10 Best Festivals in Edmonton

The Edmonton Heritage Festival bills itself as "the world's largest outdoor celebration of multiculturalism" that highlights countries from Pakistan to Fiji, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and beyond. Edmonton is a truly multicultural city, and this festival seeks to bring the entire world to town with a family-friendly and alcohol-free celebration of different nations. You'll be able to sample culinary traditions of different countries, shop for handmade arts and crafts, and explore more than 70 pavilions celebrating over 90 cultures.

This vibrant celebration of diversity is a ticketed event, but the tickets are completely free. Just be sure to secure yours in advance. It's held in July/August every year in Hawrelak Park, 10 minutes west of central downtown.

The Edmonton International Street Performers Festival is held in July every year and showcases every kind of live entertainment from music to dance to skit comedy and beyond. Over 60 acts from all over the world descend on Edmonton to showcase a daily series of 150 (sometimes more) performances outdoors in the city's Churchill Square. You'll get the chance to play games and enjoy kid-oriented shows with the family. The nightly Troupe du Jour closing act is a must-not-miss with a gala of the best performers from that day.

Admission follows a "pass the hat" tradition where you decide what you want to pay these international buskers. It's in the heart of downtown.

A Taste of Edmonton allows you to nibble your way through the city's culinary diversity from street food to fine dining, craft beer, and other delectable dishes. Held every July, this is one of Western Canada's largest food festivals, and more than 50 locally owned restaurants and eateries get together to offer their wares with a soundtrack of outstanding live local rock music. You'll sample everything from savory to sweet, from salads to main courses, sandwiches, and desserts. You'll get to try local vintages of wine, craft beers from local brewers, and everything else you can imagine.

Thousands of people descend on Churchill Square annually for this foodie festival and gigantic free concert series. It's right in the heart of downtown.

K-Days sees Edmonton turn into one gigantic amusement park with thrill rides, music, games, food, fun, and thrills for the entire family over a week every July. Every night you can take in breathtaking fireworks displays while live bands from a variety of genres take the stage for concerts. You can enjoy food like fresh-fried doughnuts, gooey sweet candy apples, and wood-fired barbecue ribs. For the children, there's Kids Town where they can see kid-centric entertainment acts. The Maker Faire lets you shop local arts and crafts.

You can also check out themed areas like Klondike Park and the Agriculture Hall for interactive education. It's at Edmonton EXPO Centre 10 minutes northeast of central downtown.

The Edmonton Fringe Festival is the oldest festival of its kind in North America and offers innovative live entertainment including music, theater, a circus, a freak show, and other performances. This festival hosts around 1,600 artists from local, national, and international origins every year across many of the city's most iconic landmarks, from the ATB Financial Arts Barns to the Walterdale Playhouse, the Varscona Theatre, and tons of local pubs and bookstores.

It happens every August for 10 days and features something for everyone from adult-themed shows to kids' shows at the Theatre for Young Audiences. Between paid performances, you can catch free outdoor activities on local stages including buskers and a whole outdoor park of family-friendly adventures.

Cariwest – The Caribbean Arts Festival offers 3 full days of Caribbean-themed entertainment, games, arts and crafts, food, and culture across the streets of downtown Edmonton. Held every August, this celebration of Caribbean music, arts, and culture takes over Churchill Square and offers food like roti, patties, and jerk chicken, plus authentic Caribbean rum at the Caribbean Village, which also offers tons of vendor booths selling homemade arts and crafts from clothing to home decor and kitsch.

This is the spot to take in vibrant calypso music and see performers wildly dance in elaborate, colorful costumes to live acts. This family-friendly fest is one of Edmonton's most vibrant celebrations right in the heart of downtown.

The Alberta International Airshow is 4 days of high-flying adventure and excitement held every August at Villeneuve Airport with food, fun, games, and history. Here you'll not only get to see incredible feats of aerial acrobatics from jets and historic aircraft, but you'll also get to see real airplanes from across history up close and personal, and even climb aboard. You can grab a bite to eat from some of the city's best food trucks, and the kids will have a ball at the Kids' Zone area with games, play areas, and bouncy castles.

Be sure to pack your sunscreen and ear protection for this event, and bring lawn chairs. It's just 35 minutes northwest of central downtown.

The TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival is a weeklong celebration of all things jazz held every June/July with some of the top performers from all over the globe. From deep, husky crooners to silky-smooth singers with the voices of angels, and from sax, trumpet, and clarinet performances to some of the greatest percussionists in the world, you'll take in rich music in a wide variety of subgenres from progressive jazz to soft jazz, smooth jazz, and many others.

The event is held at various venues all over the city, and you'll pay by the show to get in, so be sure to check the lineup and see which ones you want to attend. Get your seats early!

Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Festival is 10 days of thrilling winter excitement as Edmonton turns into a frozen wonderland. You'll find gigantic lantern sculptures and ice sculptures of buffalo, polar bears, and even megafauna of the prehistoric world. You can explore the folklore of the indigenous Inuit and Métis people as well as the French and Ukrainian cultures that have colored this vibrant region.

You can check out art installations by world-famous Edmonton artists, and be sure to snap tons of photographs to light up your social media feed. Go ice skating, shop a vibrant holiday market, drink hot cocoa, and take in live music from local acts. Events take place all over the city, and many are free.

UFest Edmonton Ukrainian Festival celebrates the rich Ukrainian culture in Edmonton with dance, live entertainment, music, games, food, shopping, and fun. This celebration of Ukrainian culture is among the largest in Western Canada and takes place over 2 days every May. The event is free and serves to build awareness of the rich Ukrainian heritage that has become such an integral part of Edmonton's local traditions. You'll witness nonstop music and dance, and explore food trucks, beer gardens, cultural workshops, and an artists' market. A kids' zone offers playgrounds and activities for the young ones.

UFest takes place in Borden Park in the heart of downtown. Be sure to wear your yellow and blue!