Festivals
Alberta Festivals, Events and Celebrations
Edmonton, Alberta’s Festival City, hosts a year round schedule of festivals and celebrations. Famous as North America's first and largest alternative performance gathering, the Edmonton International Fringe Festival is one of the city's most popular events.
For music fans, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is a must attend event. With concerts from world music's top performers, Gallagher Park fills with the sounds of blues, bluegrass and worldbeat. A moniker well deserved - Edmonton is Alberta's Festival City.
A summer road trip south of Edmonton takes travelers to Red Deer and the popular Centrefest, and the world-famous Calgary Stampede- Alberta offers visitors a diversity of exciting festivals.
Alberta's Rockies fill with the fun of the Canmore Highland Games, Banff Mountain Film Festival and Jasper Heritage Rodeo.
From Medicine Hat in southern Alberta to High Level in the far north, small town festivals and events like High Level’s Winterfest and Hinton’s Wild Mountain Music Festival spread fun throughout Alberta. Extreme athletes find a challenge outside Grande Cache at the annual Canadian Death Race ~ celebrate your passion in Alberta.
Edmonton Fringe Festival
Produced by Edmonton's Fringe Theatre Adventures, the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is widely recognized as one of the world's premier alternative theatre events.
Come mid-August, downtown Edmonton's Old Strathcona district transforms, with neighborhood businesses converted into theatre venues.
Busking circles and busking pitches crowd downtown Edmonton parks, sidewalks and alleys with the latest, most innovative performances and unsurpassed entertainment.
Hundreds of perfomers, troupes and entertainers converge in Old Strathcona filling indoor and outdoor venues with independent theatre. O
utdoor stages, sponsored by the likes of TransAlta and the festival city's Edmonton Journal, welcome visitors, Youth Troupe entertains families on the kidstage and roving street performers surprise visitors at every turn.
Enjoy late night performers at the Fringe Cabaret Lounge, get the kids involved at KidsFringe and Kidopolis, and refresh with Alberta craft beer and Canadian wines. The Edmonton Fringe Festival fills Edmonton's Old Strathcona with 10-days of non-stop performances, cutting edge entertainment and unforgettable fun.
Edmonton Folk Music Festival
Folk Festival in Edmonton Edmonton Folk Festival August on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River brings the best of folk, blues and worldbeat music to Gallagher Park for the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.
For over 30 years, this four day music festival has hosted performers the likes of Emmylou Harris, Janis Ian and Alberta's own K D Lang. Music fans can always plan for EFMF the first weekend following August long weekend.
Dress comfortably, bring a blanket and if there is rain in the Edmonton forecast don't forget your rain-gear and be ready for amazing music on Gallagher Hill.
Join Folk Festers from across the globe for multiple stages of entertainment, workshops, arts and food. Put the Edmonton Folk Music Festival on your bucket list.
Big Valley Jamboree
The award winning Big Valley Jamboree fills the Camrose Exhibition Centre and arena with the top names in Country Music.
For over 20 years country music headliners including the likes of Toby Keith, LeeAnn Rimes and Keith Urban have entertained crowds from the BVJ Main Stage – see country music's best in Camrose.
Join family, friends and neighbors for an August long weekend jam-packed with music and good times.
Camrose, located in East Central Alberta, is set 60 km east of the Queen Elizabeth II Edmonton – Calgary corridor. A short 100 km drive southeast of Edmonton, Alberta's provincial capital city, Camrose and the Big Valley jamboree are also worth the 290 km jaunt from Calgary to the southwest.
All roads lead to Canada highway 13, taking music fans through the centre of Camrose to the heart of Canadian country music.
Hit the road for a performance packed Alberta weekend in Camrose. Bulls for Breakfast begins the day with bull riding and the fun continues with Pig Races and Lumberjack Shows.
Headliners fill the main stage while family entertainment continues on the Family Stage and don't forget performances at the Molson Saloon Stage and Songwriter's Workshop Stage. It's a full weekend of fun and country music at the Big Valley Jamboree.
Calgary International Film Festival
Drawing nearly 50,000 visitors annually, the Calgary International Film Festival stretches over ten days in late September in multiple venues across Calgary, Alberta. Past screenings have been shown in the Plaza Theatre, Globe Cinemas and Eau Claire Market Cineplex.
Since 1999, the festival has screened numerous film categories, grouped by genre and country of production. Categories include world cinema, shorts, horror and Wednesday night's "Hump Night" films, which are more graphic. The festival also shows the works of ten up-and-coming filmmakers from all over the globe, with a $25,000 prize awarding a selected filmmaker.