Edmonton’s annual Silver Skate Festival begins today! And as always, the event offers numerous reasons to attend. The best part about Silver Skate Festival is that everything is free.
Silver Skate Folk Trail/ Silver Skate Festival
From public recreation, to live music, and enjoyment of arts and culture, these are all free to attend! The Silver Skate Festival is a 10-day event at Edmonton’s Hawrelak Park with a focus on celebrating everything which makes Edmonton a true winter city.
This includes sports and recreation, using winter to create and display art, the best of northern food, and showcasing local talent. Through Silver Skate alone, you can get a feel for Edmonton’s traditional artists, theatre groups, musical acts, sculptors, crafters, and more.
Silver Skate Festival conveniently falls on Valentine’s Day, and the Family Day long weekend.
As Hawrelak Park is closing for a significant renovation on March 13, 2023, Silver Skate Festival will be the last major festival held at the park for the next few years. So remember to make the most of it and here are some of the best things to do at this year’s Silver Skate Festival:
Walking the Silver Skate Folk Trail
As the sun sets and the day winds down, the Silver Skate Festival becomes brightly lit across the park grounds. Follow the soft glow to the festival’s Folk Trail, where you can take in free live performances, artistic installations, and the festival tradition of the Fire Sculpture Burn.
The Fire Sculptures, made of all wood, stand at the Folk Trail, and are burned on different nights to create a beautiful source of warmth and light. The Fire Sculptures are the ‘grand finale’ to the Folk Trail experience, so be sure to follow the entire path, and listen closely to the performers and their stories.
When: Folk Trail open every night of the festival; Fire Sculptures burn on February 11, 12, 18, and 19.
Snow Sculptures
If you visit Silver Skate Festival for opening weekend, you can watch the professional snow sculpting artists as they work at their cubes of snow. Each year, the festival hosts a snow sculpting competition, with the entries displayed along park paths for all to enjoy, photograph, and stare at in awe. Awards are handed out on February 12th, but the sculptures remain on display until the end of Silver Skate.
When: carvings over February 10-12
Silver Skate Festival
Shop the Winter Market
The Silver Skate Festival’s opening weekend is hosting a special Winter Market. The market will include various local crafters, creators, and makers.
There will be a handful of vendors who aim to keep you cozy throughout the event too, with options for handmade mittens, toques, thermos’, and much more. The market will be set up under a sheltered cozy space, with live music to enjoy during your shopping and browsing.
When: February 11-12
Catch a Winter Flick
An integral part of the Silver Skate Festival is the annual International Festival of Winter Cinema. This gives festival visitors a chance to sit and relax and enjoy a winter-themed film on an all-snow screen. It is a unique movie-going opportunity which you won’t find anywhere else! These films are suitable for all ages, and offer diverse perspectives on everything winter and polar. The Local Heroes Film Festival will be bringing a specially curated selection of short films for one night only.
When: February 10-19
Silver Skate’s Winter Food & Dining Events
No festival would be complete without the celebration of food! This is why you’ll be able to catch local food trucks across the festival for the entire event. These include sweet options from the Cabane à Sucre, or Gypsy Donuts, and savoury items from Ávila Arepa and Joanne’s Food Truck. You may also enjoy an enhanced dining experience with Silver Skate Festival through tickets to the Long Table Dinner, Battle of the Neighbourhoods, or Spirits on Ice. Tickets for dining events need to be purchased in advance.
When: Battle of the Neighbourhoods February 1 Long Table Dinner February 16th, Spirits on Ice February 18-20
Explore Silver Skate’s Heritage Village
As you make your way through the different festival events and features, you can use the connecting area of Heritage Village to stop, relax, and learn. There will be live performances, artistic installations, blacksmithing demos, and art for sale. You will have a chance to meet different local artists, learn more about their pieces, and show your support. The Village is also where you can catch live storytelling from the comfort of a snow couch.
When: throughout the festival
Stop by the Family Fun & Recreation Zones
Between the Family Fun Zone and the Recreation Zone, there will be several activities on the snow and ice for kids of all ages to try. The Recreation Zone will give all ages a chance at a game of ball hockey, broomball, or jam can curling. The Family Fun Zone is less about sports and more about playing in the snow. Here, you will find the thrills of the ice slide, chances to try snow sculpting, and a snow-building zone (for a snowman, or whatever you come up with!).
When: throughout the entire festival
Try a New Winter Sport
Fat biking and cross-country skiing are popular winter activities at Hawrelak all season long. And the Silver Skate Festival makes the sports a little easier to try. Fat bike demos will take place so you can learn before you try the park’s custom course. You can also catch the cyclists in the February 18th Race. And with Hawrelak Park’s groom cross country ski trails, you can glide your way across the festival and between different parts of the park. Silver Skate will see the Barnebirkie skiing event, as well, with three different track lengths. The Barnebirkie is a perfect time to get little ones on skis!
When: Fat bike demo and race February 18th
Barnebirkie February 19th
Free Live Music
Silver Skate Festival is a unique opportunity in Edmonton for free live music. The festival will host a number of local artists from various different genres. The performances are scheduled, and they are scheduled for every day of Silver Skate. So no matter which day you visit, you can grab a live show and discover some new tunes. Dancing is, after all, a great way to warm up in the winter cold.
When: throughout the festival
Skating & Racing
The warmer February weather which Edmonton experienced will make for a pleasant walking and browsing experience at Silver Skate. But let’s hope for those slightly colder temperatures over the next few weeks to take advantage of the park’s pond skating. The massive 5-hectare pond has two islands to wind and glide around, warm-up and lacing-up areas, and outdoor firepits on the shores. There will also be competitive speed skating on the final days of the festival. These 20km-100km races are the root of the Silver Skate Festival, and are a thrilling event to experience from the shores of the Hawrelak Park Pond.
When: racing on February 18th and 19th, public skating is weather permitting
Where: Hawrelak Park pond pavilion
How much: speed skating race registration $25-$40; public skating FREE
When: February 10-20, 2023
Trip Planning – Silver Skate Festival
The Silver Skate Festival is a 10-day, family-oriented festival in Edmonton’s scenic river valley. Rooted in Dutch winter traditions, the festival combines sport (especially skating), arts and culture, and recreation. The Silver Skate Festival is the longest-running winter festival in Edmonton.
When: February 10-20, 2023
Where: Hawrelak Park – 9330 Groat Road, Edmonton
How much: free admission
The Silver Skate Festival in partnership with ETS is offering a Free Park n’ Ride service on weekends looping through these stops:
University Transit Centre (ETS Bus Stop #2003)
114 St westbound at 87 Ave (Butterdome)
U of A Windsor Parkade on 116 St northbound at 93 Ave
Hawrelak Park DATS loop
117 St eastbound at 87 Ave (Lister Hall). Parking is available at the Windsor Parkade for $5.50/day.