Blended Calendars

Blended calendars are custom, filtered views that combine events from multiple sources into a single calendar feed.

What is a Blended Calendar?

A blended calendar takes events from one or more calendar sources and combines them based on filters you define. You can filter by:

  • Tags — Include sources with specific tags
  • Specific sources — Pick exactly which sources to include
  • Text search — Only show events matching certain keywords
  • Exclusions — Hide specific events you don't want

Once you create a blended calendar, you get:

  • A public web page to view the calendar
  • An ICS subscription URL to add to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook, etc.
  • Automatic updates as source events change

Example: You have three kids (Carter, Kayden, Briella), each with multiple calendars (school, sports, activities). You can create a blended calendar for each kid that automatically includes all their sources, plus a "Family" calendar that shows everyone's events in one view.

Creating a Blended Calendar

To create a new blended calendar:

  1. Go to the Calendars page in your dashboard
  2. Click New Calendar
  3. Give it a name (e.g., "Carter's Schedule", "Family Calendar")
  4. Choose a slug (URL-friendly identifier, e.g., carter, family)
  5. Add a description (optional)
  6. Configure filters (see below)
  7. Click Create Calendar

Choosing Which Sources to Include

There are two ways to include sources in a blended calendar:

1. Filter by Tags (Recommended)

The easiest way is to tag your sources and then create calendars that filter by those tags. For example:

  • Tag all of Carter's sources with carter
  • Tag all sports sources with sports
  • Tag all school sources with school

Then create a calendar with the filter Any Tags: carter. This calendar will automatically include any source tagged with carter — even sources you add in the future!

Learn more about tags in the Filtering & Tags guide.

2. Select Specific Sources

Alternatively, you can manually pick which sources to include. This gives you precise control but requires updating the calendar each time you add a new source.

Calendar Slug and URLs

Every blended calendar has a slug — a URL-friendly identifier you choose when creating the calendar. Your calendar URLs are based on this slug:

Public web page:
https://blendedcal.com/c/your-username/calendar-slug
ICS subscription URL:
https://blendedcal.com/c/your-username/calendar-slug.ics

The slug must be unique among your calendars and can only contain letters, numbers, and hyphens.

ICS Subscription URL

The ICS subscription URL lets you add your blended calendar to any calendar app:

Google Calendar

  1. Open Google Calendar
  2. Click the + next to "Other calendars"
  3. Select From URL
  4. Paste your BlendedCal ICS URL
  5. Click Add calendar

Apple Calendar

  1. Open Calendar app
  2. Go to File → New Calendar Subscription
  3. Paste your BlendedCal ICS URL
  4. Click Subscribe
  5. Choose refresh frequency (hourly is recommended)

Outlook

  1. Open Outlook Calendar
  2. Click Add calendar → Subscribe from web
  3. Paste your BlendedCal ICS URL
  4. Give it a name and click Import

Tip: Calendar apps cache ICS feeds, so it may take a few minutes to an hour for changes to appear. Google Calendar typically refreshes every few hours; Apple Calendar can be configured to refresh more frequently.

Managing Multiple Calendars

BlendedCal is designed for managing multiple calendars. Here are some common patterns:

One Calendar per Person

Create a blended calendar for each family member:

  • Carter — All sources tagged carter
  • Kayden — All sources tagged kayden
  • Briella — All sources tagged briella

Category-Based Calendars

Create calendars for different types of events:

  • Sports — All sources tagged sports
  • School — All sources tagged school
  • Family — All sources (no filters)

Games Only, No Practices

Use text filtering to create a "games only" view:

  • Include all sports sources
  • Add filter text: game OR match OR meet
  • This will show only events with those keywords in the title

Shared Team Calendar

Create a calendar for a specific team or organization:

  • Include only sources related to that team
  • Share the public URL with team members, coaches, and parents
  • Everyone can subscribe without needing a BlendedCal account

Updating a Blended Calendar

You can edit a blended calendar at any time to change:

  • Name and description
  • Filter settings (tags, sources, text search)
  • Exclusions (events to hide)

Changes to filters take effect immediately. Apps that subscribe to your calendar will see the changes the next time they refresh (typically within a few hours).

Note: You cannot change a calendar's slug after creation. If you need a different URL, create a new calendar and delete the old one.

Deleting a Calendar

When you delete a blended calendar:

  • The public web page and ICS URL stop working
  • Anyone subscribed to the calendar will see an error when their app tries to refresh it
  • Your original sources and events are not affected — only the blended calendar is removed

Next Steps