Admittedly, I embody the “Midwest nice” mentality that’s associated with people from America’s heartland, a population known for being friendly and polite—often to a fault. We hold the door, make small talk with strangers and say “sorry” when it’s not necessary.
But I found an even friendlier crowd in Calgary.
Alberta’s biggest metro and the fourth-largest destination in Canada, Calgary was named the “friendliest city in the world” in the 2023 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards and is known for its genuinely welcoming, warm and approachable community.
The city’s long-standing White Hat Ceremonies, for example, are a well-known tradition that began in the 1950s and symbolizes Calgary’s history of Western hospitality and friendliness. Often performed as a civic welcome for visiting dignitaries and celebrities, the ceremonies involve presenting recipients with a white cowboy hat, leading them in a pledge to share Calgary’s spirit and, at the end, recognizing them as an honorary Calgarian with a celebratory “Yahoo!”
With that very Blue Sky City spirit, the Tourism Calgary team welcomed me and a dozen-plus meeting planners to the DMO’s “Calgary on Ice” fam trip at the end of March, a chance to experience the “friendliest city in the world” and its group offerings for ourselves. We all left with white cowboy hats and goals to return to Calgary again soon, groups in tow.
A Warm, Western Welcome
Mountains will never fail to amaze my Midwestern eyes.
I could just barely make out the distant silhouette of the Canadian Rockies from my airplane window as we approached Calgary International Airport (YYC). A slight overcast clouded much of the view and the midday sun reflecting off the plane’s wing blinded me whenever I cracked open my window shade, but the Rockies’ natural beauty was still crystal clear.
Our Allied & Associated Limousine driver pointed them out again as we rounded the expressway from YYC toward downtown Calgary, explaining how, when the sun is shining (which happens approximately 333 days of the year in Blue Sky City), the mountains’ peaks poke up from behind the buildings in the distance.
In under 20 minutes, we made it to our host hotel for the fam, Delta Hotels by Marriott Calgary Downtown, a 25-floor property at the edge of the East Village neighborhood. With 395 guest rooms, 10,646 square feet of event space and a connection to the Plus 15 network—the world’s most extensive pedestrian skywalk system totaling 10 miles in length, with 86 bridges that connect 130 buildings—the property is an ideal hub for groups meeting in Calgary, near top attractions like Calgary Tower and Studio Bell.
“It’s fun to showcase the [Delta Hotels by Marriott] brand. It’s very well-known in Canada but not so much internationally,” said Kelly Metz, director of sales and marketing at Delta Hotels Calgary Downtown, when she welcomed our group to the property.
“We’re not affiliated with Delta Air Lines,” she quipped, “but we are a brand that has established ourselves under [Delta Hotels’] ‘Simple Made Perfect’ mission. Everything you need is available here.”
We had the afternoon to settle in before a welcome reception at Alberta Boot Company Outfitters, a local business founded in 1978 that specializes in “old-world boot making.” The traditional yet contemporary art form is practiced in the company’s open workshop space, where we were taught about the many steps it takes to handcraft the premium Western work boots and everyday footwear Alberta Boot Company is known for.
The company’s flagship store on 10th Avenue doubles as an event space for everything from intimate gatherings and large celebrations, complete with the rich scent of leather and that classic Calgary Western charm. Add-ons and experiences include a bar, catering, onsite personalization of premium hats and tours of the factory floor.
In the flagship’s main shopping space, Tourism Calgary had a mini activation set up for us: a cocktail station with a story behind it, one that Shelley Zucht-Shorter, vice president of destination experience and services, shared with us.
“Who has heard of the Calgary Caesar cocktail?” she asked. Half of the group raised their hands. “The Caesar is a little bit like the Bloody Mary, but it’s far, far more elevated.
“The story goes back to 1969, to a little hotel called the Calgary Inn, which is now The Westin,” she continued. “The restaurant manager had to come up with a signature drink for an Italian restaurant, something that would pair with spaghetti and clams. He decided to take clam juice, add it to tomato juice and called it the Caesar.” (I called it an acquired taste after taking a sip, but last year, Canadians consumed more than 400 million of the crazy cocktails.)
Our challenge that evening was to concoct a version of our own, adorned with edible decorations like celery stalks, lime wedges, olives, pickles and even bacon. Tourism Calgary would pick two winners: most whacky and most artistic. I gave my Caesar cocktail a face with a cherry tomato as a nose, called it “Tommy the Tomato Man” and ended up walking away with a spontaneous third prize from Tourism Calgary: best storytelling.
