ENJOY THE BERRY BEST OF SUMMER AT THE 28TH ANNUAL HUCKLEBERRY FESTIVAL
CASTLE’S SUMMER TRADITION RETURNS AUGUST 24, 2024
Our annual Huckleberry Festival is our biggest summer event and our team looks forward to welcoming guests from near and far for this special weekend. It brings our community, locals, families, and friends together for a celebration of all things summer.
Enjoy tons of FREE live music, our bbq / beer garden, scenic chairlift rides, berry picking, a mountain (vendor) market, and a chicken & rib dinner to cap it all off. Huckleberry Festival is held the 4th week in August annually.
While most base area activities (live music, kids games, etc.) are all absolutely free, scenic chair ride tickets, lunch combos, and chicken & rib dinner tickets are all available for sale.
Click the link below to buy yours now!
2024 EVENT INFORMATION
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM – Guest Services Open (ticket pick-up and/or general information)
5:00 PM – 1:00 AM – T-Bar Pub Open (children welcome until 9 PM)
9:00 PM – 11:45 PM – Indoor Live Music (T-Bar Pub & Grub) featuring Earl Morgan Band
SATURDAY, AUGUST 24
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM – Guest Services open (ticket pick-up and/or general information)
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM – Kids colouring contest (Day Lodge)
9:30 AM – 4:30 PM – On-mountain scavenger hunt (details available in main festival area)
9:30 AM – 5:30 PM – Mountain (Vendor) Market (main festival area)
9:30 AM – 5:30 PM – Kids Zone Games, including mini-golf (under Huckleberry Chair)
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM – Huckleberry Chairlift open for scenic rides
Last upload from the village at 3 PM. Last download from the summit at 4 PM.
11:00 AM – 1:00 AM – T-Bar Pub & Grub open (children welcome until 9 PM)
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM – BBQ (main festival area)
11:00 AM – 6:30 PM – Beer Tent (main festival area)
12:00 PM – 5:00 PM – Face painting (under Huckleberry Chair)
12:00 PM – 7:45 PM – Outdoor Live Music (main festival area – ATCO Stage)
- 12:00 PM – Aly Williams
- 2:00 PM – On The Rocks
- 4:00 PM – Undefined
- 6:00 PM – The Decadent Phase
4:45 PM – 5:00 PM – Pie Eating Contest (main festival area – ATCO Stage)
5:00 PM – Announcement of on-mountain scavenger hunt & pie eating contest winners (main festival area – ATCO Stage)
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM – Chicken & Rib Dinner (Day Lodge)
9:00 PM – 11:45 PM – Indoor Live Music (T-Bar Pub & Grub) featuring Don’t Tell Mama
We strongly encourage you to purchase your tickets online, in advance of your visit, as quantities are limited. Pricing is as follows:
Age Category | Regular Rate (until sold out) |
Adult (18 - 64) | $34.95 |
Senior (65 - 74) | $24.95 |
Junior (13 - 17) | $24.95 |
Child (6 - 12) | $14.95 |
Super Senior (75+) | FREE |
Tiger (5 & Under) | FREE |
Tickets are valid for one ride up and one ride down on the Huckleberry Chairlift.
Last upload from the village will be at 3 PM. Last download from the summit will be at 4 PM.
5% GST applicable.
You won’t go hungry at Huckleberry Festival as food and/or drink options will be plentiful, including:
T-Bar Pub
Our T-Bar Pub will be open extended hours on both Friday and Saturday to satisfy the heartiest of appetites and/or to quench your thirst. T-Bar Pub hours, over Huckleberry Festival, will be as follows:
- Friday, August 23 – 5:00 PM – 1:00 AM
- Saturday, August 24 – 11:00 AM – 1:00 AM
- Sunday, August 25 – 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Our regular summer menu will be available with children welcome until 9 PM.
Beer Garden / BBQ
Saturday will see the set up of our traditional outdoor BBQ and beer garden. Enjoy our expanded licensed area while you take in the sweet sounds of our many local artists!
Our best value, BBQ Lunch vouchers, can be purchased online in advance. Each lunch voucher includes your choice of burger or smokie with all the fixins’, chips, and pop, all for only $17.99 + GST.
Only a la carte options will be available on the festival day so buying your combo voucher in advance is your best way to save!
Chicken & Rib Dinner
Saturday evening will see the return of our annual dinner – this time a delicious feed of chicken and ribs! On the menu will be a selection of salads, chicken, ribs, potatoes, and corn on the cob.
Cost for adults is $32.99 and $20.99 for children under 3 – 12. A limited quantity of meal tickets will be available so we recommend purchasing them in advance.
Castle Central Reservations (Castle Ski Lodge & Hostel)
Castle Central Reservations is your one stop shop for accommodations, within the resort base. Not only do they operate the Castle Ski Lodge & Hostel, home to 11 hotel style rooms and 56 hostel beds, but they also have access to some two dozen condos and vacation homes in the base area. Visit www.staycastle.ca or call 403-627-5121 for more.
Camping
Powered sites ($29.95 + GST) at Castle Mountain Resort are available via reservation online or by calling our Guest Services team at 403-627-5101. Camping is available in designated sites only and a permit must be displayed.
Formal and informal camping is also available in Castle Provincial Park. For more information please visit Castle Provincial Park or call 403-627-1165.
More Accommodations
Within the Castle region, including Pincher Creek and Crowsnest Pass, there are a litany of accommodation options. Cozy B&B’s, hotels, motels, and cabins are all on offer within a 30 minute drive of the resort.
