Temporary fencing isn’t just helpful for outdoor events in Alberta; it’s often required by municipalities like Calgary when you’re having large gatherings outside. Having temporary fencing is essential for crowd control, provides security, and helps you keep your event site organized.
Fortunately, whether you’re looking to rent or buy temporary fencing, you can find fence panels and gates that are built to withstand Alberta’s often challenging climate conditions.
Key Sections:
- Types of events where temporary fencing is most useful
- How to set up your fencing
- Benefits of owning and renting fencing
- Awesome outdoor event spaces in Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton
- Seasonal considerations
- Helpful FAQs
Why Temporary Fencing Matters for Outdoor Events
Temporary fencing doesn’t just create a boundary around the site of your outdoor event; it can be a crucial tool providing safety, security, and vital crowd control.
But temporary fencing can also prevent liability or fines. If you’re planning on having an outdoor event where alcohol is served, setting up an area where adults can drink will prevent underage drinking, which can be dangerous and lead to heavy fines.
The benefits of temporary fencing go well beyond that, though, and they include:
- Crowd Control: Large events can quickly become chaotic without proper boundaries. Temporary fencing helps guide attendees through entrances and exits and keeps foot traffic organized.
- Security Measures: Security is a top priority at any event. Fencing helps prevent unauthorized access and ensures that only ticket holders or invited guests can enter specific zones, keeping everyone safer.
- Designated Areas: Temporary fences are perfect for creating different zones for activities, food concessions, and rest areas. This organization helps maintain order at the event and ensures that all activities run smoothly.
Common Event Types That Need Fencing
Not every outdoor event in Calgary requires temporary fencing, but many do. Here are some of the events that can benefit from the use of temporary fencing.
School Events
Temporary fencing can be a game-changer for events at schools, which is especially important because with dozens of kids running around, organization is key. Fencing can prevent outsiders from wandering in, separate spectators from student-athletes, and keep children away from the road. Some common school events that benefit from temporary fencing include:
- Sports Events: Whether it’s a track meet or a football game, temporary fencing can separate spectators from players, create ticketed entry points, and even manage queues at concession stands.
- Field Days: Often held towards the end of the school year, a wide range of outdoor activities and games take place on field days. Temporary fencing can help designate different activity zones and manage crowds.
- Outdoor Festivals and Fairs: School fairs and festivals often feature multiple attractions. Fencing can help create a layout that guides attendees from one booth to another in a controlled and safe manner.
- Graduations and Ceremonies: These significant events can attract large crowds. Temporary fencing helps manage how guests enter and exit, ensuring the focus remains on the celebration—not on figuring out how to access the property when running late.
- Science Fairs: Outdoor science fairs allow students to showcase projects that might require more space, such as rocket launches or ecology-related exhibits. Fencing can help organize the fair and protect the projects.
- Fundraising Events: Car washes, bake sales, and charity runs are common fundraising events for schools that can benefit from temporary fencing to define the event space and control access.
- Emergency Drills and Practices: In emergency drills, temporary fencing can direct students toward safe exits and muster points, teaching them how to exit buildings safely during real emergencies
Sporting Events
Whether it’s a small community competition or a major professional game, managing crowds is critical to the success of sporting events. Temporary fencing not only helps with crowd control, but it can also create ticketing areas and give athletes and officials their own space. Calgary is a sporting hub, and events that can use temporary fencing include:
- Marathons and Road Races: For delineating the course and keeping the track clear of spectators.
- Football Tournaments: To separate different playing fields in large open areas and manage crowd control.
- Outdoor Sports Festivals: Useful for creating different zones for activities, food vendors, and rest areas.
- Soccer Leagues: Helps in managing spectator areas and ensuring the safety of the playing zones.
- School Sports Days: Ensures student safety and helps in organizing various athletic activities efficiently.
Festivals & Outdoor Markets
Is there anything better than spending a weekend day browsing the goods at a local market or enjoying an outdoor festival? For those types of outdoor events, temporary fencing can be a game-changer.
- Improves accessibility: Accessibility is important at every outdoor event, and temporary fencing can provide easy entry and exit points for people with mobility challenges, as well as create specific spaces for them to get away from crowds
- Minimizes risk of theft or vandalism: This is especially true for multi-day events, where equipment may be left overnight. Creating a secure boundary with temporary fencing keeps would-be thieves and vandals away
- Organizes entry: Many festivals and outdoor markets require tickets to enter, and temporary fencing ensures that only the people who purchased tickets can gain entry.
Fundraisers & Private Parties
Many fundraisers and private parties, like weddings, will take place in wide-open, public spaces. That doesn’t mean you want anybody and everybody to simply be able to walk up and join in the festivities. Temporary fencing can create separation from the public while providing much-needed privacy, while attendees celebrate together.