Saying goodbye to Tommy the Tomato Man, we made our way to event-capable Bonterra Trattoria for dinner, a beloved Italian restaurant in downtown Calgary with dishes centered around some of the finest local ingredients the city has to offer. Ours that evening featured bison bresaola, truffle butter, Italian sausage, roasted striploin, seasonal vegetables, orange-lavender crème citrus butter cookies and, of course, tiramisu.
[Related: Calgary Meeting Venues Saddle Up for an Inclusive Future]
Calgary Culture
Our first full day was all about experiencing what makes Calgary a place like no other, from its storied past and well-loved local businesses to the sports and entertainment scene that draw visitors from near and far.
Breakfast at Delta Hotels Calgary Downtown was inspired by the notable cartographer and explorer David Thompson, who is widely recognized as “the greatest land geographer who ever lived.” He walked or paddled an estimated 50,000-plus miles in his lifetime, mapping most of western Canada, including Calgary.
All that walking (often on snowshoes) and paddling Thompson did is where the lobby-level, Canadian-inspired gastropub inside Delta Hotels Calgary Downtown, Shoe & Canoe Public House, got its name. The cozy and laid-back spot is a go-to for Alberta-rooted dishes and drinks.
To entertain and educate the group while we ate, Kelly Choo, founder of T.SAND and a professional sand artist who moved to Canada from South Korea, illustrated David Thompson’s exploration of Alberta and the creation of Calgary in a live performance. As we listened to the story of exploration and discovery, Choo drew scene after scene in the sand, moving through each just as fluidly as the audio recording did itself.
Fueled by the power of protein and lots of carbohydrates, we departed the hotel for The Glencoe Club, Calgary’s premier private sports and social club with eight sheets of world-class curling ice. We were there to test the ice out for ourselves, but The Glencoe Club also features a range of sports and activities beyond curling, including swimming (indoor and outdoor), badminton, squash, tennis, skating, climbing and even year-round golf simulators, as well as opportunities for private bookings and events.
Our group split into three for a hands-on introduction to the sport (which looks way easier on TV!) to learn the basics and get used to sliding on the ice. Then, it was game on. I don’t know who won, but I do know the competitor in me gave it my all as a thrower—and was left with a massive bruise on my kneecap to prove it!
Part Mad Men set, part reborn flour warehouse and entirely uptown chic, Bridgette Bar was a vibey spot for lunch that afternoon. Helmed by chef JP Pedhirney and general manager Dewey Noordhof, both seasoned veterans of Calgary’s local restaurant scene, the restaurant’s menu revolves around its large wood-burning grill and oven. Bridgette Bar is suitable for events of varying sizes and offers a selection of fixed-price menus for seated group bookings of 10 or more.
Our afternoon continued at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC) and five floors of exhibitions that tell Canada’s musical story and celebrate its artists, bands and icons. Though our visit was quick, we experienced every aspect of Studio Bell and the NMC that we possibly could in 90 minutes, starting strong with the Rolling Stones Mobile Recording Studio (RSM), which is parked in its forever home next to the historic and iconic King Eddy stage. The NMC acquired the “studio in a truck” in 2001, restored it and continues to use the stationary yet fully operational RSM as a recording studio today.
At the center of Studio Bell on its second floor, the Performance Hall is a 3,300-square-foot space with fully retractable seats and an acoustically sound-proofed wall that can be opened or closed, making it a versatile venue for 264 theater-style, 250 for a standing reception or 160 for a seated dinner.
At this point, we already took care of the boots part, but what’s a cowboy without a hat?
Founded by Morris Schumiatcher in 1919, Smithbilt Hats was our next stop. The company produced mostly dress hats at first, but a co-op effort with local businessmen and the Calgary Stampede Board of Directors changed that in 1926. The goal was to promote Western wear for spectators and partisans in the Calgary Stampede and, over time, Western hats became a Smithbilt specialty.
Schumiatcher created the first white Smithbilt cowboy hat in 1946. Eight decades later, it’s known and worn proudly around the world as a symbol of Calgary. Attendees on the Calgary on Ice fam were presented with white hats of their own by Tourism Calgary in a surprise White Hat Ceremony that ended the only way it could: with one big “Yahoo!”
Dinner took place just across the street inside Inglewood’s historic National Hotel (1907) at The Nash and Off Cutt Bar, a bookable space with interiors designed to honor the history of the building and the neighborhood. (There’s a story behind those “mugshots” on the wall!) Our menu featured many of Alberta’s seven signature foods: honey, beef, bison, Red Fife wheat, Saskatoon berries, canola and root vegetables (plus more in the making).
