Updated December 28, 2012

Diverse Venues/ Tools To Meet All Needs

Attractions Before/After

Green Facilities, Green City

Diversions: Food, Arts, Shopping

Edmonton is Canada’s Festival City

For award-winning cuisine, top-notch service and amazing vistas, Shaw Conference Centre is built into Edmonton’s river valley and offers stunning views of its surroundings.

At 22 times New York City’s Central Park, Edmonton’s river valley is North America’s largest urban parkland with 160 km of trails for walking, biking, snowshoeing, segwaying, cross-country skiing, and more. Get close to the North Saskatchewan River with guided or independent canoe tours.

Edmonton is a global leader in recycling. Currently, 60 per cent of our solid waste is recycled or composted. By 2015, 90 per cent of residential waste will be diverted from the dump.

A cosmopolitan variety of restaurants and fine cuisine from more than 50 ethnic groups await you, many of which feature organic selections and regionally inspired and sourced menus.

As Canada’s festival city, Edmonton hosts more than 30 major festivals year-round that celebrate music, theatre, arts, sports, film, culture and winter.

Edmonton Expo Centre, offering 522,000 square feet of contiguous space, is Canada’s largest facility of its kind west of Toronto. It hosts more than four million visitors annually through 2,500 events and programs.

West Edmonton Mall is North America’s largest entertainment and shopping centre and Alberta’s number-one tourist attraction, featuring over 800 stores and services, 100-plus dining options and 10 world-class attractions.

FRESH is an innovative tool that offers meeting planners an edge in environmentally and socially responsible options in dining, shopping, accommodations, event-planning and attractions.

Home to national league sports teams: Edmonton Oilers (hockey), Edmonton Eskimos (football), Rush (lacrosse), Oil Kings (junior hockey), Energy (basketball).

North America’s largest and longest-running festival of its kind, the 31-year-old Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival attracted 680,000 visitors in 2012.

For a more intimate atmosphere, boutique hotels like the Union Bank Inn, Matrix1, Mettera2, Varscona, Selkirk and Fantasyland offer all the conveniences needed for a successful meeting. 1ranked TripAdvisor 2012’s 7th trendiest hotel in Canada 2ranked TripAdvisor 2012’s 13th trendiest hotel in Canada

Old Strathcona, a designated historic area and an arts district, hosts a popular year-round farmers’ market, eclectic shopping, eight theatre companies in four venues, and a thriving night life.

Shaw Conference Centre is a green facility certified by Building Owners and Managers Association. The centre works with planners to green their events, from start to finish.

Distinct neighbourhoods and shopping districts, each with its own flair, will tempt visitors looking for that special gift — including Old Strathcona, voted one of Canada’s five-best shopping districts.

The Edmonton Folk Festival is a four-day outdoor music extravaganza, attracting more than 90,000 music lovers. Situated in the scenic river valley, this annual festival sells out every year and is Canada’s largest folk music festival.

Diverse off-site venues range from historic Fort Edmonton Park and iconic Art Gallery of Alberta to the Edmonton Queen Riverboat and a replica of the Santa Maria in North America’s largest entertainment and shopping centre.

The magnificent Art Gallery of Alberta, with its marquee architecture echoing the North Saskatchewan River and the Northern Lights, houses 6,000 permanent pieces of art and features world-class, headlining exhibits.

Integrate the city’s river valley into your event-programming — North America’s largest urban green space with 160 km of trails for visitors and residents alike.

Our music scene offers everything from grand venues and the classics to the grassroots and Indie scene. We are alive with theatre, home to Canada’s largest training ground for artists and one of Canada’s most distinguished theatres.

The Edmonton International Street Performers Festival is Canada’s oldest celebration of street theatre, located in the heart of downtown Edmonton and attracted more than 260,000 visitors in 2012.

Updated December 28, 2012

Diverse Venues/ Tools To Meet All Needs

Attractions Before/After

Green Facilities, Green City

Diversions: Food, Arts, Shopping

Edmonton is Canada’s Festival City

Edmonton has more than 13,000 guest rooms to pick from, with a wide sampling of major hotel brands, suite hotels, trendy boutique properties, motels and a backpackers hostel.

For outdoor options, take in Elk Island National Park, award-winning Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village and Canada’s largest living history museum, Fort Edmonton Park.

The downtown arts district, including the Citadel Theatre, Winspear Centre and the Art Gallery of Alberta, boasts performance venues and attract in-demand acts and performers from across Canada and around the world.

Canadian Finals Rodeo has been bringing top rodeo competitors together every fall since 1974 across Canada and the US, competing for a purse of $1.5 million.

Incorporate Edmonton’s vibrant festival theming as well as socially and environmentally responsible planning into your event with the following tools:

- Edmonton Festival City in a Box program offers an interactive experience for participants and creates a long-lasting impression — showcasing some of Edmonton’s finest talents.

- FRESH is a tourism industry initiative that offers residents and visitors environmentally and socially responsible options in dining, shopping, accommodations, event-planning and attractions.

Edmonton is your gateway to Jasper National Park, the largest in the majestic Canadian Rockies, via road, air and VIA Rail’s famed cross-country “The Canadian.” Luxurious mountain hotels and resorts with spectacular spa facilities await you.

Edmonton is the starting point of the international cycling circuit’s newest pro-cycling event: the Tour of Alberta (Sep 3-8, 2013). The same teams that compete in the Tour de France will be invited. 140 elite professional cyclists from around the world will compete across six stages that span over 20 Alberta communities.

The “Edmonton Advantage” incentive program makes it easier for event planners to choose Edmonton as their next host city. Ask us how you can take advantage of the program.

Edmonton was recognized by TripAdvisor as a top 10 family-friendly Canadian destination in 2011.

The Edmonton attractions pass enables visitors to take in up to 15 Edmonton attractions over a year, saving users 60 per cent.