Edmonton is stacking November with enough events to fill a whole trip, and the weekend of November 6 to 8 packs in a mix of food, art, ghost stories and hockey. Here's what's on if you're in the city.
The Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival returns to the Edmonton Convention Centre on November 6 and 7, running three sessions across the two days. The event has been pouring since 1998 and brings together hundreds of wines, spirits and beers alongside dishes from local chefs and restaurants. Tickets start at $30.
If you'd rather keep your budget tight, there's plenty that costs nothing. The Country Christmas Marketplace takes over the Edmonton Expo Centre from Friday to Sunday as part of Farmfair International, with holiday gifts, home decor and handmade goods from vendors — completely free entry. Two year-round markets are also running: the Old Strathcona Farmers Market, the city's original year-round market, open Saturdays 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Queen Mary's Market, which houses more than 130 vendors plus five restaurants under one roof, open both weekend days.
For something spookier, Fort Edmonton Park is running paranormal investigations until December 2, where participants use Spirit Boxes and EMF readers while hearing the park's ghost stories and building histories. Two routes are on offer this year: the 1885 Street Venture and the Fort Featured Investigation, which passes through the imposing Rowand House. Entry is $67 plus tax.
Movie fans can catch the Horizon Drive-In at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, screening horror, throwbacks and Christmas classics at 7, 9 and 11 p.m., with a run that stretches all the way to November 2026. Art lovers have two options downtown: the Under $100 Art Show at 10310 102nd Ave, where every piece for sale costs under $100 (admission $14.75, or $20.03 for VIP), and a one-off at the Art Gallery of Alberta on Saturday — a live wrestling match paired with an exhibition of portraits by Kim Parrent, at $40.
Rounding things out: National Geographic Explorer Sarah Knutie gives a talk on the science of the Galápagos Islands at the Winspear Centre on Saturday evening ($37+), and the Edmonton Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place at 9 p.m. Saturday, with tickets from $137.
Why it matters: Edmonton is an underrated winter weekend city, and this lineup shows how much you can cram in without a big spend — a free market morning, an afternoon art show, an evening at the drive-in, and still change left from $100. It works just as well for locals planning a Saturday as for visitors building a short Alberta city break around food, markets and a bit of hockey.
