Your Guide to Winter 2016/2017 Festivals & Events in Edmonton

Here’s my listing of winter festivals & events for 2016/2017, powered by ShareEdmonton. Below you’ll find dozens of events with a website, dates, and links to social media and ShareEdmonton for each. I hope you find this listing as useful as I do.

Christmas Lights Amidst City Lights, photo by Dave Sutherland

Festivals & Events

For winter, I’m generally looking at events that take place from mid-November through March. Those with a winter or holiday theme are more likely to be included. Here’s the listing for 2016/2017:

Event	Dates	Links
Christmas on the Square Holiday Light Up	November 12
Hazeldean Christmas Craft Sale	November 12-13
Santa’s Little Helpers Shopping Extravaganza	November 13
All is Bright on 124 Street	November 19
Santa’s Parade of Lights	November 19
Leduc Festival of Trees	November 19-20
Royal Glenora Club Christmas Gift Show	November 20
I Heart YEG Winter	November 20
Indie Handmade	November 24-27
Festival of Trees	November 24-27
Make It Edmonton	November 24-27
Hand2Hand Christmas Market	November 26
Silver Bells Winter Market	November 26
Shop the Hall	November 26
The Great Sweater Run	November 26
A Christmas Carol	Nov 26 – Dec 23
So This Is Christmas	Nov 30 – Dec 3
The Legislature Light-up	December 1
Butterdome Craft Sale	December 1-4
Winter Wine Festival	December 2
Celebrate the Season	December 2-23
Winter Patio Kick-off	December 2-4
Winterfest at Snow Valley	December 2-4
Luminaria	December 2-4
Royal Bison Craft & Art Fair	Dec 2-4 & Dec 9-11
Santa Shuffle Fun Run & Elf Walk	December 3
A Festive Mosaic	December 3
A Christmas Karol: The Karol Wojtyla Nativity Play	December 3
Gold Bar Craft Sale	December 3
Old Strathcona Horse-Drawn Sleigh Shuttle	Dec 3, 10, 17
The Many Moods of Christmas	December 5
Carrot Christmas Arts Bazaar	December 9-10
Zoominescence: Festival of Light	December 9-18
ETS Christmas Lights Tours	December 9-18
Leefield Community’s Gift & Craft Sale	December 10
Trains, Toys and Christmas Traditions	December 11
Candy Cane Lane	Dec 11 – Jan 3
Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree	December 15-18
Christmas Reflections	Dec 16-23
#YEGlongnight	December 21
Shumka presents Clara’s Dream!	December 29-30
New Year’s Eve Downtown	December 31
Swing ‘n Skate Sundays	Jan 1 – Feb 26
Southeast Winter Fun Festival	January 14
Deep Freeze: Byzantine Winter Festival	January 14-15
World Snow Day	January 15
Edmonton Whisky Festival	January 18
Ice on Whyte	Jan 26-29 & Feb 2-5
Winter Walk Day	February 1
The Flying Canoe Adventure	February 3-4
Parka Patio	February 4
Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival	February 10-11
Silver Skate Festival	February 10-20
Hypothermic Half Marathon	Feb 12 & Feb 26
Valentine’s Day Disco Skate	February 14
Winter Cities Shake-Up 2017	February 16-18
Family Day at the Alberta Legislature	February 20
Coldest Night of the Year	February 25
SkirtsAFire Festival	March 9-12
Winter Warrior Challenge	March 11
Western Canada Fashion Week	Mar 23 – Apr 1

You can check out a calendar view of festivals here or you can download the iCal feed for your own apps.

I’ll do my best to keep this list updated as new events are announced. For instance, Ice Castles is expected to return in 2017, weather permitting!

Winter in Edmonton

Edmonton is a winter city, and we’re working hard to reclaim the joy of winter and embrace the season! You can learn all about the WinterCity strategy and associated events and ideas here. You can also download the Winter Excitement Guide in PDF.

For some in our community, this time of year is anything but merry. Lots of organizations do great work on behalf of the less fortunate, and they’ll especially need your support this year given the poor economy. Consider supporting the Christmas Bureau, Santas Anonymous, The Salvation Army, Edmonton’s Food Bank, or one of the many other serving agencies in Edmonton.

There are of course many more events listed in the ShareEdmonton calendar, so check it out! Have I missed something that should be included? Let me know in the comments and I’ll add it.

Happy winter!