Let's get this party started!

Trip Start May 18, 2005
1
8
30
Trip End Sep 10, 2005


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Flag of Canada  , Alberta,
Saturday, June 25, 2005

Well, the kids have finished school now and I promised my nephews I would stay home for the summer. Good thing Edmonton is the best place in Canada to be for the months of July and August. We have food festivals, performing arts, parades, fairs, concerts, and celebrations of just about everything! There is always something (many running at the same time making it hard to decide where to go!) fun going on which is why we are known as Canada's Festival City. Click here to jump to more info on the plethora of events and festivals If you click on "Festival Calender" on the top left, you can get an idea of what is on offer, dates and links.


My favorite event is called the Heritage Festival which could very well have been one of the seeds of my wanderlust. Growing up, this particular event gave me a small sampling of countries from all around the world. I wonder how much of that had to do with my decision to travel? Every summer, I would walk around from tent to tent hearing the music, seeing the crafts, learning the culture, tasting the food and meeting the peoples of all these countries. All in one park! Travelling around the world was just a Heritage Festival on a larger scale...instead of walking from pavillion to pavillion, I flew from country to country. Boy, do I ever look forward to visiting this festival this year!

"In 1976, eleven ethno-cultural communities banded together in Edmonton's Hawrelak Park for a display of their cultures' traditional cuisine, entertainment, interpretive materials, and crafts. From these humble beginnings a venerable August long-weekend institution has emerged: the Edmonton Heritage Festival is now in its 30th year of operation, and has grown from a one-day event into a three-day celebration of cultural diversity with pavilions ranging from Aboriginal to Welsh, and all points between.

Our mission is to promote public awareness, understanding and appreciation for cultural diversity through an annual summer festival as well as to provide educational events, programs and/or projects on a year-round basis. The Edmonton Heritage Festival is specifically designed to be a family-friendly, alcohol-free event, in which each pavilion is able independently to offer a sampling of their unique foods, entertainment, arts and crafts, and customs."

Here is what people have had to say about some of the other events hosted in our city:

"While Fringe Festivals have spread to 41 cities worldwide, Edmonton still has the biggest and oldest such event in North America, with more participation than major cities including Toronto, San Francisco, and New York."
Ian van de Burgt, "Life on Fringe a thrill for entrepreneurs," Business Edge

"Dubbed Canada's festival city, Edmonton loves to celebrate. No matter the season, there is always something happening here. Our week-long stay coincided with the Street Performers' Festival. Just a block from our downtown hotel, tightrope walkers juggled flaming batons while acrobats balanced atop a teetering stack of chairs. Children, wearing balloon creations as hats, watched two Japanese storytellers in bright kimonos tell of their search for a lost princess."
Barb Taylor, "Canada's festival city loves to party," The Toronto Star

"Described by Rolling Stone magazine as the 'hippest music festival on the continent,' the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is a four-day celebration of music from around the world."
Canada Travel Agent Manual, Travelweek

Party On Dude!
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