"There are two seasons in Edmonton: snow and rain." That is a joke about Edmonton that long-time residents can certainly appreciate. However, there is a third season the creator of that joke forgot: Festival Season!
Although the snow might be on the ground now, and the temperature below freezing, there is a lot to look forward to this Spring and Summer. In fact, most of these upcoming events are in the planning stages right now, so if you are interested in volunteering for one of the many great city festivals, please visit the Web sites linked here to find out who to contact. While it has already come and gone, the First Night Festival was a raging success, as usual. The family-oriented celebration brought in 1999 with lots of warm indoor activities, and then outdoors for the annual fireworks display. First Night is indeed the very first festival of the year, marking not only the start of 1999 -- but of Festival Season! The Works presents artwork from local, national, and international artists throughout the downtown area. Painting, sculpture, photography . . . there is something for everyone. And the best thing is, especially if you work downtown to begin with, you don't really have to go out of your way to see the displays -- many are in street-side display windows, or in the core shopping area. The Northern Alberta Children's Festival is worth the drive to St. Albert. Especially for kids -- and kids at heart -- performers from around the world come to entertain. There are jugglers, clowns, musicians, magicians at both indoor and outdoor venues.
One of my personal favorite events in the city, hands down, is the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival. The best buskers in the world perform in Winston Churchill square. A lot of people think they perform for free -- wrong.
After each performance, the members of the audience are encouraged to give what they felt the show was worth. Believe it or not, most of the buskers here make a full time living "passing the hat."
Edmonton's festivals is one of the city's strongest tourist draws. In fact, there are way too many events to talk about in one column. Please join me again next week, when I take a look at Klondike Days, the Fringe Theatre Festival, Jazz City, and several more!
