Host: Karla Marx — Feature Gallery Stage — 7:15 PM, 9:00 PM, 10:15 PM

Meet Karla Marx, the First Comrade of Your Heart, and your emcee for the evening. A comedian, host, burlesque artist and drag performer who's toured the UK and France, Karla was voted Canada's Best Burlesque Host by Imperial Burlesque Canada and recently hit the stage at the Hollywood Burlesque Festival. Consider yourself summoned.

Morag Northey — Cello & Theremin — Feature Gallery Stage (UFO Lounge) — 7:30 PM & 9:50 PM

Beam up to the UFO lounge for the sonic stylings of Morag Northey on the cello and the theremin. She’ll bring the electron-ick with her out-of-this-world improvisations.

Morag Northey is a Calgary-based cellist, composer, vocalist, sound artist, whose work moves freely between classical music, theatre, film, dance, and immersive interdisciplinary performance. Her explorations have taken her from concert halls and orchestras to mountain landscapes, forests, cathedrals, theatrical stages, and the Camino de Santiago—carrying her cello along the way. A Betty Mitchell Award-winning composer and sound designer, Morag creates evocative sound worlds through improvisation, voice, cello, and technology. For Paranormal Night at Spark Science Centre, she ventures into the unknown, combining theremin, cello, and looping to create an otherworldly sonic experience.

Performances by the Cabaret Company — Feature Gallery Stage — 8:00 PM & 9:45 PM

We are so not alone. The Cabaret Company returns to Spark with a full lineup of speculative superstars: telekinetic lip syncs, sci-fi sequins, and scary-good choreo. Featuring drag performances by Karla Marx, Viscera, Dogiichow, Mac Zine, Dayna Hart, Jackal Morose and Divina Diefor, plus burlesque from Axis O'Risa.

The Lovebullies — Live Band — Feature Gallery Stage — 10:30 PM

“I wanna rock n’ roll and make some spacey noise… I wanna go in a UFO!”

The Lovebullies lineup of Paul Jahn, Joni Brent, Chantal Vitalis, Andrea Revel and Caroline Connolly have been playing together for the better part of two decades. Their vintage-pop-rock vibe, combined with a high octane visually dynamic stage show, makes them favourites of the Calgary music scene.

Calgary’s favourite all boy and one girl vintage rock and pop band features the gritty gunslinging lead guitar stylings of YYC’s premier femme fatale of the Fender - Chantal Vitalis, Andrea AKA the band’s “rescue kitty” with her angelic background vocals, whammy centric electric guitar and signature ray gun in the gogo boot, Joni Brent’s cool “so deep in the pocket you’d think she’s searching for quarters” bass riffs, Paul (does he have eight arms?) Jahn’s fluid and groovy percussionings and circus leader Caroline Connolly‘s signature brand of sugar coated velveteen vocals and energetic stage show. Combine that with sophisticated original song crafting with witty edgy lyrics and top drawer musicianship and you get The Lovebullies! The Lovebullies will always brag about opening for the Beach boys, the B-52’s, being featured on TV show Heartland as themselves and playing everything from Calgary Folk Festival to many music venues, festivals and special events around the city and province. They are currently working on their sixth studio album of original songs and will be laying it all down at the National Music Centre this October, 2026.

DJ SONIDEF — Atrium — All Night

Born with one deaf ear, DJ SONIDEF built a career defying limits — pulling from her street dance roots to blend R&B, Future Soul, House, Funk, Disco and Hip-Hop. She's also co-founder of BACK & FORTH YYC, championing femme and gender-expansive DJs in a male-dominated industry.

Ghostbusted: The Science Behind Paranormal Experiences — Infinity Dome — 7pm & 9:45pm

Dr. Nicole Anderson and Dr. Rodney Schmaltz (MacEwan University) return with the science behind things that go bump in the night. Turns out your visual system is easier to fool than you'd think, and their research on infrasound explains exactly what makes an old building feel haunted. Expect visual trickery and unsettling buildings.

Perceived Qualities of Ghosts in Canada, with Dr. David Aveline — Infinity Dome — 8:00 PM

In 1928, sociologist W.I. Thomas said if people believe something is real, it's real in its consequences. Dr. David Aveline took that seriously — travelling across Canada to interview people convinced they'd seen ghosts, cataloguing 212 distinct spirits and 21 other paranormal entities. A Mount Royal University sociology professor of 23 years, he'll break down who — and what — Canadians think is haunting them.

Ghost-Writing with Heather Clithertoe — Being Human, Second Floor — All Night

What's the recipe for a spine-tingling ghost story? UCalgary PhD candidate Heather Clithertoe hosts a ghast-erclass in all things from beyond the grave — pull up a chair anytime.

