Edmonton looks new, but it isn’t. People have lived on this bend of the North Saskatchewan River for thousands of years. Indigenous people call it a “Pehonan,” a great gathering place. People would come to Edmonton from all over the continent to trade and prosper, to celebrate and worship, to change their lives.
Edmonton became a centre for the fur trade. Then the region attracted farmers and merchants from all over the world. Since 1949 it’s been an energy city but it might also be the best place on the continent to take an idea to reality.
The North American Fringe Theatre movement was invented in Edmonton in 1982. Today, it attracts 750,000 people every year. Edmontonians launched the world’s first food bank the same year. Our unique public school model is studied around the world.
Canada’s largest construction company (PCL) and architecture firm (Stantec) were launched as a small family business and as a sole proprietorship. Running Room, Bioware, and many of Canada’s most successfull restaurant concepts started in Edmonton. The city is a laboratory, a workshop: for business, for food, for ideas, for fun. With more urban parkland than any other city in North America, and a magnificent volunteer spirit, Edmonton is also one of Canada’s leading sports cities.
It isn’t a wine-producing city but it’s the right place to gather the best Canadian wines, craft beers, craft spirits and chefs together in a new way and showcase them to the world.