For a nightcap, we strolled up the street to Cold Garden, a microbrewery that felt like walking into my childhood best friend’s garage in the best way possible. It’s the friendliest corner of the friendliest city, with ice cream cone- and flower-shaped disco balls and twinkling lights of various shapes and sizes dangling from every ceiling beam. Behind the counter, every employee looked up to smile and greet people as they walked in, even when the bar was lined from end to end. And outside on the patio—beneath heaters so effective I didn’t need my jacket!—a dozen or so of the coziest couches created a space where everyone was your friend and hours felt like minutes.
[Related: Four Major Meeting Hotels to debut in Calgary, Plus More New Properties in the West]
Roots and Renewal: Tried-and-True Spaces and New Developments in Calgary
Our second day in Calgary began in its downtown core at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre (CTCC), Canada’s first purpose-built convention center, which celebrated 50 years in 2024. Across its North and South buildings, the CTCC offers more than 122,000 square feet of meeting space and is conveniently connected to the Plus 15 skywalk.
On the second level of the North Building, local specialty coffee roasters Devil's Head Coffee were onsite to prepare fresh and much-needed cups of coffee made to order. A long, curvy table stretched down the center of the prefunction space, on which breakfast was ready for us, and off to the side, Cosmo Photo Booths had a variety of spices and seasonings for us to personalize with custom, AI-generated labels via an interactive photo booth.
We toured the 47,000-plus-square-foot exhibition hall first, with floor-to-ceiling windows flooding the space with natural light. On the main level, the TELUS Rooms provide multiple modern spaces with flexible wall placements and furnishings that allow for configurations for 10 to 245 people.
Inside one of those rooms, we learned about current and upcoming Calgary developments: The Glenbow is set to reopen in 2027 as the first major museum in Canada to offer free general admission forever, with the largest public art collection in Western Canada and a new 13,000-square-foot rooftop terrace at its JR Shaw Centre for Arts & Culture.
The more than $2 billion of major city-building investments in the Culture and Entertainment District are either completed or underway, including the expansion of the BMO Centre and the construction of Scotia Place, a new 18,400-seat multipurpose arena slated for 2027. It will be the new home for the NHL’s Calgary Flames and is intended to replace the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Our tour of the CTCC continued in the South Building, where nearly 20,000 square feet of space is available in Macleod Hall on the building’s lower level. The space was still set up for the Canadian Sport Institute’s Red, White and Gold Gala that took place the night before, with furnishings and decor by Modern Rentals, which put together one of the most creative setups I’ve seen, with roundtables surrounded by mini lounge areas and comfortable seating that made even the massive exhibit hall space feel intimate, cozy and speakeasy-esque. Approximately 12,000 square feet of additional space is available on the South Building’s second level, accommodating groups of 20 to 350-plus.
Arguably the most exciting development for meeting planners in Calgary, the recently expanded BMO Centre on legendary Stampede Park is where we spent our afternoon. The more than $500 million project doubled BMO Centre’s hosting capacity to over 1 million square feet, making it the largest convention center in Western Canada—and one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen.
From the art on the walls, including a 1:1 recreation of the nostalgic Neon Cowboy that once stood as a beacon for events at the Stampede Corral, to the dramatic central gathering space anchored by Canada’s largest indoor fireplace, to the striking Champions Ballroom, with over 50,000 square feet of space and sweeping views of the Rocky Mountains, the BMO Centre was bright, bold and beautiful.
Opened on Stampede Park in May 2024, the SAM Centre is where the Calgary Stampede can be experienced year-round. The 112-year history of the Stampede comes to life in this modern ranch house through interactive storytelling, inspiring artifacts and immersive art. We were transported to the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth” in a 270-degree space complete with haptic floors and life-size images, where a 12-minute show gave us a taste of the buzz and excitement that is Calgary Stampede season. Even Sarah O’Brien, the 2026 Calgary Stampede Princess, stopped by to say hello.
Early in the evening, I made my way over to Hawthorn Dining Room & Bar at Fairmont Palliser, where I met with Laurie Beaupre, tour leader at Alberta Food Tours, for a sampling of what the company and Calgary’s food scene has to offer. Beaupre walked me through my second Ceasar cocktail, instructing me to squeeze a little lime into it and try it rimmed with celery salt. I took a few sips to really be sure this time—definitely an acquired taste. The ginger beef, however, was to die for and one of the best bites of the trip.
The Fairmont Palliser itself was another highlight. Built by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to serve as a premier hub for travelers, the historic hotel opened on June 1, 1914, but its elegance is timeless. The 407-room property offers 13 venues totaling more than 19,000 square feet of space with a maximum capacity of 450. My favorite venue of the ones I toured, the approximately 2,600-square-foot Alberta Ballroom, seats 160 banquet-style and is adorned with hand-painted murals depicting some past, proposed and still-standing CPR properties.
