Edmonton Festivals, Arts, Theatre and Museums
Edmonton’s cultural diversity is celebrated everywhere. "The Festival City" hosts many celebrations that feature its performance stages, museums and galleries.
The Festival City of Edmonton
Edmonton holds 32 annual festivals that entertain residents 205 days of the year. A local organization, Festival City, calculates that up to three million festival-goers participate each year. The largest festival is Capital Ex, which was formally known as Klondike Days due to Edmonton’s gold rush history. The newly named 10-day festival attracts more than 700,000 people to the fairgrounds. Held in late July, the event consists of delicious treats, carnival rides, a parade and outdoor concerts.
You can indulge your inner culture vulture and attend The Works Art & Design Festival, an event that attracts artists and patrons from around the world to Edmonton’s downtown core to see more than 200 featured exhibits. The Edmonton International Fringe Festival takes place each August in Old Strathcona. The event is of international proportion, and is the largest theatre event in North America. If you prefer raw talent, the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival is a 10-day event that showcases another international cast of jugglers, dancers, musicians and more.
If it’s live music you’re after, the Edmonton Folk Festival sells out quickly, but is well worth the rush. Big names, such as Van Morrison, have performed at the beautiful four-day festival in Gallagher Park. If you prefer to be wooed by the music, the Edmonton Jazz Festival is a summer celebration of jazz talent.
As for the remaining 27 festivals, you’re just going to have to check them out yourself.
Edmonton Theatre
If it’s not award-winning set and costume design, it’s the actors, producers and facilities that deserve mention. There are several internationally acclaimed production theatres in the greater metropolis area, and on any given night you will find a show worth seeing.
The Citadel Theatre is located in the heart of downtown on Churchill Square where shows such as Beauty and the Beast, A Christmas Carol and Sweeney Todd have been performed. The Mayfield Dinner Theatre runs year-round, offering an evening out and quality performances. At the Catalyst Theatre, award-winning productions such as "Frankenstein" have taken the stage.
The independent theatre community is large, and rich with talent. There are also a handful of smaller-scale theatres with local performers and affordable shows.
Edmonton Arts Organizations and Facilities
Edmontonians have much appreciation for the finer things in life, with the arts being high on the priority list. A local organization called artsScene works diligently to ensure the future of the arts, and to promote a partnership between business and the arts. Not only are the works themselves of high calibre, the facilities are superlative. The Francis Winspear Centre is a world-class concert hall where the well-known Edmonton Symphony Orchestra regularly performs.
The Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium seats 2,500 people, an intimate and elegant setting for regular productions such as Broadway shows, the Alberta Ballet and Ukrainian Shumka Dancers. In the downtown core is the new Art Gallery of Alberta, a steel structure that is considered an architectural authority in the city.
A grassroots arts community also flourishes here. The up-and-coming district, 124 Street, promotes the arts every spring and fall with the 124 Street Gallery Walk, a showcase of local artwork. Seven galleries on 12 blocks platform numerous works from local talent.
Museums
If it’s an educational outing that you seek, take a tour of the Rutherford House, a Provincial Historic Site and home of Alexander Cameron Rutherford, Alberta’s first premier. Don’t just drive past the old army plane sitting along 118 Street, either. The Aviation Museum exhibits antique bush planes, fighter jets, cargo aircraft and interactive displays.
If you haven’t heard the stories of the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump or the fur trade, stop into the Royal Alberta Museum.
For the kids, the TELUS World of Science hosts school programs and has an IMAX theatre, the Star Theatre and rotating exhibits year-round. During the summer months, go back in time to Fort Edmonton Park. Being the largest living history museum in Canada, the beautiful grounds will make you believe it’s the 1800s.
