Downtown Edmonton art festivals wrap up a successful 10-day run

After bringing together two of Edmonton’s most popular free art festivals for the first time after two years of cancellations, artists and performers are packing up and taking a final bow in Churchill Square.

More than 175,000 people came through the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival and the Works Art and Design Festival throughout their 10-day run, according to a statement issued Sunday.

“This year we had over 450 performances and 192 individual artists taking part with crowds of 175,000 people safely engaging in our festival on an outdoor artistic stage in the sun,” Amber Rooke, the executive artistic director of the Works Art and Design Festival, said. “We really could not have asked for anything better.

“We are overjoyed with the season we had this year. In January when we began planning in the midst of COVID, we had no idea what would be possible in July.”

The festivals hosted a range of performances and exhibits, including the “Planting a Promise” installation which gave out 1,900 sunflower seeds in exchange for promises.

“I can’t tell you what it meant for our performers to perform again in front of live audiences, to hear the applause, see the smiles and to feel that interaction and energy — it was incredible,” said Paul Bezaire, the festival director for the International Street Performers Festival.

The festival wraps up Sunday, however, there are still a few opportunities to catch any missed installations.

The Work’s City Hall pieces, including the In Your Canada exhibit with work by Amber Bracken and Garry Gottfriedson, Snutetkwe Manuel; and Kwécte-Kucw te sḱwieūsems: Take Our Grief by Brittany Cherweniuk will be on display until July 28, 2022.

Others can be seen until the end of the summer at various locations throughout downtown, for see a full schedule, click here.