Edmonton Tourism

EDMONTON, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Jan. 8, 2009) -

Editors Note: A video is included with this press release.

Join in the fun as Edmonton Festival City proves itself one of the country's brightest beacons in winter entertainment. It only makes sense that a city known as "Festival City" now has one giant festival celebrating winter throughout the entire season. The Winter Light Festival, making its debut in 2009, is a 10-week run of seasonal fun. The festivities begin with the Winter Light Opening Ceremonies and Winter Light Gala, January 8, 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. at Churchill Square and City Hall, downtown. Come ready to help light the fires, join the parade, take part in a winter blessing, and enjoy theatrical adventures in Sir Winston Churchill Square. It all culminates in an evening gala at City Hall, a sparkling party full of the spirit of the season.

Throughout the Winter Light Festival, fires will light up (and warm up) the night around the city, with the Close to the Flame Community Campfires. The first one takes place on January 8 at City Hall and Plaza. The Shine Your Light Lantern Parades also occur throughout the winter; people of all ages are guided through the process of making brilliant community lanterns at these events and they participate in the Winter Light Festival Finale. For more information on Community Campfires or the Lantern Parades, visit www.winterlight.ca.

The Deep Freeze event, January 10 and 11, will transform 118th Avenue into a wintry paradise that includes: an enchanted ice and snow garden, outdoor curling, free hay rides, broom ball and snowshoeing, snow sculpting workshops, indoor art experiences, and more. The main draw of the event is the Sculptors' Society of Alberta's "one block challenge" ice sculpture competition.

The sixth annual Ice on Whyte festival, presented by the Old Strathcona Business Association January 15 thru 25, takes ice sculpting to yet another level, with teams of international artists turning frozen water into pure magic in the NICA-sanctioned Ice Carving Competition in Festival Park (104 Street and 85 Avenue). Ice on Whyte also features activities of absolutely stunning family fun, with a six-sided ice castle to explore, ice slides, a children's play area, and local entertainment.

Snow Daze offers three different days of free fun and recreation on Edmonton's ski hills, January 30 at Snow Valley and again March 6 and 7 at Edmonton Ski Club in Gallagher Park: skiing, snowboarding, and tobogganing.

Hearts of Fire on Valentine's Day, February 14, will showcase the people, places and cultural vitality of Edmonton downtown with fire, fun and feasts. Put your skates on for - or just come and watch - the longest running winter festival in Edmonton, the Silver Skate Festival, February 20 thru 22 at William Hawrelak Park, nestled in the scenic river valley. This extravaganza of sport, art and culture has activities for all ages, including: a 25 km (and 50 km) Skate Marathon, Kortebaan sprint races, the Edmonton Winter Triathlon, an interactive family area, and "24 Hours to Ignition," a fire sculpture competition hosted by Winter Light.

For stargazers more interested in the cosmos than celebrities, there's the Winter Light Star Party, On February 28, Elk Island Park provides the perfect ambience for a night of astronomy, with campfires, food, and the awe-inspiring magnificence of the massive prairie sky. On March 7 at Coronation Park, after a walk in the park with astronomers, venture into the Observatory for a long look skyward through a collection of telescopes. For those who do want to see different kinds of stars, however, the Winter Light Festival presents Snow Reels at the Metro Cinema in the Citadel Theatre downtown, March 1 thru 4, with a free series of "winter themed" films.

The perfect end to the Winter Light Festival takes place on March 21 with Illuminations, easily the most ambitious event of the festival, a spectacle of projected light, fire artistry and music in Churchill Square downtown. The fun starts at 5:30 p.m.

Among other fantastic Edmonton events this winter is Workshop West's critically acclaimed alternative theatre series The Canoe Theatre Festival, January 20 thru 25 at the Third Space Theatre and the U of A Timms Centre. For the daring, there's the Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival, February 13 and 14, at Blackfoot Provincial Recreational Area. People come from all over the world to participate in the Birkebeiner, an event celebrating the 13th Century rescue of Haakon Haakonsson in which participants wear footwear made of Birch Bark. Also check out the latest discoveries in dance and body-based performance during the Expanse Movement Arts Festival, February 26 thru March 1 at Theatre Network on 10708 124 Street, with an explosive lineup of dance, physical theatre, circus, slapstick, performance art and site specific performance, ignited by a workshop, event and after hours party series.

All events are subject to change. For further details visit locations online or for more information on Edmonton winter festivals, visit www.edmonton.com/liveallyear.

To view the video associated with this release, please visit the following link: ca.youtube.com/watch?v=9xr8F-45Yws