Click on www.skicastle.ca/stay/ for more places to stay, within our area.
Huckleberry Festival is predominantly an outdoor event so we encourage you to plan accordingly. Here are a few suggestions on what to bring:
- Lots of drinking water for your Huckleberry search
- Bottled water and other beverages will be available for sale at the top of Huckleberry Chair and the base area)
- Sunscreen
- Multiple layers
- Something wind and water-proof is essential. Layer up if you’re cold and layer down if you’re not!
- Appropriate footwear for hiking / berry picking
- Think hiking boots, trail runners, etc. Sandals are not recommended unless you’re confining yourself to the base area
- Bear spray
- While there will be lots of people in the Huckleberry zone, you’re still heading out into the back country. Make lots of noise, travel and groups, and equip yourself with bear spray
- Berry Bucket
- We would highly suggest a small bucket, preferably with a tight fitting lid, for your berries.
- Backpack w/ extras
- We highly encourage you to put a pack on your back (don’t forget to remove it for your lift ride up the Huckleberry Chair) and throw some hiking poles on your bag, a snack inside, and an extra layer inside. Mountain weather can change in a heartbeat. Don’t be caught unprepared!
- Chair
- While we try to provide adequate seating around the main festival grounds, don’t be caught without a spot! Always prepare and bring a chair.
Please note: after many considerations, our festival grounds will be DOG FREE. Dogs are still welcome while berry picking, in the campground, and in the parking lot.
Another Huckleberry Festival brings with it another great line up of bands / performers. Performances this year will be as follows:
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23
9:00 PM – 11:45 PM – Indoor Live Music (T-Bar Pub & Grub) featuring Earl Morgan Band
SATURDAY, AUGUST 24
12:00 PM – 8:00 PM – Outdoor Live Music (ATCO Community Stage)
- 12:00 PM – 1:45 PM – Aly Williams
- 2:00 PM – 3:45 PM – On The Rocks
- 4:00 PM – 5:45 PM – Undefined
- 6:00 PM – 7:45 PM – The Decadent Phase
9:00 PM – 11:45 PM – Indoor Live Music (T-Bar Pub & Grub) featuring Don’t Tell Mama
The Huckleberry Chairlift will upload guests on Saturday. Downloading on the lift is also possible but, due to the design of our triple chair, 1 out of every 5 chairs can be loaded with guests on the way down. This means that wait times at the summit, for downloading, can be a bit lengthy (30 minutes +). Not down with waiting? Take the Haig Ridge trail downward to where it connects with Haig Lake South trail, and follow it all the way to the base. We’ll have an abundance of summer trail maps on hand or you can click here.
A friendly reminder to those looking to take young children on the chair. In order to ride, children must be able to sit on the chair, without being supported by an adult. This is not to suggest that they should ride unattended but, in the event of an evacuation, guests are evacuated one-by-one. Infants can not be accommodated, regardless of whether they’re in a carrier or harness – no exceptions.
There are portable toilet facilities at the Huckleberry summit if you…you know…need to go!
Huckleberries are located all across the mountains but the easiest access to berries will be off the Huckleberry Chairlift. Berries can be found off the main Huckleberry ski runs, in our cat-ski terrain (Haig Ridge) and in the Haig Valley on the way out to Haig Lake. Huckleberries thrive in higher elevation environments which is why they’re plentiful in the sub-alpine regions of Castle Mountain Resort; not necessarily in the base area.
Our friends at Alberta Environment and Parks would like us to remind you to please pick only ripe berries.
While you will be surrounded by friends, family, and soon-to-be friends, you’re still in bear country and hiking in the back country. We would like to suggest that you travel in groups, make lots of noise (talking loudly), and carry bear spray. Bear encounters are rare and extremely unlikely at an event of this size. Still, it’s better safe than sorry and bear spray will be available for purchase in the base area should you need it. Any bear encounters should be reported to any staff or volunteers, who will be easily identifiable by their extreme orange Huckleberry shirts. A bear encounter at Huckleberry Fest has not been reported, in recent history.
For more on being Bear Smart, follow the link to best practices as indicated by Alberta Environment and Parks.
Let’s all be great environmental stewards this weekend. Garbage of any sort, even the peel from your fruit, doesn’t belong in the Castle. Leaving even a trace of food can lead to the wild animals becoming accustomed to human food. Our carelessness can lead to the relocation or even the death of a wild animal; not cool if you ask us.
Garbage receptacles and recycling bins can be found throughout the base area as well as at the summit of Huckleberry Chair. Pack out your trash until you reach one of these locations please! Remember, this pristine mountain environment is the home of the animals. We are only guests.
Dogs are always welcome at Castle Mountain Resort, but due to the festival bringing out many hundreds of people, the main festival grounds are increasingly congested. Out of respect for guest safety and enjoyment, the main festival area at Huckleberry Festival will be a DOG FREE area this year.
Dogs remain permitted anywhere outside of the main festival grounds, provided they are on a leash.
MOUNTAIN MARKET VENDOR INFORMATION
Our mountain (vendor) market is a big part of Huckleberry Festival and has been for many years. Every year we welcome more than a dozen vendors to join in on the fun with an estimated 1500 guests in attendance.
Interested in being a vendor at this year’s festival? Click the link below for our vendor application form.
EVENT SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION
Access to our base area festival grounds has always been free, this year poised to be no exception. To help maintain free access to our base area festival grounds, we’re seeking partners for this year’s festival.
Interested in being a sponsor this year? Click the link below for our sponsorship kit!