Less than 10 minutes away, The Dorian, Autograph Collection was my final stop for the day. A nod to Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, the property’s aesthetic and interior design combine elements of Wilde’s fashion-forward flair with Calgary’s evolution. The Dorian is the city’s only One Michelin Key Hotel, with 137 guest rooms and 7,000-plus square feet of event space. At Prologue, a cafe and cocktail bar off the hotel lobby, the Lemon Berry Gimlet was a sweet note to end my time in Calgary on.
Before I left Blue Sky City, Tourism Calgary’s manager of events and hosting, Cindy Good, pulled me aside. Sometime during our dinner at The Nash, I mentioned to my table of five, Good included, that I’d be getting back home just in time to enjoy dinner with my dad on his birthday, and that everywhere I go, I buy him a T-shirt for one of the local sports teams.
Inside the small bag Good handed me was a Calgary Flames T-shirt, men’s size large.
Calgary, I believe, really is the friendliest city in the world.
[Read more meeting and event news in Western Canada]
Banff Is a BONUS!
An hour and a half from Calgary, Banff is a must-visit destination the Tourism Calgary team graciously gave interested Calgary on Ice fam attendees the option to see for themselves. Though our time in town was short—shorter than expected, due to a snowstorm and nearly four-hour standstill on the Trans-Canada Highway—every minute in Banff was well spent. Highlights include lunch at Three Bears Brewery & Restaurant, visits to iconic Banff snow and skate shops Rude Boys and Rude Girls, trying a Bear Claw and, through skies that finally cleared, seeing the Three Sisters in the mountains near Canmore.
Planner's Perspective
Jaime Paletta, Senior Event Manager, TK Events
What are your thoughts about Calgary as a meetings destination after attending this trip?
After attending the trip, my overall impression of Calgary as a destination was extremely positive. What stood out most was how genuinely friendly everyone was—it really defined the experience. The city offers a vibrant urban feel but without the congestion you’d typically find in places like Toronto, which made it easy and enjoyable to get around. I also appreciated how Calgary fully embraces its identity, especially with its strong connection to the Calgary Stampede, giving it a distinct cultural character you don’t find elsewhere in Canada. And of course, the endless blue skies were amazing! They added an extra layer of energy and brightness to the whole visit.
What stood out about the destination or set it apart from others?
What really makes Calgary stand out from other destinations is its strong sense of identity and welcoming atmosphere. The city fully embraces the spirit and traditions while making it feel polished and authentic. Calgary also has a “small city, big family” feel—I experienced how friendly and connected the community is, which made the experience feel warm, personal and genuinely inviting.
What was the highlight of the trip for you?
As a planner, the highlight of the trip for me was touring the newly built BMO Centre on the Stampede Park. The space is clearly designed with both intention and functionality in mind, and as I walked through, I naturally found myself mapping out how my upcoming programs could fit within it. It was especially impressive to learn about the sustainable practices integrated into both the design and day-to-day operations—something that aligns closely with our own priorities at TK Events.
What new or upcoming developments in Calgary are you most excited about, from a planner's perspective?
I am most excited about Calgary’s long-term vision for transforming Stampede Park into a true hub for meetings and events. From a planner’s perspective, it’s shaping up to be a dream destination, with new hotels being developed right near the convention center and a growing collection of unique offsite venues that allow attendees to fully experience the spirit of the Calgary Stampede and the surrounding community. Altogether, it’s creating a highly connected, immersive environment that feels thoughtfully designed for both planners and attendees—and it’s clear it’s going to be something special!
What offsite venues, attractions or activities do you think would be a good fit for future programs?
The Calgary TELUS Convention Centre is amazing and so accessible. It’s centrally located downtown and connected to three hotels, making it ideal for programs requiring multi-hotel room blocks and easy attendee flow.
For more immersive experiences, Alberta Boot Company and Smithbilt Hats offer engaging ways to connect with Alberta’s western heritage. At Smithbilt Hats, we took place in the iconic White Hat Ceremony, where we were are formally “sworn in” as honorary Calgarians and presented with the city’s signature white cowboy hat—I kept thinking how cool this would be for my clients to offer to a group.
The city also offers fun, interactive teambuilding opportunities such as learning how to curl, which is a uniquely Canadian experience and a great fit for group programs. And...it’s a lot harder than the pros make it look!
For future incentive programs, Banff National Park/Lake Louise is top of my proposed cities. This is no doubt a bucket-list destination for most and would be such a memorable experience for a smaller group.
Anything else about Calgary you'd like to share?
I am very grateful to Tourism Calgary for bringing me along a very well thought out experience. I cannot wait to come back with a program. I just know it will be a success.
