Rendered image of Festival Square. (Photo courtesy City of Lethbridge)

By Justin Goulet

Festival Square grand opening to take place in Lethbridge next week

Jun 15, 2022 | 10:55 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A new era for downtown Lethbridge will be celebrated next week.

The City of Lethbridge is set to mark the grand opening of Festival Square.

From June 22 to 24, 2022, a three-day ‘Lighting Up Festival Square’ kickoff party will take place in the new space on 6 Street South, just off of 3 Avenue South. This will be followed up by Pride in the Park and Casa’s Heavy Metal exhibition opening on June 25. All of the activities are free to attend.

The $1.71 million Festival Square Market Plaza was entirely funded through the Government of Alberta’s Provincial Municipal Stimulus Program. The City says it will offer a versatile, active and engaging public space for residents and local businesses in the area.

Festival Square will feature a permanent market space with supporting infrastructure to give local producers, artisans and craftspeople a place to sell their wares all year long. The project also includes an interactive stage, entry signs, decorative column lighting, programmable lighting and site furniture, as well as water/wastewater servicing.

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The initial grand opening day will be Wednesday, June 22. On that day, the section of 6 Street South between 3 Avenue South and 4 Avenue South will be fully closed to traffic.

The events of the day will include:

• An official ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m.
• A Downtown Lethbridge BRZ BBQ Mix & Mingle from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• A beer garden open from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Live entertainment from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., with music, theatre, dance and Blackfoot performances
• The official ‘Lighting Up Festival Square’ at 7 p.m.
• A mainstage performance featuring Theatre Outré from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

There will be more events on Thursday, June 23 with a Farmers’ Market and Eric Dyck Cartoonist in Residence on site from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., plus a Youth Artisan Market from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be mainstage performances from the Chinook High School Rock Bands, Last Minute Let Downs and The New Testaments between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Other live entertainment will occur from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

On Friday, June 24, there will be a Pop Up Yoga session in Festival Square at 12 p.m., followed by Family Fun on Festival Square from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Parking will be limited near Festival Square during the kickoff events. A full list of scheduled events is available from the City of Lethbridge.