Experience Guide | Tourism Medicine Hat

Family, Friends, and Festivals

Rise Up Hot Air Balloon Festival May 22-25, 2025 Rise Up Hot Air Balloon Festival will launch up to 30 eye-catching hot air balloons in Medicine Hat this spring. The weekend will bring seven flights as the sun rises and sets. Two balloon glows will take place the evening of Friday and Saturday in Kin Coulee Park, where half the hot air balloons will be inflated, illuminated, and tethered to the ground while the other half lift off into the Medicine Hat sky. Saturday also brings a free Community Day in Medicine Hat’s Historic Downtown. “Everything is planned around our values of community, connection and hope. We see that throughout the whole weekend and it’s great to see it all come together,” says Willy Taillon, hot air balloon pilot and co-host of the event. “I love when we hear everybody say how happy it makes them and how much they look forward to the festi val. No matter the age, people love to see the balloons float by,” says Cindy Taillon, co-host of the event. Our Collective Journey is an addiction and mental health non-for-profit organization that hosts the event in part nership with balloon pilots Willy and Cindy. ourcollectivejourney.ca/rise-up/welcome

Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede July 23-26, 2025 Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede is a fami ly-friendly, three-day event in July that originated in 1887. It’s a celebration of western culture and heri tage with exciting rodeos, a pop-up amusement park, and offers both free and ticketed entertainment. “You can spend the whole day and not see the same thing twice. Rodeo is our history and culture, and at the level we’re at people are seeing the best in North America — the best stock and the best cowboys,” says Ron Edwards, gen eral manager of the Medicine Hat Stampede & Exhibition. More events throughout the year outside of the Stam pede are Indian Relay Racing, Farm & Ranch Agri culture Show, Cars & Guitars, and more. mhstampede.com

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