Visit Marda Loop

The Marda Gras Street Festival has been a big part of Marda Loop for decades.  

Marda Gras began as an initiative of a newly founded organization of local businesses, the Marda Loop BRZ (today’s BIA). Just months after the BRZ was founded, “Summerfest” was held on August 24, 1985 in large empty lot on the corner of 33^rd Avenue and 21^st Street – where the Marda Station shops and condominiums are today.  The event was to include a farmer’s market, charity dunk tank, car raffle, corn roast, live bands, a flea market and other attractions including 1988 Olympic mascots Heidi and Howdy.  According to a BRZ document, Mayor Ralph Klein was invited “to cut the ribbon and christen the district” with the new Marda Loop name. “A shirt was made for him, which said ‘I got looped at Marda Loop’. Which he took in good humour.”

That’s the 80s for you!

We still have a few independent businesses in Marda Loop that date back to the first Marda Gras, including Mike’s Auto Service, Roberto’s Hair Studio, Dragon Gate restaurant and Wild About Flowers (then Roselawn Florists).  Safeway, ATB, Scotiabank, Petro Canada (then Rebel), Circle K (then Mac’s), and Liquor Depot (then ALCB) were also in Marda Loop then.

By 1987 the festival was relaunched on a grander scale and re-named Marda Gras in an irreverent play on words.  Unlike the original Mardi Gras in New Orleans, it didn’t happen on Tuesday at the beginning of Lent, but “Marda Gras Day” did have a beads-and-masks New Orleans theme.  The festival was widely promoted, including with a multi-page insert in the Calgary Herald (pictured).

Marda Gras usually is in August, but the 1992 festival was planned for June 13, including a giant birthday cake for Canada’s 125^th birthday and an appearance by Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong. But you know what happens in June in Calgary, and at the last moment Marda Gras was postponed until August due to rain!  It would be impossible to make that sort of move today – we just tough it out in our ponchos like in 2019!  The rescheduled August event included Canada’s first ever “Doo Dah” parade of random participants doing random things, inspired by the Pasadena original.

A celebrity dunk tank for charity fundraising was part of several early Marda Gras Days.  In 1992 the soggy celeb was City Council member Barb Scott. Later that year, Jon Lord, one of the founders of Marda Loop BRZ and owner of Casablanca Video, tried to dunk Barb for real in the 1992 Civic Election. Jon didn’t win that time, but he did become Alderman in 1995 after Scott retired.

Marda Gras is considered the longest-running street festival in Calgary (Lilac Fest was founded in 1989).   There have been balloon rides, beach volleyball, belly dancers, martial art demos and lots of bands. In recent years there has been an emphasis on high-quality musical entertainment and – of course – the famous Pet Pageant.  Due to COVID, there was no Marda Gras in 2020, but in the summer of 2021, with the loosening of restrictions, we did “Marda Gras Lite” – Calgary’s first street festival since the pandemic.

Since then, Marda Gras is back and better than ever.  Come and see us on the second Sunday in August (every year!) for all the fun!

P.S.  This little blog is not a definitive history. If you have memories, corrections, photos or more information on Marda Gras past, send a note to info@visitmardaloop.com or visit our history page at www.visitmardaloop.com/history