Celebrate at the Banff Pride Festival
When: October 2 to 12
Banff Pride Festival’s celebrations run for 10 days at the beginning of October, lighting up the town with a variety of events including the annual Pride march, cabarets, drag performances and more. This year’s edition features incredible talent like Kerri Colby from RuPaul’s Drag Race and Calgary’s own Karla Marx.
Various locations, Banff, banffpride.ca
Try Pride-inspired treats and drinks
When: October 2 to 12
Part of this year’s Banff Pride Festival, Taste the Rainbow features Pride-inspired food and drink items that you won’t want to miss. Twenty-four venues around Banff are participating, and a minimum of $2 from each featured Pride special sold goes towards Banff Pride Society’s year-round 2SLGBTQIA+ programming. Some participating venues include Farm & Fire, Chuck’s Steakhouse and The Eddie.
Multiple locations, banffpride.ca
Go on an end-of-season lake cruise
When: Until October 11 (Maligne Lake) and October 12 (Lake Minnewanka)
Before breaking out your skis and snowboards for the winter season, take part in some last summer activities like going on a lake cruise at Maligne Lake in Jasper or Lake Minnewanka in Banff. Cruise experiences last for one to 1.5 hours and feature a guided experience where you’ll learn more about the area while taking in the breathtaking views.
Maligne Lake Cruise, Improvement District No. 12, and Lake Minnewanka, Improvement District No. 9, banffjaspercollection.com
Appreciate the wonders of the night sky at the Jasper Dark Sky Festival
When: October 16 to 25
Jasper National Park is a designated dark sky preserve, a place where artificial light pollution is eliminated, offering a clear view of the night sky. Admire everything about the night sky with two weeks of science, music, art and storytelling at the Jasper Dark Sky Festival. Some highlights from the upcoming festival include the Sun to Stars experience, which includes a tour of the Jasper Planetarium and mountaintop dining experience, and a talk with astronaut-in-training Manju Bangalore discussing Operation Period, the first dedicated research mission to study menstruation in space.
Multiple locations, jasperdarksky.travel
Sample local brews at a beer festival
When: October 22 to 24
Try beers from across Alberta at the annual Banff Craft Beer Festival. The festival features more than 40 beverage vendors serving beers, liquor, mixed drinks and non-alcoholic sips, as well as a variety of food vendors including some Banff favourites like The Fat Ox and Rose & Crown Pub. Attend for a single day or make it a full weekend getaway — hotel ticket packages are available.
Cave and Basin, 311 Cave Ave., Banff, albertabeerfestivals.com
Experience Halloween at the Fairmont Banff Springs
When: October 31
This Halloween, enter into a haunting, mystical world at the Fairmont Banff Springs’ “Halloween at the Castle: A Dark Fairytale” experience. The Rundle Bar will be transformed with magnificent fairytale forest-inspired decorations. Guests are encouraged to dress up in costume, so lean into the fairytale theme or come as something entirely your own. This experience is open to both hotel guests and visitors.
405 Spray Ave., Banff, 1-866-540-4406, banff-springs-hotel.com