Nightlife

To get a read on what's going on in Edmonton's vibrant cultural scene, pick up a copy of See (www.seemagazine.com), the local free arts and entertainment weekly. There, you'll find listings for movies, art openings, upcoming concerts, clubs, and theater.

In the downtown cultural district, the Winspear Centre (4 Sir Winston Churchill Sq. NW; tel. 780/428-1414; www.winspearcentre.com) is home to major cultural organizations like the Edmonton Symphony (tel. 780/428-1414; www.edmontonsymphony.com), the Edmonton Opera (tel. 780/429-1000; www.edmontonopera.com), and many big-name traveling performers. The Citadel Theatre (9828-101A Avenue; tel. 780/425-1820; www.citadeltheatre.com) is the city's premiere live theater venue in a city known for theater, with a resident company that's generally acknowledged to be among the country's best.

Edmonton's theater scene is world-renowned, with a massive annual Fringe Festival that all but takes over the city every August. If you're not in town for the Fringe, there are a smorgasbord of local theater troupes -- far too numerous to list here -- to choose from year-round, performing at a variety of formal stages and informal venues, like pubs. Check your copy of See to see what's current.

Downtown, you've got to be careful not to get caught when the streets fold up at night, but Whyte Avenue, always busy during the day, kicks it up a notch after dark. Bar Wild's (10552 Whyte Ave; tel. 780/504-7777) name says it all -- it's the Whyte Avenue night-time scene in a nutshell. Bar Wild draws a young crowd, many of them U of A students, bent on drowning the week's mind-expanding educational experience in beer. The Black Dog Freehouse (10425 Whyte Ave; tel. 780/439-1082) is a popular, pubby spot in the summertime, with its large rooftop patio, while Devlin's Cocktail Lounge (10507 Whyte Ave; tel. 780/437-7489) is Whyte Avenue spiffed up for the young professional set, with its look-at-me front windows out on to the Whyte Avenue stroll.

You'll find live music on weekends at some of the many, many pubs on Whyte, like the Empress Ale House (9912 Whyte Ave; tel. 780/758-1164) or the Backdraught Pub (8307 99th St.; tel. 780/430-9200), whereas The Pawn Shop (10551 Whyte Ave, 2nd floor; tel. 780/916-1557) is one of the best venues for both the local and popular traveling indie bands.

And Whyte really is one-stop bar-hopping: If you're looking for dance clubs, there's a plethora of those here, too. Elevation Lounge (10309 81st Ave; tel. 780/433-4979), one block off Whyte, features popular local DJs and top 40 dance hits; Krobar (10551 Whyte Ave; tel. 780/916-1557) cranks up the intensity with club music that's loud, fast, and hard.

For a quiet drink, you're best off at one of the many restaurants, just sitting at the bar. Packrat Louie's is one of the best; the old building, with its exposed brick, is a cozy oasis, and shelter from the socializing storm that exists just outside.

The Fringe Festival

Every August, Edmonton erupts with its premiere annual cultural event, the Edmonton Fringe Festival. An international theater hotspot, the Alberta capital attracts theater companies from all over the world for this showcase of some of the best and brightest to be found anywhere.

A comprehensive online guide to productions and venues can be found at www.fringetheatreadventures.ca, but the majority cluster around the already-frenetic Whyte Avenue strip in Old Strathcona. Add a glut of international theater companies and the stage buffs who love them, and in August, Whyte Avenue is almost literally heaving.