Fall & Winter Events
- School Events: Considerations for student safety and drop zones
- Sporting Events: Channeling traffic, protecting players/spectators
- Festivals & Outdoor Markets: Vendor zones, entrances, crowd control
- Fundraisers & Private Parties: Ticketing areas, noise buffer zones
- Fall/Winter Events: Add warmth, wind control, and secure snow-sensitive setups
How Do You Set Up Temporary Fencing for Events?
Having temporary fencing alone is only the first part of the challenge for outdoor events. Setting it up correctly will make all the difference. Here are a few key things to keep in mind as you look to set up temporary fencing in the most effective way possible:
Site Layout
Understanding how your site will be laid out is an important first step. Consider these factors:
- Parking: You’ll want entry and exit points close to where people are arriving and leaving, so be sure to set up gates near parking lots or public transit stops
- Family areas: Whether you’re hosting a music festival or a farmer’s market, having areas where kids can play means families can stick around longer. Use temporary fencing to create separate areas away from crowded sections
- Emergency exits: If something does go wrong, how will attendees exit your event quickly?
- Delivery and drop-off: Vendors will need access to your site, so be sure there are areas they can use to bring products in and out.
Setting Up
You’ll want to get your temporary fencing set up before vendors start showing up and definitely before anyone attending arrives. While FenceLine Rentals can deliver and set up your temporary fencing, consider a few factors:
- The bigger your event site, the more fence panels are required. Factor that into your timeline.
- Secure your fencing with weights and sandbags if the ground conditions are challenging, there’s uneven ground, or windy conditions are present.
Seasonal & Local Considerations in Alberta
Outdoor events are a key part of what makes Alberta the province it is, from the Calgary Stampede to Folk Fest to GlobalFest.
Anyone looking to host an outdoor event in Calgary and across Alberta should take time to review each City’s Major Outdoor Events Guide. For many events, permits will be required, and an Event Management Plan needs to be presented, with specific requirements for fencing.
Your Event Management Plan will require that you show:
- Entry and exit plans, including the barriers like temporary fencing that are being used and how they’re set up.
- The layout of the site, especially how it relates to the movement of crowds. Temporary fencing is an important factor in this.
- For fenced outdoor events, there needs to be at least 2 exits. If there are more than 1,000 people, there needs to be 3 exits. If there are 4,000 people, there must be 4 exits.
Consider the Climate
In Alberta, hosting an outdoor event will always require that you put some consideration into the weather. In the summer, you don’t want crowds cooking in the sun without any shade. In the winter, providing shelter from the cold wind can be the difference between guests enjoying every minute they spend at your event or leaving early. There are similar considerations during fall and spring, too.
Temporary fencing can be a secret weapon that helps you deal with the challenges Calgary’s climate throws at your outdoor event.
Great Venues for Outdoor Events in Alberta
Albertans love getting outside and enjoying the sunshine. Hosting outdoor events in Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer can be a great way of bringing the community together. Here are a few of our favourite venues in the city.
Calgary
- Prince’s Island Park
What makes it perfect for outdoor events: Prince’s Island Park plays host to some of the city’s most popular events, most notably the Calgary Folk Festival, and with good reason. It’s located right between downtown and the Bow River and is beautifully manicured and landscaped, with gardens, wetlands, and wide open spaces for concerts and festivals.
While weddings are not allowed in the park itself, they can take place at the iconic River Cafe. Prince’s Island Park’s wide grass fields are perfect for big crowds, but there are smaller areas available for events, too.
- Fish Creek Provincial Park
What makes it perfect for outdoor events: This provincial park sprawls across the southern end of the city, with hiking and biking trails and a natural landscape that evolves as you move east to west.
Hosting an event at the park requires filling out an Alberta Parks application and hoping it’s accepted, but if it is, you could be hosting your wedding or event at one of the most unique and stunning urban parks you’ll find anywhere. The provincial park hosts events throughout the year, but accessing the remote areas can be difficult for set-up.
- Fort Calgary
What makes it perfect for outdoor events: Alternatively known as the Confluence Historic Site, this incredible park on the east end of Calgary’s downtown offers unrivalled views of the city and sits at the exact meeting point of the beautiful Bow and Elbow Rivers.
The area around Fort Calgary is used for big music festivals and Stampede-adjacent outdoor events throughout the summer, but can also be booked for weddings, markets, concerts, and all sorts of other outdoor events. It has easy access to C-Train stations and lots of parking around, ensuring easy access for everyone attending your event.
Edmonton
- Hawrelak Park
What makes it perfect for outdoor events: This spacious park in the North Saskatchewan Valley has been undergoing renovations since 2023, but is set to re-open by the end of 2025 with upgrades to the main pavilion structure and many other facilities.