Unleash Your Inner Monster: Sketch Sessions with Shea Proulx — Feature Gallery — All Night

Join artist-illustrator Shea Proulx for a casual tutorial in 2D monster-building using a variety of drawing tools and innovative strategies. Creepy cryptid creatures can break all the rules, but Shea will demo her tried and true methodologies for combining scientific detail with imaginative flourishes to create wholly original abominations. Come through anytime to sketch yourself a souvenir, and contribute to a dynamic large-scale monster-jam that will continue to mutate delightfully throughout the night. Not an artist? Not a problem: you can still throw down with some old-school tracing techniques with tracing paper, a light desk, and inspo from books, photocopies and paranormal prompts. Markers, pencils, and paper provided. Let’s get weird with it!

Shea Proulx has a BFA from Emily Carr University and an MFA from the University of British Columbia. Her most recent illustrative work can be found in 30 x 30: Twenty Years of Conundrum Press, an anthology of short comics stories. Two of Shea’s books, ABC Monstrosity and Alice at Naptime were nominated for the Best Illustrated category by the Alberta Book Publisher’s Association, and Alberta Comics: Home, which she also co-edited, won the award in 2023. As Vice-President on the board of directors for Panel One, a Calgary/Mohkinstsis based comics festival, Shea helps put the spotlight on local, original sequential artwork. Shea has been the recipient of arts grants federally, provincially and municipally, and her work has been exhibited at The Morris and Helen Belkin, The Alberta Art Gallery, TRUCK, and Contemporary Calgary. She is currently instructing Botanical Drawing and Children’s Illustration courses that are open for registration in the Continuing Education program at The Alberta University for the Arts. You can find more of her work at www.sheaproulx.com.

The Science (Fiction) of the X-Files — Inspiration Stage — 7:45 PM & 9:30 PM

We're screening "Ice" from Season 1 of The X-Files (1993) — a team of geophysicists at a remote Alaskan outpost, killed by a parasitic alien life form — followed by a look at the very real science of parasites. Burrow into your seat.

Sinister Sounds — Video Booth — Creative Kids Museum— 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Step into the video booth, lay down an eerie track, and get your photo shoot scored like the horror movie it deserves to be. Are you ready for your close-up?

Deathly Pallor, with Don's Costume and Makeup Shop — Creative Kids Museum — 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM (while supplies last)

Death comes for us all — that doesn't mean you can't look fabulous doing it. Swing by for free ghostly makeup, applied by the pros. Limited supplies, so don't dawdle in the land of the living.

Acetrife — Close-Up Illusionist — Roving, Building-Wide — 7:00–7:40 PM, 8:20–9:00 PM, 9:50–10:30 PM

Acetrife brings his "street-styled" close-up magic from Las Vegas to the Philippines and now to you, Calgary local. Known for turning audiences into instant friends, he'll pop up around the building all night — keep your eyes (and your disbelief) open.

Ghost Detector: A Haunted Scent Lineup, with Ana Stepanchuk & ol.facto — All Night

Paranormal investigators have long reported specific smells right before an "encounter" — sulfur, phantom flowers, mustiness, ozone, candle smoke. Move through a row of unmarked scent stations tied to paranormal folklore, guess what each one conjures, then get the reveal: the haunted legend, and the real neuroscience behind why that smell reads as eerie.

Steven's Lab: Return of the Crawling Dead — Steven's Lab, Second Floor

Dare to dissect? Step into earthworm anatomy, explore internal organs up close, and learn how these wiggly creatures function from the inside out.

Programming runs from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Space is limited.

Alien Oobleck — Feature Gallery

Explore the stranger-than-science-fiction, real-life physics of non-Newtonian fluids — better known as Oobleck. Solid when you punch it, liquid when you don't. Deeply suspicious.

Yes, you will still need to show a ticket, and due to capacity and previous events selling out, reserving a ticket online ahead of time is highly encouraged.

You can, although tickets are always available at the front desk, as long as the event is not sold out.

You can, but due to capacity and previous events selling out, reserving a ticket online ahead of time is highly encouraged.

Parking is FREE for Spark members. For everyone else, parking is $13 and is managed by Calgary Parking Authority through ParkPlus. If paying through the ParkPlus mobile app, enter Zone 8310 or use one of the pay machines located near the front doors. To pay online with ParkPlus, click here. Parking is first come, first served to all guests.

Yes! If there is not enough room in the Spark parking lot, visitors are welcome to use the north parking lot of the Calgary Zoo at 84 St. Georges Drive NE. The price for parking in this lot is $13. For more information, visit: www.calgaryparking.com/findparking/zooparking

Yes! First Student Canada will be providing continuous shuttle services from the Calgary Zoo North Entrance to Spark Main Entrance and back from 6:30 PM to 12:30 AM.

Yes! Enjoy all the galleries, Infinity Dome theatre, Spark Eatery and more.

An ATM is located on the second floor at the top of the entry stairs, outside of the Spark Eatery.

No. Spark After Dark is an 18+ only event.