Edmonton Heritage Festival

The Edmonton Heritage Festival is a three-day festival honouring Alberta's cultural heritage and cultural diversity, which is held annually over the Civic Holiday weekend in William Hawrelak Park in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

At that time eleven communities united with the intent to display their cultures by offering traditional cuisine, entertainment, interpretive materials, and crafts to visitors.

[2] The tents feature food, entertainment, artwork and crafts, and clothing, and teach visitors about various cultures with displays including photos, paraphernalia, and stories.

Each county's set of display tents, known as Pavilions, offers a sampling of their unique cultural food and drinks.

[9] Heritagefest provides opportunities for local communities and their organizations to present individual ethnic roots, culture, and heritage to a broader audience.

[10] During the 45 years of the festival, a number of forms of heritage presentation have commonly been used, with ethnic food preparation leading the way.

Other participants give visitors of the festival an insight into their origin places and historic development.

Large printed photos and texts on display, and there are many points of interests such as video and multi-media presentations, re-enactments like the Welsh Revolt initiated by the St. David's Welsh (Wales) pavilion at Heritagefest 2015,[11] and a special-edition magazine distributed by the Bangladesh Heritage and Ethnic Society of Alberta.

[1] The festival organization also asks visitors to donate unused food tickets, which are then converted into money.

[15] The Edmonton Heritage Festival Organization helps develop and upgrade Hawrelak Park and its infrastructure.

On June 6, 1974, the first Monday in August became "Heritage Day", "a showcase for displaying Alberta’s cultural diversity."

The first celebrations were held in Fort Edmonton Park in 1974 and 1975, and included a multicultural concert with performers from several ethnic communities.

[14] In 1999, the Edmonton Heritage Festival was designated as one of the "Top 100 Events in North America" by the American Bus Association, the trade organization of the motor coach tour industry.