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Edmonton Holidays, Hotels & Travel Guide
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Edmonton Holidays Overview
With 780,000 inhabitants, Edmonton is the 6th biggest Canadian city and capital of Alberta province. Seventy percent of its inhabitants are of mixed European descent. Twenty percent are of various ethnicities and some 5% aboriginal. It sits in the middle of this province along the North Saskatchewan River. It is 220 km from the Canadian Rockies.
There is a fairly thorough public bus system. A Light Rail is also here and is currently being extended throughout the greater metropolitan area. A park is at the centre of the downtown in this city. Historic buildings fill the downtown alongside modern skyscrapers. The city is renowned as a hub of festivals and of culture.
There are numerous golf courses in this relatively flat area yet ski slopes are just a short trip away. Temperatures on the hottest of summer days almost never reach above 30 degrees Celsius. Winter months however, are quite cold.
Prehistoric peoples are thought to have inhabited the area since the end of the last ice age. Europeans first opened a fur trading outpost in the late 18th Century. Fort Edmonton, where trade occurred with the local aboriginals, is still standing at the site where it was built as a home to those first setters.
In the early 20th Century, the discovery of oil drove the growth of this city. The black gold is still an important part of the economy as rich deposits of Canadian oil sands are just outside of this northernmost Canadian city. Technology driven industries are also important today, in large part due to the University of Alberta, which is located here.
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Edmonton
holidays - Top Events
A mid-October weekend is the time for celebration of the Scarecrow Festival, which began in the early 1990s. It is part of the late October North American Halloween holiday. Visiting a haunted house, costume dress up, games and a dance are among the activities annually organized. (http://www.scarecrowfestival.org/)
Hundreds of Poets converge on the annual Edmonton Poetry Festival. This event is held over 4 spring days in late April. April is National Poetry Month. This event was held for the first time in the year 2006. (http://www.edmontonpoetryfestival.com/)
The longest running winter festival in this city is held in February. It is the Silver Skate Festival. A Trialtholon, 2 Marathons and a snow sculpture competition are among the annual events. Ice dancing and theatre are also part of the programmed entertainment. (http://www.silverskatefestival.org/silver-skate.html?a8f42cb84bfa8d80f0f81d7d07376e9d=6458d285eb5240d3892b21daf6d6395c)
Since 1980, during the annual Rodeo Week in November, the Downtown Business Association has hosted the yearly Chili Cook Off. Businesses, restaurants, hotels and others compete for the prize recipe. There is entertainment scheduled throughout this 2-day event. (http://www.gov.edmonton.ab.ca/attractions_recreation/attractions/festivals_events/events-calendar.asp)
Edmonton Earth Day is a day long September event. Music is enjoyed while the latest recycling and green technologies are on display at this annual activity. (http://www.gov.edmonton.ab.ca/attractions_recreation/attractions/festivals_events/events-calendar.asp)
Edmonton
holidays - How to Get There
The only commercial flight to this destination (YXD) is the Airco shuttle to Grand Prairie Regional Airport (YQU) also in Alberta. This is a 45 minute flight. At YQU transfers can be made from Air Canada flights from Calgary and Edmonton International. From Sydney to Calgary the flight is 20 hours and 30 minutes at a minimum. Prior to taking this short shuttle. The nearest consular services to this destination are provided by the Australian High Commission in Ottawa. (http://www.ahc-ottawa.org/)
http://www.canada.embassy.gov.au/
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