Edmonton promotes itself as "the Festival City," and in summer almost every weekend brings another celebration. The citywide Jazz City International Festival (tel. 780/432-7166; www.edmontonjazz.com) takes over most music venues in Edmonton during the last week of June and first week of July.
The summer's biggest shindig is Capital City Exposition, aka Capital EX, (tel. 888/800-7275 or 780/471-7210; www.capitalex.ca), formerly Klondike Days. Capital EX has shed the previous event's gold-rush trappings and focuses instead on midway rides, live music performances, and shopping promotions. Most events take place at Northlands Park, northeast of the city at 75th St. and 118th Ave.
The Edmonton Folk Music Festival (tel. 780/429-1899; www.efmf.ab.ca) is the largest folk-music festival in North America. Held in early August, it brings in musicians from around the world, from the Celtic north to Indonesia, plus major rock stars playing "unplugged." All concerts are held outdoors.
For 11 days in mid-August, Old Strathcona is transformed into a series of stages for the renowned Edmonton international Fringe Theatre Festival (tel. 780/448-9000; www.fringetheatreadventures.ca). Only Edinburgh's fringe festival is larger than Edmonton's -- more than 150 troupes attend from around the world, as does an audience of over 600,000. The festival has 12 indoor theater stages and two outdoor stages, offering more than 1,000 individual performances; when one show ends, another begins on the same stage an hour later. In addition to the hubbub of actors and theater, the Fringe Theatre Festival also plays host to food and crafts booths, beer tents, and innumerable buskers and street performers.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
