4 Fun Facts About Edmonton

4 Fun Facts About Edmonton

Posted on November 9, 2016

Edmonton, Alberta, may be most known for its connection to the oil and gas
industries, but any Edmontonian can tell you that there is so much more to this
city. Here are four fun facts about Edmonton to remind us what we love about
the Gateway to the North.

Edmonton Is Full of
Parks

Edmonton's North Saskatchewan River Valley parks system is the longest
stretch of urban parkland in all of North America, with over 20 parks and
attractions along a picturesque 16-mile stretch of the North Saskatchewan
River. The parks provide a welcome escape into nature, right in the heart of
the city. And there's more than just greenery: the parks system is home to the
Edmonton Valley Zoo, Muttart Conservatory botanical garden, and Fort Edmonton Park
living history museum, among other attractions.

The parks don't end at the river valley. All of Edmonton is dotted with
green space, ranging from small neighborhood parks to expansive nature parks
like Rainbow Valley Park, earning Edmonton the designation of the Canadian city
with the most parkland per capita.

Edmonton Has North
America's Largest Mall

The West Edmonton Mall spans 48 city blocks, receives 32 million visitors
per year, and is home to over 800 stores. If that doesn't impress you, this
enormous mall also houses the second-largest indoor amusement park in the
world, the second-largest indoor water park in the world with the world's
largest wave pool, a sea lion exhibit, an indoor shooting range, and so much more.
This record-setting attraction was the world's largest mall from 1985 until its
record was broken in 2004. Just be sure to wear comfortable shoes when you
visit, because you'll be exploring for hours.

Edmonton Is Home to
Canada's Largest Planetarium

If you haven't noticed, Edmonton likes to do things big, and it's no
different when it comes to science. Telus World of Science in Edmonton has the
largest planetarium theater in Canada, the Margaret Zeidler Star Theatre. The
center is also home to a number of educational galleries that cover topics
ranging from environmental science to robotic programming. And in case this
science center isn't impressive enough already, it's currently under
renovations that will add several new features while tripling its size.

Edmonton Is a
Festival City

One of the best things about Edmonton is its love of the arts. The city is
home to several great venues for high-culture art, such as the Art Gallery of
Alberta and the Francis Winspear Centre for Music, but the city's commitment to
bringing arts to the people really shines in its 30 annual festivals. You may
know about the large festivals like the Edmonton International Fringe Festival, Edmonton Folk Music
Festival, and K-Days, but if you're not checking out the dozens of smaller
festivals like the Edmonton Accordion Festival or Cariwest, you're missing
out. 

There's a lot to love about this diverse northern city. Whether you're
visiting Edmonton or you're a life-long resident, you'll never have a shortage
of fun, interesting things to do and see.

"Edmonton Standard" by Kurayba, used under CC BY