{"id":564954,"date":"2026-03-27T19:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T19:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/564954\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T19:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T19:17:12","slug":"free-and-nearly-free-things-to-do-in-calgary-this-april","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/564954\/","title":{"rendered":"Free and nearly free things to do in Calgary this April"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Calgary is full of things to do, but sometimes it can get a bit pricey. Luckily, there are plenty of options that let you get out and enjoy the city without spending a lot of money.<\/p>\n<p>From big events to fun activities, we\u2019ve rounded up eight things to do for $20 or under in Calgary this April.<\/p>\n<p>What: Smut Slam is an adults-only open mic night where anyone can sign up to share a dirty story, based on real life. One person will win the best story of the night and bring home the prize.<\/p>\n<p>When: Wednesday, April 1, 2026; 8 p.m.<br \/>Where: Gulbar \u2013 636 10th Ave. SW<br \/>Cost: $15 in advance, $20 at the door<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" title=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2255037\" style=\"color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774639030_338_MixCollage-23-Mar-2026-03-13-PM-4062.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2255037\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Butterfield Acres\/Facebook<\/p>\n<p>What: Spring is here, and that means Butterfield Acres\u2019 baby animals have arrived. You\u2019ll have the opportunity to snuggle with baby goats and lambs, and check out chicklets and baby pigs. You\u2019ll also find pony rides for kids, tractor-pulled wagon rides, tons of photo opportunities and more!<\/p>\n<p>When: April 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 2026<br \/>Where: Butterfield Acres \u2013 254077 Rocky Ridge Rd. NW<br \/>Cost: $16.49 for kids and $19.49 for adults<\/p>\n<p>What: The ultimate girls\u2019 day out is coming to Calgary. You can shop through over 200 vendors and find free makeovers, goodie bags, paint workshops, live music, and much more!<\/p>\n<p>When: April 11 to 12, 2026<br \/>Where: BMO Centre \u2013 1912 Flores Ladue Parade SE<br \/>Cost: Starting at $12.80<\/p>\n<p>Go on a spring day trip<br \/>\n<img alt=\"Alberta overlooked\" title=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2216899\" style=\"color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774639031_328_Shutterstock_215275078.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2216899\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeff Whyte\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n<p>What: Sometimes getting out of the city can be an awesome and refreshing activity. We rounded up a few spots near the city that <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyhive.com\/calgary\/day-trips-near-calgary-spring\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">won\u2019t take too much gas to get to this spring<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" title=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2255045\" style=\"color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774639031_774_MixCollage-23-Mar-2026-03-33-PM-8222.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2255045\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Calgary Stampede\/Facebook<\/p>\n<p>What: This free, family-friendly event hosted by the Calgary Stampede gives you the chance to explore animal exhibits and discover agriculture in fun and interactive ways.<\/p>\n<p>When: April 18 and 19, 2026; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.<br \/>Where: Nutrien Western Event Centre \u2013 2050 Stampede Trail SE<br \/>Cost: Free<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"things to do calgary\" title=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"wp-image-2256555 size-full\" style=\"color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/MixCollage-27-Mar-2026-11-25-AM-4490.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2256555\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Western Canadian Reptile Expo\/Facebook<\/p>\n<p>What: Reptiles are coming to Calgary! This two-day expo has everything from reptiles, exotic plants, expert breeders, and top-tier vendors to face painting, animatronic dinosaurs, and roaming dinosaur characters throughout the venue.<\/p>\n<p>When: April 18 to 19, 2026<br \/>Where: Acadia Recreation Complex \u2013 240 90th Ave. SE<br \/>Cost: Starting at $15<\/p>\n<p>What: Grab your crafting materials and head over to the Confluence this April for their craft club. It\u2019s a great place to connect with other crafters and work on any project you might have lying around.<\/p>\n<p>When: Sunday, April 19, 2026; 1 p.m.<br \/>Where: The Confluence Historic Site and Parkland \u2014 750 9th Ave. SE<br \/>Cost: $8<\/p>\n<p>Go on a nice spring walk<br \/>\n<img alt=\"things to do calgary\" title=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"wp-image-2248855 size-full\" style=\"color:transparent\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Shutterstock_1188487147.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2248855\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rush Photography Calgary\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n<p>What:\u00a0While the weather can be up and down in March, on the days it\u2019s nice out, there is nothing like a nice Calgary walk to pass some time.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dailyhive.com\/calgary\/calgary-spring-walk-paths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">We rounded up some of the top spots in Calgary to go for a spring walk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Where:\u00a0Various locations across Calgary<br \/>Cost:\u00a0Free<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Calgary is full of things to do, but sometimes it can get a bit pricey. Luckily, there are&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":564955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-564954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-calgary","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-calgary","10":"tag-canada"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/564955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}