CANADA - ALBERTA - EDMONTON : CITY OF FESTIVALS
by Don Derrick



See Edmonton (EDMONTON HOTELS) and see a world of festivals at your doorstep.

As a global player on the festival scene – and Canada's leader – Edmonton and its surrounding regions play host to a wide variety of festivals with more than 30 held on an annual basis.

Whether you're fanatical about the Fringe (theatre), seeking food with flavour or have fallen in love with folk (music), there is something for everyone when it comes to the festivities and fun in Canada's festival city.

Festivals in Edmonton focus on a wide array of artistic disciplines including dance, film, music, theatre and the visual arts. But as any tourist will soon find out, the excitement doesn't stop there: food, sports, and even seasons such as winter are also celebrated in this festival forward metropolis.

In a place where visitors are welcomed as friends, musicians from around the world respect the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. And only in Edinburgh – where the concept originated – can a larger Fringe festival be found.
 
Summer is primetime for Edmonton's festivals – up to 17 hours of daylight allow organizers to take advantage of lush outdoor settings and late-evening sunsets – with events devoted to blues, bluegrass, folk, jazz and symphonic music all front and centre. It's also when some of Edmonton's big festival guns take to the stage, including the Folk Festival, the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival and the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival.
 
Fall arrives with the screening of two film festivals – the Edmonton International Film Festival, which focuses on a veritable buffet of independent films from around the world, and the Global Visions Film Festival, a documentary oriented event that examines social issues from a local, national and international perspective – and the Edmonton International Lit Fest.
 
Winter heats up with the Ice on Whyte Festival, where artists use their talent to turn blocks of ice into works of art and the Canadian Birkenbeiner Ski Festival, Canada's premier cross-country ski event, which follows the historic legend of the original Birkenbeiner (Viking skiers) from more than 800 years ago.
 
Spring brings The International Children's Festival, an annual extravaganza that celebrates the performing, literary and visual arts for children, and Nextfest provides an exhilarating, original line-up of works by the hottest emerging professional artists from Edmonton and beyond.
 
You'll also find art in public spaces and places – The Works Arts & Design Festival, a cutting-edge experience bringing North America the best in contemporary and traditional visual art and design – food fare extraordinaire (sample A Taste of Edmonton for culinary delights or take in Edmonton Heritage Days, where cultural diversity mixes with a chance to savour a wide range of unique foods) and everything in-between: think cowboy poetry and country music, dragon boats, or Shakespeare and you'll find it in Edmonton Festival City.
 
But Edmonton's festival friendly reputation is about more than just an astounding array of choice. Festivals are a part of the tapestry that has woven itself into the fabric of the city.
 
Many credit the success of Edmonton's festival scene to the fact that it's a city more northerly than most, which encourages residents to make their own entertainment. Others point to a long history of support for the arts. But those are just a part of the ingredients any Edmonton festival attendee will encounter: a unique entertainment experience that is informal, friendly, fun and family-oriented – combined with high artistic and talent standards.
 

SCIBBLES ETCETERAS
 
Every year a growing number of visitors make Edmonton, Canada's Festival City, their vacation destination. Here are some interesting facts about the city's festival scene:
 

• Total attendance at Edmonton's major festivals is estimated to be between 2 million and 3 million people annually.

• The success of the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival – where more than 100 troupes provide 1,000 live performances in 10 days – has spawned the Fringe fanatic. While the average Fringe aficionado might take in up to 10 plays, true fanatics set their goal of at least 25 to 30. You can spot the Fringe fanatic by their heavily annotated Fringe programs, backpacks and running shoes.

• It takes a vast community of people to run the city's festivals on a voluntary basis, with 12 000 volunteers, on average, putting in 154,000 hours.

• Many festival volunteers will use their vacation time to work at a festival and wait for years to get on Edmonton's coveted festival crews. They're rewarded by the entertainment, after-hours parties, work experience and networking opportunities.

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Photo: Edmonton Heritage Festival. Courtesy Edmonton Tourism
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