the Beverage Scene

Foodies are quick to mention the “taste” of a town, but there’s more to enjoy than delicious dishes. Crowds get thirsty. When they do, what will your host city have for them? Will you serve the same beverage they can get in any airport bar, or will you look for opportunities for attendees to savor the flavor of the land?

Serving up distinct regional tastes, or educating attendees about a beverage process they know little about can set your event apart from others. Make sure you talk to the host about how you want to stress the differences in the culinary or beverage offerings in the area, and not just how things are harvested and created. What makes their local beverage better, tastier, earthier, oakier, etc.? For example, Alberta’s ideal growing conditions produce some of the world’s best barley, helping to fuel Calgary’s booming microbrewery and distillery scene.

A popular activity in Calgary is biking; what about adding biking and microbreweries? Get your crew on some 15-passenger u–shaped bikes and pedal your way between Alberta’s top craft beer taprooms and breweries.

BONUS IDEA

Creating a craft cocktail in teams and allowing judges to pick their favorite can be a lot of fun, and something attendees don’t get to do every day. You can also educate them on the local beverage and then give them a blind taste test to see if they can select the local drink.

IN CONCLUSION
As a savvy event professional, you know you want a host city that is going to make a big impression. But after pouring over countless RFPs, they all start to look alike. That’s why you want to explore areas that can provide your attendees with a truly unique experience. Look for these in an area’s hospitality, its artisans, its natural beauty, and its food and beverages.

If you’re looking for a unique host city, Calgary can provide customized, local experiences. It’s that local experience that will set your event apart from all the others.

Article

10 Reasons to Meet in Calgary

This energetic city is as hospitable as it is innovative, having built its reputation for events on hosting the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, the Calgary Stampede, for more than 100 years. As a basecamp for adventure or a springboard to the region’s booming tech and energy industries, Calgary provides a smart and inspiring setting for groups of all kinds.

1. One destination with two great venues. Meeting planners have not one but two options to choose from for large events — the downtown Calgary TELUS Convention Centre and the BMO Centre at Stampede Park, just four blocks apart.
2. It’s easy to get in and out. A western Canadian hub, Calgary is no more than one stop away from any major city in the world. Bonus — the Calgary International Airport is just 20 minutes from downtown.
3. Calgary is compact and walkable. Meeting in Calgary puts attendees in the heart of the city’s vibrant cultural and entertainment districts, most of which is connected by an 11-mile skywalk system, +15. Prefer to stay outside? The city has 497 miles of walking and cycling paths.
4. The buzz is big right now. The New York Times put the city on its coveted “52 Places to Go in 2019” list, and last year The Economist named Calgary the fourth best place to live in the world.
5. It’s easy to energize attendees. Here, attendees can ride down the world’s longest downhill luge track or soar across North America’s fastest zip line. And less than an hour’s drive from downtown, the Canadian Rocky Mountains and UNESCO World Heritage sites like Banff and Jasper National Parks offer even more adventure.
6. Calgary has the happiest happy hours. Alberta’s ideal growing conditions produce some of the world’s best barley, helping to fuel Calgary’s booming microbrewery and distillery scene. The bites aren’t bad either — Calgary’s vibrant restaurant scene was recently named the second hottest in Canada.
7. Locals love to get involved. Calgarians are the ultimate hosts who want to make attendees feel at home. Meeting planners can incorporate a local tradition by adding a White Hat Ceremony or a local makers’ market into their program.
8. The off-site venues have major wow factor. Break out of the ordinary with stimulating group experiences at the Calgary Zoo, Canada’s National Music Centre, Spruce Meadows equestrian facility, or TELUS Spark science museum.
9. Calgary is green and clean. Calgary has one of the highest concentrations of green space in North America, and is the first municipality in Canada to power its infrastructure solely by renewable energy.
10. It’s Canada’s sunniest major city. Calgary averages nearly 2,400 hours of bright sunshine annually. During the summer months, visitors can expect daylight until well past 9 p.m.

For more reasons to visit Calgary, click here!