Things to Do in Edmonton

Edmonton has earned its reputation as Canada's Festival City, hosting over thirty major festivals each year alongside a passionate professional sports culture anchored by the NHL's Edmonton Oilers. Rogers Place, a state-of-the-art arena that opened in 2016 in the heart of the Ice District, is the crown jewel of Edmonton's live event scene, drawing major concert tours, UFC fights, and sold-out Oilers games to its 18,347 seats. The Edmonton Elks compete in the CFL at Commonwealth Stadium, one of the largest outdoor stadiums in Canada with a capacity exceeding 56,000. Every August, the Edmonton International Fringe Festival takes over Old Strathcona with over 1,600 performances across dozens of indoor and outdoor stages, making it the largest fringe theatre festival in North America. The Edmonton Folk Music Festival in Gallagher Park, K-Days at the Expo Centre, and the Heritage Festival celebrating over ninety cultures in Hawrelak Park round out a summer calendar that is unmatched in Western Canada. The Winspear Centre is home to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and hosts touring jazz, classical, and world music acts in a concert hall widely praised for its acoustics. Winter is far from quiet, with Oilers games creating an electric downtown atmosphere and Ice on Whyte carving festival drawing visitors to the Old Strathcona neighbourhood. From the energy of a playoff hockey game to an intimate theatre production on the Fringe circuit, Edmonton offers a depth and diversity of live events that consistently surprises first-time visitors.