Calgary Public Library

The library is always a wonderful place to take the kids to spend a few hours, looking for great books and movies. What is better than time spent browsing through the children's collection? For information on locations and hours, visit our webpage.

Please join us at Crowfoot Library for variety of fun activities for children ages 6 - 12. Activities take place from 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Monday, March 25 – Thursday, March 28th. No registration required.

On Thursday, March 28th from 1-3:30 pm, Central Library will be featuring the Easter-themed movie Hop. No registration is required.

Thornhill Library is offering "We've Got Magic to Do - Just for You" on Thursday, March 28 from 2:00 - 2:30 pm. No registration required.

Check out other fun library activities on our program page. Enter the date and the audience and see what is available at a library near you.

City of Calgary Arenas

Various City of Calgary arenas will be offering free public skating on Easter Sunday, March 31.

Inglewood Bird Sanctuary

This is an excellent time of year to see the birds at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary as the leaves are not yet out on the trees, and spring is on its way (we hope). The park is open sunrise to sunset, year-round. From October - April, the Nature Centre is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. closed Mondays & statutory holidays.

My co-workers tell me that you often see other wildlife as well as birds.

Not Free, but Fun

Spring Rally in the Alley - Are your kids car-crazy? Visit Gasoline Alley Museum for car-related fun activities. March 22 - April 1, 9:20 a.m. - 4:00 pm.

The Calgary Zoo is always a fun place to visit. Time your visit so you can see the Penguin Walk on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Check out the Zoo's Easter Eggstravaganza on March 29 and 30, free with your zoo admission.

Fort Calgary is open daily from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. except for Good Friday. This is a wonderful place to visit Calgary's past.

Telus Spark has various programs during the spring break, including the travelling exhibit "How to Make a Monster - the Art and Technology of Animatronics".

Out of Town Events

Lake Louise - The Volcom Peanut butter and Rail Jam is Volcom's amateur snowboard contest series. The event is absolutely free, on a first come first serve basis, and boasts tons of free prizes and PB&J sandwiches!

Check out the Easter activities at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, always a fun place to visit.

Several of our staff members enjoy this less-well known park just north of Calgary.

The best thing about Big Hill Springs Provincial Park is the proximity to Calgary. (See the map and directions on their webpage.) The park is small and there are only a couple of picnic tables, so take a blanket and a cold lunch. The waterfalls all run down into a series of creeks and bridges at the entrance to the park. It's great for toddlers because the creeks are shallow and slow moving. The kids can play for hours. For older kids and adults, the walking trail is quite steep in places but is only about 2km and takes you through a variety vegetation zones.

Its a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Marg

I found a wonderful clipping about Big Hill Springs in our files. Dating from 1934, the article starts as follows: "Memories of Highland glens, of the coombes of Devon or the Derbyshire dales, are apt to rise in the minds of many former residents of the Old Land who follow the winding road that leads from Cochrane to Big Hill Springs. Even without the fairy-like glade that surrounds the springs, with its miniature waterfalls and crystal pools, as the objective, the journey through the wide valley is well worth the visit." The article ends with a letter to the editor from Mrs. C.D. Casey who enjoyed the springs as much then as we do now. "Big Hill Springs...is a veritable little paradise tucked away in a secluded valley."

Candace

If you are looking for fun Calgary Staycations, check out this book, Day Trips From Calgary (2006), by Bill Corbett. This book has a nice section on Big Hill Springs Park as well as other great places to visit. Mr. Corbett says in the 2002 edition, "I wrote this book to entice Calgary residents and visitors to consider all directions of the compass when embarking on a day trip from the city. Those who do so will be wonderfully surprised.