Edmonton, Canada’s Festival City, Offers Memorable Holiday Experiences

Edmonton, AB (PRWEB) November 24, 2009

Edmonton, the Festival City of Canada, offers the perfect winter day – from shopping trips with friends and live theatre to something as simple as a nature walk or an outdoor skate on the perfect winter day.

The official start to the festive season in Edmonton is the opening of the Festival of Trees held November 26 – 29, 2009 at Shaw Conference Centre. See hundreds of beautifully decorated trees and festive decorations. There are children’s activities, live entertainment and shops with holiday treats and gifts. Funds raised by Festival of Trees are used to develop a specially-equipped Transplant Operating Room at the Edmonton based University of Alberta Hospital, one of Canada’s busiest transplant center.

From November 27 – December 23, 2009, the special 10th anniversary performance of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, at the Citadel Theatre is one of the highlights of things to do in Edmonton for the holidays. The Citadel Theatre is a premiere venue for stage productions in Western Canada.

Live music and dance lovers will appreciate the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of Handel’s Messiah at the Winspear Centre, December 4th and 5th and Alberta Ballet’s Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, December 10 – 13 at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. A single performance on December 12 at the Winspear Centre of The Christmas Carol Project, a folk musical based on Dickens’ classic tale featuring some of the city’s most unique singer-songwriters is one of many festive choices found on the holiday Edmonton calendar of events. The folk musical features Bill Bourne, Juno nominee Maria Dunn and Dale Ladouceur.

For outdoor enthusiasts, there are no less than four outdoor skating rinks from picturesque Hawrelak Park to the cosmopolitan City Hall, the stunning Alberta Legislature grounds and of course the Skating Oval at Victoria Park. Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River Valley is the largest expanse of urban parkland in North America, with over 160 kilometers of maintained trails for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or a leisurely walk. And at Elk Island National Park, just 20 minutes east of the city, herds bison, moose, elk and deer roam free for the entire family to enjoy.

The Festival City’s famous West Edmonton Mall offers the world’s largest shopping and Edmonton entertainment experience and the greatest indoor show on Earth. From movies to playing a round of golf or strapping on the skates on an NHL-sized rink, visitors to this northern Alberta city will not be disappointed. For more a more character-filled shopping experience, an impressive array of historic buildings of the Old Strathcona Historic Area offer completely one-of-a-kind shops offer truly unique art and antiques, cutting edge fashions, fair trade and organic products and much more. Tree-lined boulevards of 124th Street and area feature many magnificence art galleries, clothing shops, restaurants warm with Edwardian elegance.

For more information about holiday and other upcoming events, visit http://www.edmonton.com

About Edmonton Tourism
Edmonton Tourism promotes Greater Edmonton as the destination of choice for tourism, conventions, major events and film production and is a division of Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC). For more information, visit http://www.edmonton.com. Learn more about Edmonton through the stories of people who've experienced it at http://www.edmontonstories.ca.

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