[The Village] February Long Weekend edition

This message may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Hey there!

How are we already at the Family Day long weekend??? 2026 is flying by!

There's a lot happening around the province to celebrate - I hope you manage to get out an enjoy some of the events, or at least spend some quality family time together this weekend.

In today's newsletter you'll find:

Summer camp & garden planning
Play with the kids
- Free Family Day things to do
- Family game time
- More events around the province
Valentine's Day pasta

✨ What's Happening at Alberta Mamas

I'm prepping for spring and summer!

Summer camps are always a hit, and I've been working on updating the list for Edmonton and Calgary day camps.

I'd like to make a post for unique & special camps around Alberta (like the archeology digs in Bodo). Do you know of a camp I should add to that list? Hit reply and let me know!

I don't promote them very much, but there's a growing section on gardening at Alberta Mamas, and it got a new article this week.

Over 65 Full Sun Perennials for Zone 3/4

Time to start planning the garden!

Read article

Summer Camps

Updates are still in progress - not everyone has published their summer camps yet - but these lists can help you start planning your summer!

Edmonton Camps

Calgary Camps

⭐ Feature: Free Family Day Things!

36 years in, and it's the weekend of free family events in Alberta! Some things to check out include:

Free Fishing Weekend (no license needed!) plus Kids Can Catch events across the province
Free events & admission in Downtown Edmonton
Calgary: Chinook Blast, Good Games, & free entry to Lougheed House, Studio Bell and the Hangar Flight museum on Family Day
Alberta Museums around the province including Oil Sands Discovery Centre (Fort McMurray), Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology (Drumheller), Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (Fort McLeod)

🏠 At Home Activity

The long weekend is the perfect time to have a Family Game Night (or morning) - whether it's a regular occurrence or a random game for fun (not everything needs to become a family tradition).

If classic board games results in too many hurt feelings, try cooperation based games where everyone wins by working together!

This is also a great time to pull out your game console and load up a multiplayer game (MarioKart on our Switch gets a bit intense, but is so much fun!).

📅 Events Around Alberta (This Weekend)

There's always a lot happening around Alberta. Here are a few highlights from this coming weekend:

Calgary: Wildlife Festival & Family Day at the Military Museum
Edmonton: Sweet Treats & Latte Festival in Old Strathcona
Rocky Mountains: Crimson Lake Winterfest & Sundre Winterfest
Southern Alberta:
Central Alberta: Lloydminster Winterfest
Northern Alberta: Bonneville & Cold Lake host the Alberta Winter Games

🎯 Find more through your local event calendar!

📚 What I'm Reading

The kids are working their way through Super Fun Family Card Games, pulling in parents as needed for an extra player.

I love how versatile a deck of cards is!

👨‍🍳 Recipe to Try

Make Valentine's Day dinner extra special with pink pasta!

Skip food colouring and use beets instead with this recipe:

Pasta with Creamy Beet Sauce

From Mom's Kitchen Handbook

Get the Recipe

📌 Alberta Fact of the Week

I mentioned this above, but did you know Alberta was the first province to introduce Family Day? Since then seven other provinces have added it as well.

Find more about Alberta in any of these great books about Alberta.