Events Edmonton
Dishes Up the Best Summer Festival in the City By Nerissa McNaughton with photos courtesy of Heiko Ryll Studios
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vents Edmonton is the organization behind some of Edmonton’s largest, longest-running and most impressive events. A lot goes into creating memorable, family-friendly entertainment for Edmonton’s residents and guests, and today Paul Lucas, general manager, explains what goes on behind the scenes of its flagship event, Taste of Edmonton. “Events Edmonton is a non-profit charitable association and a major festival producer in Edmonton that produces the Taste of Edmonton, Canada’s largest outdoor food festival that attracts over 400,000 people every year,” says Lucas. “As part of the summer festival scene, Taste of Edmonton is an iconic event that is loved by many Edmontonians, and that adds to the vibrancy of the festival world here in Edmonton. Events Edmonton also supports 13 charitable and non-profit groups
with honorariums of upwards of $80,000 a year, and it has a volunteer base of 700. Our connection to the community is one of our core goals as an organization.” The organization has a long and interesting history. “Events Edmonton was founded from a need to support the Edmonton Exhibition’s launch of Klondike Days in the ’60s,” says Lucas. “A board was formed that included business leaders within the Edmonton region, and it was funded by Edmonton Exhibition, the City of Edmonton and a volunteer board along with hundreds of volunteer supporters. The Klondike theme was embraced during the ’60s, ’70s and 80s, and events were created to support the Klondike theme that was embraced all over the city.”
Events Edmonton | 50 years
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