Article content continued

Calgary Minor Soccer Association (CMSA) cancelled all of its Friday night games, and called on coaches to reschedule those games as they would for any inclement weather situation. The association promised to update parents by 11 pm on both Friday and Saturday on games happening the following day.

CMSA also chose to cancel its Minifest soccer festival on Saturday because of the uncertainty of the air quality. The group is hoping to reschedule the event, and will provide more details when they become available.

The Calgary Stampeders said they would make a call at 5:45 p.m. on whether or not to go ahead with a preseason game scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday.

But other events taking place across the city this weekend were still scheduled to go ahead, despite the hazy conditions.

The annual 4th Street Lilac Festival on Sunday will also run “rain, shine, or now smoky,” organizers say, adding there would be a high level presence of Calgary police and Alberta Health Services officials in case of emergency.

Calgary will also host Western Canada’s largest motorcycle street festival on Sunday. The event is scheduled to proceed despite the smoke.

Photo by Courtesy FireSmoke.ca

The status of the Calgary Humane Society’s “Dog Jog” on Saturday remains up in the air.

Phil Fulton, manager of community outreach, said the Calgary Humane Society would play it by ear and decide the morning of the event whether or not to proceed.

“Safety of participants and the animals is our main priority,” he said. “This kind of smoke can exasperate dogs that are already at risk of heat stroke.”

He said pet owners should stay informed on how smoke can affect their animals.

“This would more severely affect dogs like . . . pugs, bulldogs, dogs with shorter snouts,” Fulton said. “If they’re overweight, that kind of thing, already have cardiovascular or airway abnormalities, just making sure that people are educated.”

The Calgary Zoo said it was taking “extra precautions” to ensure the health and safety of its animals, with some animals kept inside Friday.