River City Writer

Edmonton is nicknamed Festival City for a reason. Especially during the summer months, the city is host to a seemingly endless number of festivals. Every time one ends, another begins. This means that, during our relatively short summers, there is never a shortage of things to do. One of the festivals currently in progress is the Taste of Edmonton festival.

For those who may be unaware, Taste of Edmonton is a festival celebrating Edmonton cuisine. Dozens of local restaurants setup shop in Churchill Square to highlight their favourite menu items. This year, 39 restaurants, featuring nearly 80 menu items, are participating. The festival also includes a Taste of Wine (PDF), and the new feature: a Taste of Beer, which features a number of beers, including a couple from the local Alley Kat brewery.

While some people have complained that the festival has become more expensive in recent years–many items now cost more tickets than in the past–I still think it’s a very affordable way to sample what the city’s restaurants have to offer. Keep in mind, as well, that the overall cost of living in Edmonton has risen in recent years, due to the oil boom, so it would be unreasonable to expect restaurateurs not to raise their prices accordingly.

In addition to the great food, there will be two stages setup for entertainment (the Taste of Edmonton Stage, and the Taste of Wine Stage). There are at least a dozen acts, and every day will be different (a PDF showing the full line-up can be viewed here).

Like all of Edmonton’s great street festivals, a Taste of Edmonton is also a great place to people-watch. Festivals are among the few times that one is able to witness a wide cross section of Edmonton’s population in one place at the same time. Suburbanites with children, hardcore punks, downtown office workers, hippie kids, the homeless, and a variety of other people will all be putting themselves on display during the festival.

Whether you’re looking for a great way to sample Edmonton’s culinary offerings, sample some alcohol, check out some live music, or just spend an afternoon observing the fine citizenry of River City, the Taste of Edmonton is the place to do it.

Taste of Edmonton runs from 11am - 11pm everyday until July 28, 2007.