Considered the jewel of the river valley, Hawrelak Park plays host to Ice Castles in the winter, the Edmonton Heritage Festival in the summer, and can accommodate everything from sporting events to outdoor festivals that require multiple stages or space for vendors.
- Fort Edmonton Park
What makes it perfect for outdoor events: Fort Edmonton provides a gorgeous historical backdrop for everything from weddings to corporate parties. Located right in the heart of Edmonton, it’s easily accessible and offers a truly unique outdoor event space that can accommodate both large and small gatherings.
- Rundle Park
What makes it perfect for outdoor events: Host to a number of high-profile festivals, Rundle Park is one of the most popular outdoor event spaces in Edmonton. It’s an arts and music hub that also hosts culinary events throughout the year, with the North Saskatchewan River providing a stunning backdrop.
Red Deer
- Barrett Park
What makes it perfect for outdoor events: Barrett Park is one of three parks that the City of Red Deer rents out, and it’s perfect for large weddings. The park can accommodate up to 300 guests and features a large green space, walking trails, and a picturesque ravine.
- Coronation Park
What makes it perfect for outdoor events: Considered the most popular outdoor wedding location in Red Deer, this beautiful park was established in 1937 for King George VI’s coronation and features breathtaking landscapes.
- Westerner Park
What makes it perfect for outdoor events: Westerner Park features massive indoor event spaces, too, but has large parking lots that are ideal for car shows, drive-in movies, and outdoor festivals. Westerner Park is a destination for event organizers and hosts more than 1,500 events every year while drawing in 1.5 million visitors annually.
Renting vs Buying Temporary Fencing for Events
Whether you should buy or rent temporary fencing depends entirely on your needs. If you’re hosting a one-time event, it can be more cost-effective to rent temporary fencing, especially because FenceLine Rentals can deliver and set up, as well as take down and remove your temporary fencing at the beginning and end of your event.
If you’re likely to be hosting multiple events, however, it can be more cost-effective in the long run to purchase temporary fencing and reuse it again and again. Because temporary fence panels are easy to set up, versatile, durable, and simple to store, purchasing them means you won’t face recurring costs.
Let’s take a look at the benefits of renting vs. buying temporary fencing:
| Renting | Buying |
| Great for one-time events | Ideal for organizers of multiple events |
| Cost effective | No recurring costs |
| Setup and takedown includeNo storage space neededIdeal for short periods | Immediate set-up whenever neededCan be used for different sites and venues |
FAQs: Temporary Fencing for Events
Do I need a permit to use temporary fencing in Calgary?
In most cases, no, you do not require a permit to use temporary fencing in Calgary.
How long can I rent temporary fencing?
With FenceLine Rentals, you can rent temporary fencing for as short or as long as you require it.
How do I keep fencing secure in windy weather?
Our temporary fencing is built to withstand anything that Alberta’s challenging climate throws at it. You can use weights or sandbags to keep your fencing secure in the most extreme weather conditions.
Can temporary fencing be customized for specific event needs?
Yes, temporary fencing can be highly customized to meet the specific needs of different events. Here are some of the customization options available:
- Branding: Fencing can be equipped with banners or covers that feature event logos, sponsor information, or directional signage to enhance the event’s branding and guide attendees.
- Height Variations: Fencing comes in various heights, suitable for different types of events, from lower barriers for family gatherings to taller ones for more secure events like concerts or high-profile sports.
- Access Points: Gates can be added wherever needed, including larger gates to accommodate emergency access or equipment entry.
- Visual Privacy: Privacy screens can be attached to fences, which is particularly useful for backstage areas or to prevent distractions for competitors in sporting events.
How long does it take to install temporary fencing?
The installation time for temporary fencing can vary depending on several factors, including the length of fencing required, the terrain, and the complexity of the layout. Generally, for most sporting events, the setup can be relatively quick. Here’s a general breakdown:
- Small to Medium Areas: For smaller events or confined areas, fencing can typically be installed within a few hours.
- Large Events: For extensive setups, such as marathons or large festivals, the installation might take a full day or more, particularly if the terrain is challenging or if there are many entry points and barriers to erect.
FenceLine ensures installation is as efficient and unobtrusive as possible, with a team of experienced professionals trained to handle various setups swiftly and safely.
Reliable Temporary Fencing for Your Event
Temporary fencing is a must-have for outdoor events in Alberta. It’s easy to install and remove, provides safety for guests and security for everyone, while also helping define how spaces are used and providing crowd control.
FenceLine Rentals Ltd. has temporary fence panels for sale and for rent, as well as all the hardware you’ll need to install them safely at your outdoor event.