5 Weekend Events to Support the Edmonton Arts Scene (July 8-10)

Buy from local artists at the Whyte Avenue Art Walk, check out an outdoor exhibit, or take a walk with a stranger at these weekend events.

“What Is The Air You Breathe?” is one of the many exhibits featured through The Works festival this year. Photo courtesy The Works

1. Whyte Avenue Art Walk | July 8-10
The Whyte Avenue Art Walk is an Edmonton institution. The event began in 1995 when Tim Nolt and
There will be over 500 vendors at 2022’s Whyte Avenue Art Walk! Photo courtesy Whyte Avenue Art Walk

David Bradley endeavoured to bring the energy of Paris’s Left Bank to Whyte Avenue. Although the first year featured only 35 vendors, this event has grown consistently in the years since, now boasting over 500 artists for 2022! Artists from all walks of life will set up shop along Whyte Avenue for 3 days, painting en plein air and selling their wares. Support local artists and find the perfect piece for that blank wall in your living room all at once!
2. The Works Art & Design Festival and Edmonton International Street Performers Festival | July 8-17
Two of Edmonton’s favourite summer festivals have joined forces for 10 event-filled days! While The Works Art & Design Festival and Edmonton International Street Performers Festival may seem like an unlikely pairing, festival organizers couldn’t be more excited for this unique collaboration. Back in Churchill Square for the first time since 2017, both festivals are focused on bringing art outside, making it fun and accessible for everyone. With street performers hula-hooping through the square and art exhibits finding homes in City Hall, the Westin Hotel, and Stanley A. Milner, this festival promises to have something for everyone!
3. Found Festival 2022 | July 7-10
Offering dance, theatre, poetry, and visual art, Found Festival is back for another year of art that interrogates Edmonton’s landscape. From Fort Edmonton Park to a Whyte Avenue alley, Found Festival’s 2022 lineup centres finding space and finding connection. Check out Perfect Strangers which invites you to take a walk with a stranger and document it via Post-It note or Gym Class Queer-roes which explores a fictional queer gym.
Photo courtesy Grindstone Comedy Festival
4. Grindstone Comedy Festival | July 6-10
If you are in the mood for laughter, join both local and national comedians, improvisers, and sketch groups at the 3^rd annual Grindstone Comedy Festival! Catch an improvised musical with The 11 O’Clock Number, watch stand-up comics face off in the Stand-Off Competition Finals, or test your comedy chops with an open mic.
2. 5. Theatre, theatre, and more theatre! | various
3. This is your last weekend to catch Hamilton, Measure for Measure, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream! It’s also opening weekend for a whole bunch of new shows including A Grand Time in the Rapids at the Varscona Theatre, Sexy Laundry at The Mayfield Dinner Theatre, and The Realistic Joneses at the Walterdale Theatre. Whether you check out an opening or stick around for the final curtain call, Edmonton’s theatre scene promises to make your weekend thrilling.
Check out our event listings for more! Or explore outdoor attractions with our recently released July/August issue!